bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Statistical Analysis for Single-Case Designs
Authors: Mueser Kim T. , Yarnold Paul R. , Foy David W.
Published: March 2007

A recently developed statistical method for single-case subject designs based on classical test theory was used to examine the efficacy of imaginal exposure treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in four Vietnam veterans. The method was sensitive to intraindividual changes across different outcome measures even when relatively few data points were available. Two veterans clearly improved from exposure and maintained their gains at 3-and 15-month follow-ups. One veteran improved marginally, whereas one veteran's symptoms worsened. Changes in heart rate monitored over the first two imaginal exposures indicated that veterans with greater heart-rate habituation responded better to exposure than did veterans with less or no habituation. The results suggest that the statistical method illustrated here has some advantages over other methods (e.g., visual inspection, time-series analysis) for examining clinical interventions in single-case designs.
The Integration of Empirically Derived Personality Assessment Data into a Behavioral Conceptualization and Treatment Plan
Authors: Collins Frank L. , Thompson J. Kevin
Published: March 2007

This article suggests that the appropriate integration of personality (trait) data with information gleaned from a traditional behavioral interview will enhance client-treatment matching. The achievement of this goal is predicated on the ability of behaviorists to challenge tightly held (mis)conceptions of the process of "personality" assessment and to apply empirical criteria when engaged in this integrative endeavor. To facilitate such integration, a rationale for the use of dispositionally based assessment data within a behavioral framework is presented. Guidelines are provided for the accurate measurement and integration of such data in addition to a review of caveats that should be considered if such an enterprise is ultimately to reach fruition.
Ethnic Diversity in Behavioral Psychology
Authors: Iwamasa Gayle Y. , Smith Sonya K.
Published: March 2007

In recent years, the importance of including ethnically diverse populations in psychological research has been increasingly emphasized. The purpose of this survey was to examine the extent to which behavioral psychology has recognized issues of ethnic diversity in its published literature. Content analyses were conducted of all articles published in Behavioral Assessment from 1984 through 1992, BehaviorModification from 1977 through 1993, and Behavior Therapy from 1970 through 1993. Overall, only 1.31% of the articles published in the three journals focused on U.S. ethnic minority groups. Possible explanations for the lack of attention on ethnic minority groups are posited, and suggestions for ameliorating this problem are provided.
Fear of Intimacy and Attachment among Rape Survivors
Authors: Thelen Mark H. , Sherman Michelle D. , Borst Tiffany S.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of the present study was to investigate attachment and fear of intimacy among rape survivors. As previous research has documented that several domains of functioning are affected by the experience of rape, it was hypothesized that the survivors may have difficulties with attachment and intimacy. Subjects were selected from an undergraduate general psychology class on the basis of responses to a questionnaire on sexual experiences. All of the subjects were female and included 44 rape survivors and 57 controls. As predicted, rape survivors reported greater fear surrounding intimacy. Survivors also differed from the conitrols on all of the attachment dimensions. They reported less confidence in others' dependability, less comfort with closeness, and more fear of abandonment. Trait anxiety was also controlled in the analyses, arid except for fear of abandonment, it attenuated the differences between the groups such that they were no longer significantly different.
Hemifacial Asymmetry in Emotion Expressions
Authors: Asthana Hari S. , Mandal Manas K.
Published: March 2007

We examined asymmetry in posed facial expression of emotions: happy and sad. Hemifacial composite photographs, left-left and right-right, were prepared, and subjects rated these for intensity of expressed emotion. Overall, left-left composites were judged to have expressed emotions relatively more intensely than the right-right composites. The significant Sex x Emotion interaction revealed that female expressors were judged as more expressive than male expressors in expressing sad facial emotion. Sex difference in expression of happy facial emotion was not significant.
Summarizing Single-Subject Research
Authors: Scruggs Thomas E. , Mastropieri Margo A.
Published: March 2007

In this article, literature concerning the quantitative synthesis (meta-analysis) of single-subject research literature is reviewed. First, the general rationale for such an approach is discussed. Next, procedures for synthesizing single-subject literature are described, followed by comments and critiques of those procedures. Finally, a review is presented of the results of applications of those procedures. The authors suggest that procedures based on percentage of nonoverlapping data (PND) between baseline and treatment are justifiable, meaningful, and-across nine applications have produced results that are highly meaningful and faithful to the original research reports.
A Dual Process Model of Perfectionism Based on Reinforcement Theory
Authors: Slade Peter D. , Owens R. Glynn
Published: March 2007

This article begins with a brief review of the current literature on the structure and measurement of perfectionism. It is concluded from this review that two major types can be distinguished, a normal/healthy form and a pathological form. These two forms are then defined as positive and negative perfectionism and related directly to Skinnerian concepts of positive and negative reinforcement. The positive/negative distinction is then further elaborated on in terms of approach/avoidance behavior, goal differences, self-concept involvement, emotional conrelates, and the promoting environment. Finally, some of the more obvious theoretical and practical implications are briefly explored.
Recall and Validation of Phobia Origins as a Function of a Structured Interview Versus the Phobia Origins Questionnaire
Authors: Kheriaty Elaine , Kleinknecht Ronald A. , Hyman Ira E.
Published: March 2007

Memory for fear onset events was examined in 43 dog-fearful and 48 blood/injection-fearful participants. Half of each fear type was administered the Phobia Origins Questionnaire (POQ), and half the Phobia Origins Structured Interview (POSI). Written accounts of recalled onset experiences were sent to participants’ parents for verification. More participants assessed by the POQ reported a phobia onset event (93%) than did those assessed by the POSI (54%).Amajority in both methods recalled conditioning-like experiences. The POQ resulted in more reports of vicarious and informational onset reports than did the POSI. Parents confirmed more onset event reports obtained by the POSI (81%) than those obtained by the POQ, (50%). In addition, in 21% of cases where a child recalled an event, a parent reported an onset event that predated the one provided by the child. Results are discussed in terms of memory mechanisms operative in autobiographical memories.
Assessment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Authors: Emmelkamp P. M.G. , Kraaijkamp H. J.M. , Van Den Hout M. A.
Published: March 2007

Self-report assessment devices of obsessive-compulsive symptoms are widely used by behavior therapists. In the present investigation, psychometric characteristics and concurrent, discriminant, and factorial validity of the Maudsley Obsessional Compulsive Inventory (MOCI) were studied in clinical samples. Test-retest reliabilitywas high. The internal consistencywas high for the total score and moderate for the subscales, checking and cleaning. The slowness and doubting subscales appeared to be less useful. The MOCI was found to reliably discriminate between obsessional patients on one hand and normals, patients with anorexia nervosa and anxiety disorders, on the other, but failed to discriminate obsessionals from depressives. Concurrent validity and factorial validity were satisfactory. The MOCI may be used to evaluate effects of treatment, but it is less sensitive than target ratings of obsessional problems.
Combining Descriptive and Experimental Analyses of Young Children with Behavior Problems in Preschool Settings
Authors: Harding Jay , Wacker David P. , Cooper Linda J. , Asmus Jennifer , Jensen-Kovalan Paula , Grisolano Lee Ann
Published: March 2007

This investigation shows the merits of preceding experimental analyses with descriptive analyses of functional variables with preschool children who engage in problematic behavior. A twophase descriptive analysis was conducted in daycare settings with three children. In Phase 1, the authors assessed the relation between child behavior and structural events. During Phase 2, the same behavior was replotted by functional variables. The results showed that when the descriptive data were plotted via functional variables, specific hypotheses could be generated regarding the variables controlling appropriate behavior. This procedure permitted the subsequent use of very brief experimental analyses to further identify functional relations. The use of descriptive analyses of functional rather than structural variables may be an important component in the assessment of problem behavior in community settings.
Respect and Cooperation in Social Dilemmas: The Importance of Feeling Included
Authors: de Cremer David
Published: March 2007

The present research examined the effect of respect communicated by fellow group members on one’s willingness to contribute to the group’s welfare. Based on the procedural justice literature, it was expected that respect would communicate important relational information, consequently enhancing people’s motivation to promote the group’s welfare. Using a public good dilemma, it was found that respect indeed motivated group members to contribute more to the group’s welfare and that this was most pronounced among group members who felt least included (i.e., peripheral members) relative to group members who felt included (i.e., core members).These findings illustrate the importance of decision makers’ concerns about viable and positive intragroup relationships in their decision to cooperate or not.
Lay Theories and Evaluation-Based Organization of Impressions: An Application of the Memory Search Paradigm
Authors: Tong Yuk-Yue , Chiu Chi-Yue
Published: March 2007

People may believe that personal attributes are fixed entities that cannot be changed (hold an entity theory). Alternatively, they may believe that qualities of a person are malleable (hold an incremental theory). In the present research, the authors used Sternberg’s (1966) memory search task to examine entity and incremental theorists’ cognitive strategies in memory search. It was hypothesized that entity theorists, who have a greater tendency to make spontaneous evaluation of people, would organize impressions in short-term memory according to whether the stimulus persons are positively or negatively evaluated. Next, they might compare the probe only to the stimulus persons with matched valence or discard the ones that did not match the probe in valence. By comparison, incremental theorists, who tend not to make immediate evaluative trait judgments, should be less likely to use these evaluation-based strategies. These hypotheses were confirmed in two memory search experiments, in which the names of positive or negative persons were used as stimuli.
Diminishing Returns: The Effects of Income on the Content of Stereotypes of Wage Earners
Authors: Johannesen-Schmidt Mary C. , Eagly Alice H.
Published: March 2007

This study examined stereotypes of wage earners who varied in annual income from $10,000 to $190,000. As income increased, these stereotypes increased strongly in positive agentic characteristics and moderately in negative agentic characteristics and decreased slightly in communal characteristics. Findings were consistent with the interpretation that these stereotypic beliefs resulted from the influence of wage earners’ income on participants’ beliefs about earners’ role behavior on the job and in caring relationships.
Intensity Bias in Affective Forecasting: The Role of Temporal Focus
Authors: Buehler Roger , McFarland Cathy
Published: March 2007

In five studies, university students predicted their affective reactions to a wide variety of positive and negative future events. In Studies 1 to 3, participants also reported the affective reactions they experienced when the target event occurred. As hypothesized, they tended to anticipate more intense reactions than they actually experienced. In Studies 3 to 5, a cognitive determinant of this “intensity bias” was examined. It was hypothesized that people anticipate stronger affective reactions when they focus narrowly on an upcoming event in a manner that neglects past experience and less intense reactions when they consider a set of relevant previous experiences. Evidence from thought-listing measures as well as an experimental manipulation of temporal focus supported this hypothesis.
How One Cause Discounts or Augments Another: A Connectionist Account of Causal Competition
Authors: van Overwalle Frank , van Rooy Dirk
Published: March 2007

The authors investigated the degree of discounting and augmentation of a target cause by an alternative cause given a varying number of observations on the alternative cause while holding its degree of covariation constant. Two experiments showed that more observations of the alternative cause resulted in greater discounting or augmentation of a target cause. This sample size effect cannot be explained by current attribution theories based on statistical notions or belief updating but can be accounted for by a connectionist framework. In addition, the authors found that the sample size effect was stronger when the information was presented in a sequential trial-by-trial format as opposed to a summarized format but found no effect of information order. Possible extensions of statistical models with confidence weights that take account of sample size were considered and simulated but none accommodated the data as well as connectionist models.
When Juries Fail to Comply with the Law: Biased Evidence Processing in Individual and Group Decision Making
Authors: Sommer Kristin L. , Horowitz Irwin A. , Bourgeois Martin J.
Published: March 2007

Two experiments examined individual and group decision making when decision criteria led to outcomes that violated distributive justice. In Experiment 1, noncompliant individual jurors in a civil trial biased their determinations of negligence to award damages when the decision criteria prohibited an award. Experiment 2 replicated this effect at the group level and revealed that juries also biased their attributions of negligence to justify reducing damages when the decision criteria required an excessive award. In both cases of noncompliance, juries recruited a biased subset of information during deliberations that sustained their decisions. Finally, noncompliant juries were marked by the advent of a “trigger” person who raised justice concerns. Implications for other decision-making groups and for the courts are discussed.
Threat and the Group Attribution Error: When Threat Elicits Judgments of Extremity and Homogeneity
Authors: Corneille Olivier , Yzerbyt Vincent Y. , Rogier Anouk , Buidin Geneviève
Published: March 2007

In two studies, the authors investigated the impact of threat on the perception of extremity and homogeneity among the members of a group. They relied on the Group Attribution Error paradigm and asked participants to estimate the attitudes in a group of voters. Depending on the condition, the decision rules were such that the proposition allegedly passed or failed. The degree of threat of the group was varied by informing participants that the group represented a small (4%) or substantial (40%) proportion of the population living in the area. Consistent with the Group Attribution Error literature, the outcome of the vote influenced participants’ inferences about the extremity of the voters’ attitude. More positive (negative) attitudes were inferred in the case of a positive (negative) outcome of the vote. This effect was qualified by the level of threat. Participants inferred relatively more extreme and more homogeneous attitudes among the members of a threatening group.
Changing Racial Beliefs by Providing Consensus Information
Authors: Stangor Charles , Sechrist Gretchen B. , Jost John T.
Published: March 2007

In two experiments, the authors found that providing feedback to European American participants that others held different beliefs about African Americans than they originally estimated significantly changed the beliefs that they held about that group. The observed changes were stronger for people who were exposed to information about the opinions of ingroup rather than outgroup members and persisted when measured in an unrelated experimental session held 1 week later. The authors also found in a third experiment that providing information that others agreed with the individual’s own racial stereotypes bolstered them such that they were more resistant to subsequent change attempts. Taken together, the results suggest that learning about the racial beliefs of others has the potential to either produce or inhibit stereotype change.
Does Discrimination Terminology Create Response Bias in Questionnaire Studies of Discrimination?
Authors: Gomez John P. , Trierweiler Steven J.
Published: March 2007

Gender or race terminology in assessment instruments used for discrimination research may influence the self-report of experienced discrimination. The authors assessed the frequency of negative events associated with typical reports of discrimination while manipulating instructions to prepare respondents for questions about discriminatory events versus everyday life events. Samples of 135 White females and 170 African Americans were examined independently. Self-reports of the frequency of experienced discrimination varied according to the type of instructions given, with higher scores occurring in the discrimination-instructions condition. Attributional tendency for unfair or bad treatment and membership in pro-ingroup organizations are two respondent characteristics that relate to response bias. The authors suggest more extensive research on the complex issues involved in producing psychometrically sound depictions of the frequency of modern discrimination through the use of self-report questionnaire items.
Implicit Theories of Relationships: Who Cares if Romantic Partners Are Less than Ideal?
Authors: Knee C. Raymond , Nanayakkara Aruni , Vietor Nathaniel A. , Neighbors Clayton , Patrick Heather
Published: March 2007

Perceived discrepancy between one’s ideal and actual partner has been shown to predict relationship satisfaction. The goal of two studies was to examine whether implicit theories of relationships moderate this association. In Study 1, data from 177 undergraduates in romantic relationships showed that the perception that one’s partner falls short of one’s ideal was generally linked to lower satisfaction, except under cultivation (high growth/low destiny). In Study 2, data from 61 couples showed (a) viewing one’s partner favorably was associated with more satisfaction but less so among those who were higher in growth belief; and (b) cultivation predicted increased positivity, whereas evaluation (high destiny/low growth) predicted increased hostility when discussing discrepancies in how they and their partner view the relationship. Results are discussed in terms of the controversy over idealization and authenticity in romantic relationships.
Effects of Affective Expectations on Affective Experience: The Moderating Role of Optimism-Pessimism
Authors: Geers Andrew L. , Lassiter G. Daniel
Published: March 2007

The Affective Expectation Model contends that affective expectations shape affective experience. Specifically, it argues that affective experiences are generally assimilated toward expectations when the two are congruent or when a discrepancy between the two is not noticed. When a discrepancy exists and is noticed, however, affective experiences should be contrasted from the expectation. Two experiments using psychology undergraduates (N s = 122 and 105) were conducted to test whether the individual-difference variable optimism-pessimism moderates these effects. It was hypothesized that optimists, because of their tendency to overlook contradictions, are less likely to recognize when an affective expectation is disconfirmed and thus often assimilate their affective reactions toward expectations. However, it was hypothesized that pessimists, because of their greater sensitivity to contradictions, are more likely to notice when an experience is discrepant from an expectation and thus often contrast their affective reactions from expectations. The results supported these hypotheses.
Use of Exemplar Surveys to Reveal Implicit Types of Intelligence
Authors: Paulhus Delroy L. , Wehr Paul , Harms P. D. , Strasser David I.
Published: March 2007

Implicit theories of intelligence were investigated via surveys of exemplars of intelligence. Study 1 was a four-sample survey of famous exemplars. These diverse samples reported a similar set of popular exemplars, which clustered into five groups. These groups represented five types of intelligence: scientific, artistic, entrepreneurial, communicative, and moral intelligence. In Study 2, the minimal overlap of intelligence exemplars with those of fame, creativity, and wisdom refuted the possibility that exemplar reports are indiscriminate or solely a result of availability. In Study 3, knowledgeable judges rated the similarity of 50 famous persons to exemplars representing each type of intelligence. All five similarity ratings predicted exemplar popularities. In Study 4, where exemplar reports were not restricted to famous people, 31% were nonfamous (friends, family members, teachers, etc.). The results indicate that five implicit types of intelligence, each represented by highly available exemplars, play a role in people’s implicit theories.
On the Usefulness of Item Bias Analysis to Personality Psychology
Authors: Smith Larissa L.
Published: March 2007

A form of item bias known as Differential Item Functioning (DIF) occurs when two individuals with the same trait levels but different group membership do not have the same probability of endorsing an item in the keyed direction. The detection of DIF using Item Response Theory (IRT) arose in the cognitive testing domain, so the phenomenon is almost invariably perceived as undesirable. With the extension of IRT procedures to substantive areas of psychology, it is argued that DIF-prone items can afford valuable insights into the nature of the construct under study, especially where group differences are important. An example is presented using responses from 568 students completing a popular measure of Openness to Experience.
Goal-Dependent and Goal-Independent Effects of Irrelevant Evaluations
Authors: Klauerxy Karl Christoph , Musch Jochen
Published: March 2007

Participants responded to pairs of words under different processing goals. In the first four experiments, they identified different attributes of the second word of each pair. Priming effects of irrelevant evaluations occurred if and only if the goal was to identify the valence of the second word. Equivalent goal-dependent priming effects were found for irrelevant nonevaluative attributes of the word pairs. In the second set of four experiments, participants made same-different comparisons on the word pairs. Irrespective of which (nonevaluative) attributes were task-relevant, effects of irrelevant evaluations occurred. Equivalent goal-independent effects of irrelevant, nonevaluative attributes were not found. A ninth study found crucial effects of both series simultaneously. The results bear on the issues of goal dependence of affective priming and automatic attitude activation, of whether affective processing differs from cognitive processing, and of the mechanisms underlying the effects of irrelevant evaluations.
Perceived Stability of Trait Labels
Authors: Greenberg Martin S. , Saxe Leonard , Bar-Tal Daniel
Published: March 2007

Subjects (n = 207) rated the stability of 115 traits. A positivity bias was found (r = .62) such that traits which were perceived as stable tended to be those that connote likableness. Also, traits relating to positive ability (e.g., intelligent, bright) were perceived as more stable than effort traits (e.g., motivated, industrious). However, no difference was found between negative ability traits (e.g., unintelligent, stupid) and effort traits. Implications for person perception research were discussed.
The Influence of Hostile and Nonhostile Humor Upon Physical Aggression
Authors: Baron Robert A.
Published: March 2007

Forty-one male undergraduates participated in an experiment designed to investigate the hypothesis that overt aggression would be enhanced by prior exposure to hostile humor, but inhibited by prior exposure to nonhostile humor. In order to investigate this suggestion, subjects were first angered or not angered by a male confederate, next exposed to either nonhumorous materials, hostile humor, or nonhostile humor, and finally provided with an opportunity to aggress against the confederate. Results offered support for both portions of the hypothesis.
Buying Kindness: Effect of an Extrinsic Incentive for Helping on Perceived Altruism
Authors: Batson C. Daniel , Coke Jay S. , Jasnoski M. L. , Hanson Michael
Published: March 2007

Two experiments were conducted to determine whether an extrinsic incentive would undermine intrinsic, altruistic motivation for helping. In Experiment 1 male undergraduates agreed to help an experimenter code data. Pavment for coding was not mentioned (no-payment), was mentioned prior to agreement to help (paynent-prior), or was mentioned after agreement to help (payment-after). As predicted from Nisbett and Valins' overly sufficient justification hypothesis, subjects in the payment-prior condition rated themselves as less altruistic relative to a comparison other who did not help (a confederate) than did subjects in the no-payment condition. Subjects in the payment-after condition and in the no-request control group responded similarly to those in the no-payment condition. Experiment 2 provided a conceptual replication in a field setting of the payment-prior and no-payment conditions of Experiment 1. Results again indicated that prior payment undermined intrinsic, altruistic motivation for helping.
Humans Would Do Better without Other Humans
Authors: Kravitz David A. , Cohen Jerry L. , Martin Barbara , Sweeney James , McCarty John , Elliott Elaine , Goldstein Paul
Published: March 2007

A reappraisal of Christian J. Buys's satirical artical "Humans would do better without groups" (1978), shows that, although Dr. Buys pointed out a problem, he did not carry the solution to its logical end. Humans would not only do better without groups; they would also do better without other humans.
On Humans Would Do Better without Groups: A Final Note
Authors: Buys Christian J.
Published: March 2007

Because of recent rejoinders (Anderson, 1978; Kravitz, et al., 1978; Green and Mack, 1978; Shaffer, 1978) and a large number of inquiries, this brief note comments on my reasons for writing "Humans would do better without groups" (Buys, 1978).
Effects of Retaliation Latency and Provocation Level on Judged Blameworthiness for Retaliatory Aggression
Authors: Harvey Michael D. , Enzle Michael E.
Published: March 2007

Subjects observed an interaction in which one person retaliated with a harmful act after a long or short latency period following another person's severe or mild insult. The retaliator was blamed more when his act was delayed rather than immediate, and when the prior insult was mild rather than severe. These results appeared to be mediated by perceptions of the degree to which the retaliator premeditated his action.
Phenomenological Bases for the Attribution of Balance to Social Structure
Authors: Gerbing David W. , Hunter John E.
Published: March 2007

The general objective of this study was to explore the utility of understanding the individual's phenomenology of the experimental situation. The particular context was the balance theoretic paradigm of supplying a missing affective relation in a social triad. Subjects attributed few of their responses directly to affective consistency as stipulated by traditional balance theories. Instead, almost half of the predictions were based on inferences about common interests. It was concluded that (a) the stability of affective structures can be explained in terms of information inferred from affective relations, and (b) phenomenological reports should be gathered more frequently.
Applying Social Cognition
Authors: Jemmott John B. , Tebbets Ruth
Published: March 2007

Valence of information favorable *vs. unfavorable) and type of `information (case history, base rate, anchoring) were examined in a content analysis of newspaper coverage of the Bakke case in 12 major papers. Taken as a whole, coverage was not biased. Examination of the frequency of information types, however, revealed disproportionate amounts of case history information favorable to Bakke and anchoring information unfavorable to his position. It is suggested that the differential use of information types in coverage of the Bakke case as well as other social issues may bias public opinion.
Informational versus Controlling Verbal Rewards
Authors: Pittman Thane S. , Davey Margaret E. , Alafat Kimberly A. , Wetherill Kathryn V. , Kramer Nancy A.
Published: March 2007

The experiment was designed to test Deci's (1975) informational/controlling analysis with verbal rewards and to assess the joint effects of type of verbal reward and level of surveillance. Compared to a no-reward control, the informational verbal reward enhanced interest in task engagement, but the controlling verbal reward did not. Regardless of type of reward, task interest decreased in linear fashion as surveillance was increased from low to medium to high.
Classics in Personality and Social Psychology
Authors: Bertilson H. S. , Knutson P. L.
Published: March 2007

The references from all articles appearing in six personality and social psychology journals for the years 1975, 1976, and 1977 were culled for books and articles published before 1958. These publications dated back to the year 1620, but 80o of them were published after 1940 and 58% after 1950. Three publications (Festinger, 1957; Osgood et al., 1957; Festinger, 1954) were heavily cited and characterized as classics. Thirty-seven other books and articles were frequently cited and were considered influential.
When Trying to Win
Authors: Deci Edward L. , Betley Gregory , Kahle James , Abrams Linda , Porac Joseph
Published: March 2007

Males and females solved interesting puzzles in the presence of a same-sex confederate who posed as a second subject doing the same activity. Half the subjects were instructed to compete against each other (i.e., to try to solve the puzzles faster than the other person) while half were simply instructed to work as quickly as they could so as to finish in the allotted time. The results showed a significant main effect in which competition decreased intrinsic motivation. 7his was particularly true for females.
Changes in Helping Behavior
Authors: Rittle Robert H.
Published: March 2007

College students in an experimental condition were asked to help a child operate a candy machine. On a subsequent request for help from an adult experimenter, these subjects volunteered significantly more of their time than did control subjects. Prior reports suggest, but do not demonstrate, that this foot-in-the-door effect is mediated by a change in self-perceptions of helpfulness. Two possible mediators-self-perceptions and situational perceptions-were measured directly in the present study. Self-perceptions of helpfulness showed a moderate increase for the experimental subjects. Perceptions of potential unpleasantness (e.g., embarrassment) for someone offering help showed a significant decrease for the experimental subjects. The results indicate that the foot-in-the-door effect can be mediated by changes in situational as well as self-perceptions. A recent failure to replicate the foot-in-the-door effect was explained in terms of these findings.
Perceived Variability of Personal Characteristics in In-Groups and Out-Groups
Authors: Jones Edward E. , Wood George C. , Quattrone George A.
Published: March 2007

Members of four undergraduate clubs rated their own club as more heterogeneous on a series of personal characteristics than they rated the three other clubs. This tendency was unrelated to the number of in-group or out-group members known, or to the degree of preference for the in-group.
Superstition and Economic Threat: Germany, 1918-1940
Authors: Padgett Vernon R. , Jorgenson Dale O.
Published: March 2007

Economic threat predicted the level of superstition in Germany for the tumultuous years 1918 to 1940. Indexes of superstition were the number of articles on astrology, mysticism, and cults appearing in a German periodical index. Threat was measured by levels of real wages, unemployment, and industrial production. The economic threat variables significantly predicted level of superstition in two of the three superstition indexes. Experimental and naturalistic evidence concerning situational determinants of superstition are reviewed. These results support Fromm's (1941/1965) thesis that threat produces authoritarianism and corroborate Sales's (1973) investigation of U.S. archival data.
Respect and Admiration
Authors: Pusateri Thomas P. , Latane Bibb
Published: March 2007

Participants estimated their respect and admiration for persons described by their age, level of education, and income. When provided with one item of information, participants gave increasing respect to older, more educated, and wealthier persons. When provided with all three items of information, participants combined education and income information in accordance with algebraic models, admiring most those persons who have achieved both the highest education and the largest income. However, information about age did not combine algebraically with education and income. Instead, participants gave increments of respect to younger persons in the higher education and income brackets, indicating that some configural integration process occurs when age is involved. These results are discussed according to their implications for other achieved and ascribed characteristics.
Violent Films and Prosocial Behavior
Authors: Mueller Charles W. , Donnerstein Edward , Hallam John
Published: March 2007

This study attempted to further test the excitation transfer theory's applicability to prosocial behavior. Forty-two female college students were treated in either a positive or neutral manner by a confederate and then watched a violent, arousing film, a neutral, nonarousing film, or no film. Following this, participants were given the opportunity both to aggress against and reward the confederate. As predicted, individuals treated in a positive manner and shown the violent film were more generous in administering reward to the confederate than were similarly treated individuals exposed to the neutral film or no film.
Priming and Frequency Estimation
Authors: Gabrielcik Adele , Fazio Russell H.
Published: March 2007

An experiment was conducted as a strict test of the availability heuristic. The availability of words containing a particular kiter was directly manipulated through a subliminal priming procedure. Subjects primed with words containing the letter T later judged the letter T to occur more frequently in the English language than did unprimed subjects. The data provide direct evidence regarding the mediating process underlying use of the availability heuristic. Ease of retrieval forms the basis for frequency estimation.
Vocal Patterns in Male and Female Groups
Authors: Dabbs James M. , Ruback R. Barry
Published: March 2007

Ten male and ten female five-person groups spent 20 minutes talking and getting acquainted. Subjects wore lavaliere microphones, and their voices were monitored continuously by a microcomputer system that detected patterns of speech and silence. Raw vocal data were transformed into codes representing conversational states that can occur in a group discussion (e.g., individual turn, pause, simultaneous speech, group turn), and these codes were related to peer ratings and to overall ratings of the group. Talking was generally associated with positive evaluations, though the pattern varied with different speech codes and differed for males and females. Females reported enjoying group interaction more than males did, and females vocalized more within their turns and paused less between their turns.
The Relation between Current Impressions and Memories of Self and Dating Partners
Authors: McFarland Cathy , Ross Michael
Published: March 2007

The purpose of the present study was to examine the association between naturally occurring changes in people's impressions and their recollections of themselves, close others, and their relationship. It was reasoned that (a) reconstructing the past consists primarily of characterizing it as similar to, or different from, the present; (b) people employ implicit theories of personal stability to make this judgment; and (c) when these theories imply stability, people may overestimate the similarity between the past and the present. In an initial session, subjects rated themselves, their dating partner, and their relationship on dimensions that people expect to be stable over time. Two months later, subjects made current evaluations on the same dimensions and recalled their earlier ratings. Subjects whose impressions became more favorable over time recalled more positive evaluations than they had provided originally, and those whose impressions became less favorable recalled more negative evaluations. Finally, subjects recalled their causal attributions for their partner's behavior as being more consistent with their current impressions than was the case. In general, subjects overestimated the similarity between the present and the past.
Aspects of Consciousness
Authors: Mandler George , Nakamura Yoshio
Published: March 2007

Different views of the role of consciousness (epiphenomenal, directive, intentional, and constructive) are briefly described, followed by a more general exposition of a constructivist position. The functions of consciousness and its limited capacity are discussed in the constructivist context. The article concludes with a discussion of unconscious perception, some neuropsychological evidence on consciousness and the relationship between affect and consciousness.
Is the Attitude-Attribution Paradigm Suitable for Investigating the Dispositional Bias?
Authors: Wright Edward F. , Wells Gary L.
Published: March 2007

The attitude-attribution paradigm requires people to read an essay that opposes or favors some issue under conditions in which the author is said to have had choice or no choice regarding the selection of the essay stance. The no-choice conditions are considered critical for revealing the dispositional bias; in these conditions, the extent to which the readers attribute attitudes to the author in line with the essay direction is taken as an index of people's tendencies to be dispositionally biased. We hypothesized that this paradigm overestimates the dispositional bias by leading attributers to believe that their task is to glean attitude information from the essay in spite of the author's lack of choice. Attributions from 192 subjects were obtained using the traditional or a modified version of the attitude-attribution paradigm. One important feature of the modified version was a statement to attributers that some of the information that they were to receive might be irrelevant to the judgments that they would be asked to make. A three-way interaction emerged indicating that the modified version had no effect in the choice conditions but significantly attenuated the dispositional bias in the no-choice conditions. We argued that the dispositional bias, although genuine, is overestimated by the traditional attitude-attribution paradigm.
Self-Monitoring and Leadership Emergence in Groups
Authors: Ellis Robert J.
Published: March 2007

The research described here was directed toward furthering our understanding of the antecedents of leadership emergence in groups. In particular, it sought to identify important personality characteristics associated with this phenomenon. Kenny and Zaccaro (1983) have recently speculated that individuals who emerge as leaders may be able to perceive the needs of the group and pattern their own behavior accordingly. Past research strongly supports the notion that individuals who are high in the personality dimension of self-monitoring possess skills corresponding to both these characteristics. The present research examined the effects of self-monitoring on leadership emergence in a study of natural groups. The expectation that high self-monitoring would be associated with leadership emergence was strongly supported for male participants. The implications of these results for increasing our knowledge of the nature of self-monitoring and leadership were discussed.
Conceptions of Aggression
Authors: Lysak Hanna , Rule Brendan G. , Dobbs Allen R.
Published: March 2007

According to attributional approaches, the amount of harm perpetrated, norm violation, and intent are criteria for defining aggression and evoking an observer's evaluation of the act. The major purpose of this study was to examine whether these criteria are used to define hostile, prosocial, and accidental aggression in terms of classical defining features or a prototypic view of the concept. Participants made judgments of typicality, blameworthiness, and aggressiveness about acts in stories portraying the three types of aggression. The results supported a classical view, showing that harmful acts characterized by malevolent intent and norm violations were judged as more typical, more aggressive, and more blameworthy than harmful acts lacking either or both of these criteria. Moreover, avoidability and motive acceptability were significant predictors of evaluations (blame) of the aggression. These results have implications for attributional analyses of aggression and suggest the need for a reorientation of emphasis in moral judgment research.
Evidence for a General Construct of Aggression
Authors: Carlson Michael , Marcus-Newhall Amy , Miller Norman
Published: March 2007

Three analyses of published research were undertaken to assess whether diverse laboratory response measures that are intended to measure aggression reflect a common underlying construct. It was found that (a) alternative measures of physical aggression directed by the same subjects against the same target tend to intercorrelate positively within studies, (b) across studies, the correlations between effect-size estimates of physical and written aggression emitted by the same subjects are positive, and (c) physical and written aggressive responses are similarly influenced by theoretically relevant antecedent factors (e.g., personal attack and frustration). The consistent overall pattern of results supports the notion that aggression, defined as intent to harm, is a viable construct that possesses some degree of generality.
Priming Symptom Reports with Health-Related Cognitive Activity
Authors: Skelton J. A. , Strohmetz David B.
Published: March 2007

Two experiments showed that self-reports of physical symptom frequency increase after people make abstract decisions about health connotations of common words. In Experiment 1, scores on a standardized symptom frequency inventory were substantially higher among subjects who completed the inventory after the decision task than among subjects who completed the inventory before the task. In Experiment Z similar increases were found in reports of discrete symptom episodes occurring within a specific time frame, and arousal and mood explanations were ruled out. Evidence was also obtained that manipulated accessibility of health cognitions (induced by the word decision task) and individual differences in propensity to report symptoms affect symptom reporting independently and that persons who consistently report higher levels of symptoms tend to make abstract decisions in the health domain more quickly. Discussion centers on implications for symptom measurement and on how the experimental results extend existing models of abnormal symptom reporting.
Status, Sex, and Smiling
Authors: Deutsch Francine M.
Published: March 2007

Based on previous work showing that sex is a "diffuse status cue" (Berger, Rosenholtz, & Zelditch, 1980), the hypothesis that women smile more than men because of status differences between the sexes was evaluated Status was manipulated by assigning men and women to the roles of interviewer (high power) or applicant (low power) in simulated job interviews with either male or female partners. As predicted, overall, applicants smiled more than interviewers, demonstrating that smiling does reflect status. However, the sex composition of the pairs also influenced smiling frequency. Male interviewers smiled significantly less than their applicant partners, whereas female interviewers did not. The results suggest that, compared with females, males may more readily experience power and dominance as concomitants of high-status roles, which may then be reflected in the frequency of their smiling.
William James and the Mechanisms of Emotional Experience
Authors: Laird James D. , Bresler Charles
Published: March 2007

William James proposed that emotional behavior is antecedent to emotional experience. The most distinctive empirical implication of James's model is that manipulations of emotional behaviors should lead to corresponding changes in self-reports of emotion. Numerous studies confirm this prediction for manipulations of facial expressions. Although the evidence is more limited, studies involving manipulations of autonomic arousal and instrumental behavior also support James's model Despite support for James's central premise that emotional behavior may be viewed as preceding emotional experience, empirical work suggests the need for refinements of James's model, particularly regarding the processes by which emotional experience is generated. The evidence is more consistent with the view that through a self-perception process individuals "construct" their emotional experience from a variety of sources, including physiological responses, expressive behavior, instrumental behavior, and contextual elements. Furthermore, there is evidence suggesting differences among individuals in the specific sources (i.e., physiological responses, contextual information) that are most critical in this construction process.
Individual Differences in Physiological Arousal and Perception of Arousal
Authors: Blascovich Jim
Published: March 2007

The influence of James's theory of emotions on modern theories of social behavior has been pervasive. Major modifications in Jamesian notions have occurred as a function of methodological, empirical, and theoretical advances in the field of psychology. An expanded but essentially Jamesian arousal-cognition model of arousal-based behaviors is proposed and described briefly. This model takes account of recent advances in psychophysiological research focused on individual differences in stimuli-elicited arousal and the perception of arousal.