bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Defendant's Attractiveness as a Factor in the Outcome of Criminal Trials: An Observational Study1
Authors: Stewart John E.
Published: August 2006

Observers rated the physical attractiveness of 74 defendants in criminal court, covering a broad range of offenses. Seventy‐three usable cases were obtained. For 67 defendants (excluding those who had drawn “flat sentences” of 99–199 years), attractiveness was predictive of both minimum and maximum sentences (p <.001)‐the more attractive the defendant, the less severe the sentence imposed. No significant relationship was found between attractiveness and conviction/acquittal, although seriousness of the crime was found to correlate negatively with attractiveness (p <.01)).

Race of the defendant showed a systematic relationship to punishment, with nonwhites drawing consistently more severe sentences than whites; a multiple regression analysis using attractiveness, race, and seriousness of crime as predictors of punishment yielded results which implied that this finding was largely due to a confounding of race and seriousness of the crime.
Penile Tumescence and Perceptual Responses to Rape as a Function of Victim's Perceived Reactions1
Authors: Malamuth Neil M. , Check James V. P.
Published: August 2006

Seventy‐five male students participated in an experiment designed to address two interrelated issues. The first concerned conflicting findings regarding nondeviants' sexual responsiveness to rape depictions. In the present experiment, a rape portrayal in which the assailant perceived that the victim became sexually aroused was found to result in high sexual arousal (as indicated by penile tumescence) in comparison to a rape emphasizing the victim's abhorrence of the assault. These differences would appear to successfully reconcile earlier conflicting data. In addressing the second issue, it was found that exposures that portrayed rape in a relatively negative or “positive” manner affected subsequent reactions to rape. More specifically, sexual responsiveness to rape was inhibited following an earlier exposure to a depiction emphasizing a rape victim's abhorrence, while undesirable cognitive‐perceptual changes occurred as a result of exposure to a rape depiction portraying the victim as sexually aroused. Further, self‐reported possibility of engaging in rape was found to correlate with callous attitudes to rape and with selfreported sexual arousal to violent sexuality in a predicted pattern.
Rape Myths, Rape Definitions, and Probability of Conviction
Authors: Burt Martha R , Albin Rochelle Semmel
Published: August 2006

Feminist analyses of rape hypothesize that adherence to rape myths affects the inclusiveness or restrictiveness of rape definitions, with numerous practical consequences. The results of this research support that hypothesis. The paper also critiques the experimental vignette methodology frequently used to investigate rape definitions. In the process of exploring its cectral hypothesis, this analysis demonstrates the importance and feasibility of using additional techniques to achieve a fuller understanding of factors affecting rape definitions.
“ENVIRONMENT SHOCK”: A STUDY OF TOURISTS' REACTIONS TO TWO TROPICAL ISLANDS
Authors: Pearce Philip L
Published: August 2006

The usefulness of links between tourism research and work in social psychology was considered. A diary‐based study of tourists visiting tropical islands in North Queensland was discussed and changes in the day‐to‐day moods of tourists on the islands were reported. Some determinants of these mood changes were demonstrated using log linear analysis. Negative moods were more frequent on the second and third days of holiday, particularly during the evenings. It was argued that tourists experienced “environment shock” in visiting these resorts. Self‐report health data confirmed this suggestion. Furthermore, tourists appeared to increase the number of self‐initiated as compared to other‐initiated activities during their holiday. It was concluded that the shift in activity patterns and the “environment shock” health problems were possible explanations of the day‐to‐day mood patterning reported in the study.
The Effects of Alcohol Use and Offender Remorsefulness on Sentencing Decisions1
Authors: Harrel W. Andrew
Published: August 2006

Presentence reports on 628 offenders were content analyzed. Regression analysis found that remorseful offenders received less severe sentences than non‐remorseful offenders. Offenders convicted of minor offenses received more lenient sentences if they had used alcohol in conjunction with their crimes than if they did not use alcohol. The opposite was the case for offenders commiting serious crimes. Remorseful offenders with few prior alcohol‐related convictions received less severe sanctioning than non‐remorseful offenders with similar conviction records. In contrast, recidivists who were remorseful were dealt with more harshly than their non‐remorseful counterparts.
Victims' Satisfaction With Compensation: Effects of Initial Disadvantage and Third Party Intervention
Authors: DeCarufel Andre
Published: August 2006

Two experiments examined the reactions of victims of disadvantage to compensation designed to improve their lot. In Experiment 1, subjects participated in an organizational simulation where they were disadvantaged with respect to their pay. Subsequently, a third party intervened with one of a number of strategies which varied according to whether or not the subjects received compensation and whether or not the person responsible for their disadvantage suffered. The interaction between compensation and suffering was significant on a satisfaction measure and the pattern indicated that subjects were most satisfied when the harmdoer suffered to provide compensation. This interaction was not significant on a measure of perceptions of fairness. Experiment 2 examined the possibility that the intervention of the third party in Experiment 1 may have created feelings of indebtedness. In a similar paradigm, subjects were either disadvantaged by a harmdoer or by external events and received compensation that either was or was not accompanied by a request for repayment. When subjects had been disadvantaged by external events, they were more satisfied and felt more fairly treated when there was an opportunity for reciprocation than when there was not, while the opposite pattern was the case when the harmdoer was responsible for the disadvantage. The results were discussed in the context of the complexity of the receipt of aid phenomenon and possible implications for the design of ameliorative social programs.
Differences in Recall of Adolescent Socialization Among High and Low Achievers in Business1
Authors: Kalra Satish Kumar
Published: August 2006

The study traces out the adolescence experience of high and low achievers of an organization. The high achievers were those who had joined the organization as clerks and risen to senior managerial positions, whereas low achievers were those who joined with “highs” as clerks and remained clerks even after 15 years of service. A life history questionnaire method was used for the study, and 150 respondents (75 “highs” and 75 “lows”) were extensively interviewed about various aspects of their adolescence. The findings in this paper indicate that high achievers were encouraged to have their independent opinions and had achievement oriented future plans during their adolescence.
Effects of Photographic Evidence on Mock Juror Judgement1
Authors: Whalen Denise H. , Blanchard Fletcher A.
Published: August 2006

Effects of three levels of photographic evidence (color, black & white, no photograph) on 144 female subjects' monetary awards to an injured plaintiff were investigated in a 3 × 2 × 3 factorial design. Also manipulated were two levels of the severity of the plaintiff's injury and three levels of defendant blame. As predicted, a significant three‐way interaction was observed such that the magnitude of the difference in monetary damages awarded the more and less severely injured plaintiff was greatest in the presence of the color photograph depicting injuries and when defendant blame was high. An emotional arousal interpretation for the effects of photographic evidence is tentatively offered.
Does Knowledge that a Crime Was Staged Affect Eyewitness Performance?1
Authors: Murray Donna M. , Wells Gary L.
Published: August 2006

The Staged crime has generally been considered a valid paradigm for assessing eyewitness identification accuracy. Yet the typical procedure informs the witness before the lineup task that the event was staged. The current study manipulated whether or not witnesses were informed that the witnessed crime was staged (information variable). Two other variables, the presence or absence of the perpetrator in the photo‐lineup and the physical similarity of lineup members, were manipulated to asses any possible interactions with the information variable. A theft was staged individually for 184 unsuspecting witnesses who were then randomly assigned to be either informed that the theft was staged or not informed. Next, all witnesses were met by a uniformed security officer who showed them a photo‐lineup of six individuals. Half of the witnesses viewed a perpetrator‐present lineup with either high or low physical similarity between the foils and the perpatrator and half viewed a perpetrator‐absent lineup with either high or low physical similarity. Three confidence measures, one cooperation measure, and an Embedded Figures Test score were obtained. The results showed that (a) the information variable did not affect the likelihood that a witness would attempt an identification; (b) the information variable did not have a main effect on the particular choices made by the witnesses nor did it interact with lineup similarity, but it did interact with the presence‐absence variable; and (c) the information variable did not affect witness confidence either as a main effect or interaction effect, but, was relatively consistent in affecting the correlation between confidence and accuracy such that the correlation was lower for witnesses who were not informed. The interaction between the information variable and the presence‐absence variable on accuracy was due to the uninformed witnesses being less accurate than the informcd witnesses in the perpetrator‐present condition. The results suggest that accuracy among actual eyewitnesses may be lower than obtained in the typical staged crime procedure and that accuracy‐confidence correlations may be overestimated by the typical staged crime.
The Role of Individual Differences and External Variables in a Test of the Sufficiency of Fishbein's Model to Explain Behavioral Intentions to Conserve Water
Authors: Kantola S. J. , Syme G. J. , Campbell N. A.
Published: August 2006

The sufficiency of fishbein's attitude model was tested with respect to behavioral intentions to conserve water. Regression analysis showed subjective norms (SN) to be the variable most highly correlated with intentions. It was also found that, contrary to the model, SN and evaluative attitudes (Aact) did not adequately mediate all the variation in intentions accounted for by the variables included in this analysis. Age was found to be an important external variable in explaining water conservation intentions, The equations of the models which predict SN and Aact were also analvzed. Analysis of regressions for dichotomized groups revealed strong individual differences in regression equations. Age, along with SN and Aact, was found to be an important variable in accounting for individual differences. The findings are discussed in relation to the sufficiency of Fishbein's model and the role of individual differences in Understanding water conservation intentions.
Induced Competence and the Bystander Effect1
Authors: Pantin Hilda M. , Carver Charles S.
Published: August 2006

Previous research has shown that people are slower to offer help in an emergency when there are other bystanders present than when there are not. It was proposed that exposing subjects to information about treatment of medical emergencies (i.e., experimentally‐induced competence) would decrease this effect. Female college students either did or did not watch a series of public‐service films on medical emergencies under the pretext of evaluating the films' relative effectiveness. Three weeks later, subjects participated in an experiment in which an ostensible co‐subject experienced a choking fit and then fell silent. Subjects who had not viewed the films were slower to respond if they believed themselves to be in 6‐member groups than if they believed themselves to be in 2‐member groups. In contrast, subjects who had viewed the films responded quickly regardless of perceived group size. High competent subjects also responded more quickly than low competent subjects in a condition where another co‐subject gave evidence of being high in competence. Results from a 6‐week follow‐up group indicated, however, that the induced competence was not permanent. Discussion centers on the theoretical implications of the findings.
Gender and Sex Role Differences in Group Decision‐Making Social Interactions: A Behavioral Analysis1
Authors: Kelly Jeffrey A. , Wildman Hal E. , Urey Jon R.
Published: August 2006

Sex role formulations assume relationships between role orientation and adjustive social behavior. However, few studies have examined behavioral differences with respect to both gender and sex role orientation in realistically complex social interactions. In the current study, groups composed of four male and four female “representatives” from each sex role category (masculine‐typed, feminine‐typed, androgynous, and undifferentiated) were presented with two group decision‐making tasks. Group interactions were videotaped and subjects' behavior was rated on social skill variables. Analyses of variance revealed gender differences with males performing more actively than females, especially when the content of the decision‐making task involved more historically male‐oriented topics. However, when subjects' group behavior was examined in relation to their sex role orientation, androgynous and masculine‐typed persons of both sexes performed in a more active, instrumental manner than feminine‐typed or undifferentiated persons. Further, correlational analyses indicated that females' masculinity scores were substantially associated with ratings of effectiveness in the decision‐making groups. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Why Are Human Subjects Less Concerned About Ethically Problematic Research Than Human Subjects Committees?1
Authors: Smith Charles P. , Berard Susanne P.
Published: August 2006

Factors affecting judgments of the ethical acceptability of research practices are investigated. The major focus is on two variables affecting information processing‐labeling and salience. In addition, the effect of role on judgments is also examined. Participants were 204 introductory psychology students. Each reacted to a brief description of Asch's conformity study either from the viewpoint of a potential subject or from that of a member of a Human Subjects Committee. Each subject read either a basic description of the Asch experiment, a description with parenthetical labels inserted, or the basic version plus an addendum noting those aspects of the procedure that involved deception or stress, and specifying that debriefing would occur. Significant differences due to versions occurred on two of six questions: “Should this experiment be permitted?” and “Is the deception justified by the scientific purpose of the experiment?” As expected, judgments were less favorable in response to the label and addendum versions. The effect of labeling and salience on judgment are discussed, and the implications of the results for Human Subjects Committees are pointed out.
Social Density, Interpersonal Relationships, and Residential Crowding Stress1
Authors: Gormley Frances P. , Aiello John R.
Published: August 2006

Research has suggested that tripled rooms may be characterized by a coalition of two roommate(s) and a third, left‐out rommate (i.e., the isolate) who is more vulnerable to crowding and control‐related problems. The present study sought (1) to confirm the existence of two person coalitions in tripled rooms and (2) to further explore the mediating effects of interpersonal relationships on crowding stress and related problems. Thirty intact groups of roommates from doubled rooms (n= 60) and 39 intact groups of roommates from tripled rooms (n= 117) completed a set of surveys concerned with residential experiences. Results suggested that crowding stress previously associated with tripled residential settings may be mediated by interpersonal relationships; tripled residents who had negative interpersonal relationships with their roommates reported being more bothered by crowding, at both the beginning and end of the semester, than doubled residents who expressed negativity towards their roommate. Satisfaction with privacy was also influenced not only by the number of people with whom a resident shared a room, but also by the nature of the resident's interpersonal relationships with his/her roommate(s). Data also suggest that control‐related problems may be a direct outcome of poor interpersonal relationships among inhabitants. Results also indicated that only a small percentage of tripled rooms were characterized by reciprocal, two person coalitions.
Biculturalism, Locus of Control, and Leader Behavior in Ethnically Mixed Small Groups1
Authors: Garza Raymond T. , Romero Gloria J. , Cox Barbara Goffigon , Ramirez Manuel
Published: August 2006

The study examined the interactive effects of degree of biculturalism and locus of control on leader behavior in supportive and nonsupportive ethnically mixed small groups. Subjects were 36 male Chicano college students who participated in a small group discussion composed of four members: a naive subject who invariably served as group leader, and three confederates representing distinct ethnic groups (Anglo, Black, and Chicano). Behavioral observations revealed several interesting interactions involving group support. High biculturals, in comparison to low biculturals, adopted a more active leader role in nonsupportive than in supportive groups, asking for more opinions and evaluations, and making more clarification statements. Furthermore, while low bicultural externals and high bicultural internals tended to be more interpersonally assertive and to make more clarification statements under supportive conditions, it was low bicultural internals and high bicultural externals who exhibited the most active leader roles in nonsupportive groups. Additional findings revealed that statements made by the Anglo confederate were clarified more often in the supportive condition, while statements made by either the Black or the Chicano confederate were clarified more often in the nonsupportive condition. The results are discussed in relation to previous literature and the need to develop a more responsive social psychology of interethnic dynamics.
Weapons and Eye Contact as Instigators or Inhibitors of Aggressive Arousal in Police‐Citizen Interaction1
Authors: Boyanowsky Ehor O. , Griffiths Curt T.
Published: August 2006

A field experiment was conducted with police officers during the normal course of their traffic patrol duties. The purpose was to determine whether the presence of holstered weapons and mirror sunglasses affected the degree of aggressiveness expressed nonverbally, and reported on a mood scale by citizens halted for an information check (neutral condition) or in order to be given a traffic ticket (negative condition). Results indicated that subjects in the negative condition both expressed and reported more aggressivity when the police officer wore a weapon than when no weapon was visible. The use of sunglasses had no effect on aggressivity but resulted in the officer's being perceived more negatively, though he was not perceived more negatively when he wore a weapon. No sex differences in expressed or reported aggressivity were obtained, although some sex differences on measures of secondary interest did occur. The implications of these findings for research on the “weapons effect” and on policy regarding the visibility of police weapons and the wearing of sunglasses by police officers are discussed.
Interpersonal Attraction for the Competitive Person: Unscrambling the Competition Paradox1
Authors: Riskind John H , Wilson David W.
Published: August 2006

Research by Spence and Helmreich and their colleagues suggests that competitiveness is self‐defeating in terms of achievement. It was presently hypothesized that interpersonally, competitiveness may produce greater attraction than uncompetitiveness. This study manipulated the perceived competitiveness of undergraduate men by varying their WOFO scores and confirmed that competitiveness is a valued interpersonal trait that can engender greater liking by both men and women. The implications of these findings for the paradoxical disadvantage of competitiveness in the area of achievement are discussed.
Biases In Trials Involving Defendants Charged With Multiple Offenses1
Authors: Tanford Sarah , Penrod Seven
Published: August 2006

Under federal and state laws, a defendant who has been charged with more than one offense can be tried for all the offenses in a single “joined” trial. It was predicted that the probabillty a defendant would be convicted would increase as a function of the number of joined offenses. Legal theories, research on memory, and social psychological models of information integration and attribution led to three hypotheses as to why this bias might occur: (1) confusion of evidence, (2) accumulation of evidence, and (3) inference of a criminal disposition. Subjects read and judged written trial summaries presented as joined or single trials. In Study 1, joinder resulted in higher rates of conviction and in confusion of evidence. In Study 2, the conviction results were replicated, and subjects judging joined trials also rated the evidence as more incriminating and made negative attributions about the defendant. These ratings were strongly related to judgments of guilt. A sequential judgment process was also found to affect jurors' judgments.
Cardiovascular Responses to Television‐Mediated Nonverbal Approach1
Authors: Janik Stephen W. , Goldberg Myron L. , Wellens A. Rodney
Published: August 2006

Two studies are reported which examined physiological responsiveness to changes in level of nonverbal intimacy cues expressed by a partner during an interview conducted across interactive television. Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 separately examined the effects of decreasing apparent interactive distance (produced by alteration of image size) and increasing eye‐contact on subjects' heart rate and pulse amplitude. The findings suggest that shifts in these nonverbal approach cues are related to cardiovascular changes including bradycardia and a modest compensatory increase in pulse amplitude. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of the hypothesized relationship between cardiovascular functioning and information processing and practical considerations for the use of interactive television.
Community Norms and Blood Donation1
Authors: Foss Robert D.
Published: August 2006

It is suggested that for social psychological theory and research on helping to provide an adequate general explanation of helping, more attention must be paid to supraindividual factors. Most studies of blood donation have failed to take into account a number of factors that may influence donations at the level of the organization, community or collectivity. This study examines the possibility that specific community norms may emerge that have an influence on the donating behavior of community members. Perceived normative support was found to exist in different degrees in communities that provide different levels of behavioral support for bloodmobile visits, and persons who report a greater degree of perceived community support for donation are more likely to have donated in the past year. Implications for donor recruitment procedures are discussed.
External Validity of Matching on Physical Attractiveness for Same and Opposite Sex Couples1
Authors: Mckillip Jack , Redel Sharon L.
Published: August 2006

The external validity of the hypothesis that couples come to be matched on physical attractiveness was examined for same and opposite sex pairs of college students in a wide range of natural settings and types of relationships. Correlations between ratings of couples by observers revealed evidence of matching for male friends and for opposite sex friends, dating, and committed couples. No evidence was found for female friends. The implications of these findings for fear of social rejection and exchange explanations of the matching hypothesis and for the normal development of interpersonal relationships are discussed.
Positive Events and Social Supports as Buffers of Life Change Stress1
Authors: Cohen Sheldon , Hoberman Harry M.
Published: August 2006

A perceived availability of social support measure (the ISEL) was designed with independent subscales measuring four separate support functions. In a sample of college students, both perceived availability of social support and number of positive events moderated the relationship between negative life stress and depressive and physical symptomatology. In the case of depressive symptoms, the data fit a “buffering” hypothesis pattern, i.e., they suggest that both social support and positive events protect one from the pathogenic effects of high levels of life stress but are relatively unimportant for those with low levels of stress. In the case of physical symptoms, the data only partially support the buffering hypothesis. Particularly, the data suggest that both social support and positive events protect one from the pathogenic effects of high levels of stress but harm those (i.e., are associated with increased symptomatology) with low levels of stress. Further analyses suggest that self‐esteem and appraisal support were primarily responsible for the reported interactions between negative life stress and social support. In contrast, frequency of past social support was not an effective life stress buffer in either the case of depressive or physical symptomatology. Moreover, past support frequency was positively related to physical symptoms and unrelated to depressive symptoms, while perceived availability of support was negatively related to depressive symptoms and unrelated to physical symptoms.
Job Satisfaction and Nonwork Satisfaction as Components of Life Satisfaction1
Authors: Near Janet P. , Smith C. Ann , Rice Robert W. , Hunt Raymond G.
Published: August 2006

The relationship between job satisfaction and life satisfaction is examined, using regression analyses which control the effects of satisfaction with domains other than the job and conditions associated with the workplace and with life away from work. Results from data analyses of two independent sets of survey data are used to elaborate and refine a multivariate framework for relating overall life satisfaction and job satisfaction.
The Effects of Appraised Severity and Efficacy in Promoting Water Conservation: An Informational Analysis
Authors: Kantola S. J. , Syme G. J. , Nesdale A. R.
Published: August 2006

To test Rogers' protection motivation theory and Fishbein's behavioral intention model, subjects observed one of four water conservation films which differed according to message severity (high/low) and efficacy of conserving (high/low). A questionnaire assessed the impact of the films on (1) the arguments (informational items) presented; (2) beliefs external to the films; (3) fear arousal; (4) Fishbein's mediating variables SN and Aact; (5) appraised severity and efficacy; and (6) behavioral intention to conserve water. High efficacy and low severity messages increased positive evaluative attitudes (Aact) toward conserving water. Although there was no effect for these manipulations on behavioral intention, the film groups, when compared with a control group which did not observe a fdm, showed significantly greater intentions to conserve water. These results are accounted for through an informational analysis of the beliefs affected by the films. This analysis provided evidence that feelings of citizen's duty to conserve water and concern about the water situation are closely related to behavioral intentions. This analysis did not support Fishbein's assertion of a dominant mediational role for SN and/or Aact in predicting behavioral intentions. The possible inclusion of a moral norm measure as a third component of Fishbein's model is discussed.
Eating at Fast‐Food Restaurants: An Analysis Using Two Behavioral Intention Models
Authors: Brinberg David , Durand Judy
Published: August 2006

Eating at fast‐food restaurants is becoming increasingly popular. However, little research has been conducted examining the determinants of this behavior. A subjective probability model and Fishbein's behavioral intention model were used to examine this behavior. Both models were significant predictors of the individual's intention to eat at these restaurants and both were used to identify psychologically important beliefs that determine this behavior. Intention was found to be a significant and sufficient predictor of behavior. Finally, the use of these findings for both applied and basic researchers is presented.
Measurement Models for the Subjective Utility of Children1
Authors: Thomson Elizabeth , Davidson Andrew R. , Wlliams Richard
Published: August 2006

Measurement models of subjective child utility were derived from theoretical typologies of expected consequences of children. Maximum likelihood estimates of the goodness‐of‐fit of each model to observed convariation among 18 indicators of subjective child utility were obtained, using data from 349 wives and 349 husbands. The best‐fitting models included three distinct factors: personal rewards, personal costs, and normative rewards.
Reducing Avoidance of Social Interaction with a Physically Disabled Person by Mentioning the Disability Following a Request for Aid1
Authors: Mills Judson , Belgrave Faye Z. , Boyer Kathy M.
Published: August 2006

The effectiveness of strategies for reducing avoidance of social interaction with a physically disabled person was experimentally investigated. Female college students privately expressed their preference for social interaction before and after learning the other was a female in a wheelchair or nondisabled. The results provide evidence for the effectiveness of mentioning the disability following a request for aid related to the disability (the Request‐mention Strategy). Change in preference for social interaction was more positive when the disabled person employed the Request‐mention strategy than when she said nothing. Requesting aid without mentioning the disability was not found to be effective. A request for aid unrelated to the disability was clearly ineffective. The disabled person who said nothing was avoided, in comparison to when the same person was nondisabled. Favorability of impressions of the other, as measured by ratings of her characteristics, was not influenced by the experimental conditions.
The Constable's New Clothes: Effects of Uniforms on Perceptions and Problems of Police Officers1
Authors: Mauro Robert
Published: August 2006

Popular beliefs concerning the effect of clothing styles on behavior have had important policy ramifications. For instance, in the interest of developing better police‐community relations, numerous police departments have considered changing from a traditional police uniform to a more “civilian” style of dress. Effects of such an alteration were examined in the laboratory and in the field. No positive effects of the uniform change were found. Compared to officers wearing a blazer‐style uniform, officers wearing traditional uniforms were perceived as more honest, more active, more helpful, more competent, more “good”, more valuable, faster, and as possessing better judgment. Data on arrests for resisting arrest and assaults on a police officer were obtained from a police department which adopted, then 8 years later abandoned, a civilian style blazer uniform. No effect of the uniform change on the number of assaults on police officers and arrests for resisting arrest was found, contrary to previous reports.
Crowding in a Woman's Prison: Attitudinal and Behavioral Effects1
Authors: Ruback R Barry , Carr Timothy S.
Published: August 2006

Two studies were conducted to assess the impact of crowding on female inmates. The first study, an archival analysis of the records of 561 women prisoners, showed that the average population in the institution was significantly related to the transformed rate of disciplinary infractions, even when other variables had been controlled for. The second study, which used a questionnaire, found that inmates' perceived control was positively related to liking for their room and negatively related to their reported stress and physical symptoms. In addition, the stress inmates experienced was negatively related to liking for their room and positively related to physical symptoms.
The Psychology of Lineup Identifications1
Authors: Wells Gary L
Published: August 2006

A review is made of issues and data on eyewitness identifications, and a relative‐judgment conceptualization is proposed. It is argued that eyewitnesses are prone to choose the lineup member who most resembles the perpetrator relative to other lineup members as evidenced by studies that manipulated similarity of lineup members. The relative‐judgment strategy is fallacious because of the unpredictable occurrence of target‐absent lineups and is not corrected fully by instructions to eyewitnesses. An extension of the relative‐judgment conceptualization proposes an inverse relationship between the goodness of witnesses' memories (quality and quantity of relevant information available in memory) and witnesses' tendencies to rely on relative judgments. This extended conceptualization was used to derive expectations regarding an experiment (N= 192 eyewitnesses) that used a blank lineup prior to presenting eyewitnesses with the actual lineup. The data indicated that a blank lineup can yield a diagnostic split of eyewitnesses; those who made no identification when presented with a blank lineup were less likely to make false identifications on the actual lineup than either the witnesses who identified someone from the blank lineup or the witnesses who were not presented with a blank lineup. The blank lineup did not produce a significant loss in accurate identifications. The practical implications of using blank lineups and the theoretical utility of the relative‐judgment conceptualization are discussed.
Racial Self‐Identification: The Effects of Social History and Gender1
Authors: Fine Michelle , Bowers Cheryl
Published: August 2006

Dark and Clark's pioneering study in 1947 demonstrated that Black children were ambivalent about racial self‐identification. Subsequent research indicates that during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, Black children were increasingly likely to demonstrate a commitment to identifying with a Black stimulus. The present study investigates the extent to which this trend persists in the 1980s and how gender of the child affects her/his racial identification. The results indicate that the 1980s may be a time in history when Black children are growing more ambivalent about racial self‐identification, and that Black boys are significantly more likely than Black girls to identify with the white doll. The findings suggest that the current political climate which places Blacks at a significant social and economic disadvantage may reduce children's willingness to identify with a Black stimulus. The gender differences are explored in terms of Black boys' greater likelihood psychologically to try to identify away from Blackness.
Retirement Decisions: Expectation, Intention, and Action
Authors: Prothero Joyce , Beach Lee Roy
Published: August 2006

The study examined the expectation‐action chain of events in the context of the decision about whether to retire within the subsequent two years. One hundred and twenty‐five staff employees at a large university participated. They evaluated their expectations about what would happen if they retired and stated their intention. Two years later they were contacted to see whether they had or had not retired. Expectations were used to predict intentions (78% correct predictions), and intentions were used to predict actions (76% correct predictions). The results were interpreted as evidence supporting the use of the expectation‐intention‐action chain to characterize retirement decision making. The possible causes of mispredictions were discussed.
The Development of Smoking Behavior: Conceptualization and Supportive Cross‐Sectional Survey Data1
Authors: Hirschman Robert S. , Leventhal Howard , Glynn Kathleen
Published: August 2006

To describe the steps and process of becoming a smoker, we interviewed 386 urban public school children in grades two through ten and found the following: 47% of the sample tried a cigarette, and they tended to be in higher grades, score high on risk‐taking, and have best friends who smoke; 32% of triers progressed to a second cigarette, with quick progressors characterized by life stress variables and slow progressors characterized by having peers who smoke; 77% of second‐cigarette triers progressed to a third cigarette, and tended to be characterized by a brief, if any, delay between the first two cigarettes, having a best friend who smokes, and helplessness. Different sub‐samples appear to be learning to smoke to cope with social pressures or to control their emotional state. Descriptions of the first cigarette experience suggest its potential for deterring continued smoking. Suggestions are made for smoking prevention programs to consider the entire process of becoming a smoker and to add intervention components that take into account the different variables which move separate sub‐samples of individuals from stage to stage.
The Prevention of Cigarette Smoking in Children: A Comparison of Four Strategies1
Authors: Murray David M. , Johnson C. Anderson , Luepker Russell V. , Mittelmark Maurice B.
Published: August 2006

Adolescent cigarette smoking remains a serious public health problem. Recent preventive efforts have concentrated on the social influences which encourage smoking onset. They appear more effective than earlier efforts which considered primarily the long term health risks of smoking. In spite of this progress, it has not been possible to identify the necessary or sufficient conditions for the reported treatment effects due largely to issues of research design. We report data from two consecutive studies designed to address this problem. In each study, four treatment strategies were compared for their effectiveness in deterring smoking onset and in minimizing future smoking levels. In the second study, an untreated reference condition was also included. Approximately 7000 students participated in the two studies. Baseline data were gathered in September of the seventh‐grade year, interventions were conducted during the full year, and post‐test and followup data were collected annually beginning in May of that year. These data suggest that a program which teaches specific skills to resist social pressures to begin smoking and which teaches students about the short term physiological consequences of smoking is more effective than a program which concentrates on long term health consequences. Perhaps most important, the use of same‐age peer leaders as teachers appears to be a necessary condition for successful use of this intervention program.
Probability Distortions and Outcome Desirability: Experimental Verification of Medical Folklore1
Authors: Jones Russell A. , Howard Patricia H. , Haley John V.
Published: August 2006

A belief common among medical personnel is that in conveying diagnoses or prognoses to patients, it is always best to emphasize the positive. In order to see if emphasis on the positive does make a difference in one's expectation of the more desirable of two alternative outcomes actually occurring, this laboratory experiment was conducted. College students were led to believe they had a low, moderate, or high probability of being assigned to one of two tasks, which differed in desirability. For some students the instructions focused on the probability of being assigned to the desirable task, whereas for others the instructions focused on the probability of being assigned to the undesirable. The two probabilities were always complementary; that is, the probability of being assigned to the desirable task was equal to one minus the probability of being assigned to the undesirable task. Following an interpolated activity, each subject's expectation of being assigned to the desirable or undesirable task was measured. Across all probability levels, subjects for whom the instructions had focused on the probability of being assigned to the desirable task viewed that assignment as significantly more likely than did subjects for whom the instructions had focused on the complementary probability of being assigned to the undesirable task. The implications of this for communicating with patients, for preventive medicine, and for coping with serious illness are briefly discussed.
Political Waffling: Its Effects on the Evaluations of Observers1
Authors: Hoffman Hillary S. , Carver Charles S.
Published: August 2006

Politicians sometimes shift the stances that they take on issues. An experiment investigated the effect of such a shift upon observers' perceptions of and feelings about an ostensible candidate for public office. The target issue (private ownership of handguns) was chosen as being relatively emotional for some subjects and unemotional for others. Subjects were also selected (independently) as being either pro or con on the issue. The position taken by the stimulus person (who, in contrast to previous research, was identified as a candidate for office) was portrayed as initially being either similar or dissimilar to that of the subject. An assessment of the candidate's position 6 months later indicated either no change or a reversal of the initial position. Subjects' evaluations of the candidate on a variety of dimensions yielded a consistent pattern. The combination of initial agreement and final agreement was viewed more favorably than any other combination. Taken together, the data suggest two conclusions. First, there was no support in this context for the notion that a shift from disagreement to agreement would be especially valued (i.e., there was no “gain” effect). Second, in the realm of politics, people value consistent agreement with their own position—but they do not reward consistency per se.
The Effects of Type of Evidence and Favorability of Verdict on Perceptions of Justice1
Authors: Musante Linda
Published: August 2006

This study examined the effect of type of evidence presented within an adversarial procedure on evaluations of pprocedural and distributive justice. Within the context of a simulated civil case, subjects were given supportive evidence that focused on either the legal aspects of the case or the extenuating circumstances surrounding the dispute. Following adjudication, subjects received either a favorable or an unfavorable verdict. Results revealed an evidential orientation by verdict interaction such that subjects with equity‐based evidence made more extreme evaluations of the verdict than did subjects whose evidence was legalistic in nature. These findings are discussed in terms of the hedonic relevance and disconfirmation of expectations possibly associated with equity evidence.
Deindividualization, Interpersonal Affect and Productivity in Laboratory Task Groups1
Authors: Weldon Elizabeth
Published: August 2006

In pursuit of efficiency, formal organizations often create deindividualized, uniqueness‐depriving environments. The laboratory experiment reported here tests the effects of another's failure to acknowledge one's individuality on interpersonal affect and willingness to help that person. Undergraduate business students were shown a set of bogus ratings representing their task group leader's perceptions of them on 30 personality traits and 10 occupational interests. The ratings indicated that the group leader believed the subject was extremely similar (non‐unique) or somewhat similar (unique) to the typical college student. In a highly individualistic culture another's failure to recognize one's uniqueness should be experienced as unwarranted harm and evoke responses mediated by the negative norm of reciprocity. As expected, subjects receiving non‐unique feedback volunteered fewer hours to help the group leader perform his or her duties and were less productive when the group leader was believed to benefit from their effort. In spite of these behavioral effects, attitudes toward the leader were not influenced by the uniqueness feedback. After recognizing limits to generalizability, implications for behavior in deindividualized organizations are discussed.
Energy Conservation: Two Easy Ways Out1
Authors: Pligt Joop van der
Published: August 2006

This study investigated attitude‐behavior relationships in the context of energy conservation. Results indicated that general environmental concern is a poor predictor of energy‐conservation behaviors. Direct evaluative comparisions of various non‐conservationist behaviors with a more conservationist alternative showed a clear relationship with behavioral preference. Non‐conservationists, however, evaluated their own behavior only marginally favorably and in some cases clearly unfavorably. This was accompanied by an overestimation of the common occurrence of these behaviors among the general population and by an unwillingness to relate these behaviors to personality characteristics. It is argued that these biases (i.e., considering one's behavior as a habit that is shared by many others) could hinder behavioral change. These findings are discussed in terms of effective public policy on the issue of energy consumption.
Factors Predisposing Women to Take Precautions Against Breast and Cervix Cancer
Authors: Hill David , Gardner Godfrey , Rassaby Judy
Published: August 2006

The utility of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), the Health Belief Model (HBM), and the Subjective Probability Model (SPM) in a health education diagnosis to discover predisposing factors for performing breast self‐examination (BSE) and having a Pap test was explored in a survey of 123 women. Each model was a significant predictor of BSE and Pap test intentions. However, a composite model comprising the TRA's attitudinal and normative components supplemented by the barriers component of the HBM was the most useful in performing a health education diagnosis in relation to breast self‐examination and the Pap test. “Psychological relevance” scores of particular beliefs obtained by SPM procedures tended to confirm the TRA's correlational method of identifying primary beliefs that would be the targets of persuasion to change BSE and Pap test intentions.
When Bureaucrats Get the Blues: Responses to Dissatisfaction Among Federal Employees
Authors: Rusbult Caryl , Lowery David
Published: August 2006

Rusbult and Farrell's general model of responses to job dissatisfaction is utilized to assess reactions to declining satisfaction among public sector employees. Four general categories of response‐exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect‐are described and explored. Data from the “Federal Employee Attitude Survey, 1979” were examined to evaluate the predictive ability of the Rusbult and Farrell model. Consistent with their model, higher levels of employee satisfaction and greater degree of investment size encouraged tendencies toward voice and loyalty while discouraging exit and neglect. Also, higher quality job alternatives promoted exit and voice while inhibiting neglectful tendencies. Contrary to predictions, better alternatives also encouraged loyalist responding. The implications of these findings in light of increasing dissatisfaction in the federal bureaucracy are discussed.