bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Distinguishing social and individual psychology
Authors: BLAKAR ROLV MIKKEL
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The problem analyzed is how (according to what rules) to disentangle social and individual aspects in, e.g., an act of communication. Taking as point of departure the everyday fact that social relationships as well as individuals may be assessed across variables, an attempt was made to classify variables as either social or individual. It was found, however, that they seem to be distributed along a continuum from individual via relational to social variables; that all variables seem to have both a social and an individual aspect; and that they may be classified along a continuum accordning to how easily they can be made socially relevant or salient. Instead of concluding either that a social psychology proper is impossible, since all variables can be ascribed to the individual(s), or that we are dealing only with social psychology, since all variables have a social potential, a pragmatic solution may be to make clear at each stage of research from which perspective, the social or the individual, one is exploring the variable in focus.
Effects of cigarette smoking on verbal rote learning and physiological arousal
Authors: ANDERSSON KARIN , POST BIRGITTA
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Verbal rote learning was studied on 12 moderate smokers. In one condition learning was interrupted twice by smoking a nicotine‐containing cigarette (Virginia King, 2.1 mg nicotine) and in another condition by smoking a nicotine‐free cigarette. Immediately after the first nicotine‐containing cigarette there was a drop in the number of correct responses and learning was significantly less rapid under subsequent trials as compared with learning after the first nicotine‐free cigarette. After the second cigarette the picture was reversed. Learning was significantly more improved in the nicotine condition than in the nicotine‐free condition. Adrenalin excretion increased significantly during learning in both conditions, and heart rate increased significantly after the first nicotine‐containing cigarette.
On the centrality in a graph
Authors: NIEMINEN JUHANI
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The paper considers the concept of centrality in an undirected graph. A system of axioms and an index for centrality satisfying the axioms are presented. The index is based on the degrees of the vertices in a given undirected graph, and it will enlarge the class of comparable graphs with respect to a centrality measure.
Individual versus provided constructs, cognitive complexity and extremity of ratings in person perception
Authors: KUUSINEN JORMA , NYSTEDT LARS
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Bruner & Tagiuri's (1954) concept of implicit personality theory, and Kelly's (1955) theory of personal constructs were used as a basis for a hypothesis that an individual's own constructs mediate more differentiated perceptions of other people than constructs provided by the experimenter. The hypothesis was tested by using four indices of cognitive complexity and one index of extremity of ratings to measure differentiation. The individual constructs were derived by using Reptest. The provided constructs were Semantic Differential and Personality Differential scales. The subjects were 36 psychology students. Two experimenters were employed to control experimenter effects. The data did not support the hypothesis but showed that differences between individual constructs and provided constructs are dependent upon which criterion is chosen to contrast the two types of constructs, which indices are used to measure the chosen criterion, and what type of provided constructs are compared with individual constructs.
Consistencies of psychomotor styles in interpersonal tasks
Authors: TAKALA MARTTI
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Interpersonal behaviour of individuals in five tasks (individual performance, two dyadic tasks, two small‐group tasks) was videotaped and coded on 11 psychomotor categories concerning (a) movements regulating interaction, (b) indications of tension, and (c) temperamental acts. The individual consistencies were examined on the basis of correlational analyses and task similarities. The consistency of individual psychomotor behaviour across all the tasks was highest in the number of selfinitiated acts (psychomotor activeness). Consistency was also found in the total tension score and the utilization of large/narrow space, while the effect of the particular tasks was clearly demonstrated in the other categories of psychomotor style. Both communication and disposition interpretations of psychomotor styles were considered in the explanation of the results, and some methodological factors reflected in the interpretations were presented.
The role of audition and motion in the spatial orientation of the blind and the sighted
Authors: JUURMAA JYRKI , SUONIO KYÖSTI
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Five hypotheses concerning the effect of various factors on the spatial orientation of the blind and the sighted are presented. The role of audition, motion, interruption of performance and the use of a support aid are studied. Four of the hypotheses were confirmed.
Exclusive early mothering and its alternatives The Outcome to Adolescence
Authors: MOORE TERENCE W.
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— This investigation focuses on the later development, up to mid‐adolescence, of boys and girls (separately) who had had either exclusive care by their mothers up to age 5 or daily substitute care (“diffused mothering”) for a substantial proportion of their earlier lives. Findings from a longitudinal study are first presented in the following order. The outcome of the contrasting regimes, exclusive vs. diffused mothering, is reported for each sex at various ages from 6 to 17, and the validity of these findings is critically examined. The mothers' personalities and attitudes are then investigated as a possible co‐determinant of the observed outcome. Developmental patterns of behaviour tendencies, intelligence and attainment are next traced to discover when intergroup differences first appeared. Lastly, conditions of substitute care are examined, and evidence from subsamples cited on the apparent effects of unstable regimes, age of commencement, and group vs. individual care. The findings under each heading are subsequently compared with those of other investigators, a theoretical interpretation offered, future research needs outlined, and provisional conclusions formulated.
Retroactive interference in single‐cue probability learning
Authors: LINDBERG LARS‐ÅKE , BREHMER BERNDT
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— When two single‐cue probability learning tasks with different amounts of unpredictable variance were learned in succession. a low variance task interfered with the retention of a high variance task, but the opposite was not true. The effects were positive in that they enabled the subjects to reach a higher response consistency and, thus, a higher level of achievement. It was suggested that the subjects made use of the low variance task to reject incorrect hypotheses about the cue‐criterion relation and that interference from an interpolated task occurs only when this task provides information which has functional value for the subject.
On non‐verbatim learning: III. The outcome space of some basic concepts in economics
Authors: MARTON FERENCE , DAHLGREN LARS OWE
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The subjective meaning of some basic concepts in economics was studied in an experimental context. The set of subjective meanings or levels of outcome constitutes the outcome space of a certain concept. Consecutive levels of outcome corresponding to basic concepts of economics such as the production possibility frontier, the law of diminishing returns and the Malthus theory of population were shown to be ordered with respect to complexity (number of simultaneous dimensions of variation) involved.
Counselor personality and supervisory styles
Authors: RøNNESTAD HELGE
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The effect of supportive and nonsupportive analogues of supervision on introvert and extravert counselors' rating of own counseling performance was studied. Subjects in the treatment groups received either supportive or nonsupportive supervision following subjects' participation in a counseling interview. Differences between counselor ratings on the Counseling Relationship Maturity Scale immediately following the counseling interview and after treatment were analyzed. A control group received no supervision. The results indicate that nonsupportive as well as supportive supervision influence counselors' evaluation of the counseling interview, and that introverts were more influenced by nonsupportive supervision than extraverts.
Electrodermal correlates of extraversion, trait anxiety and schitophrenisrn
Authors: NIELSEN THOMAS C. , PETERSEN KAJ E.
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Recording skin resistance in 34 young women it was found that extraverted subjects showed less responsiveness to moderate intensity stimuli, whereas high neuroticism or anxiety prone subjects showed more spontaneous fluctuations and better electrodermal conditioning when conditioned responses were scored relative to unconditioned responses. Further, the subjects were rated for ‘schizophrenism’ according to an inventory devised by the authors. The high schizophrenism subjects behaved electrodermally very much like the pre‐schizophrenic sample in Mednick and Schulsinger's prospective study of schizophrenia; they exhibited faster recovery, greater response amplitude to aversive stimuli and faster initial habituation to these stimuli.
The multidimensionality of state and trait anxiety
Authors: ENDLER NORMAN S. , MAGNUSSON DAVID , EKEHAMMAR BO , OKADA MARILYN
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The two major problems investigated were (a) the multidimensionality of trait (A‐Trait) and state (A‐State) anxiety, and (b) the relationship between A‐Trait and A‐State under neutral conditions, using two measures of A‐Trait (SR‐GTA and STAI‐T) and two measures of A‐State (BRQ and STAI‐S). These scales were administered to a sample of Swedish university students (54 males and 105 females). Factor analyses of the GTA situational scales yielded an interpersonal ego threat A‐Trait factor and a physical danger A‐Trait factor. Factor analyses of the GTA reaction scales and STAI‐T reaction scales yielded, respectively, two and three factors providing evidence for the multidimensionality of A‐Trait. Results of variance components analyses of the GTA scales provided further evidence for the multidimensionality of A‐Trait. Factor analyses of the BRQand STAI‐S measures yielded four and three factors, respectively, indicating the multidimensionality of A‐State. The correlations between trait and state measures were higher than the correlations between the two state measures, and a factor analysis of the trait and state scales did not yield separate state and trait factors, questioning the proposition that A‐Trait and A‐State are distinct concepts. Via latent profile analysis, it was possible to compare A‐State differences for different A‐Trait profiles. Problems for further research were discussed.
On the generalization of the G index of agreement, Go, for use with ordinal scores
Authors: HOLLEY JASPER W. , KLINE PAUL
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Presents a G index generalization for items where each has a predetermined number of response alternatives on an ordinal level. Shows that Go is equal to the G index based on another set of dichotomous data. The problem that items with many response levels will be given more weight than those with few response levels is pointed out. An alternative index, G0e, which does not have such characteristics, is presented and also proves to be equal to the G index based on a set of equivalent dichotomies.
Shiftwork—a critical review
Authors: AGERVOLD MOGENS
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Research concerning the social psychological, physiological, psychoneurotic, and psychosomatic consequences of shiftwork is reviewed with main emphasis on Scandinavian investigations. Most reports have found that shiftwork, especially working in three shifts, has a large number of negative social and sanitary consequences. The empirical studies and the theories that have been put forward to explain the results are shown to rest on a generally monocausal conception of the consequences of working conditions. The possibilities and implications of developing a more broadly conceived framework for interpretation and investigation of these issues are discussed.
Verbal and visuo‐spatial memory Two clinical tests administered to a group of normal subjects
Authors: ANDERSEN RUTH
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— A group of 165 normal subjects were examined on two memory tests in clinical use, the Word Pairs Test and the Visual Gestalts Test. The purpose of the study was to establish norms with the variables of age, sex, and length of schooling being taken into consideration. During the learning phase a complex interaction between all three factors was found for the Word Pairs, whereas in the Visual Gestalts scores were only affected by age. In the delayed memory task used in both tests, age was again found to be the only significant factor. Using quartile scores, it was found that females performed better than males on the verbal test and vice versa on the visuo‐spatial test. Normative data are presented for three age groups. A significant decline in performance appeared in the age group 40–49 years. The data became more heterogenous with an increase in the age of the subjects.
Cognitive functioning and socio‐political ideology A multidimensional and individualized analysis
Authors: SIDANIUS JIM , EKEHAMMAR BO
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Relationships between certain cognitive behaviors within a political domain (i.e. Cognitive Differentiation, Cognitive Articulation) and certain dimensions of Socio‐Political ideology (General Conservatism, Political‐Economic Conservatism, Racism, Religion, Sexual Repression, and Authoritarian Aggression) were studied. Cognitive functioning was sampled via the use of uni‐ and multidimensional scaling analyses, with the stimuli consisting of Swedish political parties. Socio‐Political ideology was defined by: (1) the S, Conservatism Scale and (2) the subjects' political party preferences. The subjects consisted of 105 psychology students from the University of Stockholm. The results showed that: (a) there were statistically significant relationships among the various indices of cognitive functioning based upon independent methods of assessment, and (b) there were statistically significant relationships between a number of cognitive functioning indices and certain dimensions of Socio‐Political ideology. The results are discussed in terms of three hypotheses concerning the connection between Socio‐Political ideology and certain forms of cognitive behavior.
On decision rules and information processing strategies for choices among multiattribute alternatives
Authors: MONTGOMERY HENRY , SVENSON OLA
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— It is suggested that a decision in a complex situation can be described as a sequential process in which different decision rules and information processing strategies can be used at different points in time. Examples of possible decision rules are presented in an approximate order of complexity. Two ways for processing the information in a decision situation, viz., breadth‐first or depth‐first strategies, are discussed and suggestions are made about their relationship to particular decision rules. Finally, it is proposed that the order of application of particular rules in a decision process is guided by a tendency to minimize cognitive effort.
Dimensions of the perception of art: verbal scales and similarity judgements
Authors: O'HARE D. P. A. , GORDON I. E.
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— An INDSCAL analysis was performed on subjects' similarity judgements of all pairs of 12 landscape paintings. Three principal INDSCAL dimensions were identified by analysing responses to 24 unidimensional rating scales derived from previous experiments. The present findings, together with those of previously published studies, suggest that three of the principal dimensions of perception of art appear to be (1) Hedonic‐Representational, (2) Clarity, (3) A Dynamic factor involving activity, balance and symmetry. It is suggested that although Complexity may be an important factor influencing responses to simple stimuli, its rôle in the perception of paintings is small, and has frequently been over‐emphasised.
On the possibility of “smart” perceptual mechanisms
Authors: RUNESON SVERKER
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— A basic feature of some modem theories of perception is the notion of complex or higher order variables which are considered basic for perception. A distinction between “rote” and “smart” mechanisms is introduced and it is suggested that perception consists of smart mechanisms which directly register complex variables. A model of a perceiver, based on the smart polar planimeter, is constructed and used to illustrate the possible consequences of smart perceptual mechanisms for research in areas such as psychophysics, cognition, attention, and perceptual development and learning.
Perceived bending and stretching motions from a line of points
Authors: JANSSON GUNNAR
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The aim of this investigation was to study to what extent bending and stretching motions can be accurately perceived. The (imaginary) “distal” stimuli were lines of points, either in bending motion with constant distances between adjacent points or in stretching motion with the same distances equal at each moment (thus making the relations between the distances constant). The proximal stimuli were produced by a computer, and the subject indicated the slant and curvature of the turning positions of the perceived motion. The result for the stimuli with motion towards the subject was that a majority of the percepts were rather close to the accurate value. That was not true, however, for the stimuli with motion away from the subject. All stimuli were ambiguous demonstrating that more information must be added to get unambiguity.
Perception of illumination
Authors: LIE IVAR
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Previous research on the perception of illumination has primarily been occupied with the apparent paradox that “we must know the object colour in order to utilize the reflected light as an index of illumination, while we must know the illumination in order to use the reflected light as an index of object colour”. The present study shows this paradox to exist only as a long as the traditional one‐dimensional conception of achromatic colours is maintained. Two experiments are reported. In Exp. 1 it is shown that by mere variation of the luminance difference of two adjacent areas, a consistent shift in colourlshadow discrimination is obtained; i.e. within a certain range of luminance differences the observer may find it difficult to decide whether the difference is one of colour (two fields of different greyness in common illumination) or one of illumination (two fields of equal greyness under different illumination), above this range the observer perceives the differences as one of illumination. Taking the bidimensionality of achromatic colours into account in Exp. 2, results are obtained which show the brightness (alternatively termed luminosity) relations of adjacent areas to be the critical factor for the perceptual shift.
Comprehension and belief structure
Authors: WÆRN YVONNE
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— A reader's belief structure is suggested to affect the way he processes incoming information. It is analyzed in terms of what propositions the reader regards as true (the truth values) and of how the reader discriminates between propositions as to truth value (the discrimination index). In a study on 20 psychology students, the comprehension task involved matching single statements to a previously read text. The statements represented two different ideas, whereas the text represented only one. The subjects' belief structure in terms of statements accepted (truth value) and statements discriminated as to truth value (discrimination index) was related to the way in which they matched the same Statements to the previously read text (comprehension). Truth values and discrimination indices together were found to account for 39% of the interindividual variation in comprehension after the first reading and for 50 % of that variation after the second reading. It is suggested that a reader, when confronted with a new text, arrives at the most probable interpretation of that text by turning to his own belief structure.
Involvement in potential future events estimated by males and females
Authors: LUNDBERG ULF , ELLONEN ERKKI
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Males and females from a Swedish local organization for international peace and understanding estimated their intensity of involvement in two potential future events assumed to occur in different years between 1974 and 2048. They also estimated the importance, probability, influenceability, and their knowledge of 16 future events, and the number of years before the events would occur. The results showed that males were less involved than females in an event which would increase the life span in developing countries, if this event were to occur during the next 20 years, while males and females were about equally involved in an economic depression. Compared with males, females considered that most future events were more important and they gave higher estimates for the probability of undesirable events and lower for desirable events.
Preoptic lesions, sexual behavior, and spontaneous ejaculation in the rat
Authors: ÅGMO ANDERS , SOULAIRAC MARIE‐LOUISE , SOULAIRAC ANDRÉ
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— A possible relation between sexual behavior and spontaneous ejaculation was studied in the male rat. Electrolytic lesions in the preoptic area completely abolished sexual behavior without affecting the frequency of spontaneous ejaculation. It is therefore suggested that this latter process is controlled independently of sexual behavior and sexual excitability.
Bandura's theory of self‐efficacy: A set of common sense theorems
Authors: SMEDSLUND JAN
Published: May 2008

Bandura's (1977) theory of self‐efficacy is translated into non‐technical language and is shown to consist of logically necessary rather than empirically testable statements. As an alternative to the dominant empiricist view, it is argued that valid theories in psychology are explications of conceptual relationship imbedded in ordinary language (common sense). This conceptual network is anterior to both observation and theorizing. The analogy between the tasks of pre‐Euclidean geometry and contemporary psychology is explored. The tasks are seen as involving explication of our implicit concepts of respectively space and people. One consequence of the stated view is that much psychological research is pointless since it attempts to verify logically necessary statements by empirical methods.
The production and understanding of utterances in dyadic communication
Authors: BRENNER STEN‐OLOF , HJELMQUIST ERLAND
Published: May 2008

Verbal communication in four dyads was analyzed with respect to syntactic form and cognitive and affective functions. Quantitative and qualitative methods were proposed to study these aspects of language behaviour. Utterances which conveyed a negative affective evaluation tended to be syntactically and cognitively complex. The cognitive and affective functions of a speaker's utterance tended to influence the syntactic quality of the listener's following utterance more than what the listener said in his own previous utterance. An investigation of the relationships between the personality characteristics flexibility, intelligence and verbal competence, and language variables suggested that flexible subjects often used utterances which expressed a positive evaluation. Furthermore, flexible subjects tended to influence the listener more by what they said than intelligent and verbally competent subjects did. It was concluded that this kind of functional analysis of language should be more adequate for psychological inquiry than in particular that of the transformational generative theory of language.
Dimensions in the perception of architecture: III. Multidimensional preference scaling
Authors: OOSTENDORP A. , BERLYNE D. E.
Published: May 2008

Ten subjects were presented with all possible pairs of 20 slides of buildings representing major architectural styles. On seeing each pair, the subject stated which one of the two was preferred and then, on a 7‐point scale, by how much it was preferred. Subjects demonstrated considerable agreement in the number of choices for the buildings, but not in degree of preference judgements. The choice data were subjected to an MDPREF analysis, and the degree of preference data to an INDSCAL analysis. In both cases two‐dimensional solutions were most appropriate. The locations of the buildings in the two preference spaces were highly similar. They also resemble two of the dimensions important i similarity judgements of the same stimuli. Relations between the preference dimensions and previously obtained verbal and non‐verbal responses to the stimuli were discussed. the underlying variables of the preferences responses were suggested to be related to Hedonic Tone/Arousal and Familiarity.
Subitizing and counting processes in young children
Authors: SVENSON OLA , SJÖBERG KIT
Published: May 2008

Children attending the first grade in school were instructed to tell the number of dots (1–9) presented on a screen. The response latencies were related to the number of dots by two different linear relations for each subject. The first of these had a slope of about 0.1 sec/dot, was applicable for the encoding of 1–3 dots, and was taken as an indication of a subitizing process. The second linear relation was applicable for 5–9 dots and had a slope of about 1.0 sec/dot reflecting the speed of a counting process. The average intersection between the functions was located at 3.22 dots. The results were compared with earlier investigations of adult subjects who on the average subitize 6 dots and count 1 dot in about 0.4 sec. It was subitizing process being higher for adults. If the encoding of a stimulus has not been terminated within about 1.5 sec for children and adults the stimulus has instead to be identified in either a counting or an estimating process.
The evaluation of architectural interior colour as a function of style of furnishings: Categorization effects
Authors: WHITFIELD T. W. A. , SLATTER P. E.
Published: May 2008

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate whether evaluative responses to a single attribute, colour, reflected categorization and prototypicality as did responses in a furniture selection study (Whitfield & Slatter, 1978). Subjects ranked colours in order of appropriateness for the walls of a simulated domestic interior furnished in one of three styles: Modern, Georgian or Art Nouveau. Style was designated by simulated items of furniture. The hypothesis that judged appropriateness would vary as a function of style was borne out by the results. Support was also provided for the prediction that two rather than three categories would be refernced by subjects–Georgian and Art Nouveau comparising a unitary category. Finally, evidence of effects due to prototypicality was descernible from inspection of the date.
Between the analytic and the arbitrary: A case study of psychological research
Authors: SMEDSLUND JAN
Published: May 2008

It is argued that psychological theories must be seen as attempts to explicate the conceptual network embedded in ordinary language and that psychological data must be seen as historically constituted. Hence, psychological theory is regarded as, potentially, a system of logically necessary (analytic) theorems, analogous to, e. g., Euclidean geometry, and psychological data are seen as determined by the historical (arbitrary) circumstances that happen to prevail. An instance of published psychological research is shown to contain many unrecognized analytic and arbitrary elements. Its pretensions to generality are contradicted by its highly situation‐ and culture‐bound assumptions, and its pretensions to being empirical are contradicted by the prevalence of necessarily true and necessarily false assumptions. The level of theoretical precision is seen as very low.
Length of the postfeedback interval and learning of probabilistic inference tasks
Authors: BREHMER BERNDT , KUYLENSTIERNA JAN
Published: May 2008

Learning of negative linear and J‐shaped cue‐criterion relations in single‐cue learning tasks was studied in an experiment which varied the length of the postfeedback interval. Contrary to the predictions from a hypothesis construction model assuming that subjects construct hypotheses from the data provided by the task, there was no effect of the postfeedback interval. The results were interpreted to mean that the subjects' constructions are based on elements stored in memory, rather than on data from the task.
Note on hypothesis testing in probabilistic inference tasks
Authors: BREHMER BERNDT
Published: May 2008

Subjects' ability to test hypotheses about the form of functional relations in probabilistic inference tasks was investigated in two experiments which varied the functional relation in the task, the hypotheses to be tested, and the validity of the cue. The results showed that the subjects used the same amount of information regardless of the validity of the cue, that nonlinear hypotheses were harder to test accurately than linear hypothesis, and that hypotheses were harder to test when the relation in the task was nonlinear than when it was linear.
Dimension analyses of perceived sound quality of sound‐reproducing systems
Authors: GABRIELSSON ALF
Published: May 2008

Perceived sound quality of loudspeakers, headphones, and hearing aids was investigated by different multivariate techniques to find out dimensions in perceived sound quality and explore their relations to physical characteristics of the systems. In connection with the description of two of these experiments various methodological questions concerning judgment methods, data treatment, interpretation of results, and implications for continued research are discussed. The combined results of eight experiments suggest the following dimensions: “Clearness/Distinctness”, “Sharpness/Hardness‐Softness”, “Brightness‐Darkness”, “Fullness‐Thinness”, “Feeling of space”, “Nearness”, “Disturbing sounds”, and “Loudness”.
Preliminaries to a psychology of inference
Authors: BREHMER BERNDT
Published: May 2008

This paper presents a general pretheoretical framework for the study of inference. The framework is that of Social Judgment Theory which has been developed from Brunswik's probabilistic functionalism. The first section discusses the fundamental theoretical ideas and methodological principles. Important among these is the stress on the need to study the relation between the cognitive system and the inference task using parallel concepts for describing the cognitive system and the task, the theory of cognitive tasks, and the methodology of formal representative sampling. The second section describes a series of experimental paradigms developed from the basic ideas discussed in the first section. The third, and final section gives some examples of actual empirical research, mainly research concerned with the hypothesis testing process by means of which subjects learn inference tasks, studies on cognitive skills in using various rules for making inferences, new conceptions of feedback, research on the effects of feedforward, and interpersonal learning.
The curvex: Simple order structure revealed in ratings of complexity, interestingness, and pleasantness
Authors: ECKBLAD GUDRUN
Published: May 2008

An alternative interpretation is offered of some factor analytic studies of ratings of aesthetic stimuli. Earlier interpretation has been in terms of two orthogonal factors, Evaluation and Activity. The re‐interpretation is based on the circular fan‐like structure of the factor plot, reflected in a high degree of order in the correlation matrix (the curvex structure), the semantically meaningful progression of the bi‐polar adjective scales around the circle, and the fact that the stimulus objects in some cases are located along an ordered continuum in the factor space. Coombs and Kao's application of unfolding concepts to factor analysis of preferential choice data and Guttman's concept of order factor analysis is applied. It is proposed that the ratings reflect one underlying stimulus dimension, objective complexity, and that the rating scales represent ideal points along this dimension. The scales Pleasing, Interesting and Complex are hypothesized to reach their ideal point at increasingly higher levels of objective complexity. Ten of the 13 factor analyses studied were in agreement with the hypothesis.
Sex‐related differences in socio‐political ideology
Authors: SIDANIUS JIM , EKEHAMMAR BO
Published: May 2008

The study was directed towards uncovering differences in socio‐political ideology between males and females. The subjects consisted of 532 Swedish high school students from metropolitan Stockholm. All subjects were from the same grade and of approximately the same age (18 years). The results failed to disclose any significant differences in the political party preference of males and females. However, there were a number of statistically significant differences in the socio‐political attitudes of males and females as measured by the S5 Conservatism Scale. Females were found to be less generally conservative, less racist, pro‐western, punitive and more religious and egalitarian than males. Despite certain ideological differences between males and females, the socio‐political attitude profiles and the attitude structures, as measured by profile and factor analyses, were quite similar for males and females. The results are discussed in terms of four schools of thought concerning the sources of sex‐related differences in political style.
Construct validation of the Bern Sex Role Inventory
Authors: CARLSSON MARIANNE , MAGNUSSON EVA
Published: May 2008

The purpose of this study was to assess the construct validity of the Bern Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), a questionnaire which measures pyschological androgyny. Psychological androgyny refers to the fact that a person may possess both traits traditionally considered feminine, and traits traditionlly considered masculine, i.e. that femininity and masculinity are two independent dimensions. Eight different groups, chosen because their androgyny scores were expected to differ, participated in the study. The groups differed as expected and this is taken as an evidence that the BSRI has construct validity and that it is valid for Swedish conditions.
Type A behavior and its relation to personality variables in Swedish male and female university students
Authors: LUNDBERG ULF
Published: May 2008

A questionnaire based on the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS), given to 181 male and 280 female Swedish university students, showed that females had significantly higher Type A scores than males. Three factors were extracted by factor analysis, two of which, “speed and impatience” and “hard‐driving”, corresponded to two of the factors obtained by JAS in an American population of employed men (Zyzanski & Jenkins, 1970). The third factor was tentatively termed “engagement‐involvement”. Twelve male and 12 female subjects from opposite ends of the distribution were compared in terms of 22 personality variables measured by questionnaires. It was found that Type A subjects of both sexes scored higher on scales measuring anxiety‐proneness, aggression‐hostility, extraversion and neuroticism.
A psychophysical method for determining the effect of studded tires on safety
Authors: SUMMALA HEIKKI , MERISALO ANTTI
Published: May 2008

A method was presented for determining the safety effect of studded tires independently of other driver and vehicle centered variables which covariate with the use of studs. It is based on psychophysical functions between the friction coefficient and accident risk, or driver behavior, separately produced for studded and unstudded cars. From the two functions, the effect of studded tires can be calculated at different levels of friction as far as the respective effect of studs on friction is known. A pilot study was conducted concerning the risk of skidding in a curve. The friction coefficient was periodically measured on an off‐ramp of a motorway and, for each passing car, the spot speed and the use of studs was recorded. The probability of skidding, calculated from the distribution of safety margins, was plotted as a function of friction and the effects of studded tires and other driver and vehicle centered variables were demonstrated.
Assimilation resistance and affective response in problem solving
Authors: ECKBLAD GUDRUN
Published: May 2008

In a problem solving experiment, predictions were based upon a theory of motivation and action, the scheme theory, and a psychometric model for the component analysis of rating data, the sector model (Eckblad, 1981; 1980). Pattern guessing tasks were presented to 32 students, 8 to each subject, in individual sessions lasting more than one hour. Number of errors, rated attractiveness, and guessing latencies (the process variables) were recorded during each task. After completion of each task, the affective reaction to it was assessed by means of ratings on six scales, including the scales Pleasant, Interesting, and Complex. On the basis of the sector model, an index of assimilation resistance was computed from the ratings of each task/subject unit, and the index was used to predict mean values and gradients for the process variables. Results show that the sector structure is clearly present in the rating data, that the process variables fit into the structure in the predicted manner, and that mean values and gradients for the process variables differ highly significantly and as predicted among tasks of different levels of assimilation resistance.
Sex differences in attribution: A Norwegian study
Authors: SAGATUN INGER JOHANNE
Published: May 2008

A quasi‐experimental study was conducted to examine the effect of sex on actor and observer attributions of success and failure. It was predicted that, contrary to American results in similar studies, Norwegian males and females would tend to be largely similar in their attribution of success and failure. Only same‐sex attributions were explored. Subjects were asked to attribute causality along a set of six standard causal dimensions. The results showed that sex had a relatively minor effect on attributions, compared to the effects of attributor role and task outcome. Only in their attributions of ability did men and women differ to some degree in that women were more likely to use lack of ability as an explanation for own failure. The study concludes that cross‐cultural research is needed in order to better assess the normative impact on attribution.
What is wrong with imagery questionnaires?
Authors: KAUFMANN GEIR
Published: May 2008

Research evidence is reviewed which shows that the questionnaire method represents a deviant case in imagery research: Whereas experimental techniques consistently produce strong effects for the imagery variable in a large specter of cognitive tasks, research based on imagery questionnaires yields ambiguous and most frequently negative results. Existing explanations of the discrepant findings are critically examined and found to be inadequate. An alternative interpretation is offered, where it is hypothesized that the questionnaire approach to the study of imagery is infected by a serious methodological flaw, due to differences in subjective conceptions of the rating scale employed in imagery questionnaires. Experimental evidence is reported which supports this interpretation.
Meehl and the ex post facto design
Authors: LUND THORLEIF
Published: May 2008

Paul E. Meehl's problem of systematic unmatching is discussed, and it is argued that his reasoning and conclusion are incorrect. Unmatching will probably occur seldom in empirical cases, and if it does take place, it will constitute some sort of undercorrection. Moreover, his attempt at interpretation of statistical control in terms of so‐called “counterfactuals” is found to be misleading.
Acquisition of locational information about reference points during locomotion with and without a concurrent task: Effects of number of reference points
Authors: LINDBERG ERIK , GÄRLING TOMMY
Published: May 2008

Maintenance of orientation relative to reference points along a locomotion path and acquisition of locational information about these reference points were investigated by requiring subjects with and without a concurrent backwards counting task to walk in alleys and estimate direction and distance to the reference points when stopped. One or three reference points were presented on each trial in different groups of subjects. Acquisition of locational information was indicated by decreased latencies and variable errors with repeated exposure to the same locomotion path. Neither the larger number of reference points nor the concurrent task seemed to affect acquisition, but both lead to increased latencies indicating that the subjects under these conditions were unable to keep track of the locations of the reference points whilst walking. However, they may still have been able to infer these locations after the locomotion path had been traversed.
“Warmup” and “cooldown” in Sidman avoidance behavior of rats: A dual‐process interpretation
Authors: SAGVOLDEN TERJE
Published: May 2008

The present experiment investigated relations between “warmup” in unsignalled Sidman avoidance in rats and the intensity of shock. Magnitude of shock‐rate change was quantified by comparing the rat's behavior during the initial third and the final two thirds of the same session. Warmup was said to occur whenever the shock rate during the initial 20 min was higher than the shock rate during the final 40 min of a 60 min session. “Cooldown” was defined as lower shock rate during the initial 20 min than during the final 40 min. Warmup was observed when shocks were intense, cooldown was observed when shocks were low intensity, and neither was observed when medium‐intensity shocks were administered. Response‐rate changes were correlated with shock‐rate changes, but were smaller. The results are interpreted within the framework of a dual‐process theory of habituation.
On intelligence I: Broad ability factors in 15‐year‐old children and Cattell's theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence
Authors: UNDHEIM JOHAN OLAV
Published: May 2008

A simple‐structure factor analysis of test data from a sample of 148 fifteen‐year‐old children in Norway was carried out. Broad factors were interpreted to represent visualization, speediness, and fluency, as well as fluid and crystallized intelligence. The results are consistent with the factor distinctions as hypothesized by Cattell, but analyses of the developmental differentiation of fluid and crystallized intelligence raise some doubts about Cattell's interpretation of these dimensions.
Is there low frequency vibrotactile temporal summation?
Authors: HÄMÄLÄINEN H. , PERTOVAARA A. , SOININEN K. , JÄRVILEHTO T.
Published: May 2008

Reaction times of subjects to threshold vibratory stimuli of various durations and frequencies were measured simultaneously with the thresholds in order to test whether more time is needed for the detection of stimuli of long than short duration at threshold intensities. Vibratory stimuli of 20 or 150 Hz frequency and 50, 150, or 300 ms duration were applied to the back of the hand. Lower detection thresholds and longer reaction times were obtained for both 20 and 150 Hz vibration with increase of stimulus duration. The results suggest that temporal summation of high frequencies is due to energy integration, whereas at low frequencies probability summation explains better the threshold decrement.
On the generality of some memory laws
Authors: COHEN RONALD L.
Published: May 2008

Several memory laws have been established for the free recall of word lists. The generality of some of these laws were tested, using tasks which the subjects performed (SPTs) as to‐be‐recalled list items. SPT recall obeyed one law of word recall in showing a strong positive recency effect in immediate free recall, which appeared to be due to these events being in a temporary state of high accessibility. Differences between word and SPT recall were: 1) The reliable primacy effect associated with word recall did not appear in SPT recall; 2) Subjects reported using active memorisation strategies for word lists, but not for SPT lists; 3) Unlike word recall, diverting the subject's attention to so‐called deep or shallow features of the SPTs during presentation did not affect the level of their recall. These results considered together with Cohen & Stewart's (1981) finding that SPT recall was not age‐sensitive were taken to indicate that SPTs should be regarded as a different class of memory event than words, and that memory models dealing with SPT recall should de‐emphasize the importance of encoding, stressing instead retention, and retrieval operations.
Stability and change in parental attitudes following an infant's birth into traditional and nontraditional Swedish families
Authors: FRODI ANN M. , LAMB MICHAEL E. , FRODI MAJT , HWANG CARL‐PHILIP , FORSSTRÖM BRITTA , CORRY THOMAS
Published: May 2008

Fifty‐one Swedish couples were interviewed in the last trimester of their first pregnancy and again when their infants were 5 months old. Twenty‐five of the couples indicated that the mothers would be primary caretakers throughout the first year (traditional families) whereas the other 26 couples said that the fathers would be primary caretakers for between 1 and 6.5 months during the year (nontraditional families). Analyses showed that the value of parenthood and the value of work were stable from the first (prenatal) to the second (postnatal) interview, although prenatally‐anticipated paternal involvement was only marginally correlated with actual paternal involvement. Subjects agreed with their spouses when asked about the same issues, suggesting that the constructs had some validity. Parenthood and work were more highly valued by nontraditional parents than by traditional parents. Degree of paternal caretaking was positively correlated with the fathers satisfaction with and value of parenthood and negatively correlated with their resentment of the infant. Correlations differed somewhat among traditional and nontraditional mothers and fathers. Fathers were more involved with “difficult” sons and “easy” daughters than with “easy” sons and “difficult” daughters.
Experience‐related factors as determinants of leisure satisfaction
Authors: ISO‐AHOLA SEPPO E. , ALLEN JON R. , BUTTIMER KEVIN J.
Published: May 2008

Two studies were conducted to investigate the effects on leisure satisfaction of factors related and unrelated to a leisure experience. The first study showed that subjects' sex and educational level were not significantly related to leisure satisfaction which was measured without regard to any particular explicit leisure experience. However, when the measures of leisure satisfaction were taken in close temporal proximity to a leisure experience (the second study), two significant interaction effects were obtained. The one involving sex and outcome indicated that the experience of a basketball game itself, regardless of its outcome, increased males' leisure satisfaction, whereas females' leisure satisfaction was outcome‐dependent. The interaction of outcome and competitiveness revealed that leisure satisfaction was higher for the competitive than recreational players before the game, with this difference enlarging after winning and especially after losing. Theoretical and practical implications of the results were discussed.