bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prediction of environmental change: Wish‐fulfillment revisited
Authors: Eiser J. Richard , Eiser Christine 
Published: May 2007

AbstractTwo experiments are reported which examine the relationship between a person's estimate of the likelihood of a future change in his environment and his assessment of its desirability. The first experiment showed a general tendency for probability and desirability ratings to be positively correlated. This correlation was higher when the desirability of a predicted change was seen, on average, as matching its probability of occurrence, e.g., if the change was seen as both desirable and probable rather than probable but undesirable. In the second experiment subjects wrote an essay arguing either that a predicted change was probable, improbable, desirable or undesirable. Arguing for desirability of the predicted change had as much effect on subjects' probability estimates as arguing for its probability; similarly, arguing for its probability had as much effect on desirability ratings as arguing for its desirability. These results are taken to imply that individuals may seek to achieve greater cognitive simplicity by treating probability and desirability as a single dimension.
Personality similarity and friendship choices by adolescents
Authors: Duck Steven W. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractIn a study designed to examine the nature of the relationship between personality similarity and established friendships amongst adolescents, three groups of frequently interacting subjects of different ages were given Reptests (Kelly, 1955) as a means of eliciting the content of their personal construct systems. In all three groups (early‐, mid‐ and late‐adolescence), pairs of friends were found to have more similar constructs than nominal pairs of group members. However, there were age‐related differences in the kinds of construct on which the similarity was most significant (for example, similarity on constructs relating to factual description predicted friendship choices in early adolescence but failed to do so in later adolescence, where similarity of constructs concerning physical attributes was a relevant factor). Sex‐differences in the functional basis of friendship were also found, with mid‐ and late‐adolescent girls' friendship choices correlating with similarity of psychological description. Temporal and sex differences in the basis of friendship suggest that the concept of ‘friendship’ must be seen as more differentiated and less unitary a concept. Adolescent friendship illuminates several dimensions along which this differentiation assumes both theoretical importance and functional relevance.
Social interaction and the development of cognitive operations
Authors: Doise Willem , Mugny Gabriel , Perret‐Clermont Anne‐Nelly 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis paper presents two experiments to support the general hypothesis that the coordination of actions between individuals promotes the acquisition of cognitive coordinations. The first experiment shows that two children, working together, can successfully perform a task involving spatial coordinations; children of the same age, working alone, are not capable of performing the task. The second experiment shows that subjects who did not possess certain cognitive operations involved in Piaget's conservation of liquids task acquire these operations after having actualized them in a social coordination task.
Developmental study of fair division and property
Authors: Moessinger Pierre 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis paper attempts to describe how sharing behavior develops. Subjects were pairs of children aged 4 to 15. The experimental situation follows the pattern of a rich sharing with a poor, that is, subjects do not possess the same amount at the beginning of the experiment. Three stages emerge:

— Up to 6–7 years the subjects do not compare the different sets (initial belongings, set to be shared) and proceed often by alternating actions (give and take).
— From 6–7 to 11–12 years they even out their final belongings (what they possess after sharing). Initial belongings and objects to be shared are considered in the same way.
— From 11–12 years on, there is a distinction between initial belongings and the set that is to be shared, based on the assumption that they are dealing with two different types of property.
Attribution of behavioral intentions to obese and normal‐weight stimulus persons
Authors: Galper Ruth Ellen , Weiss Ethel 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis study examines the relationship between the attribution of traits and the attribution of short‐term, situation‐specific intentions and probable behaviors, with particular reference to the perception of obese persons. College students performed one of four tasks: (1) Rating photographs of obese and normal‐weight female faces for likeability and attractiveness; (2) attributing short‐term intentions and probable behaviors to these stimulus persons within the context of briefly described social interactions; (3) judging the situationally determined demand characteristics of the intentions and probable behaviors; or (4) judging the ‘meaning’ of the intentions or behaviors in terms of trait scales.The results demonstrate that although the obese faces were consistently rated significantly less likeable and less attractive than the normal‐weight faces, these judgments were paralleled by only a few differences in the situation‐specific intentions or behaviors attributed to the two groups of stimulus faces. It is suggested that impression‐formation measured in terms of global, dispositional characteristics such as traits cannot be assumed to directly predict many differences in behavioral expectations in specific interpersonal settings. On the basis of the few attributions of intention which did discriminate, an ‘obese personality’ stereotype emerged, consisting either of socially undesirable traits or traits of ambiguous social desirability.The implications of the relationships among traits, intentions and situational demand characteristics for an interactive model of situational vs. personality determinants of expected behavior are discussed.
Cognitive dissonance and the placebo response: The effect of differential justification for undergoing dummy injections
Authors: Totman Richard 
Published: May 2007

AbstractStudied the effects of cognitive dissonance on pain perception and attitudes towards injections in 48 student subjects of both sexes (average age = 20.5). In a ‘forced compliance’ design, subjects received sets of painful radiant heat stimuli, projected to their inside forearms, which they rated for painfulness and to which their GSR amplitude was recorded. During these stimuli, they ‘chose’ to receive an experimental (placebo) injection. The degree of justification for agreeing to be injected was varied. Subjects in the high‐justification (HJ) condition were paid for their compliance, while subjects in the low‐justification (LJ) condition were not paid.Two predictions were made from dissonance theory. The first prediction, that only LJ subjects would manifest significant post‐injection analgesia when compared to subjects in a no‐choice control condition, was confirmed, considering both pain ratings (p < 0.01) and GSR (p < 0.025). The second prediction, that only LJ subjects would rate injections more favourably than control subjects on a post‐experimental measure, was not confirmed.The relevance of these findings to explanation of the placebo effect is discussed.
On the so‐called ‘superior conformity of the self’ behavior: Twenty experimental investigations
Authors: Codol Jean‐Paul 
Published: May 2007

AbstractIn comparison processes between the self and others within a given social set, a marked tendency has been frequently observed for each person to present himself as more in conformity with the social norms prevailing in the set under consideration than others participating in this set generally are. This type of behavior has been designated here as ‘superior conformity of the self behavior’ (also called ‘PIP effect’). This article sets out to synthesize twenty experimental investigations in which it was attempted to delimit and explain this behavior.A first set of experiments deals with the observed scope of the superior conformity of the self behavior. For this purpose, variations are systematically introduced in the characteristics of comparative situations: Types of sets of individuals (for instance, real groups or abstract sets — social categories); types of norms under consideration (for instance, norms dealing with the concrete execution of a task, norms relating to forms of behavior — personality characteristics, etc.); manners of comparing oneself with others (for instance, a specifically defined other or generalized others; comparisons on past, present or future behavior, etc.).Having tested the scope of the superior conformity of the self behavior in various ways, we proceed to explain it theoretically and experimentally. Our explanation here is based on the existence of a fundamental conflict between two simultaneous processes that are both complementary and contradictory: The individual's need, on the one hand, for social conformity, which tends toward standardization and de‐individualization; on the other hand, his simultaneous search for social differentiation and individualization. This explanation is tested in a second set of experiments.Our final purpose is to show the practical and theoretical importance of the study of the superior conformity of the self behavior in social psychology. In this connection we have shown, in a third set of experiments, how such a behavior can play a role in many phenomena studied by social psychology.
Three weighting criteria in impression formation
Authors: Warr Peter , Jackson Paul 
Published: May 2007

AbstractWhen several items of information are combined to give an overall judgement, it is usually found that some kinds of item are given greater weight than others. This study examines the relations between three criteria which judges may use in deciding how to apportion these weights. The criteria of evaluative direction and extremity have of ten been studied within impression formation, while demonstrations of the influence of ambiguity have produced unclear findings.Simple models of the combination of these three criteria are shown to be inadequate and a more complex account is suggested. A study is reported in which divergence between the criteria of extremity and ambiguity results in a generally greater bias to negative. This effect is related to other studies of the influence of inconsistency, and range adjustment model of the judgement process is extended to take it into account.
Group participation and intergroup relations: An experimental study of negotiation groups
Authors: Stephenson Geoffrey M. , Skinner Martin , Brotherton C. J. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractNegotiations were conducted to investigate the effects on settlement‐points andon the attitudes and perceptions of participants of (i) group participation and (ii)belief in own group's point of view, in a 2 × 2 factorial design. Ninety‐six school children prepared cases in groups of four before representing their group's position against an individual of a similarly prepared opposed group. Group participation was manipulated by groups either participating in preparatory discussions or observing video films of another group's discussions. Belief was manipulated by systematically varying the composition of groups according to scores on a pre‐test of attitudes towards the raising of the school‐leaving age.In general the belief manipulation operated as expected, ‘believers’ exhibiting less variability, more tit‐for‐tat agreements and less opinion change than the ‘disbelievers’. Group participation did not influence the measures as predicted, and measures of interpersonal perception did not conform to the pattern of findings in recent experiments on intergroup discrimination. The results are discussed in terms of (i) their relevance to the issue of the appropriate relationship of the representative to his group in a negotiation and (ii) their implications for intergroup relations theory.
Linguistic factors and meaningfulness of personal constructs
Authors: Lemon Nigel 
Published: May 2007

AbstractStudied the effect of linguistic development and social appropriateness of a language upon the meaningfulness of personal constructs articulated in this language. Subjects were 60 bilingual pupils from a boys secondary school in Tanzania. Linguistic development was manipulated by choosing pupils who had either 1½ years or 3½ years experience of instruction in English. For each subject constructs were elicited and grids administered in both English and Swahili. Two types of elements were used, for one of which Swahili was the socially more appropriate language and for the other, English. Results from the study indicate that rating polarization is a function of both linguistic development and appropriateness of language for construing the domain in question. These results are therefore interpreted as indicating that meaningfulness of personal constructs, as indicated by rating polarization, can have linguistic determinants.
Distracting stimuli: Do they elicit or inhibit counterargumentation and attitude shift
Authors: Haslett Deirdre Maccann 
Published: May 2007

AbstractStudied the effects of distracting stimuli, presented simultaneously with a persuasive but counterattitudinal communication, on subvocal counterargumentation and attitude shift. All subjects were first‐year undergraduate male students at Birmingham University, England. The 80 experimental Ss who formed ten different treatment groups, responded to distracting sequences of numbers by performing visual, auditory, vocal and manual tasks, and combinations thereof, while listening to the message. The base‐line group of 28 Ss merely listened to the same communication, which advocated compulsory male sterilisation. After task completion, all Ss were given a six‐item Likert‐type attitude measurement questionnaire, a counterargumentation measurement similar to that devised by T. C. Brock (1967) and a three‐item comprehension test of the arguments used in the communication. The results suggest that distracting stimuli which are greater in intensity or which require a more ‘active’ response from the recipient (up to a certain level of activity) are more likely to inhibit counterargumentation and thus elicit shift toward agreement with the message (while leaving comprehension levels unaffected) than those which are lower in intensity, or which require either a ‘passive’ or a ‘high‐active’ response.
Studies in social influence III: Majority versus minority influence in a group
Authors: Moscovici Serge , Lage Elisabeth 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThis experimental study was aimed at investigating the mechanisms of influence involved in the two functionally opposed phenomena of innovation and conformity. We have been concerned for several years with the former of these two phenomena because of its intrinsic importance and the limited amount of research devoted to it.In the present article we have attempted not only to analyse the position more thoroughly, but also to compare the effects of innovation with those of conformity. In particular, we have endeavoured to show that behavioural style acts as a general source of influence in the two phenomena under consideration, where manifest judgments are concerned. On the other hand, the latent effects of influence may be different in the two cases of innovation and conformity.To investigate these questions, we developed an experimental design consisting of three parts. The first part was intended to study manifest influence on a quasi‐physical judgment based on a cultural truism. The second part was aimed at the study of latent modifications in the perceptual‐cognitive code as a result of influence. The third, in the form of a postexperimental questionnaire, was intended to provide information about various aspects, including the perception of the agent of influence by subjects. The main function of the experimental manipulations was to vary the minority or majority relationship of the agent of influence within a group, and its behavioural style, consistent or inconsistent.Our main findings indicate that behavioural consistency is the main factor behind the influence exerted by both majority and minority. But whereas, in conformity, influence is limited to modifying manifest judgments, in innovation, it changes the perceptual‐cognitive code underlying such judgments.
The perception of filmed violence by aggressive individuals with high or low self‐concept of aggression
Authors: Searle Ann 
Published: May 2007

AbstractAn experiment was devised which tested the classical theory of projection. Subjects completed a Rosenzweig Picture Frustration Study form (RPFS) also rated themselves for aggressiveness on rating scales. Highly aggressive subjects were classified according to whether they rated themselves as high aggressive or tow aggressive. Subjects watched one of two full‐length commercial films, and the ratings which high‐aggressive, high‐self‐rating subjects and high‐aggressive, low‐self‐rating subjects gave to film characters were compared. It was found that aggressive film characters were rated as being more aggressive by the low‐self‐rating subjects than by the high‐self‐rating subjects. The possible explanation that this finding could be related to more general differences between subjects was not supported. It was therefore concluded that the results of this experiment were best explained by the predictions of classical projection theory, with the proviso that aggression was only projected onto those film characters whose behaviour provided appropriate cues.
In search for schemata underlying the inference of traits from interpersonal sentiment relations
Authors: Peeters Guido 
Published: May 2007

AbstractThree schemata relevant to the inference of traits attributed to a and b from respectively reciprocal liking and disliking relations between a and b are derived from the research literature: (a) Homogeneity according to which likable traits would be attributed to a and b if they like each other, while dislikable traits if they dislike each other; (b) balance according to which more similarity would be attributed to a and b if they like each other than if they dislike each other, the relative similarity effect being localized on a likableness dimension; (c) positivity bias according to which favorable traits would be attributed irrespective of the stimulus information given.An experiment is reported which provides support for the three schemata with the exception that no unequivocal evidence is obtained for the restriction of the balance effect to a likableness dimension. Further, individual Ss are found not to have stable preferences for particular schemata but to switch readily from one schema to the other.
Attitudinal variables as estimates of behavior: A theoretical examination of the attitude‐action controversy
Authors: Perry Ronald W. , Gillespie David F. , Lotz Roy E. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractDiscusses the current status of the controversy about the relationship between individual's attitudes and subsequent behavior. It is suggested that one step toward the resolution of the existing controversy is the construction of a formal theory, specifying and integrating variables other than attitude into the framework. To this end, a model (in propositional form) is advanced focusing on attitude, centrality and salience as determinants of action. The model was partially tested through reanalysis of survey data dealing with attitudes and behaviors of 221 individuals with regard to halting air pollution. The data confirmed that subjects for whom the attitude object was central exhibited a higher level of attitude‐behavior consistency than subjects for whom the attitude object was of low centrality. It is argued that the use of the proposed model clarifies relationships which otherwise might incorrectly be interpreted and provides a practical logic for determining when a comparison may be reliable and when one should beware of probable measurement difficulties.
Ineffective deception in conformity research: Some causes and consequences
Authors: Stang David J. 
Published: May 2007

AbstractSuspiciousness of deception threatens the internal validity of the conformity experiment, and analyses suggest it is becoming more widespread. After being led to believe their own ability in a visual judgment task was higher, lower, or the same as the ability of the other group members, 65 undergraduate women made visual and informational judgments in the Crutchfield apparatus. Major findings include treatment effects on suspiciousness, less conformity by suspicious Ss, and ‘significant’ treatment effects on conformity only when suspicious Ss were removed from the analyses. Measures of self‐confidence and confidence in others were significantly related to and likely determinants of suspiciousness. Implications for improving deception in conformity research are discussed.
The use of psychological theories by ‘naive’ judges: A study in implicit personality theory
Authors: Bierhoff Hans Werner , Bierhoff‐Alfermann Dorothee 
Published: May 2007

AbstractSixty‐three subjects judged the behaviour of one of two fictitious stimulus persons by means of five different types of explanation which corresponded with specific psychological theories. These types of explanation based behaviour on adaptation to external conditions, reward/punishment, fulfilment of role expectations, effects of unconscious motives and the imitation of models.The explanations were evaluated on graphic rating scales as to their truth and convincingness. Two‐way analyses of variance with repeated measures on one factor showed significant main effects for type of explanation and interaction effects of stimulus person × type of explanation for both dependent variables. The results are discussed in the light of studies done so far in implicit personality theory.
Increasing the size of the minority: Some gains and some losses
Authors: Nemeth Charlan , Wachter Joel , Endicott Jeffrey 
Published: May 2007

AbstractBoth folklore and much of the social psychological literature suggest that influence and numbers go hand in hand. The more the people espousing a particular position, the more they are presumed to be correct, and the more influence they will exert. Such a contention has received support in the conformity literature (Asch, 1955). However, recent work in minority influence demonstrates that a few people, provided they show particular consistency and confidence, are able to exert influence on a majority. We have hypothesized that such perceptions of consistency and confidence bear an inverse relationship to size of the minority. Combining these two findings, we predicted that, as size of the minority increases, their presumed competence increases but their presumed confidence in their position decreases. We further predicted that a combination of the two perceptions is the best predictor of influence exerted by that minority. These predictions received support in the present study.