Attributions restore consistency in bargaining with liked/disliked partners

The experiment deals with the impact of self-esteem and liking for the partner on the attribution of agreement and deadlock in bargaining. Fifty-eight male and 70 female students played the Harsanyi-Selten bargaining game with incomplete information eight times, allegedly each time with a randomly selected partner. In fact in four games a computer program simulated the partner. Combining an experimental variation of liking (liking—disliking), own costs (low, high), partner costs (low, high) the experiment followed a 2×2×2 repeated measures design. As predicted by a path model from balance theory (a) failure (deadlock) was attributed more to the partner and less to self than success (agreement), (b) success was attributed more to the liked than the disliked partner, whereas failure was attributed more to the disliked than the liked partner.     

The effect of stimulus person valence on divergent self-other attributions for success and failure

Two experiments investigated self-other attributions for success and failure. In Experiment 1, high and low achievers completed a modified IAR scale either for themselves or another. Regardless of achievement motives, more personal attribution for failure was assigned to oneself than to a neutral other. In Experiment 2, additional scales for liked and disliked others were administered and scale item importance was varied. On global and individual causal measures, neutral and liked others were credited more and disliked others less for success than oneself, and liked others were blamed less and disliked others more for failure than oneself and neutral others. Item importance produced few effects. Results were interpreted in terms of informational considerations in self-other attribution.     

Construct similarity, self-meaningfulness, and interpersonal attraction

Self-meaningfulness, a concept arising from personal construct theory research, has been defined in terms of the importance of the self in the personal construct system Forty-two undergraduate volunteers completed Repertory Grid ratings of the self and 15 individuals (five liked, five disliked, and five toward whom the subject was neutral) It was found that high self-meaningfulness individuals' ratings of attraction were more strongly associated with the perception of similarity than were the ratings of low self-meaningfulness subjects High self-meaningfulness subjects saw liked individuals as significantly more similar to the self than did low self-meaningfulness subjects In addition, liked, neutral, and disliked figures were seen as significantly different from one another on the similarity to self-measure for high self-meaningfulness subjects Only disliked figures were judged as more distant from the self for low self-meaningfulness subjects These findings were discussed in terms of the importance of investigating individual differences in similarity-attraction     

Attributions of stability and relevance of personality traits

This experiment tested a number of hypotheses derived from trait theory, attribution theory and interactional psychology. Forty subjects rated the stability and relevance of 60 pre-selected traits of three role-related people and themselves in four specific social situations. The traits were categorized beforehand in terms of their structural, motivational and content properties, and whether they were positive or negative. There was a significant difference in the perceived stability of positive and negative traits between liked and disliked people; positive traits being seen as significantly more stable in liked people and less stable in disliked people. However, subjects did not attribute significantly less stability to their own behavioural traits than to those of others in the same situations. It was also demonstrated that trait labels are seen to be differentially relevant for describing people in different social situations. The results are discussed in terms of the work on stability and cross-situational consistency in trait and attribution theory and person-situation research.     

Determinants of the Magnitude of Goal Valence: The Interactive Effects of Need,Instrumentality, and the Difficulty of Goal Attainment

An experiment was conducted in which subjects could earn either a high (14/15) or a low (1/15) chance of winning a McDonald's Big Mac hamburger by successfully performing a difficult or very difficult memorization task. During the morning hours prior to the experimental session, half the subjects did not eat (high need) whereas the rest did (low need). As predicted, anticipatory ratings of the attractiveness of the hamburger increased across task difficulty for subjects in high need given the high chance and decreased across task difficulty for subjects in low need given the high chance. Furthermore, ratings were low and unaffected by task difficulty for the low-need subjects given the low chance. An unexpected increase in attractiveness ratings among subjects in high need given the low chance provided the impetus for a second experiment. In this study, subjects, all of whom were in high need, were given either an extremely high (79/80) or an extremely low 0/80) chance of winning the hamburger given success on the difficult or very difficult task. With this stronger manipulation, the attractiveness ratings of the hamburger increased as a function of task difficulty for subjects given the high' chance and, unlike the first experiment, decreased modestly as a function of task difficulty for subjects given the low chance. Results of the two experiments are discussed in terms of the energization theory of motivation.     

Nonimmediate language style and inconsistency between private and expressed evaluations

It was hypothesized that certain language style variations would reflect apprehension about affirming the validity of communication content. Wiener and Mehrabian (Language within language: Immediacy, a channel in verbal communication. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts,1968) have identified a cluster of such variations called verbal nonimmediacy, which they describe as indicators of psychological distance between the communicator and his/her communication. Four experiments are reported. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that communication about positive manifestations of disliked traits and negative manifestations of liked traits was more nonimmediate than when positive manifestations of liked traits or negative manifestations of disliked traits were described. This was true both when one's own or another's personality traits were described. In Experiment 3, nonimmediacy was found to increase when communications involved clear fabrications about either one's liked or disliked traits. Experiment 4 showed that when self-regard was experimentally manipulated, low self-regard subjects showed more opinion conformity and nonimmediacy in their disclosures to a confederate than did high self-regard subjects.     

Self-disclosure and liking: An integration theory approach

Integration theory models predict that sequences increasing or decreasing in intimacy should have less impact on attraction than constant intimate or nonintimate disclosures. Male and female subjects (N= 159) conversed with a videotaped confederate. Each confederate relayed six disclosures in one of five intimacy sequences: increasing, constant high, decreasing, constant low, and random. The confederate either had a choice of topics and sequence or they were imposed. Substantial support was found for integration theory models. The constant high disclosers by choice were liked more than their no-choice controls and the constant low disclosers by choice were disliked more than their no-choice controls. The mixed sequences (increasing, decreasing, and random) produced no significant differences.     

Physical Attractiveness and Social Assertiveness Skills in Male Homosexual Dating Behavior and Partner Selection

Abstract

The present study proposed that a male homosexual would most often expect to date, would try to date, and would like a partner of a physical attractiveness level higher than his own. One hundred dyads of male homosexuals were matched on the basis of physical attractiveness and social assertiveness so that all possible combinations of high and low physical attractiveness and social assertiveness were represented. Each pair of 50 dyads experienced a computer date through a tea dance arranged by the experimenter. Regardless of the subject's own physical attractiveness and social assertiveness, the largest determinant of how much his partner was liked and how much he wished to date his partner again was the partner's physical attractiveness. Neither the level of physical attractiveness nor the level of social assertiveness of a partner, however, influenced how often a subject subsequently asked the partner for a date.     

The role of affective assessment in intelligence testing

Based on the tenets of logical learning theory and the research in its support, it was predicted that subjects (87 seventh and eighth graders) would score higher on subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children which they had assessed positively than on those which they had negatively assessed. This superiority on liked over disliked subtests was also predicted to be greater for Black than for White subjects and for lower class, compared with middle class, subjects. Subjects performed significantly better on their liked than on their disliked subtests, p < .01, supporting the telic human image advanced by logical learning theory. No racial or social class differences in this effect were seen.     

Is self disclosure by a physically handicapped proband reciprocated by the interaction partner? An experimental study of the effect of physical handicap on interaction behavior with non-handicapped interaction partners

An experimental study tested whether an able-bodied person's positive disposition toward a disabled interaction partner was effective in the amount of reciprocation given to the disabled partner's self-disclosure. Sixty female subjects were confronted with either a disabled or nondisabled conversation partner who showed either a high or a low amount of self-disclosure. We anticipated that a "sympathy" effect of disablement in the amount of the subjects' self-disclosure would result from the nondisabled partner's overcompensation. This arises from an effort to compensate the negative, stereotyped attitudes to the disabled in actual behavior toward a single, disabled person by more strongly reciprocating the self-disclosure of a disabled interaction partner compared to a nondisabled one. Results showed that, contrary to expectations, self-disclosure was equally reciprocated with both a disabled and a nondisabled partner. However, a "sympathy" effect was found in the impression judgments on the disabled partner who had shown a high amount of self-disclosure in the previous conversation. The lack of a "sympathy" effect in the amount of self-disclosure was possibly the result of (1) the reciprocation of self-disclosure not being exclusively determined by intentional control processes; and/or (2) the evaluative significance of the amount of self-disclosure not being clear to the subjects in the interaction studied. It is concluded that the efforts of the nondisabled to show an unprejudiced attitude toward a disabled interaction partner are mostly effective in other aspects of behavior than the amount of self-disclosure.     

"Eating lightly" and the self-presentation of femininity

In Experiment 1, male and female subjects were given an opportunity to snack as they participated in a "get-acquainted study" with a same-sex or opposite-sex partner (confederate) whose social desirability was manipulated. Consistent with the hypothesis that women may eat less when motivated to present themselves in a feminine light, female subjects ate significantly less with a desirable male partner than in the remaining three conditions. In contrast, male subjects did not eat more (or less) with a desirable woman, although they did show an overall tendency to eat less with female (vs. male) partners. In Experiment 2, female subjects snacked as they got acquainted with a desirable male partner (confederate). Before this interaction, subjects received feedback indicating that they had either very masculine or very feminine interests. In addition, subjects believed either that their male partner was aware of their gender feedback or that he was unaware. Consistent with predictions derived from Schlenker's (1982) analytic-identity theory of social conduct, subjects in the partner-aware conditions ate less when they had received masculine (vs. feminine) feedback, whereas subjects in the partner-unaware conditions ate less when they had received feminine (vs. masculine) feedback. Implications for understanding eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are discussed.     

Task performance and magnitude of goal valence

J. W. Brehm and his associates (J. W. Brehm, R. A. Wright, S. Solomon, L. Silka, & J. Greenberg, 1983, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 19, 21–48) recently argued that the magnitude of goal valence (the attractiveness or unattractiveness of a potential outcome) varies directly with motivational arousal level. Motivational arousal, in turn, is thought to be a function of the perceived difficulty of goal attainment. This formulation was tested in the present study by examining the relationship between goal attractiveness ratings and performance on an anagram task. According to the Yerkes-Dodson law (R. M. Yerkes & J. D. Dodson, 1908, Journal of Comparative Neurological Psychology, 18, 459–482), the relationship between motivational arousal and performance should be curvilinear; optimal performance is usually observed for moderate levels of motivation relative to either low or very high motivation levels. Consistent with the Brehm et al. hypothesis, optimum performance in the present study was observed for subjects who reported moderate levels of goal attractiveness relative to subjects who reported either low or high levels of goal attractiveness. Anticipatory ratings of the difficulty of the anagrams were also congruent with the Brehm et al. model. These findings converge with data from other studies supporting the utility of goal attractiveness as an index of motivational arousal and provide an additional dimension of support for the model proposed by Brehm et al.     

Factors affecting judgements of how much another likes us: A signal detection approach

Investigated the effects of subjects' self-concept and the attractiveness of the other on subjects' estimates of how much the other liked them. The use of a signal detection paradigm allowed the measurement of both the criteria and discriminability of subjects' decisions. Eighty mule and 80 female subjects participated in a computer match where they received either somewhat positive or somewhat negative feedback from their match. Besides sex and type of feedback, the factorial design included dating self-concept (high vs. low) and other-attractiveness (high vs. low). Results indicate that high dating self-concept subjects had a lower criterion than low dating self-concept subjects for saying that another liked them (p < .0l), and that the former group was superior to the latter at discriminating between the two types of feedback (p < .03). Also, males were more willing to say that the attractive match liked them than that the unattractive match liked them, while among females the direction of these differences reversed (p < .03). fie results were explained in terms of differential attention to pay-off matrices and prior odds.     

Ethnic role taking: The effects of preference and self-identification(1)

Children aged 6 to 9 years were asked to take the role of people from different ethnic groups. They were to do this by attributing kinship preferences to persons from their own ethnic group, from their most liked ethnic group and from their most disliked ethnic group. The first experiment conducted with White Americans demonstrated that they were able to attribute similar-ethnicity preferences to people from their own and from their liked ethnic group, but not to people from a disliked group. Two sorts of errors were made: those resulting from egocentrism and those resulting from undifferentiated perception. A second experiment was conducted with Canadian Indian children in which more extensive attitude and perception measures were taken. Multiple regression analyses suggested that kinship attribution was based more on similarity between role person and kin than it was on the child's own egocentric preferences. The Indian children also made fewer errors on the disliked role. This was discussed in terms of conflicts about group identity and preferences.     

Judging deservingness and affect in relation to another's employment or unemployment: a test of a justice model

In a study that was based on a structural model of deservingness, 24 male and 80 female undergraduate students responded to scenarios in which either a liked or disliked unemployed stimulus person expended either high or low effort and then either obtained employment or remained unemployed. Results showed that, when the outcome was employment, judgements of responsibility, deservingness, and pleasure about the successful outcome were higher when the stimulus person expended high effort rather than low effort. When the outcome was unemployment, judgements of responsibility, deservingness, and reported pleasure about the unsuccessful outcome were higher when the stimulus person displayed low effort rather than high effort in seeking a job and participants reported feeling less sympathetic and more annoyed with the stimulus person and less inclined to provide financial assistance. Liking relations had most effects in the employed condition. The employed outcome elicited more reported pleasure and less resentment for the liked stimulus person and he or she was judged to be more responsible for and more deserving of employment than the disliked stimulus person. The results were discussed in relation to component balanced and unbalanced structures within the structural model and they also suggested some elaboration of the responsibility variable. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reinforcement as positive or negative meaning-extension: An empirical demonstration

According to logical learning theory, a reinforcement involves the extension of meanings predicated by subjects who are asked to perform in a learning task. Based on this theoretical position, it is predicted that subjects who are administered a reinforcement following their successful anticipation of the second member of a paired-associates unit will acquire their liked trigrams more readily than their disliked trigrams (mixed lists). Conversely, it is predicted that subjects who are reinforced following their incorrect anticipations of the second paired-associates member will acquire their disliked trigrams more readily than their liked. College students (divided equally by sex) were exposed to one of three reinforcement conditions: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and no reinforcement (control). Trigrams reliably rated for likability by each subject were used as learnable materials. Although the control condition did not perform as expected, the remaining experimental conditions support the hypotheses.     

What do I think you're doing? Action identification and mind attribution

The authors examined how a perceiver's identification of a target person's actions co-varies with attributions of mind to the target. The authors found in Study 1 that the attribution of intentionality and cognition to a target was associated with identifying the target's action in terms of high-level effects rather than low-level details. In Study 2, both action identification and mind attribution were greater for a liked target, and in Study 3, they were reduced for a target suffering misfortune. In Study 4, it was again found that action identification and mind attribution were greater for a liked target, but like that for the self or a liked other, positive actions were identified at higher levels than negative actions, with the reverse being true for disliked others. In Study 5, the authors found that instructing participants to adopt the target's perspective did not affect mind attribution but did lead to higher level identifications of the target's actions.     

Liked Music Increases Spatial Rotation Performance Regardless of Tempo

Performance on spatial rotation tasks has been shown to improve following listening to music that one likes with the explanation that the fast tempo, and the major mode associated with it, increases arousal and mood. However, given that research also shows that people sometimes like slow-tempo music as much as fast-tempo music it seems remiss that this preference effect has not been explored for slow-tempo music. We extend previous findings by using a more ecologically-valid method and explore whether the tempo effect was independent of the preference for the music, especially when the music is of a slow tempo. Participants listened to both liked and disliked music, in either a fast or slow tempo, prior to completing a series of spatial rotation tasks. In both tempos, liked music was associated with significantly better spatial rotation performance than disliked music. Interestingly, disliked, fast-tempo music was no better than liked, slow-tempo music. Results are discussed with respect to the arousal and mood literature.     

Desire for control and reaction to proattitudinal and counterattitudinal arguments

The role of motivation for control in an individual's reaction to persuasive arguments was examined. Subjects scoring either high or low on an individual difference measure of desire for control (DC) were exposed to a position on the Equal Rights Amendment with which they either initially agreed or disagreed. It was found that more often high-DC subjects exposed to a proattitudinal message changed their attitudes in the direction advocated than did low DC subjects. Conversely, more often low-DC subjects exposed to counterattitudinal arguments changed their attitudes in the direction of the advocated position than did high-DC subjects. The findings suggest that a motivation to control events may be operative in some attitude-change situations.     

Disliked Music can be Better for Performance than Liked Music

Although liked music is known to improve performance through boosting one's mood and arousal, both liked music and disliked music impair serial recall performance. Given that the key acoustical feature of this impairment is the acoustical variation, it is possible that some music may contain less acoustical variation and so produce less impairment. In this situation, unliked, unfamiliar music could be better for performance than liked, familiar music. This study tested this by asking participants to serially recall eight‐item lists in either quiet, liked or disliked music conditions. Results showed that performance was significantly poorer in both music conditions compared with quiet. More importantly, performance in the liked music condition was significantly poorer than in the disliked music condition. These findings provide further illustration of the irrelevant sound effect and limitations of the impact of liked music on cognition. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.