Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut, Sometimes You Don't: Citizens' Ambivalence About Abortion

Recent research has recognized that many people simultaneously hold positive and negative attitudes about important political issues. This paper reviews the concept of attitudinal ambivalence and introduces a survey measure of ambivalence adapted from the experimental literature. An analysis of two statewide telephone surveys of Florida voters reveals that (1) a number of voters have ambivalent attitudes about abortion rights; (2) the amount of ambivalence varies according to the circumstances (elective versus traumatic) under which an abortion is obtained; (3) ambivalence about elective abortions is essentially unrelated to ambivalence about traumatic abortions; (4) voters who support abortion rights are more ambivalent about elective abortions than about traumatic abortions, whereas the pattern is reversed for abortion rights opponents; and (5) extreme views in support of or opposition to abortion rights can sometimes mitigate the amount of ambivalence felt by voters.     

Abortion attitudes, 1984-1987-1988: effects of item order and dimensionality.

The comparability of surveys is often hampered by differences in the item order of presentation. The major focus of the present study was to investigate whether a general item or a specific item at the beginning of the questionnaire would affect the endorsement as well as the scalability of a set of attitude items. By using a quasi-A-B-A experimental design for the six abortion items that appeared in the Edmonton Area Survey for the years 1984, 1987, and 1988, we found that the order of presentation of the items affected dramatically the endorsement of the abortion items. Approval of a general item was considerably higher when asked first than when asked after a specific item. In contrast, it was shown by means of a nonparametric item response theory model (the Mokken scale analysis) that the unidimensionality of the six abortion items was not affected by the manipulations of item order (i.e., the six abortion items measured the same concept in the three surveys). It was concluded that the six items are unidimensional and, therefore, create a single scale to measure the change in abortion attitudes across the three periods.     

Attention and memory cues in concept learning as a function of task complexity and age

The effects of attention and memory cues on concept learning performance were investigated as a function of task complexity and grade level of Ss. It was found that: (1) the attention and memory cues were closely interrelated in their effects upon performance with both significantly improving performance at all but the lowest levels of complexity; (2) both types of cues considerably lessened the effect of stimulus complexity upon performance; and (3) the attention cue elicited the best performance from Ss in the first through ninth grades, while the memory cue elicited the best performance from 4-year-old and kindergarten Ss.     

Self-Actualization of “Paranormals”

A sample of 56 Ss nominated by others as paranormals and self-stated as experiencing paranormal (occult) phenomena, were administered measures purportedly reflected dimensions of the self-actualization concept. Ss reported both their interest in, and experience of, 15 areas of paranormal phenomena. Ss were given the Marlowe-Crown Social Desirability Scale (measuring ego-defensiveness), Shostrom's Self-Actualization Test (POI), and an Aphorism test (designed to measure degree of “expanded awareness”). Ss scores were compared with various normative and experimental group scores for the three tests. Although statistically significant differences were rare, there was usually a trend for paranormals to score in the direction of self-actualization on most measures.     

Some effects of epistemological structure on memory

Graph theoretical models of the epistemological structure imposed upon a set of mathematical concepts by Ss’ definitions of them were constructed. Three graphical characteristics of the models were manipulated in a series of experiments to assess their effects on recall. Experiment I showed that recall and confidence of recall were highest for concept pairs connected by short paths, next highest for those connected by long paths, and lowest for those not connected by paths. Experiment II replicated the result of Experiment I that recall and confidence of recall were greater for concept pairs connected by paths than for those not connected by paths and revealed no differences in recall between concept pairs connected by many paths and those connected by a few paths. Experiment III found no differences in recall of abstract and concrete concepts, The abstractness of a concept was quantified by the mean path length from the concept to primitive (undefined) concepts. The approach of building a model of each S’s epistemological structure was supported by the finding that, while a given. S’s definitions of the concepts remained relatively constant, there were considerable differences in definitions of the concepts between Ss.     

The self concept of the adolescent with learning disabilities

The Coopersmith Self Esteem Inventory (CSEI) was administered to 23 Ss diagnosed to have learning disabilities, and normally achieving seventh graders (N = 70) to investigate: a) whether differences exist between the self-esteem of the adolescent with learning disabilities and the normally achieving adolescent, b) the dimensions of self concept in which these differences occur, and c) the relationship between self concept and the number of years in the special classroom for the adolescent with learning disabilities. The data were fitted to a 2 X 2 (ability X school) fixed effects non-orthogonal multivariate analysis of variance model. A significant difference (p less than .05) in "social self-peer" self concept favoring the "normally" achieving S's was found. A trend was evidenced for more negative "general self" and "school-academic" self concepts for the learning disabilities sample. Number of years in the special class did not appear associated with self concept as measured by the CSEI.     

高、低强迫症状个体的词语再认差异

比较了高强迫症状（High obsessive compulsive symptom, HOC）和低强迫症状（Low obsessive compulsive symptom, LOC）被试对于不同类型词语（强迫症敏感词、情绪词和中性词）再认成绩和记忆信心的差异。结果发现,HOC组记忆保存量显著低于LOC组（p<0.05）,表明HOC组对强迫症敏感词存在一定的偏好;通过对被试反应信心的检测和信号侦察论的应用,发现HOC组对中性词再认正误的判断觉察能力（d’值）低于LOC组（边缘显著：p＝0.054）;在正确反应信心上,被试类型和词语类型间存在交互作用,F(1,22)=4.60,p<0.05。本研究认为HOC组辨别能力的缺损可能导致其记忆信心方面的降低,这种假设还需要进一步的认知和脑功能研究来证实。     

Abortion outcome as a function of sex-role identification

The present study investigated the relationship between sex-role identification and abortion outcome in 120 women receiving first trimester abortions. The sex-role concept dimension was measured both by self-attributions of sex-role traits (as measured by the Bern Sex-Role Inventory) and by life-style (career vs. homemaker) trait attributions. Psychological and physiological aspects of abortion outcome were included; slightly more than 7% of scores were in the symptomatic range, similar to percentages found in previous studies. Both Androgyny (r = -.42, p <.001) and Masculinity (r = -.23, p <.05) were found to be related to positive abortion outcome. Androgyny was more strongly related, which suggests that a balance of masculine and feminine traits, at least for women in the post-abortion situation, is preferable to high Masculinity scores alone. Congruence between one's self-image and one's image of a career woman was also found to be related to abortion outcome (r =.31, p <.01). In attempting to differentiate between the upper and lower 10% of the distribution of abortion outcome, only two variables, Androgyny and self-career congruence, survived parameter criterion, and accounted for 32% of the variance.     

Evaluation of hypotheses in concept identification

The aim of this paper is to investigate the nature of hypothesis evaluation in conceptual tasks, especially in the identification of bidimensional concepts. In such tasks, hypothesis testing is seen as being composed of sampling and evaluation stages. With complex problems only one hypothesis seems likely to be sampled on each trial, and it is suggested that this hypothesis is evaluated according to a statistical decision-making process. In Experiment I, Ss were given an initial hypothesis involving one of eight rules and required to test it in an attempt to find a concept. When this given hypothesis was true (i.e., the concept), no difference was found between rules for the number of instances selected to the criterion of solution. Moreover, there was a tendency for Ss to choose instances which were predicted to be positive according to the hypothesis under test. Experiment II examined the role of memory in hypothesis testing. Immediate recall of instances selected revealed no difference between true and false hypotheses. Both primacy and recency effects were evident in recall. The number of instances correctly recalled was more than expected by models of hypothesis sampling and evaluation, and this was attributed to Ss having a low criterion for recall without intrusions. Examination of intrusions suggested that Ss may have retained some, but not all, of the features of the stimuli selected. Some differences were found between rules and between positive and netative instances on recall. These effects were suggested to be due to different amounts of information processing when classifying each type of instance for each rule; the results of Experiment III supported this suggestion.     

Efficiency of Learning as a Function of Practice Schedule and Initial Ability

2 groups of 50 Ss practiced a pursuit rotor skill under different schedules of practice. A massed practice (MP) group (40 sec. work, 20 sec. rest) performed just as well as a distributed practice (DP) group (20 sec. work, 20 sec. rest) on the first day of practice. However, after 24 hr. of interpolated rest MP Ss demonstrated significantly greater amounts of learning. A further analysis of the 15 high initial ability and 15 low initial ability Ss from each of the two main groups resulted in no statistical differences among these subgroups in Day 1 performance that could be attributed to the practice schedules; however, a significant Ability Level × Practice Schedule interaction was obtained for Day 2 performance. It was caused by the low ability Ss under MP learning relatively more than the high ability Ss under MP when compared to the two DP groups. Thus learning was seen as being a function not only of schedule of practice but also of initial ability level.     

Visual recognition memory in reflective and impulsive children

Twenty-nine reflective and 29 impulsive fifth-grade boys were tested in a forced-choice visual recognition memory task. In three of the experimental conditions (1FD, 2FD, 4FD) the number of visual feature differences between the correct and incorrect test stimuli was 1, 2, or 4, and correct response could not be based on the name of the stimulus; in the fourth condition (DO) the correct and incorrect test stimuli had different names. As predicted, performance on DO and 4FD was equivalent and was superior to that on 1FD and 2FD. Although reflective Ss made more correct responses than impulsive Ss in all four conditions, only the performance difference in Condition 1FD was significant. Mean correct response latencies mirrored the correct response data. These results were consistent with the Selfridge-Neisser feature-testing model of recognition memory, and it was argued that the primary underlying basis for the dimension of reflection-impulsivity was that reflective Ss tend to engage in a more detailed visual feature analysis of stimulus arrays. Strong inferential evidence was provided that visual feature analysis independent of verbal labeling was responsible for successful recognition performance in these Ss.     

Small-group effectiveness on an administrative task as influenced by knowledge of results and sex composition of the group

Two experiments were designed to investigate some possible extensions to Locke's theory of task motivation and incentives. In experiment 1 (192 Ss) the effect of KR on small-group effectiveness (SGE) was analyzed. The SGE-measurements (productivity and group atmosphere) were based on a subjective operationalization of the concept ?small-group effectiveness'. Five one-way analyses of variance revealed no significant influence of KR on SGE thus supporting Locke's findings. In experiment 2 (64 Ss) homogeneous male groups were compared to homogeneous female groups to find out whether sex composition of the group would have a significant influence on SGE. Five Fisher t-tests revealed no differences between the means of male and female groups. In this case, too, Locke's theory was supported. Limitations and implications of these results are discussed.     

Separation anxiety and the inhibition of aggression in preschool children

The anxiety, aggression, and affiliation responses of 10 high- and 10 low-separation-anxious 3-year-old children were observed under a control and a frustrating condition to test the hypothesis that separation anxiety is associated with the inhibition of aggression. High-separation-anxious Ss manifested significantly less (p < .01) increased aggression to frustration than did low-separation-anxious Ss; there were no group differences in state anxiety arousal or affiliation responses. The results were discussed in terms of the concept of anxiety as a drive having both cue and response-enhancing functions.This study was funded by a college research grant from the New York State College of Human Ecology at Cornell University. Special thanks are due to James Cox, Lisa Fremont, and Sharon McNulty for their help in carrying out this study and to the staffs and children of the Ithaca preschool programs who made this research possible.     

A further psychometric investigation of the sensation seeking scale form-v and its relationship to the EPQ-R and the I.7 impulsiveness questionnaire

The present study was an investigation of the basic psychometric properties and the factor structure of the Sensation Seeking Scale (Form-V). The relationship between Zuckerman's concept of Sensation Seeking and the Eysenckian dimensions of personality was also investigated. The SSS (Form-V), the EPQ-R and the I.7 were administered to 192 S's (58 male and 134 female). Means and standard deviations were calculated for all scales and reliability was tested. Discrepancies are reported between the mean scale scores obtained in the present study and those reported by Eysenck et al. (1985a, b) and Zuckerman et al. (1978). Item factor analysis (ML) was performed on the SSS (Form-V). The results of this suggests that the factor structure of the SSS (Form-V) is similar to that reported by Zuckerman et al., for the female Ss, in the present study. For the male Ss, however, the factor structure is not in keeping with that reported by other writers. Intercorrelations were run between the sub-scales of the SSS (Form-V), the EPQ-R scales and the I.7 scales, for males and females separately. A rather curious positive correlation emerged between P and L, which is not in keeping with previous work in this area. These matrices were subsequently factor analysed. Four factors were extracted for both the male and female sub-samples and identified as P, E, N and General Sensation Seeking. The results of this analysis, taken with the results of multiple regression analysis suggests that the SSS (Form-V) does not share very much identity or relationship with the EPQ-R or the I.7.     

Modeling a tactile sensory register

A detailed analysis was made of the data of a previous paper by Bliss et al (1966). That paper describes a series of experiments, in which 2 to 12 simultaneous air-jet stimuli were presented on the 24 phalanges of both hands. In addition, new data from an early blind S, whose performance was significantly better, is compared to the data of the original four Ss. Memory properties of all five Ss estimated by whole- and partial-reporting techniques gave evidence for a tactile short-term memory that (1) has a duration of a few seconds, (2) varies considerably in size (but not in temporal characteristics) for different Ss, and (3) has a capacity limited by spatial resolution. Tactile masking did not account for the limited spatial resolution, but a stimulus-spreading (or lateral-excitation) model did.     

Semantic desensitization: language conditioning or demand characteristics manipulation?

Previous studies in language conditioning, especially those called semantic desensitization, have shown changes in self-report, behavioral measures, and the semantic meaning of the target concept following treatment. This last has been proposed as a causal variable but experimental and control groups differed greatly in terms of their demand characteristics. The present study included a placebo group with demand characteristics similar to those of the control group. The target area was self-concept (18 male Ss, 9 female Ss). Significant changes in self-report and actual performance with a hand dynamometer were obtained but these were as great for the placebo group as for the experimental groups. It was suggested that factors other than conditioning are of importance in semantic desensitization.     

“Sanctity-of-Life“—A Bioethical Principle for a Right to Life?

For about five decades the phrase “sanctity-of-life“ has been part of the Anglo-American biomedical ethical discussion related to abortion and end-of-life questions. Nevertheless, the concept’s origin and meaning are unclear. Much controversy is based on the mistaken assumption that the concept denotes the absolute value of human life and thus dictates a strict prohibition on euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. In this paper, I offer an analysis of the religious and philosophical history of the idea of “sanctity-of-life.” Drawing on biblical texts and interpretation as well as Kant’s secularization of the concept, I argue that “sanctity” has been misunderstood as an ontological feature of biological human life, and instead locate the idea within the historical virtue-ethical tradition, which understands sanctification as a personal achievement through one’s own actions.     

Positive Emotions Speed Recovery from the Cardiovascular Sequelae of Negative Emotions

Two studies tested the hypothesis that certain positive emotions speed recovery from the cardiovascular sequelae of negative emotions. In Study 1, 60 subjects (Ss) viewed an initial fear-eliciting film, and were randomly assigned to view a secondary film that elicited: (a) contentment; (b) amusement; (c) neutrality; or (d) sadness. Compared to Ss who viewed the neutral and sad secondary films, those who viewed the positive films exhibited more rapid returns to pre-film levels of cardiovascular activation. In Study 2, 72 Ss viewed a film known to elicit sadness. Fifty Ss spontaneously smiled at least once while viewing this film. Compared to Ss who did not smile, those who smiled exhibited more rapid returns to pre-film levels of cardiovascular activation. We discuss these findings in terms of emotion theory and possible health-promoting functions of positive emotions.     

Positive Emotions Speed Recovery from the Cardiovascular Sequelae of Negative Emotions

Two studies tested the hypothesis that certain positive emotions speed recovery from the cardiovascular sequelae of negative emotions. In Study 1, 60 subjects (Ss) viewed an initial fear-eliciting film, and were randomly assigned to view a secondary film that elicited: (a) contentment; (b) amusement; (c) neutrality; or (d) sadness. Compared to Ss who viewed the neutral and sad secondary films, those who viewed the positive films exhibited more rapid returns to pre-film levels of cardiovascular activation. In Study 2, 72 Ss viewed a film known to elicit sadness. Fifty Ss spontaneously smiled at least once while viewing this film. Compared to Ss who did not smile, those who smiled exhibited more rapid returns to pre-film levels of cardiovascular activation. We discuss these findings in terms of emotion theory and possible health-promoting functions of positive emotions.