Effects of visual presentation of caloric values on food buying by normal and obese persons.

The effects of the visual presentation of the caloric values of food on the food buying behavior of 450 normal, overweight, and obese female subjects were studied, in a cafeteria setting. The caloric signs significantly decreased the total number of calories bought across all three weight groups. No differences were found among the three weight groups, either in the effect of the presentation of the caloric signs or in the total number of calories bought. The implications of these results were discussed, both in terms of present-day research on obesity as well as in terms of a large scale modification of eating behavior.     

Attribution bias: On the inconclusiveness of the cognition-motivation debate

Social psychologists have given considerable theoretical and research attention to whether motivational variables bias the attributions people make for behavior. Some theorists maintain that motivational constructs must be invoked to explain certain attributional phenomena; other theorists maintain that information-processing variables can adequately explain these phenomena. The present article critically examines existing cognitive and motivational approaches to attribution and analyzes the assumptions underlying the cognition-motivation debate. We argue that cognitive and motivational theories are currently empirically indistinguishable. In particular, its is possible to construct information-processing explanations for virtually all evidence for motivated bias. We conclude by examining the implications of this indeterminacy of cognitive and motivational explanations. Future research in the area can most profitably be addressed to improving the specificity of cognitive and motivational theories rather than to resolving the between-theory confrontation.     

Perceptual vigilance and defense revisited: evidence against Blum's psychoanalytic theory of subliminal perception.

Blum's (1954) interpretation of psychoanalytic theory leads him to predict that Ss will defend against a threatening stimulus which is just below a recognition threshold and be vigilant toward the same stimulus when it is farther below the same threshold. 7 males and 9 females were presented the same four Blacky pictures, at the same speed and illumination, and using the same procedure as Blum. The results offered no support for the theory of perceptual vigilance or defense. The many weaknesses inherent in Blum's theory and supporting methodology were discussed.     

An intervention to increase walking requires both motivational and volitional components: a replication and extension

An intervention to increase walking has previously been developed, consisting of three motivational techniques, designed to increase self-efficacy, and three volitional techniques, designed to help translate intentions into action. Previous research found large effects (d?=?0.90) on the objectively measured walking behaviour of 130 English adult volunteers, mediated by self-efficacy. The present study aimed to replicate this intervention, and decompose the intervention to assess whether both motivational and volitional intervention components are necessary. A three-group experimental design was employed, with n?=?35 adult volunteers randomly allocated to receive one of three interventions: (a) a "combined" intervention, containing motivational and volitional components in session at T1 and a filler task at T2, (b) a "motivation first" intervention, where the motivational components were received at T1 and the volitional components at T2, or (c) a "volition first" intervention, where the volitional components were received at T1 followed by motivational components at T2. At T2, there was a significant main effect of time, such that there was an increase in walking, but this did not differ between groups. At T3, the "combined" intervention group showed a large (d?=?1.06) and significant (p?=?0.036) increase in walking behaviour, in contrast to both other interventions (time?×?groups interaction, p?=?0.003). The "combined" intervention also produced a significant increase in self-efficacy, relative to the two other interventions. This study demonstrates generalisability of previous large intervention effects and suggests that use of both motivational and volitional components is optimal in producing change in walking behaviour. Future research should explore the mechanisms by which techniques to increase self-efficacy and planning interact.     

Implicit theories and motivational focus: Desired future versus present reality

People’s beliefs concerning their abilities differ. Incremental theorists believe their abilities (e.g., intelligence) are malleable; entity theorists believe their abilities are fixed (Dweck in Mindset: the new psychology of success. Random House, New York, 2007). On the basis that incremental theorists should emphasize improving their abilities for the future, whereas entity theorists should emphasize demonstrating their abilities in the present reality, we predicted that, when thinking about their wishes, compared to entity theorists, incremental theorists focus more toward the desired future than the present reality. We assessed participants’ motivational focus using a paradigm that differentiated how much they chose to imagine the desired future versus the present reality regarding an important wish (Kappes et al. in Emotion 11: 1206–1222, 2011). We found the predicted effect by manipulating (Study 1) and measuring implicit theories (Study 2), in the academic (Study 1) and in the sport domain (Study 2).     

Ego Disjunction as a Factor in Intersexual Attraction

The influence of individuals' intrapsychic motivational conflicts on intersexual dyad formation was investigated. Both members of 71 engaged couples served as Ss. Motivational conflict was assessed with two indices of ego disjunction, one developed by Trehub and the other derived by the present authors from the Trehubian model. Low albeit significant positive correlations were found between the scores of male and female Ss. These results are interpreted as indicative of a modest tendency for persons high in motivational conflict to be attracted to one another.     

谜语问题解决中线索的作用

汉语谜语在性质上属于顿悟问题,当谜语的谜底为汉语成语时,这样的谜语问题称为成语谜语问题。本研究探讨线索在成语谜语问题解决中的作用特点与方式。三个实验以汉语成语谜语问题为实验材料,采用了语义线索与规则线索,操纵了线索的有效性（有效线索占75％,无效线索占25％）,以及线索呈现的时间长短（长时间即阈限上呈现线索（实验1）,短时间（20ms）即阈限下呈现线索（实验2与实验3））两个因素。实验1与实验2的任务是要求被试写出成语谜语问题的答案（谜底）,实验3则要求被试从6个备择答案中选择出正确的答案。被试为武汉某大学的206名低年级本科生。实验结果表明,（1）无论是阈限上还是阈限下呈现规则线索,有效规则线索对成语谜语问题的解决具有促进作用;（2）有效语义线索对谜语问题的解决具有促进作用,而且,阈限上有效语义线索对谜语问题解决的促进作用更大;（3）阈限上呈现两类无效线索时,它们对成语谜语问题的解决都具有干扰作用;但是,阈限下呈现两类无效线索时,它们对成语谜语问题的解决没有干扰作用。     

The Bransford-Franks linear effect: Integration or artifact?

It was hypothesized that the Bransford-Franks linear effect is an artifact of the method of presentation of stimulus sentences and is unrelated to semantic processes. Ss were given sentences containing the same information in one of two ways. In a control condition, which was identical to the procedure used in earlier research, overlapping combinations of ideas were presented during learning and recognition; in an experimental condition, ideas were presented one at a time. Results demonstrated that one-idea sentences received significantly higher recognition confidence ratings in the experimental condition, thus supporting the artifact interpretation. It was proposed that Ss assign recognition confidence ratings based on the probability that a sentence containing a certain number of ideas could have occurred in acquisition.     

Cueing signals in auditory detection and frequency discrimination experiments

The effects of presenting a cueing signal during the warning interval initiating a trial were investigated in two-interval forced-choice detection and frequency-discrimination experiments. It was expected that the cueing signal would reduce the uncertainty of Ss about the stimuli being presented in these experiments. In general, it was found that performance tended to improve as the experiments progressed, both in conditions in which cues were presented and in control conditions in which no cues were presented. The improvement observed in control conditions is not usually found in similar experiments in which cues are not employed. Though performance generally improved, it was found that for some stimulus conditions the cues tended to depress average performance below the level attained without such cues.     

Systems approaches to the treatment of motivation in human action: Three notes

Baumeister’s energizing call-to-arms suggests theorists might wish to adopt more “radical” approaches toward theorizing about the role of motivation in human action. By radical, I mean re-igniting strands of theoretical analysis that were once more common in psychological scholarship but which have fallen to the wayside. At the heart of this argument is the proposal that theorists adopt an explicit systems approach to the study of motivation. Motivation would be neither a property of the organism potentially harboring it nor of the environment that triggers it. Instead, the complex interplay between the organism and environment would be the primary object of analysis. With this in mind, it would be wise to make three specific three notes. First, people are motivated not only by what they want to do, they literally feel anxious to avoid undesired actions and outcomes, too. Second, adaptive motivation would likely match motive to affordances in the environment that aid in motivational pursuits. Third, it might be important to identify a basic level in motivations, the level of motivational specificity containing the motives that predominantly drive human action.     

Standards for Internet-based experimenting

This article summarizes expertise gleaned from the first years of Internet-based experimental research and presents recommendations on: (1) ideal circumstances for conducting a study on the Internet; (2) what precautions have to be undertaken in Web experimental design; (3) which techniques have proven useful in Web experimenting; (4) which frequent errors and misconceptions need to be avoided; and (5) what should be reported. Procedures and solutions for typical challenges in Web experimenting are discussed. Topics covered include randomization, recruitment of samples, generalizability, dropout, experimental control, identity checks, multiple submissions, configuration errors, control of motivational confounding, and pre-testing. Several techniques are explained, including "warm-up," "high hurdle," password methods, "multiple site entry," randomization, and the use of incentives. The article concludes by proposing sixteen standards for Internet-based experimenting.     

Personality, ideology, prejudice, and politics: a dual-process motivational model

Early theorists assumed that sociopolitical or ideological attitudes were organized along a single left-right dimension and directly expressed a basic personality dimension. Empirical findings, however, did not support this and suggested that there seem to be 2 distinct ideological attitude dimensions, best captured by the constructs of right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation, which express 2 distinct sets of motivational goals or values. We outline a dual-process motivational (DPM) model of how these 2 dimensions originate from particular personality dispositions and socialized worldview beliefs and how and why their different underlying motivational goals or values generate their wide-ranging effects on social outcomes, such as prejudice and politics. We then review new research bearing on the model and conclude by noting promising directions for future research.     

The effects of reinforcement and social approval on conforming behaviour

The effects of reinforcement, social approval and sex on conformity were studied. Seventy-two male and 72 female college Ss were divided into equal high and low need for social approval groups. Each group was assigned to 1 of 3 experimental conformity conditions: (a) True-agree; (b) neutral; and (c) true-disagree. The groups were tested via a social conformity apparatus. It was found that: (a) Reinforcement for agreeing with a contrived group consensus (true-agree group) elicited more conformity than social pressure without reinforcement (neutral group), which in turn elicted more conformity than reinforcement for disagreeing with the consensus (trueA- disagree group); (b) females conformed more than males; (c) there was a slight tendency for high social approval Ss to conform more than low social approval Ss. Conformity was explained in terms of social learning, and it was suggested that the situational factor of reinforcement was a more important determinant of conformity than the motivational factor of social approval. The modified conformity scoring procedure used focuses on the conformity process.     

Predicting emotional concomitants of learned helplessness: The role of motivational orientation

Previous theoretical and empirical analyses indicate that an extrinsic motivational orientation, i.e., performing activities to please others or concern with criticism, predicts the cognitive and behavioral deficits associated with learned helplessness. Conversely, intrinsically motivated students, who perform activities for the inherent pleasure of mastery over challenge, have been shown to be virtually resilient to successive failure experiences and even show a facilitation effect. However, research has not yet addressed the extent to which motivational orientation predicts the emotional deficits associated with helplessness—namely, depression and a maladaptive attributional style. Furthermore, no research has examined the relative predictability of these variables to investigate subjects' feelings after an experimental manipulation of failure. The present research found support for the proposition that an extrinsic motivational orientation predicts depression and the Expanded Attributional Style Questionnaire. More importantly, our findings demonstrated that an extrinsic motivational orientation was a more reliable predictor of subjects' feelings after a failure manipulation than either depression or a maladaptive attributional style. These findings are discussed in light of intervention strategies to attenuate the development of an extrinsic motivational orientation in students.     

Toward a Sustainable Society: Waste Minimization Through Environmentally Conscious Consuming1

The experiment was an educational intervention that promoted and described an ongoing environmental tagging program located in a chain of three local grocery stores. Model Community, a nonprofit community organization, originated the environmental product tagging program that was present throughout the experimental educational intervention and was also responsible for sponsoring educational efforts in the local elementary schools and in the media. Over the period of a year, the experimental intervention was expected to stimulate self-reported environmentally conscious consuming above the level generated by the tagging program alone and above the levels reported by shoppers who did not shop at the experimental stores. Environmentally conscious consuming or precycling implies buying products packaged in recyclable materials, buying least waste packaged (bulk or minimally packaged) products, and buying “safer earth” (nontoxic or alternatives to harsh chemicals) products. Contrary to expectations, there was no significant interaction effect of year (preintervention vs. postintervention) and group (experimental store vs. control group) on self-reported environmentally friendly consuming, implying that the experimental educational intervention did not have an effect. An investigation of the significant main effect of shopping at the environmentally tagged stores showed a significant positive effect on purchasing less toxic products, knowledge about Model Community, and awareness of the environmental tagging program. An examination of more aggressive educational campaigns in future studies is warranted because of more overall positive (although not significant) environmental shopping behaviors reported in 1990, when there was an active education program for Model Community, than in 1991, when the program ceased.     

Working smarter: The effects of motivational orientations on purchasing task selection and retail buyer performance

Retail buyers' motivational orientations can influence which tasks they select in order to perform their jobs and which kinds of buying mistakes they may be likely to make. Research reported here found that intrinsically motivated buyers were more likely to use diverse sources of information, to seek and recommend new vendors, to have more positive relationships with vendors and sales personnel, and to make fewer “Type 2” buying errors. Discussion focuses on managerial and theoretical contributions of the findings.     

Rod involvement in peripheral color processing

Abstract.— It has previously been suggested that rods act as blue receptors in peripheral color vision. Two experiments examining this issue were conducted. Experiment 1 investigated the perceived hue of a test light presented at a luminance level above chromatic threshold. At 8° in the periphery, the 500 nm test light was perceived as more blue under conditions of dark adaptation than after light adaptation. Similar differences were not found for foveal presentation. The increased blue in the periphery after dark adaptation was attributed to a rod contribution. In Experiment 2 an attempt was made to mix a rod contribution obtained with a 470 nm light below chromatic threshold, with a cone color obtained from a 670 nm light presented above chromatic threshold. No evidence was obtained to support the idea that a blue produced by rods stimulated below chromatic threshold could mix with a red produced by cones stimulated above chromatic threshold. The results are discussed in terms of a rod contribution to hue which is dependent on the luminance level of short wavelength stimulation.     

Role of feedback in voluntary control of heart rate.

The relative effectiveness of biofeedback techniques on the voluntary control of heart rate was examined by randomly assigning 32 Ss to one of four feedback conditions in a bi-directional heart-rate control task: (1) no feedback, (2) binary feedback--S was signaled when an interbeat interval had changed in the correct direction, (3) "real-time," proportional feedback--S was provided information about the relative duration of successive interbeat intervals, and (4) numerical, proportional feedback--each interbeat interval was represented as a numeral indicating its relationship to pre-trial mean by direction and magnitude. Significant over-all heart-rate changes were evidenced for both increase and decrease directions, but no differences were found between the feedback conditions. While these data suggest that feedback may be a relatively insignificant factor in voluntary heart-rate control, it was recommended that further investigation examine the role of feedback within the context of other training, mediating and motivational variables.     

Feature lists and confusion matrices

This report compares three feature list sets for capital letters, previously proposed by different investigators, on the ability of each to predict empirical confusion matrices. Toward this end, several variants of assumed information processes in recognition were also compared. The best model incorporated: (1) variable feature retrieval probabilities, (2) a goodness-of-match lower threshold below which guessing determines response, and (3) response bias on guessing trials. This model, when combined with one particular proposed feature list set, produced stress values of less than 9% in comparisons to empirical matrices for each of three different Ss. The feature retrieval probability vectors associated with these minimum-stress predictions were highly correlated ( \(\bar r = .83\) ), suggesting considerable generality of process and feature sets between Ss.     

Personality characteristics of opiate addicts

18 Ss dependent on opiate drugs completed three personality trait questionnaires, and were compared with 18 controls matched for demographic variables. The drug dependent sample were significantly higher than controls in psychoticism, but lower in extraversion and telic dominance. No difference between the groups was found in locus of control. These data are compared with existing research.