Social interaction,observation, and stereotypes as determinants of differentiation in peer ratings

The goal of this investigation was to discover the relationships among peer rating items under three rating information conditions. One hundred British managers made peer ratings based on social interaction, observation, and sterotype information. These data were factor analyzed (using both simultaneous and independent factor solutions) to assess differentiation in each condition. By several criteria, ratings based on interaction were different from ratings based on observation or ratings based on stereotypes. A second set of data was submitted to an independent factor analysis to validate the reported findings. The results of initial and validation data are similar, though not, of course, identical. Implications for future research and behavior-based ratings are discussed.     

The interaction of hunger and thirst in the rat

Two groups of rats were given a series of trials in an enclosed runway with a food reward at the end, one group being run hungry, the other hungry plus thirsty. Then each group was split into three sub-groups: one run hungry, the second thirsty and the other hungry plus thirsty, in each case without food reward.

It was found that, whereas on the rewarded runs the extra, “irrelevant,” thirst increased running speed, on unrewarded runs it had the opposite effect and slowed up performance. Thus on unrewarded runs the two sub-groups running thirsty, and hungry plus thirsty, ran as slowly as those running hungry. Differences were found not to depend on whether the animals had been hungry or hungry plus thirsty on previous rewarded runs.

The interaction of primary needs therefore depends on the external situation. This can be accounted for in terms of the Pavlovian theories of mutual induction and conditioning, but not in terms of Hull's theory of “irrelevant drives.”     

Race vs belief as determinants of attraction,in a group interaction context

Three experiments which tested the’ effects of race vs belief similarity as determinants of prejudiced responding in a live interaction situation,are reported. Two black and two white confederates engaged a white S in a discussion of an issue (ROTC in Experiments I and II and abortion in III). One white and one black confederate agreed with the S’s position and the other pair disagreed. Ss then rated all four confederates on a variety of scales. Results showed strong belief effects in all three experiments but very few race effects. A few measures showed a “renegade effect” against dissimilar white confederates. It was concluded that simply increasing the power and realism of the experimental situation does not in any important way increase the number of racially prejudiced responses. Some conditions which may elicit strong and consistent race prejudice effects are discussed.     

Personality, job level, job stressors, and their interaction as predictors of coping behavior

Hypotheses concerning the relationships among job stressors, job level, personality, and coping responses were investigated in a sample of 305 electrical contracting employees. Coping behaviors were measured with questionnaire items based on interviews conducted with a sample of the subjects. Neuroticism (N) and Extraversion (E) were the personality variables most strongly related to coping behavior. Overall, more coping variance was explained by personality than by job stressors; however, when the effects of job level and job stressors were combined, they explained more variance in complaining/quitting and seeking social support than did the personality variables. Both work situation and personality seem to be important variables in the choice of coping behaviors. There was no evidence of interactions among personality, stressors, and job level in explaining coping behavior.     

Hunger, eating, and ill health

Humans and other warm-blooded animals living with continuous access to a variety of good-tasting foods tend to eat too much and suffer ill health as a result--a finding that is incompatible with the widely held view that hunger and eating are compensatory processes that function to maintain the body's energy resources at a set point. The authors argue that because of the scarcity and unpredictability of food in nature, humans and other animals have evolved to eat to their physiological limits when food is readily available, so that excess energy can be stored in the body as a buffer against future food shortages. The discrepancy between the environment in which the hunger and eating system evolved and the food-replete environments in which many people now live has led to the current problem of overconsumption existing in many countries. This evolutionary perspective has implications for understanding the etiology of anorexia nervosa.     

Age, sex, social class, and quality of family interaction as determinants of adolescents' future orientation: a developmental task interpretation

This study is concerned with the effect of age, sex, social class, and quality of family interaction on the future orientation of adolescents aged 10-11, 14-15, and 17-19 years. Seventy-three girls and 75 boys were interviewed about their future hopes and fears. The content and extension of each aim and fear as well as the amount of planning, knowledge, and perceived locus of control involved was estimated from answers. The contents of aims and fears were closely related to the developmental tasks. Nearly half the subjects were afraid of war. The extension of subjects' future orientation decreased, whereas their knowledge about the future increased with age. The subjects from the higher social classes were oriented farther into the future than those from the lower classes. An interpretation emphasizing the importance of the principal developmental tasks on young people's future orientation is discussed.     

Mimicry in social interaction: Benefits for mimickers,mimickees, and their interaction

Mimicry has benefits for people in social interactions. However, evidence regarding the consequences of mimicry is incomplete. First, research on mimicry has particularly focused on effects of being mimicked. Secondly, on the side of the mimicker evidence is correlational or lacks real interaction data. The present study investigated effects for mimickers and mimickees in face‐to‐face interaction. Feelings towards the immediate interaction partner and the interaction in which mimicry takes place were measured after an interaction between two participants in which mimicry did or did not occur. Results revealed that mimickers and mimickees became more affectively attuned to each other due to bidirectional influences of mimicry. Additionally, both mimickers and mimickees reported more feelings of having bonded with each other and rated the interaction as smoother.