Age and forgetfulness: perceivers' impressions of targets' capability.

In a person perception paradigm, 72 young and 72 old adult Ss listened to tape recordings of a nonforgetful, moderately forgetful, or highly forgetful female target person being interviewed for a volunteer job. Ss then rated their opinion of the target's memory and how likely they would be to assign the target to easy and difficult tasks. Overall, Ss gave higher memory opinion ratings to old than to young targets. As expected, they were more likely to assign tasks to nonforgetful than to forgetful targets. However, they were more egalitarian than was hypothesized in their task assignment ratings for forgetful young versus forgetful old targets.     

The influence of evaluation and potency on perceivers' causal attributions

In two experiments, this paper examines how the labels used to describe interpersonal interactions can affect perceivers' judgments of who caused the interaction. Two universal, connotative dimensions of word meaning underlying the labels, evaluation and potency, influenced expectations about interactants' behaviors and experiences, which in turn affected perceivers' causal attributions. Evaluation and potency ratings for a set of experiencer verbs, a set of action verbs, a set of trait labels (Experiment 1) and a set of social category labels (Experiment 2) were used to construct sentences describing interactions between two people. The complete set of sentences contained all possible combinations of high or low evaluation and potency for all the sentence constituents. Participants were asked to judge who caused the event—subject or object—without having been told that evaluation and potency were the dimensions of interest. When the sentence subject and object differed in evaluation, the evaluative match between the sentence subject and the verb was the most important factor influencing attributions. The potency of the constituents and the class of the verb (experiencer or action) affected the magnitude of the attributions. When the sentence subject and object shared the same valence, attributions were based on verb class. The results highlight the important role of language in interpreting social behavior. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceptions of childfree women: The role of perceivers' and targets' ethnicity

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of ethnicity on perceptions of voluntary childfree women. We were interested in determining whether mothers were viewed as more stereotypically positive than women without children and how the ethnicity of the participant and the target impacted participants' ratings. We utilized vignettes and manipulated motherhood status and ethnicity of the target. Participants (n = 224) were comprised of female university students in the southwestern region of the United States. Results indicated that women view childfree women negatively. Moreover, women view African American mothers more favourably than childfree African American women. Results are discussed in terms of gender roles in communities of colour. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of approach and withdrawal motivation on interactive economic decisions

Although recent economic models of human decision making have recognised the role of emotion as an important biasing factor, the impact of incidental emotion on decisions has remained poorly explored. To address this question, we jointly explored the role of emotional valence (i.e., positive vs. negative) and motivational direction (i.e., approach vs. avoidance) on performance in a well-known economic task, the Ultimatum Game. Participants had to either accept or reject monetary offers from other players, offers that vary in their degree of unfairness. A main effect of motivational direction, but not valence, was observed, with withdrawal-based emotion (disgust and serenity) prompting more rejections relative to approach-based emotion (anger and amusement) and a neutral state. These results further confirm that subtle incidental moods can bias decision making, and suggest that motivational state may be a useful framework to study such decisions. Implications with regard to emotion, cognitive neuroscience, and clinical psychology are discussed.     

An experimental investigation of the interaction between displays and models in multicriteria decision support

An experiment in multicriteria decision support was conducted that examined two types of information displays, two different multiattribute models and two levels of task complexity in a laboratory setting with students as subjects. The findings focused on the ‘process’ behaviour and the ‘design’ elements of the human-machine interface. Findings concerning the process behaviour suggested that the subjects' actions on data acquisition were guided by their cognitive preference for the attributes, but that the subjects had no discernible search pattern for evaluation. Findings for design included a significant interaction between display and model in weight estimation and assessment. The practical implications for software design are also discussed.     

Activity organization and knowledge construction during competitive interaction in table tennis

Using a semiological framework and course-of-action theory, this study analyzes the activity of a top-level table tennis player during a match. Recorded data from an international meet was obtained and then supplemented by verbalization data from a post-match interview. The meaningful units that made up the player’s course of action were labelled so as to: (a) reconstruct the dynamics of the activity as the match took place, (b) point out how the player’s mode of involvement evolved, and (c) determine how knowledge was constructed in action. The player began the match by attempting to discover the particular features of the opponent’s play. This was followed by the reproduction of the effective actions just discovered. The player’s activity during the match did not consist of applying predefined plans, but included exploration, learning, disguising, and indetermination. The results raise the question of the role of practice and training in producing skillful performance.     

The social side of shame: approach versus withdrawal

ABSTRACT

At present, the consequences and functions of experiences of shame are not yet well understood. Whereas psychology literature typically portrays shame as being bad for social relations, motivating social avoidance and withdrawal, there are recent indications that shame can be reinterpreted as having clear social tendencies in the form of motivating approach and social affiliation. Yet, until now, no research has ever put these alternative interpretations of shame-motivated behaviours directly to the test. The present paper presents such a test by studying the extent to which shame motivates a preference for social withdrawal versus a preference for social approach. Two studies (N?=?148 and N?=?133) using different shame inductions both showed people experiencing shame to prefer to be together with others (social approach) over being alone (social withdrawal). In addition, the preference for a social situation was found to be unique for shame; it was not found for the closely related emotion of guilt. Taken together, these findings provide direct empirical support for the idea that shame can have positive interpersonal consequences.     

Affect-congruent approach and withdrawal movements of happy and angry faces facilitate affective categorisation

Increasing evidence indicates that evaluation of affective stimuli facilitates the execution of affect-congruent approach and avoidance responses, and vice versa. These effects are proposed to be mediated by increases or decreases in the relative distance to the stimulus, due to the participant's action. In a series of experiments we investigated whether stimulus categorisation is similarly influenced when changes in this relative distance are due to movement of the stimulus instead of movements by the participant. Participants responded to happy and angry faces that appeared to approach (move towards) or withdraw (move away) from them. In line with previous findings, affective categorisation was facilitated when the movement was congruent with stimulus valence, resulting in faster and more correct responses to approaching happy and withdrawing angry faces. These findings suggest that relative distance indeed plays a crucial role in approach–avoidance congruency effects, and that these effects do not depend on the execution of movements by the participant.     

Popular and aggressive boys' initial social interaction patterns in cooperative and competitive settings

Thirty-two third- and fourth-grade popular and aggressive boys were observed individually attempting to enter a game being played by a mixed-status unfamiliar-peer dyad in both competitive and cooperative game settings. Consistent with previous findings, popular entry children were accepted more readily into the game situation than were aggressive children. Popular children tended to approach the situations using more prosocial questions while their aggressive peers tended to use demands. More differences in entry strategies were noted in the competitive than in the cooperative game setting. While most entry children directed their first entry bid toward the aggressive game host, they reported having liked the popular game host best when the game was finished. Additionally, the quality of game interactions was observed to become more positive following a popular child's entry, while becoming more negative following an aggressive child's entry. The results are discussed in terms of leadership roles and implications for both assessment and intervention settings and strategies.The authors wish to acknowledge the support and cooperation of the Greensboro, North Carolina, public and parochial schools, and the assistance of William Livingston.This paper was presented at the 19th Annual Convention of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Houston, Texas.     

Intensity and direction dimensions of competitive state anxiety: a time-to-event approach

The purpose of the present study was to examine the temporally patterned changes in intensity and direction of competitive state anxiety prior to and during competition as well as correlations among intensity and direction on the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2D subscale scores. 99 athletes completed the inventory one day before and an hour before the competition, based on how they felt during that time, and 30 min. after the competition with reference to how they felt during the competition. Analysis indicated different temporal patterning in subscale scores prior to competition. Correlations were medium (.40) for Intensity and Direction dimensions. Significant differences were noted between scores of those classified as Facilitators and Debilitators on the Intensity dimension. The results support the multidimensional nature of competitive anxiety. Moreover, additional information lies in directional interpretation of competitive anxiety and self-confidence.     

The effect of red and blue uniforms on competitive anxiety and self-confidence in virtual sports contests

IntroductionThe present study aimed to examine the effect of blue and red uniform colors on competitive anxiety and self-confidence in virtual sports competitions.ObjectiveWe hypothesized that blue is related to higher levels of self-confidence (a feeling related to the approach motivational system), whereas red is related to higher levels of anxiety (a feeling related to the avoidance motivational system).MethodParticipants were confronted with an opponent dressed in either blue or in red.ResultsResults revealed that participants who were exposed to an opponent in blue reported a higher level of self-confidence, while those who were exposed to an opponent in red reported a higher level of cognitive anxiety, supporting the view that blue (red) is related to the approach (avoidance) motivational system.ConclusionOur findings incite a pursuit of the examination of the relationship between blue, red, competitive anxiety, and self-confidence in sport competitions.     

HIV status acknowledgment and stigma reduction in virtual reality: The moderating role of perceivers' attitudes

HIV‐related stigmatization in employee selection procedures may be enacted through discrimination based on an applicant's HIV status. This study (N = 58) investigated to what extent applying an acknowledgment strategy in a job interview setting reduces HIV‐related stigma, taking into account the applicants' personal responsibility and the perceivers' attitudes toward people living with HIV (PLWH). In an immersive virtual office, virtual applicants with HIV presented themselves as part of a job application procedure. Using a 2 (acknowledgment versus non‐acknowledgment) × 2 (responsible versus not responsible for the onset of the HIV‐infection) within‐subjects design, we hypothesized that acknowledgment and onset responsibility would yield an interaction effect as well as separate main effects. We predicted that hearing virtual job applicants acknowledging their HIV status triggers higher evaluations, especially when applicants are not held personally responsible for their infection. In addition, we hypothesized that (between‐subjects) positive implicit and explicit attitudes independently moderate the relationship between acknowledgment and applicant evaluation. We found that low‐onset responsible applicants were more positively evaluated than high‐onset responsible applicants (main effect of onset responsibility), F(1, 57) = 4.31, p = 0.04. This effect was irrespective of the applicants' status acknowledgment (no interaction effect). Acknowledgment did, however, produce higher evaluations when participants' explicit attitudes toward PLWH were more positive, F(1, 57) = 7.13, p = 0.01 (moderation effect of explicit attitudes). This study indicates that the more positive the explicit attitudes toward PLWH, the more positive the evaluations when hearing PLWH acknowledging their stigma. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Knowing that strawberries are red and seeing red strawberries: the interaction between surface colour and colour knowledge information

This study investigates the interaction between surface and colour knowledge information during object recognition. In two different experiments, participants were instructed to decide whether two presented stimuli belonged to the same object identity. On the non-matching trials, we manipulated the shape and colour knowledge information activated by the two stimuli by creating four different stimulus pairs: (1) similar in shape and colour (e.g. TOMATO–APPLE); (2) similar in shape and dissimilar in colour (e.g. TOMATO–COCONUT); (3) dissimilar in shape and similar in colour (e.g. TOMATO–CHILI PEPPER) and (4) dissimilar in both shape and colour (e.g. TOMATO–PEANUT). The object pictures were presented in typical and atypical colours and also in black-and-white. The interaction between surface and colour knowledge showed to be contingent upon shape information: while colour knowledge is more important for recognising structurally similar shaped objects, surface colour is more prominent for recognising structurally dissimilar shaped objects.     

Patterns of mother-infant interaction and attachment: A cluster-analytic approach

This study examined stability and change in patterns of mother-infant interaction between 5 and 10 months and their relation to attachment security at 18 months. Cluster analysis was used to identify patterns of dyadic interaction. There was significant, but not substantial, stability in cluster membership from 5 to 10 months. For females, being in the most optimal cluster at 5 months related to subsequent attachment security, regardless of the 10-month pattern of interaction. For males, who were significantly more likely to be insecure than females, insecure attachment was predicted by negative change from 5 to 10 months (moving from a more optimal to a less optimal cluster).     

Recognizing prosody across modalities, face areas and speakers: examining perceivers' sensitivity to variable realizations of visual prosody

Prosody can be expressed not only by modification to the timing, stress and intonation of auditory speech but also by modifying visual speech. Studies have shown that the production of visual cues to prosody is highly variable (both within and across speakers), however behavioural studies have shown that perceivers can effectively use such visual cues. The latter result suggests that people are sensitive to the type of prosody expressed despite cue variability. The current study investigated the extent to which perceivers can match visual cues to prosody from different speakers and from different face regions. Participants were presented two pairs of sentences (consisting of the same segmental content) and were required to decide which pair had the same prosody. Experiment 1 tested visual and auditory cues from the same speaker and Experiment 2 from different speakers. Experiment 3 used visual cues from the upper and the lower face of the same talker and Experiment 4 from different speakers. The results showed that perceivers could accurately match prosody even when signals were produced by different speakers. Furthermore, perceivers were able to match the prosodic cues both within and across modalities regardless of the face area presented. This ability to match prosody from very different visual cues suggests that perceivers cope with variation in the production of visual prosody by flexibly mapping specific tokens to abstract prosodic types.     

Testing for negligible interaction: A coherent and robust approach

Researchers often want to demonstrate a lack of interaction between two categorical predictors on an outcome. To justify a lack of interaction, researchers typically accept the null hypothesis of no interaction from a conventional analysis of variance (ANOVA). This method is inappropriate as failure to reject the null hypothesis does not provide statistical evidence to support a lack of interaction. This study proposes a bootstrap‐based intersection–union test for negligible interaction that provides coherent decisions between the omnibus test and post hoc interaction contrast tests and is robust to violations of the normality and variance homogeneity assumptions. Further, a multiple comparison strategy for testing interaction contrasts following a non‐significant omnibus test is proposed. Our simulation study compared the Type I error control, omnibus power and per‐contrast power of the proposed approach to the non‐centrality‐based negligible interaction test of Cheng and Shao (2007, Statistica Sinica, 17, 1441). For 2 × 2 designs, the empirical Type I error rates of the Cheng and Shao test were very close to the nominal α level when the normality and variance homogeneity assumptions were satisfied; however, only our proposed bootstrapping approach was satisfactory under non‐normality and/or variance heterogeneity. In general a × b designs, although the omnibus Cheng and Shao test, as expected, is the most powerful, it is not robust to assumption violation and results in incoherent omnibus and interaction contrast decisions that are not possible with the intersection–union approach.