Ethicists’ and Nonethicists’ Responsiveness to Student E‐mails: Relationships Among Expressed Normative Attitude,Self‐Described Behavior,and Empirically Observed Behavior

Do professional ethicists behave any morally better than other professors do? Do they show any greater consistency between their normative attitudes and their behavior? In response to a survey question, a large majority of professors (83 percent of ethicists, 83 percent of nonethicist philosophers, and 85 percent of nonphilosophers) expressed the view that “not consistently responding to student e‐mails” is morally bad. A similarly large majority of professors claimed to respond to at least 95 percent of student e‐mails. These professors, and others, were sent three e‐mails designed to look like queries from students. Ethicists’ e‐mail response rates were not significantly different from the other two groups’. Expressed normative view correlated with self‐estimated rate of e‐mail responsiveness, especially among the ethicists. Empirically measured e‐mail responsiveness, however, was at best weakly correlated with self‐estimated e‐mail responsiveness; and professors’ expressed normative attitude was not significantly correlated with empirically measured e‐mail responsiveness for any of the three groups.     

The components of latency of response in two models for auditory detection with deadlines

Two models are described for the case of auditory detection with response time deadlines. These are the “timing” model, modified from Luce and Green (1972), and the “interval of uncertainty” (IU) model, modified from the “counting” model of McGill (1967). The two models are expressed in the form of additive component latencies, including a component which varies inversely with probability of response and a component for a longer response on the “nondeadline” response condition. An experiment is described, incorporating deadlines on both s and n trials separately, and the additive component latencies of the models are calculated. The “interval of uncertainty” model is seen to represent the data better than the “timing” model, even though different versions of the latter model are considered. Parameters are then fitted to give a representation of the IU model. The data from one subject of another study not employing deadlines can also be fitted to the model, and an interesting problem then arises concerning the exact locus of the speed-accuracy tradeoff. It is concluded that the IU model needs extending if it is to describe the data without the use of a component of latency which varies inversely with response probability.     

Dissonance motivation: Its nature,persistence, and reinstatement

This paper examines whether arousal is a necessary component of the motivation to reduce dissonance. Alternative responses to attitude-behavior inconsistency include attitude change, explaining the behavior by a consonant cognition (i.e., low choice), and attributing the dissonance-induced state to an alternative source, such as the purported side effects of an ingested “drug.” For conditions in which there are few consonant cognitions (i.e., high choice), a comparison of different “drug” conditions in which attitude change does or does not occur was expected to clarify which components of the dissonance-induced state mediate attitude change. Attitude change occurred in high choice conditions where the “drug” was described as pleasant, but not in high choice conditions where the “drug” was described as unpleasant or in a low choice condition. In addition, when the “drug” was descibed as arousing there was, if anything, more attitude change than when the “drug” was described as nonarousing. These results suggest that unpleasantness and not arousal per se is the motivating factor in dissonance reduction. The effects of the passage of time and reinstating the counterattitudinal behavior on the alternative responses to attitude-behavior inconsistency were also examined. Subjects returned 2 weeks later, stated their attitudes, recalled their original counterattitudinal essay, and again stated their attitudes. Although there was a general decrease in attitude change during this period, the pattern of attitude change remained basically the same. Attitude change following reinstatement increased from its original level only in those conditions where it had been initially attenuated through misattribution or a consonant cognition.     

Effects of signaling on temporal control of behavior in response‐initiated fixed intervals

Behavior and events distributed in time can serve as markers that signal delays to future events. The majority of timing research has focused on how behavior changes as the time to some event, usually food availability, decreases. The primary objective of the two experiments presented here was to assess how behavior changes as time passes between two time markers when the first time marker was manipulated but the second, food delivery, was held constant. Pigeons were exposed to fixed‐interval, response‐initiated fixed‐interval, and signaled response‐initiated fixed‐interval 15‐ and 30‐s schedules of reinforcement. In Experiment 1, first‐response latencies were systematically shorter in the signaled response‐initiated schedules than response‐initiated schedules, suggesting that the first response was a more effective time marker when it was signaled. In Experiment 2, responding in no‐food (i.e. “peak”) trials indicated that timing accuracy was equivalent in the three schedule types. Compared to fixed interval schedules, timing precision was reduced in the signaled response‐initiated schedules and was lowest in response‐initiated schedules. Results from Experiments 1 and 2 coupled with previous research suggest that the overall “informativeness” of a time marker relative to other events and behaviors in the environment may determine its efficacy.     

Processes of Social Influence on Sampling Behavior: The Effect of Other's Positive Attitude and Receiver's Prior Experience

Studies about attitude formation have pointed out the importance of sampling behavior. When thinking about actual social interaction scenes, it may be better to consider them as attitude-updating processes between those who have already formed attitudes based on some experience. Sixty-five participants took part in the experiment, in which the other's positive attitude and the participant's own prior experience were manipulated. After participants had been presented five types of puzzles (experience: direct vs. indirect), which had been made to improve analytic ability, their attitudes towards the puzzles were measured (“pre attitude”). They were shown the other's positive attitude (inconsistent vs. consistent), and they were given 10 min of free time before “testing on their analytic ability.” The amount of time spent on each puzzle was recorded to index sampling behavior and the attitudes towards the puzzles were measured after the free time (“post attitude”). The results of analyses showed that the other's positive attitude increased sampling behavior when the participant's attitude was positive (first-ranked) and negative (fifth-ranked), and that prior experience and sampling contributed to attitude change for the first-ranked puzzle. Those who had had direct experience and those who had spent more time sampling this puzzle tended to maintain their previous positive attitude. The potential boundary conditions of social influence on sampling behavior are discussed.     

青少年对广告的态度及影响因素

通过对北京城八区11所中学的730个有效样本的研究分析,作者发现,北京青少年对广告的总体态度比较消极, 40.2%的青少年表示不喜欢广告, 27.9%中立,只有31.9%喜欢广告;此外,61.6%的青少年表示不信赖广告,24%中立,仅14.5%的青少年表示信赖广告。在对广告信念的因子分析中,青少年对广告“决策信息”功能表示基本肯定;对广告的“娱乐”、“购买体验”和“个人伤害”结果表示基本否定。此外,人口统计变量与广告总体态度以及各个因子之间有一定的关系。因此,要改变青少年对广告的消极态度,企业营销者需要从产品质量、广告表现形式、广告诉求内容等多个方面加以改善和提高。     

Attitude attribution when behavior is constrained

Five experiments were conducted in which subjects were asked to attribute attitudes to target persons on the basis of opinion statements written under high constraints, i.e., the target persons were instructed to prepare the statements but were given no choice concerning the position to be endorsed. In previous studies it had been observed that reader-subjects tended to attribute attitudes in line with the opinion statement even when the writer obviously had no choice. However, in these earlier studies the opinion endorsements were actually standardized statements prepared by the investigators and they may have contained subtle cues indicating attitude strength. In the present experiments the statements were those actually written by other subjects in response to no choice instructions. Even though the subjects as attributors were well aware of these instructions, and had complied to the same instructions as target persons, attitudes in line with expressed opinions were attributed. In the final experiment, constraints were strengthened even further by the provision of specific arguments that had to be included in the opinion statements. Here the “over attribution effect” finally fell below significance. With the exception of such extreme variants of constraint, the results provide further evidence that people tend to make dispositional attributions to “explain” behavior, underestimating the role of environmental constraints.     

社会信念的自信判断:自我一致性模型的验证

采用重复测验的自信判断范式,检验自我一致性模型。项目一致性与项目共识性的分析表明:被试从大量共享的信念总体中抽取样本进行正误判断,自信判断则基于各个样本信念的一致性,并反映新样本做相同判断的可能性;建立在代表性样本上的判断有更高的一致性或共识性,信念建构的反应时更短且自信更高;项目一致性与项目共识性存在交互关系:高一致性的判断也是高共识性的判断。结果验证了自我一致性模型在中国文化背景下的存在。     

Do Disagreeable Political Discussion Networks Undermine Attitude Strength?

How attitudes change and affect behavior depends, in large part, on their strength. Strong attitudes are more resistant to persuasion and are more likely to produce attitude‐consistent behavior. But what influences attitude strength? In this article, we explore a widely discussed, but rarely investigated, factor: an individual's political discussion network. What prior work exists offers a somewhat mixed picture, finding sometimes that disagreeable networks weaken attitudes and other times that they strengthen attitudes. We use a novel national representative dataset to explore the relationship between disagreeable networks and attitude strength. We find, perhaps surprisingly, no evidence that disagreements in networks affect political attitude strength. We conclude by discussing likely reasons for our findings, which, in turn, provide a research agenda for the study of networks and attitude strength.     

Concurrent variable‐interval variable‐ratio schedules in a dynamic choice environment

Most studies of operant choice have focused on presenting subjects with a fixed pair of schedules across many experimental sessions. Using these methods, studies of concurrent variable‐ interval variable‐ratio schedules helped to evaluate theories of choice. More recently, a growing literature has focused on dynamic choice behavior. Those dynamic choice studies have analyzed behavior on a number of different time scales using concurrent variable‐interval schedules. Following the dynamic choice approach, the present experiment examined performance on concurrent variable‐interval variable‐ratio schedules in a rapidly changing environment. Our objectives were to compare performance on concurrent variable‐interval variable‐ratio schedules with extant data on concurrent variable‐interval variable‐interval schedules using a dynamic choice procedure and to extend earlier work on concurrent variable‐interval variable‐ratio schedules. We analyzed performances at different time scales, finding strong similarities between concurrent variable‐interval variable‐interval and concurrent variable‐interval variable‐ ratio performance within dynamic choice procedures. Time‐based measures revealed almost identical performance in the two procedures compared with response‐based measures, supporting the view that choice is best understood as time allocation. Performance at the smaller time scale of visits accorded with the tendency seen in earlier research toward developing a pattern of strong preference for and long visits to the richer alternative paired with brief “samples” at the leaner alternative (“fix and sample”).     

The use of the political categories of Brexiter and Remainer in online comments about the EU referendum

In June 2016, the United Kingdom held a referendum on EU membership; 52% of those who voted, voted to leave, and 48% voted to remain. During the referendum campaign, two identities emerged: “Brexiter” and “Remainer,” which remained salient post‐referendum. This study explores how the categories of Brexiter and Remainer were deployed by posters online. Data comprise comment threads collected from four online newspapers both during the campaign and after the vote, which focus on the Brexit campaign promise: “We send £350m a week to the EU. Let's fund our NHS instead.” We draw on membership categorization analysis and discursive psychology to analyse when categories were made salient and what responses to the invocation of categories were. Analysis revealed that posters explicitly categorize the out‐group and in doing so implicitly define their group. Posters resisted other political identities when attributed to them in relation to the referendum. The analysis shows how Brexiter and Remainer are new, albeit contested, political categories and identities in their own right, with other political identities resisted when used. The paper highlights implications for the political system in the United Kingdom and for social divisions within U.K. society.     

The“response” in behavior theory

The term“response” is a basic one in behavior theory, particularly reflex theory, but its definition is not clear. The origin of the term in the common vocabulary has affected its later extensions in the analysis of behavior. Some contemporary theorists accept the existence of two“types” of response, coordinating one with the Pavlovian conditioning procedure, the other with the operant conditioning procedure of the so-called“contingent” variety. Reservations are expressed here about such distinctions between response classes and conditioning paradigms, emphasizing the difficulties that arise from certain conventions and inadequacies in current definitions and conceptions of“response.” The critical nature of the problem for behavior theory is illustrated once again by the recent laboratory finding that a familiar and accepted conditional reflex, that of the“conditioned cardiac CR,” can be fractionated into“parts” and is therefore perhaps no longer to be treated as a single unitary“response.”     

ON THE MEANING AND VALIDITY OF TELEVISION VIEWING

The construct validity of “television viewing” is developed and explicated. It is suggested that while this concept is usually used as a strict behavioral variable, many different constructs are implied by it. The construct validity of television viewing can be derived from a conceptualization of what it is in television which, when viewed, or exposed to, interacts with human behavior and attributes. Four such conceptualizations are illustrated, each leading to a different construct of “viewing”: (1) television as a social-situational factor involving choice behavior between activities; (2) television as a transmission of a content repertoire, implying decision-making regarding messages; (3) television as a source of content-messages dealing with recall, comprehension, and attitude change; and (4) television as a “language” pertaining to the processes of encoding messages in the service of extracting knowledge.     

Dissonance and self-perception: An integrative view of each theory's proper domain of application

The literature concerning the controversy between dissonance and selfperception theories is reviewed. It is proposed that the two theories be regarded not as “competing” formulations but as complementary ones and, furthermore, that each theory is applicable only to its own specialized domain. Self-perception theory, it is suggested, accurately characterizes attitude change phenomena in the context of attitude-congruent behavior and dissonance theory attitude change in the context of attitude-discrepant behavior. Attitude-congruent is defined as any position within an individual's latitude of acceptance; attitude-discrepant as any position in the latitude of rejection. An experimental test of these notions produced confirming evidence. Subjects who were given an opportunity to misattribute any potential dissonance arousal to an external stimulus did not change their attitudes, relative to low choice subjects, if they were committed to endorsing a position in their latitude of rejection. If the commitment concerned a position in the latitude of acceptance, however, these subjects did exhibit attitude change relative to low choice subjects.     

矛盾态度对个体信息加工的影响：外显与内隐层面的比较

本研究采用“学习—再认”范式从外显和内隐两个层面探讨了矛盾态度对个体信息加工的影响。结果发现：（1）在两种加工条件下,高外显矛盾态度个体对态度客体信息再认反应时均显著短于低外显矛盾态度个体;（2）在有意加工条件下高内隐矛盾态度个体再认反应时显著长于低内隐矛盾态度个体,在无意加工条件下高低内隐矛盾组的再认反应时差异不显著;（3）对态度客体无关材料高内隐矛盾态度个体再认反应时显著长于低内隐矛盾态度个体,对有关材料二者的反应时差异不显著。该结果表明,外显与内隐的矛盾态度对个体的信息加工具有不同的影响路径,这为进一步探讨外显和内隐矛盾态度对个体心理与行为的影响机制提供了借鉴。     

Construal‐Level Effects on Preference Stability,Preference‐Behavior Correspondence,and the Suppression of Competing Brands

Construal level theory (Trope & Liberman, 2003) suggests that construal level––or the degree of abstractness of mental representations––increases with temporal, spatial, or sensory distance. Three experiments show that the mere presence of a set of target brands at the time a choice is made encourages consumers to represent the brands in memory in terms of concrete lower‐level construals. Consequently, preference stability is higher, preference‐behavior consistency is greater, and product category‐identification latencies for competing brands are slower. Furthermore, the mere presence of target brands at the time of choice affects preference‐behavior consistency independent of the effects of direct experience. Implications for an understanding of spontaneous preference formation, preference representation, and preference elicitation are discussed.     

Increasing student interest by the use of interactive computer simulations

Two methods of increasing the involvement of introductory social psychology students with the topic of “person perception” were implemented and compared. Students either experienced two computer simulations of situations which illustrated person-perception principles or participated in a typical person-perception experiment. Students with computer experience, perhaps because of the individualized nature of the simulations, rated “person perception” as more interesting and more important than the experiment-participation students. Knowledge concerning person perception did not differ between groups.     

Punishment of an alternative behavior generates resurgence of a previously extinguished target behavior

Resurgence is often defined as the recurrence of an extinguished behavior when a more recently reinforced alternative behavior is also extinguished. Resurgence has also been observed when the alternative behavior is devalued by other means (e.g., reinforcement rate or magnitude reductions). The present study investigated whether punishment of an alternative behavior would generate resurgence. A target response was reinforced during Phase 1 and then extinguished in Phase 2 while an alternative response was reinforced. During Phase 3, response‐dependent foot shocks were superimposed on the schedule of reinforcement for the alternative response and shock intensity was escalated gradually across sessions. Resurgence of the target response was reliably observed, mostly at higher intensities. The effect was replicated in two subsequent exposures to the sequence of conditions, with resurgence tending to occur at the lowest foot shock intensity. These results suggest that devaluation of an alternative behavior via punishment can generate resurgence. Although it is difficult to reconcile the overall pattern of results with Bouton's context account, these findings are consistent with the suggestion that resurgence results from a “worsening of conditions” for the alternative behavior and with the formalization of that suggestion in terms of a choice‐based matching‐law account (i.e., Resurgence as Choice).     

Vested interest and environmental risk communication: improving willingness to cope with impending disasters

Vested interest theory (VIT), first investigated on environmental risk, suggests that the hedonic relevance of an attitude object moderates relations between attitudes, intentions, and responses to danger. Emphasizing vested interest may maximize impacts of risk communications. Study 1 (N = 215) assessed differences between inhabitants of two flood‐risk areas in Italy on past experience, risk perceptions, concerns, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. Objectively, higher risk areas' residents reported more experience, and greater perceived risk and concern, while no preparedness differences were found (both at “between cities” and “within city” levels). Study 2 (N = 444) looked at the moderating role of VIT‐based risk communication messages on the relationship between vested interest and behavioral intentions. Components of vested interest moderate attitude–intention consistency, suggesting a new method of developing effective risk announcements.     

Formation of leap orders in pairs of male domestic chickens

There is disagreement concerning the role or importance of social leaping, compared with pecks and threats, in the dominance relations of fowl. As an approach to this issue, the current paper reports two experiments that used aggression-inducing isolation-rearing conditions of either 8 days or 8 weeks. In 5-min tests in pairs after isolation it was found that leaping was the key aggressive response in conflicts between 14- to 15-week-old roosters. Leaps were more frequent overall and occurred earlier than did pecks. Although both dominant and subordinate birds leaped at one another to some degree, only the dominant birds had both “leap rights” and “peck rights.” The data indicated that leaping is a behavior that has an important, central role in the social organization of male domestic chickens. These laboratory results were comparable to certain archival data from classic field research.