The naive perception of masculinity-femininity on the basis of expressive cues

Groups of naive judges rated 18 videotaped stimulus persons on masculinity, femininity, “dominance, assertiveness,” and “compassion, sensitivity to others.” Stimulus persons were broken down by sex and sex-typing—half were male, half female—and within sexes one third were classified as masculine, feminine, and androgynous on the basis of their scores on the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Two experiments are reported in which groups of judges rate stimulus persons on the basis of such different expressive information as videotaped pictures and recorded voices, videotaped pictures alone, videotaped bodies, videotaped heads, recorded voices, and still photos. The results showed: (1) Judges reliably rated masculinity-femininity from largely expressive cues: (2) judgments of masculinity-femininity were not predominantly determined by judgments of sex role-related traits: (3) the naive judgment of masculinity-femininity significantly corresponded to stimulus subjects' assessed sex roles; (4) stimulus subjects (particulary males) showed a consistent display of masculinity-femininity across expressive channels; and (5) judges used different expressive cues in judging masculinity-femininity in males and females. These results are related to broader questions concerning the relation between expressive behavior and personality.     

Incorporating inferences in narrative representations: A study of how and why

Four experiments examined the conceptual organization of narrative passages and the extent to which these representations were explanatory in a variety of experimental tasks. The conceptual representation of a passage consisted of a graph of labeled nodes and labeled, directed arcs which were adopted from the Conceptual Dependency Theory. These representations included both explicitly stated information and inferences which had been empirically extracted by a question-answering procedure. Symbolic procedures for answering how- and why-questions were also delineated. The conceptual representations and the symbolic procedures that operate on these representations together accounted for 91% of the answers generated from question-answering protocols in Experiment 1, and also the rated quality of specific answers to specific questions in Experiment 2. Experiments 3 and 4 supported the hypothesis that structural properties of the representations can predict recall of explicitly stated nodes and verification ratings of inference nodes. The results provide encouraging support for the proposed graphic representations and also for the use of question-answering protocols in uncovering prose inferences.     

Stochastic transitivity and the unidimensional control of choice

A concurrent-chains paradigm was used to test three models of preference for schedules of reinforcement. Each model assumes choice to be a monotonic function of values on a single dimension (“simple scalability”). For choices involving variable-interval and fixed-interval schedules, this dimension is assumed to be an harmonic average of the interreinforcement intervals; for choices involving fixedinterval and fixed-ratio schedules, the dimension is the time to reinforcement irrespective of response rate; for choices involving different combinations of rate and duration of reinforcement, the dimension is the rate of “reinforcement-time”, or the product of the two parameters. Each model implies a strong form of transitivity (“functional equivalence”), which held for half the subjects (that half exclusively sensitive to the reinforcement variable specified by the model). An alternative unidimensional model which implies a weaker form of transitivity (“weak binary utility model”) was consistent with the preferences of all subjects. This model states that a single factor controls the direction of preferences but not necessarily the exact choice probability, as simple scalability assumes.     

Androgyny,sex-typing,and the perception of masculinity-femininity in handwritings

Sex-typed and androgynous subjects rated the similarity of handwritings on masculinity-femininity and also rated the writings on an absolute scale of masculinity-femininity. The variances of sex-typed subjects' ratings were significantly higher than those of androgynous subjects, indicating that sex-typed subjects differentiated more along the dimension. Sex-typed subjects also agreed more highly with other raters and among themselves than did androgynous subjects. Multidimensional scaling of similarity ratings—using nonmetric multidimensional scaling (Kruskal, 1964; Shepard, 1962), and INDSCAL (Carroll & Chang, 1970)—showed interpretable dimensions along which subjects perceived masculinity-femininity. Further scaling solutions indicated again that sex-typed subjects differentiated more strongly along the dimension of masculinity-femininity and weighted the dimension more highly in making their similarity ratings. The data supported the hypothesis that subjects who monitor their own behavior on a given dimension are more sensitive to cues in others relating to that dimension.     

Self-control and choice in humans: Effects of video game playing as a positive reinforcer

Participants chose between reinforcement schedules differing in delay of reinforcement (interval between a choice response and onset of a video game) and/or amount of reinforcement (duration of access to the game). Experiment 1 showed that immediate reinforcement was preferred to delayed reinforcement with amount of reinforcement held constant, and a large reinforcer was preferred to a small reinforcer when both were obtainable immediately. Imposing a delay before the large reinforcer produced a preference for the immediate, small reinforcer in 40% of participants. This suggested a limited degree of “impulsivity.” In Experiment 2, unequal delays were extended by equal intervals, the amounts being kept equal. Preference for the shorter delay decreased, an effect that presumably makes possible the “preference reversal” phenomenon in studies of self-control. Overall, the results demonstrate that video game playing can produce useful, systematic data when used as a positive reinforcer for choice behavior in humans.     

Negative reinforcement and choice in humans

Participants chose between reinforcement schedules differing in delay and/or duration of noise offset. In Experiment 1 it was found that (1) immediate reinforcement was preferred to delayed reinforcement when amounts (durations) of reinforcement were equal; (2) a relatively large reinforcer was preferred to a smaller one when both reinforcers were obtained immediately; and (3) preference for an immediate, small reinforcer versus a delayed, large reinforcer increased as the delay preceding the large reinforcer increased, a sign of “impulsivity”. In Experiment 2, the schedules differed in amount or delay and equal intervals were added either to the constant parameter or the varied parameter. A shift from virtually exclusive preference to indifference occurred in the latter case but not the former, a result supporting a model of self-control that assumes that the value of a schedule depends on the ratio of amount and delay, and that choice between schedules depends on the ratio of these values.     

Effects of density,activity, and personality on environmental preferences

The effects of room density, type of ongoing activity (party vs studying), and a personality variable (“personal space” or the distance which subjects place between themselves and others) on room liking were investigated. Results supported the prediction that type of activity is an important determinant of whether a high or low density setting is preferred. Evidence was also presented that a mediator between activity type and density preference is whether the presence of other people facilitates or inhibits the individual's goals in the setting. Personality factors also influence density preferences: Close standing Ss preferred a high to a low density setting; far standing Ss showed an opposite preference pattern, but only in the party condition. Correlations between Ss' personal space scores and several background and personality variables are also presented.     

Sexual arousal and interpersonal evaluations

In an attempt to reconcile conflicting results concerning the effects of sexual arousal on interpersonal evaluations, hypotheses based on adaptation level, arousal-need gratification, and labeling of arousal explanations were tested. The variables of sexual arousal, technique of stimulus material presentation, physical attractiveness of the original stimulus female, and physical attractiveness of the final target person being judged were manipulated in a 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 design. A significant three-way interaction (Arousal × Stimulus Attractiveness × Target Attractiveness) obtained on all measures of interpersonal evaluation was interpreted as supporting a labeling of arousal explanation. It is suggested that subjects first interpret their arousal as being caused by their attraction toward the stimulus person. The characteristics of the stimulus person then become a factor used by subjects when they subsequently make judgments of target females. The adaptation-level and arousal-need gratification hypotheses were not supported.     

The effects of self-monitoring on the expressive display of masculinity-femininity

Do self-monitoring processes influence (1) the correspondence between assessed personality and expressive masculinity-femininity, and (2) the cross-channel consistency (face, body, voice) of expressive masculinity-femininity? To answer these questions, 36 male and 36 females completed the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) and Snyder's Self-Monitoring Scale, and then were videotaped as teachers. Five groups of naive judges rated these stimulus subjects on expressive masculinity-femininity, basing their respective ratings on: video pictures and voices, just pictures, just faces, just bodies, or just voices. A sixth group of judges rated subjects on physical attractiveness. The results indicated that judged physical attractiveness was significantly correlated with judged masculinity-femininity, with men being judged more masculine and females more feminine the more attractive they were. BSRI femininity correlated strongly with judged masculinity-femininity, and BSRI masculinity, less so. Finally, self-monitoring did prove to moderate the correspondence between personality and expressive behavior, and the cross-channel consistency of masculinity-femininity cues: however, these moderating effects were different for males and females.     

Developmental constraints associated with children's use of the keyword method of foreign language vocabulary learning

Second- and sixth-grade (ages 7 and 11 years, respectively) subjects were instructed to learn simple Spanish vocabulary nouns using the keyword method. To remember a foreign word translation the keyword method user must: (1) associate the foreign word to an English word (the keyword) that sounds like part of the foreign word; and (2) remember an image of the keyword and translation referents interacting. Second-grade keyword users who were provided with interactive pictures remembered more vocabulary items than those who generated their own imagery links when given separate pictures of the keyword and translation referents. Second graders who generated their own linking images when given only the keywords and translation words recalled fewer items than both picture groups, and were not significantly different from control subjects. Sixth graders in the three imagery-link variations performed at comparable levels and better than control subjects. The results are in complete accord with previous speculations about the development of imagery strategies in children.     

A component model for diagnosing and treating children who stutter

Nine components of stuttering and their distribution among 54 children who stutter are described. The components are arranged into a model that includes four neurologic components (attending disorder, auditory-processing disorder, sentence-formulation disorder, and oral-motor disorder) and five traditional components (high self-expectations, manipulative stuttering, disruptive communication environment, unrealistic parental expectations, and abnormal parental need for the child to stutter). Diagnostic and treatment usefulness of the model are discussed. Thirty-two of the children have been followed through component-based treatment and 12 mo post termination. Results indicate that treatment was successful with 27 (84%) of the 32 children. Only one child regressed during the 12 mo after treatment ended. These results suggest that treating the neurologic and traditional factors which disrupt fluency improves maintenance and carry-over.     

Criteria in lay self-judgment of anger control

The basis of judgment by laypersons in the self-evaluation of difficulties with anger control is examined. Responses to a set of 10 specific criteria of anger control problems and a self-rating of degree of problem were obtained on 190 subjects. The criteria and problem ratings were found to have satisfactory testretest reliability. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that certain criteria entered more than others into the self-judgments of anger control problems. Exploratory factor analysis produced three factors, interpreted as Personal Difficulties with Anger, Aggression, and Hostility, which replicated some of the previous research. Implications of the findings for a social constructivist view of self-judgment of anger and aggression and the development of self-report instruments are discussed. Additional studies with other samples are suggested.     

Suggestibility and type of interpersonal relationship: Special implications for the patient-practitioner relationship

Suggestibility was assessed in five conditions by the subject's response to suggestions falsely labeled as matters of fact. These misrepresentations of fact, or virtual suggestions, denoted a variety of hallucinations, an anesthesia, and an amnesia. They were administered as incidental intrusions while the subject was involved in the primary experimental task. In three of these conditions, the subject either observed his own spontaneous visual imagery, observed visual scenes provided by the experimenter, or simply waited with closed eyes for the presentation of the virtual stimuli. These conditions were characterized by a passive-receptive, interpersonal relationship in which the subject remained silent. Suggestibility was expected to be high. In a fourth condition the subjects described spontaneous visual imagery. This was characterized as an active-receptive relationship in which speech was maintained throughout. The suggestibility of the three passive-receptive conditions was comparable, and none of them differed from a baseline condition involving the formal induction of hypnosis. However, the fourth, active-receptive condition was significantly lower, and this difference survived a replication. Of special interest was the induction of an anesthesia in the majority of subjects in the three passive-receptive conditions.     

Beauty and the attributions of the beholder

Four studies used an attributional approach to examine interpersonal attraction. Underlying causal dimensions were predicted to influence differentially two components of attraction, dating and complimenting. In the first study, 24 subjects indicated whether they would date physically attractive stimulus persons. Complimenting was examined in the second and third studies, with 24 subjects rating the likelihood of complimenting attractive opposite-sex stimulus persons and 32 subjects rating the likelihood of complimenting same-sex stimulus persons. For these studies the reason for the stimulus person's attractiveness varied in controllability (volitional versus nonvolitional) and stability (temporary versus permanent). Consistent with predictions, controllability influenced likelihood of complimenting but not dating. In addition, compliments were more likely when the reason for attractiveness was unstable than when stable. Conversely, dating was more likely when attactiveness was stable than when unstable. However, stability had less influence on men responding to women than on either men responding to men or women responding to both sexes. Similar results were obtained in a fourth study in which 56 subjects recalled incidents where they complimented or dated others for their physical attractiveness.     

Effects of initial success or failure in a stressful or relaxed environment on subsequent task performance

Forty male and 40 female undergraduate subjects worked on anagram problems in either a stressful or a relaxed environment after having experienced either success or failure on a similar task. Internal arousal, which was expected to be minimal following success in a relaxed setting and maximal following failure in the stressful environment, was assumed to bear an inverted U-shaped relation to performance. Consistent with the implications of these assumptions, achievement in a stressful setting was lower following initial failure than following initial success, while initial failure in a relaxed environment facilitated subsequent performance. The interpretation of these results was supported by the effects of the experimental variables on indirect measures of arousal as well as by the relationship between direct measures of arousal and task performance. In addition, the achievement of female subjects tended to be facilitated by failure while the performance of males was consistently debilitated by it.     

Transfer between downshift in reward magnitude and continuous delay of reward

Two separate experiments were conducted to investigate transfer of persistence between delay and a downshift in reward magnitude. In the first experiment, experimental rats were initially downshifted in reward magnitude and later tested for persistence to continuous delay of large reward. It was found that these rats were more persistent to the effects of delay than control rats which did not receive prior experience with a downshift in reward magnitude. In the second experiment, experimental rats were first trained to receive large reward under delayed conditions and then tested for persistence to a downshift in reward magnitude. Compared to control rats which received no prior experience with delay, the experimental rats showed a significantly smaller negative contrast effect. The results were interpreted as supporting Amsel's theory of persistence as well as Capaldi's recent interpretation of contrast effects.     

The effects of communication,resource feedback,and identifiability on behavior in a simulated commons

This study examined the effects of communication, feedback, and identifiability on behavior in a simulated commons. To do this, 64 mixed-sex groups of four introductory psychology students participated in a commons dilemma simulation for 50 trials or until the group exhausted the commons pool. Half of the groups played under a free communication condition, while the other half were prohibited from communicating. Half of the groups in both communication conditions received visual feedback about the amount of the commons' resource (money) which remained after each trial while the other half received no feedback. Finally, half of the groups in each of these four conditions were made highly identifiable by the use of the name tags and feedback about the choices of each player. The remaining groups were assigned to a low identifiability condition in which no name tags were used, no feedback given and group members were separated by wooden dividers to prevent visual contact. Results showed that groups having the opportunity for resource feedback or for communication achieved greater total money harvests and maintained the commons for a greater number of trials than groups having neither. As expected, the largest totals and longest commons maintenance were achieved by groups having both. Identifiability had no influence on the length of commons maintenance except when there was neither resource feedback nor communication opportunities. When both were unavailable, groups in the high identifiability condition harvested more money and maintained the commons longer.     

Dimensions of stuttering and relationship to psychopathology

This article reports two studies. The first attempted to define stable dimensions within the Stuttering Severity (SS) scale. A factor analysis of correlations among its 64 items defined four factor-based subscales, and three additional subscales were developed rationally. Relationships among these seven subscales suggested the existence of two major dimensions. The second study investigated the relationship of the seven subscales to psychopathology. Correlations were obtained among the subscales and MMPI scales for 69 subjects, and were subjected to a second factor analysis. The MMPI scales and the SS subscales clearly loaded on separate factors, indicating little relationship between dimensions of stuttering and psychopathology as defined by MMPI scores. The second analysis also supported the previous identification of two general dimensions for stuttering. Items were selected for two final scales to represent these dimensions, labeled behavior (22 items) and sensitivity (20 items). Norms were developed for them and also for the full 64-item SS scale.