The heroic motive: Some experimental demonstrations

The appearance of heroic motives in interpersonal relations is examined. Three experiments were conducted to test the general hypothesis that witnessing the victimization of a partner would impel young men to incur costs in order to confront the transgressor. In each experiment, either the individual, his partner, or an anonymous other was insulted. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed that individuals were most willing to confront the insulter when their female partners (Experiment 1) or their male teammates (Experiment 2) were victimized. That pattern occurred despite evidence indicating that the most negative affective reactions were experienced by individuals who had been directly insulted. Experiment 3 revealed that individuals were also more willing to perform a subsequent altruistic act in response to the victimization of their partners than when they or an anonymous other person had been victimized. Taken together, the results indicated that heroic motivations in response to the victimization of a partner were distinguishable from other more negatively oriented processes that were aroused in response to self-victimization by the insulter.     

Shared suffering can mitigate aversively‐generated aggression:

Although considerable research indicates that aversive conditions (such as uncomfortably high temperatures) often evoke aggressive inclinations, there is also evidence that people are attracted to those who share their discomfort. In a 2 × 2 design, female participants in either a hot or comfortable room worked with a nearby partner exposed to the same temperature but whose reactions to the temperature were either the same as, or different from, their feelings about the temperature. The women in a fifth condition had a partner situated in a room with a comfortable temperature . Consistent with Schachter's [1959] social–emotional comparison theory, the highest level of aggression was displayed by the participants in the hot room working with a partner whose emotional reactions were different from their own, whereas their counterparts, also exposed to the high temperature but whose partner's feelings were similar to their own, exhibited the least aggression over all the trials. Aggr. Behav. 32:80–87, 2006. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Delayed effects of practiced versus unpracticed responses after observation of movie violence

University men participating in an ostensible study of “impression formation” first received either an insulting or neutral evaluation of themselves from their supposed partner and then watched either a prize fight or an exciting but nonaggressive scene. After this, they either had an opportunity to evaluate their partner right away or they had to wait an hour before evaluating him. On scoring the subjects' written statements about the partner (to be seen by him and the experimenter), it was found that (1) for those given the immediate opportunity to be aggressive, the violent movie increased the strength of the angered subjects' initial attack on their partner over that displayed by the similarly insulted men shown the nonaggressive film; (2) if the angry subjects had to wait an hour before evaluating their partner, there was no difference between the aggressive and nonaggressive movie groups; (3) the aggression-heightening effect of the violent scene did carry over the intervening hour, however, if the insulted men had been given the earlier opportunity to evaluate their partner. It is suggested that the performance of an aggressive response soon after seeing an aggressive film increases the persistence of the aggressive reactions over time.     

Prechoice awareness of relative deprivation as a determinant of cognitive dissonance

Two experiments were conducted to clarify whether negative information presented after a person has committed himself to a course of action is capable of creating cognitive dissonance. Subjects were exposed to high or low relative deprivation either before they chose to participate in a tedious task, after they chose to participate, or without the option not to participate. The results indicated that there was greater satisfaction about participation under high relative deprivation than under low, but only when subjects were aware of the relative deprivation prior to their choice to participate. Information presented after decision was not effective in arousing dissonance. The implications of the experiments for modified views of dissonance theory were discussed.     

Mitigating circumstance information, censure, and aggression

One hundred men received one of two levels of mitigating circumstance information either before or after being insulted or not insulted by a co-worker. Participants were then provided with an opportunity ostensibly to deliver aversive noise to the co-worker under either high or low social censure conditions. Physiological data and self-report measures revealed that participants who learned of mitigating circumstance information before being provoked exhibited smaller increases in physiological arousal and reported less annoyance than did those who learned of mitigating circumstance information after insult. Aggression data showed that angered participants evaluated their provoker more favorably and retaliated less when they learned of mitigation before rather than after being insulted. These findings supported attribution theory assumptions that mitigating circumstance information known before the provoking incident influences the individual's interpretation of harm, thereby reducing anger and the instigation to aggression. The reduced impact of information on aggression that is acquired after provocation may reflect the provoked individual's shift of attention from cues surrounding harm to a consideration of inhibitory factors for aggression.     

Secret ambitions and public performances: The effects of anonymity on reward allocations made by men and women

The degree of equality or equity in reward allocations made by men and women is explored in three studies. Study 1 was a classroom survey which was administered after the members had completed a series of team assignments. When asked to indicate anonymously whether they would share some points with team members who had earned fewer, the men more often said yes and the women no, contradicting the patterns found in much of the literature. Studies 2 and 3 examined the hypothesis that under public conditions men and women would behave as tradition and the previous literature suggest, allocating rewards equitably and equally, respectively. In private, however, they would reverse themselves, each preferring the otherwise forbidden option. The results confirmed the prediction: when anticipating disclosure of their decisions, men chose to divide credits equitably and women equally between themselves and a less deserving partner, but when assured of anonymity, men chose more equal and women more equitable allocations. The results are discussed in light of both childhood socialization and adult constraints on sex role performances.     

Sex differences in the events that elicit jealousy among homosexuals

When individuals are asked which event would upset them more—a partner's emotional infidelity or a partner's sexual infidelity—among heterosexuals more men than women select a partner's sexual infidelity as the most distressing event, whereas more women than men select a partner's emotional infidelity as the most upsetting event. Because homosexuals’mating psychology is unlike that of heterosexuals, the present study examined which of these two events is more upsetting in a sample of 237 Dutch homosexuals. In support of our hypothesis it was found that, whereas gay men more often than lesbian women chose a mate's emotional infidelity as the most upsetting event, lesbians more often than gay men chose a mate's sexual infidelity as the most upsetting event. In addition, analyses showed that the effect of participant sex on infidelity choice was mediated by beliefs with regard to the co‐occurrence of sexual and emotional infidelity. Apparently, with respect to choosing the most upsetting type of infidelity of their partner, homosexuals resemble heterosexuals of the opposite sex. Several explanations are discussed for this finding.     

Record keeping in two types of relationships

On the basis of a distinction between communal and exchange relationships (Clark & Mills, 1979; Mills & Clark, 1982), the following predictions were made: (a) Members of exchange relationships would keep track of individual inputs into joint tasks and (b) members of communal relationships would not. These hypotheses were tested in three studies. In each study, subjects worked on a task with a partner with whom they (a) desired or had a communal relationship or (b) desired or had an exchange relationship. The task involved locating and circling number sequences in a large matrix. Whether subjects used a pen of the same or of a different color from that used by their partner served as the dependent measure. If partners worked with pens of the same color individual inputs wee obscured. If they worked with different color pens, individual inputs were clear. Given this, if the proportion of subjects in a condition choosing different color pens was greater than 50% (chance), it was taken as evidence that subjects in that condition were trying to keep track of individual inputs. If this proportion was less than 50%, it was taken as evidence that subjects were trying to avoid keeping track of individual inputs. As predicted, in all three studies the proportion of subjects in the exchange conditions who chose a different color pen was significantly greater than 50% and was significantly greater than the proportion of subjects in the communal conditions who chose a different color pen. Also as expected, in no study was this percentage greater than 50% in he communal conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Sex role identity and the decision to regain control among women: a learned helplessness investigation

In an investigation focusing on women's attempts to regain control of their environments, women from four sex role identity groups underwent either an initial loss of control (helpless) or control (nonhelpless) experience. Subsequently, they were allowed to choose their role in a team problem-solving task. They could either (a) have total control over the team's decisions, (b) have no control over the team's decisions, or (c) not participate in the task. Compared to women low on masculinity, women high on masculinity chose to be in control of team problem-solving in both the helpless and nonhelpless conditions. Particularly striking, none of the 14 feminine-sex-typed women chose to control the team's decisions in the helpless condition, whereas 10 of the 14 masculine-sex-typed women made this choice. Results are discussed relative to the high rates of depression among women.     

The performance of rooks in a cooperative task depends on their temperament

In recent years, an increasing number of studies demonstrated the existence of consistent individual differences in behaviour, often referred to as differences in temperament or personality, in a wide range of animal species. There notably is a growing body of evidence showing that individuals differ in their propensity for risk taking or reacting to stressful situations. This variation has been related to differences in learning abilities or performance in cognitive tasks. In the present study, we examined the consequences of inter-individual variation in boldness on performance in a cooperative task in rooks (Corvus frugilegus). Birds were tested individually to measure a number of behavioural parameters related to boldness. The level of a stress-related hormone, corticosterone, in the faeces of each bird was measured under control conditions and after a stress-provoking event. In parallel, we conducted a cooperative string pulling task in which birds were tested in dyads. Successful cooperation depended to a large extent on the temperament of the two partners involved. Temperament, in turn, correlated well with corticosterone levels under stress. Bolder individuals appeared to be more willing to participate in the task, whereas shyer individuals were more influenced by the behaviour of their partner. These findings suggest that a rook’s temperament can limit its options of forming successfully cooperating partnerships under stressful conditions.     

幼儿在联合行动中共同表征能力的发展

为探究幼儿联合行动共同表征能力的发展,实验1通过比较186名3~5岁幼儿在相同任务和不同任务的表现,发现4岁和5岁幼儿在不同任务中的表现比相同任务差;实验2进一步验证幼儿在不同任务中较差的表现源于对自我和同伴的共同表征。结论：3岁幼儿无法在联合任务中同时表征自我和同伴,没有表现出明显的共同表征能力,4岁以上幼儿开始具备稳定的共同表征能力,能够在联合任务中同时表征自己和同伴,由此对自己的行为表现造成干扰。     

Red and romantic behavior in men viewing women

In many non‐human primate species, a display of red by a female increases attraction behavior in male conspecifics. In two experiments, we investigate an analogous effect in humans, specifically, whether red on a woman's shirt increases attraction behavior in men. In Experiment 1, men who viewed an ostensible conversation partner in a red versus a green shirt chose to ask her more intimate questions. In Experiment 2, men who viewed an ostensible interaction partner in a red versus a blue shirt chose to sit closer to her. These effects were observed across participants' perceptions of their own attractiveness (Experiment 1) and general activation and mood (Experiment 2). Our findings suggest that red acts as a basic, non‐lexical prime, influencing reproduction‐relevant behavior in like manner across species. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adolescent Decisional Autonomy Regarding Participation in an Emergency Department Youth Violence Interview

Much attention has been given to determining whether an adolescent patient has the capacity to consent to research. This study explores the factors that influence adolescents' decisions to participate in a research study about youth violence and to determine positive or negative feelings elicited by being a research subject. The majority of subjects perceived their decision to participate to be free of coercion, and few felt badly about having participated. However, adolescents who were alone in the room during the assent process were more likely to report that they chose freely to be a research subject. This study may influence the ways physicians communicate with adolescent patients around research assent within a clinical care environment.     

选择一致性影响结果评价的ERP研究

本研究通过两个实验探讨了当被试主动做出与他人一致/不一致的选择行为(实验1)或看到他人做出与自己一致/不一致的选择行为(实验2)时,其选择行为的一致性是如何影响结果评价过程的。脑电数据表明在结果评价的早期阶段,无论被试是主动或被动地与他人做出相同选择,这种选择一致性都会放大输赢结果之间的差异:体现在选择一致情况下比不一致情况下诱发更大的d FRN。而在结果评价的晚期阶段,当被试先做出选择之后,看到他人做出与自己不一致的选择时(实验2),相比他人与自己选择一致时,诱发了更大的P3和LPP波幅。说明被试很可能把他人的不一致选择加工为一种冲突。因此投入了更多认知资源来加工这一结果。本研究是一个探索性的创新研究,首次从时间维度上分离了选择行为和结果反馈两个阶段,并提供了选择一致性对结果评价有影响作用的脑电证据。     

Sexual imprinting on facial traits of opposite-sex parents in humans

Positive sexual imprinting is a process by which individuals use the phenotype of their opposite-sex parent as a template for acquiring mates. Recent studies in humans have concluded that an imprinting-like mechanism influences human mate choice in facial traits. However, some of the previous studies have had methodological problems or flaws which might have invalidated or led to an overgeneralization of the original interpretation of their results. In this study, 70 heterosexual adults were used to test if their partners resembled facially their opposite-sex parent as the sexual imprinting hypothesis predicts. Judges assessed the subjective facial similarity between each participant's partner and their parent. We found that there was no perceived facial similarity between women's partners and their fathers. However, men tended to pair more often with women that were perceived as resembling the men's own mothers. In contrast to previous studies, the quality of the relationship between participants and their parents did not predict the level of facial resemblance between the participant's spouse and their parent.     

Group identity‐based self‐protective strategies: the stigma of race,gender, and garlic

We examine the importance of group membership in stigma and its role in the effectiveness of self‐protective cognitions in three experiments. In Experiment 1, men are asked to interact with an attractive female who will judge their value as a potential date, and either eat a mint or a clove of raw garlic prior to the interview. Although the stigmatized‐by‐garlic men discounted negative feedback and attributed it to their garlic breath, discounting and attributions were negatively correlated with self‐esteem. In Experiment 2, White participants were evaluated positively or negatively by a bogus partner who the participants believed had been told that the participant was either White or Black. Although participants receiving negative feedback engaged in several self‐protective cognitions, including attributing their negative feedback to racism, the strategies were uncorrelated with self‐esteem. In Experiment 3, women prepared to interact via computer with a partner who expressed sexist or non‐sexist beliefs. In the absence of feedback, self‐esteem increased when their partner was sexist. In contrast with the first two experiments, perceiving the partner as prejudiced was significantly and positively correlated with self‐esteem. Together, these experiments suggest that self‐protective cognitions find their effectiveness when stigma has a basis in group membership. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emotional Reactions to Interracial Achievement Outcomes1

Students interacted with a White or a Black partner on an achievement task. It was predicted that the anxiety elicited by interacting with an outgroup member would lead to amplified emotional reactions to achievement outcomes. Consistent with this prediction, emotional reactions to success were more positive with a Black partner than with a White partner, whereas emotional reactions to failure were more negative with a Black partner than with a White partner. In addition, under conditions of low public self-awareness, Black partners were given less credit for success and blamed more for failure than White partners. This prejudicial pattern of attributions disappeared under conditions of high public self-awareness.     

Interpreting and reacting to feedback in stereotype-relevant performance domains

Feedback on task performance is often phrased in subjective language (e.g., “not bad!”), but how do recipients understand or translate that feedback into a clear, objective, performance metric? We suggest that when feedback is provided in a stereotype-relevant domain, translation is made with reference to stereotyped expectations for one's group. In Study 1, women and men were exposed to negative subjective feedback about their performance on a leadership task; in Study 2, Black and White participants were provided subjective negative feedback, or no feedback, on an academic writing task. Women relative to men, and Black students relative to White students, translated their feedback to indicate objectively worse performance. Furthermore, this translation mediated a drop in the importance placed on the domain among women and Blacks. This research extends the literature on gender- and race-based reactions to feedback by noting the importance of the immediate interpretation of the feedback received.     

Domestic violence, separation, and suicide in young men with early onset alcoholism: reanalyses of Murphy's data

Partner violence and partner separation at the time of completed suicide were investigated in 42 male alcoholics originally described by Murphy (1992). Half of the men had domestic violence histories. Partner-violent men were younger, had an earlier age of onset of alcoholism, and were more likely to be separated from their partner at the time of death than partner-nonviolent men. Loss of a close personal relationship, often a domestic partner, is common during the last year of life among alcoholic men completing suicide. Domestic violence appears to typify many of their domestic relationships, particularly among younger men and men with early onset alcoholism.     

Is your choice my choice? The owners’ effect on pet dogs’ (Canis lupus familiaris) performance in a food choice task

This study investigates the influence of owners on their dogs’ performance in a food choice task using either different or equal quantities of food. Fifty-four pet dogs were tested in three different conditions. In Condition 1 we evaluated their ability to choose between a large and small amount of food (quantity discrimination task). In Condition 2 dogs were again presented with a choice between the large and small food quantity, but only after having witnessed their owner favouring the small quantity. In Condition 3 dogs were given a choice between two equally small quantities of food having witnessed their owner favouring either one or the other. A strong effect of the owner on the dogs’ performance was observed. In Condition 1 dogs as a group chose significantly more often the large food quantity, thus showing their ability to solve the quantity discrimination task. After observing their owner expressing a preference for the small food quantity they chose the large quantity of food significantly less than in the independent choice situation. The tendency to conform to the owner’s choice was higher when the dogs had to choose between equally small quantities of food (Condition 3) rather than between a large and a small one (Condition 2). These results provide evidence that dogs can be influenced by their owners even when their indications are clearly in contrast with direct perceptual information, thus leading dogs to ultimately make counterproductive choices.