Two studies examining the negative effect of self-efficacy on performance

Although hundreds of studies have found a positive relationship between self-efficacy and performance, several studies have found a negative relationship when the analysis is done across time (repeated measures) rather than across individuals. W. T. Powers (1991) predicted this negative relationship based on perceptual control theory. Here, 2 studies are presented to (a) confirm the causal role of self-efficacy and (b) substantiate the explanation. In Study 1, self-efficacy was manipulated for 43 of 87 undergraduates on an analytic game. The manipulation was negatively related to performance on the next trial. In Study 2, 104 undergraduates played the analytic game and reported self-efficacy between each game and confidence in the degree to which they had assessed previous feedback. As expected, self-efficacy led to overconfidence and hence increased the likelihood of committing logic errors during the game.     

Memory aids people use: Two interview studies

In two interview studies subjects were asked what memory aids they used and how often. In particular, the reported frequencies of use of external aids such as shopping lists and memos were compared with those of internal aids that have been investigated by psychologists, such as the method of loci. Subjects in the first study were 15 male and 15 female university students, and in the second, a group of 30 adult women, most of whom were housewives. In both studies the aids reported to be used most were external ones. However, it is pointed out that the most commonly used methods of remembering must be internal, although these are not usually considered to be aids. Some difficulties that arise in the assessment of memory in interview and questionnaire studies are discussed.     

Two studies of Piaget's theory of moral judgment

The relationship between conservation skills and subjective responsibility (SR) in moral judgment was examined in two studies. The Kohlberg ontogenetic priority hypothesis stating that conversation is a necessary but not sufficient condition of SR was pitted against the common structural basis hypothesis advanced by Damon. Piaget's notion of heteronomy as a combination of preoperational thought and unilateral respect was studied by using the behavioural independence tasks by Subbotsky as indicators of unilateral respect. A teaching experiment using Galperin's and Obukhova's method to induce conservation indicated significant transfer from conservation to SR. SR was found to be more susceptible to regression over a 3–month period than conservation. Conservers were less likely to regress on SR than nonconservers. Unilateral respect was related to objective responsibility but not to conservation. Taken together the data fail to support Kohlberg's ontogenetic priority hypothesis and only partially support the Piaget and Damon model of a common underlying structure. It is concluded that SR judgments largely reflect individual judgmental strategies and the effect of conservation on SR is intepreted in terms of increasing cross-situational consistency in the use of these strategies.     

Intergroup contact between professional groups: Two evaluation studies

We report two studies which evaluate practically-oriented programmes of interprofessional contact involving doctors and social workers. The evaluation is based on the ‘contact hypothesis’ in intergroup relations, and highlights four sets of dependent measures: background perceptions, ingroup and outgroup ratings, knowledge, and judgements about work with outgroup partners and experienced contact. Consistent with the contact hypothesis, both studies revealed an improvement in outgroup attitudes, evidence of mutual intergroup differentiation (acknowledged superiority of ingroup and outgroup on independent dimensions), and increased outgroup knowledge. Greater change in Study 2 is interpreted in terms of its longer duration, and the opportunity it provided for contact with multiple outgroup members, compared with a single outgroup partner in Study 1. These findings from field studies are consistent with results from published laboratory experiments.     

Validity of the Sex-Role Egalitarianism Scale: Two replication studies

To enhance the construct validity of the Sex-Role Egalitarianism Scale (SRES), two replications of earlier validity studies were undertaken. Samples were from several college campuses and primarily Caucasian. In Study 1, multiple regression analyses confirmed a hypothesized curvilinear relationship between scores on the SRES and scores on the MacDonald Sex Role Survey, a measure of gender role ideology regarding women. In Study 2, the expectation that SRES would share a relatively small amount of total variance with both the Femininity/Expressiveness and Masculinity/Instrumentality trait subscales of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire was supported. Both sets of results are consistent with earlier validity research using different measures.Lynda King would like to express her appreciation to the Central Michigan University Research Professorship Award program for its support of the studies reported here. The authors would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful guidance and suggestions. A previous version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, August 1992.     

Influence of leadership processes on group polarization

This research attempted to examine underlying processes of group polarization under leadership conditions. One hundred and twenty-two subjects formed in groups of four and five members answered to the Choice Dilemma Questionnaire first on an individual basis and then after group discussion. Experimental conditions were manipulated through different rules of group discussion and types of appointed leaders. It was found that leadership is associated both with group polarization and with group depolarization but whether the group polarizes or depolarizes is determined by the explicit or implicit group rules which act as a systemic decisional structure.     

Efficacy of delayed auditory feedback for treating cluttering: Two case studies

Two clutterers were treated with similar preplanned delayed auditory feedback (DAF) procedures, using probe samples in which the DAF was not present to measure treatment efficacy. Whereas both clients met established fluency criteria during treatment, both clutterers had difficulty transferring gains to probe sessions—one more than the other. Differences in results of DAF treatment are discussed from the perspectives of differences in cluttering severity, coexisting disorders, and supplementary clinical techniques.     

Hierarchical simulation: Two case studies of stuttering modification using systematic desensitization

The use of behavior therapy techniques to alleviate stuttering is being extensively applied. Two cases illustrating hierarchical simulation are presented. In the first, a technique incorporating systematic desensitization and reciprocal inhibition was used to reduce the stuttering behavior of a 13-year-old boy while speaking in a classroom situation. The procedure involved the use of color slides to simulate speaking before an actual classroom as an adjunct to systematic desensitization and reciprocal inhibition. Results indicated a reduction in classroom stuttering as reported by the client and his teacher. In the second case, a 5-year-old boy used forceful muscular activity as being reciprocal to anxiety. This procedure involved the use of videotapes to hierarchically simulate anxiety producing classroom situations. Measures of stuttering indicated a mean reduction of 18%. One year after therapy indicated stuttering had been eliminated.     

Two studies of personality: male graduate students in physical education.

In Study I, scores for 100 male graduate students in physical education were compared to the norms for the general population on the 1962 16 PF test: Ss were higher in Intelligence, Ego-strength, Dominance, and Tenseness, and lower on Imaginativeness, Shrewdness, and Self-sufficiency. Centiles derived from the raw scores deviated markedly only on Intelligence, Dominance, and Shrewdness. In Study II, scores of 96 similar Ss were compared to the norms for the 1970 16 PF test; Ss were higher on Intelligence, Dominance, Enthusiasm, and Tenseness, and lower on Imaginativeness, Shrewdness, Apprehensiveness, and Radicalness. No marked centile deviations were found.     

Toilet rooms, body massages, and smells: Two field studies on human evaluative odor conditioning

In two experimental field studies, the hypothesis was tested that Pavlovian conditioning may modify adults’ liking or disliking of an odor. In Experiment 1, an odor (CS) was first paired unobtrusively with toilet stimuli (US). Next, Ss rated the experimental and a control odor on Semantic Differential items. For Ss evaluating going-to-the-toilet negatively, an acquired dislike for the toilet-paired odor relative to a nonexposed control odor was observed, whereas in Ss evaluating going-to-the-toilet positively, the reverse was observed. In Experiment 2, a neutral odor (CS) was mixed into the massage oil with which a physiotherapist treated his patients. Half of the Ss were treated with Positive-relaxing massage, half of the Ss with Negative-painful massage. At the medical follow-up, Semantic Differential ratings were obtained both for the treatment-odor and for a control odor. In the Positive massage group, the treatment odor was rated as more positive and as less dynamic than the control odor. No similar effects were observed in the Negative massage group, a failure which was probably due to the intended Negative massage not really being experienced as a disliked event. In both experiments, an almost identical pattern of results was observed in the subgroup of Ss who didnot consciously recognize the experimental odor as the treatment odor, eliminating the possibility that the results should be due to demand. As mere exposure cannot account for the results, they most probably represent genuine instances of evaluative odor conditioning. The results are discussed in terms of the understanding of the origins of the affective meaning of odorants, and are related to human evaluative conditioning and implicit memory issues.     

Measures of attitudinal polarization

Abstract.— Criteria for measures of attitudinal polarization, i. e., degree of opposition among people on a specific issue, are proposed and some formulas, including the standard deviation, are evaluated in relation to the criteria. The formulas were also tested on empirical data with respect to level, dispersion and agreement of received values. The measures on the whole showed a high degree of agreement. There clearly exist instances where the standard deviation is not an adequate measure of attitudinal polarization. Some guidelines are given for the choice of constant values in one of the formulas.     

Group risk-taking and group polarization

There are two aims to this paper; to report in brief preliminary form a number of studies on group risk-taking that have been carried out in Bristol in the past two years, and to relate these studies to an explanation of group risk-taking phenomena primarily in terms of group polarization. The paper has five sections. The first section supplies some background material regarding basic phenomena and previous attempts at explanations. The second section relates to initial individual decisions and the third section to decisions following group discussion and consensus. In the fourth section a tentative explanation of group risk-taking effects is proposed in terms of group polarization processes, together with something like an overall value for risk. Group polarization itself is discussed in terms of normative and informational aspects of social influence. The final section deals with two implications of the proposed explanation, one relating to the role of individual familiarization and the other to the generality of group polarization processes.     

The effects of intergroup comparison on the polarization of opinions

This study investigates the expression of attitudes by individuals within the context of groups. A link is made between two theoretical areas: that of intergroup relations and that of the effects of group interaction on the expression of opinions. It is argued that individuals in groups adopt more polarized attitudes to achieve a more positively distinct group identity, and to afford themselves identification with that group. Subjects individually expressed their opinion on an issue, while the salience of group membership was varied by evoking the identity of an alternative group which held opposed opinions on the issue. When their own group identity was more salient, subjects tended to express their opinions in a more polarized manner, and in a manner more in keeping with the presumed view of their group. Also, they attributed to the other group attitudes that were more polarized and more in keeping with their presumed view of the issue.     

Rational social and political polarization

Philosophical Studies - Public discussions of political and social issues are often characterized by deep and persistent polarization. In social psychology, it’s standard to treat belief...