Information Load: A Test of an Inverted-U Hypothesis with Hourly and Salaried Employees

We surveyed 714 hourly and 516 salaried employees of a midwestern telephone company to test the effects of information load on work-related outcomes. Using curvilinear regression analyses, we found support for our hypothesis that employees are less satisfied with outcomes as the load of information deviates positively or negatively from some level. We also predicted, and found, that this quadratic function was more prevalent in the hourly group than in the salaried group. Implications, future research directions, and limitations of the present study are discussed.     

Paternalism in the neonatal intensive care unit

Two factors are discussed which have important implications for the issue of paternalism in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU): the physician's role as advocate for the patient; and the range of typical responses of parents who learn that their neonate has a serious illness. These factors are pertinent to the task of identifying those actions which are paternalistic, as well as to the question of whether paternalism is justified. It is argued that certain behavior by physicians which is often thought to be paternalistic is not in fact so. Furthermore, an argument in defense of paternalism which has largely been overlooked is presented. Examples are given to illustrate how paternalism actually arises in the NICU, and it is argued that paternalism is justified in some cases.     

Pause measures during reading and recall in serial list learning

An investigation is reported into pausing and grouping during the serial learning of letter strings, when presented randomly by length and when presented in ascending order. Mean pause times for the reading and recall of longer lists were significantly greater than for lists of shorter span due to extended pausing at specific list positions. In general, reading rhythms were duplicated during recall. Subjects were highly consistent in maintaining their level of pause duration across lists and responded to additions in list length by increasing their number of groups, not by increasing group size. Triadic sequences were the most popular form of spontaneous organization. Pausing measures are discussed as indices of organizational strategies.     

A circuit to permit an electronic drinkometer to operate during footshock

A circuit to permit an electronic drinkometer to operate during footshock is described. The circuit employs a diode matrix that allows all grid bars to be connected at one point to form one electrode of the drinkometer; it is isolated at another point so as not to shortcircuit the impressed footshock.     

“Center-of-gravity” Tendencies for fixations and flow patterns

Fixation positions were measured for a variety of simple patterns. Generally, the spontaneous fixation tendencies hovered near the “center-of-gravity” of the pattern, providing that the overall dimensions of the figure were less than about 5 deg. “Open” figures such as angles were found to be roughly equivalent to their “enclosed” counterparts, such as triangles. The constraints imposed by the pattern upon the fixation tendencies occur at a level where the binocular inputs are processed. Of further importance was the fact that the fixation points approximate the foci observed in the same patterns when they are seen against a background of visual noise. It is suggested that the two results may be functionally related..     

Stereopsis with opposite contrast contours

The effects of incidental stimuli, defined as visual stimuli not under verbal control, upon a selection task were observed as a function of feedback contingency. Ss judged letter pairs to be valid or invalid completions of preceding letter parts. During the presentation of the letter parts, the response pair or an alternative pair of letters was intermittently presented at a threshold value individually determined for each S. One group of Ss received a light feedback of performance contingent upon responding to the incidental stimuli; whereas a second group received a random noncontingent feedback. The results indicated: (a) both groups responded to the incidental stimuli; (b) feedback contingency had no effect on frequency of responding to the incidental stimuli; (c) frequency of responding to the incidental stimuli remained constant over 32 trials.