Context and the interpretation of likelihood information: the role of intergroup comparisons on perceived vulnerability

Four experiments investigated how people's perceptions about a group's (e.g., women's) vulnerability to a disease are influenced by information about the prevalence of the disease in a comparable group (e.g., men). Participants read symptom and prevalence infomation about fictitious diseases before answering questions regarding target group vulnerability. Participants used the prevalence rate for a nontarget group as an immediate comparison standard for intuitively interpreting the degree of vulnerability of a target group, resulting in robust contrast effects. Experiments 3 and 4 illustrated that these contrast effects can cause a person's intuitive perceptions about a group's vulnerability to selected diseases to conflict with his or her knowledge of the prevalence rates for the diseases. The results support a distinction between 2 components of psychological uncertainty-beliefs in objective probability and more intuitive perceptions of certainty.     

Ability evaluation by proxy: role of maximal performance and related attributes in social comparison

Four experiments tested the effects of information about a proxy's related attributes and maximal effort in social comparisons of ability. In Study 1, a proxy's prior performance at maximal effort exerted systematic effects on participants' personal performance predictions for a novel task. When information about the proxy's effort was ambiguous (Study 2). information about related attribute similarity was used in the formulation of performance predictions. In Studies 3 and 4, 2-way interaction terms revealed that participants used related attribute information in generating performance predictions when the proxy's maximum effort was unknown. However, related attribute information was disregarded when proxy's maximum effort was unambiguous. Results were consistent with the proxy comparison model of ability self-evaluation (L. Wheeler, R. Martin, & J. Suls, 1997).     

Analysis of the vocal profiles of male seduction: from exhibition to self-disclosure

The authors analyzed the suprasegmental (temporary) vocal profiles of 19 young men (not married) during their seductive interaction with 19 young women (not married) whom they had not known previously. The aim of the research was to verify the specificity, the sequential temporal stream, and the efficacy of the acoustical features of the seducer's voice during seductive interaction. In an ecological laboratory situation, the male participants were asked to meet their female partners. Participant-by-participant analysis showed that the male seductive voice is characterized by strong variations during the course of the seductive sequence. At the beginning of the sequence it had a higher pitch and an elevated intensity, as well as a faster rate of articulation than it did during normal speech (the exhibition voice). In the following phases it became gradually lower, weaker, and warmer (the self-disclosure voice). The modulation and variability of the vocal profiles during the seductive interaction were significantly stressed in the 9 successful seducers (those who succeeded in arranging a subsequent meeting with the partner), compared with the 10 unsuccessful seducers. The results have been interpreted as an ability to perform an effective local management of seductive communication.     

Relating print and speech: the effects of letter names and word position on reading and spelling performance

From an early age, children can go beyond rote memorization to form links between print and speech that are based on letter names in the initial positions of words (Treiman & Rodriguez, 1999; Treiman, Sotak, & Bowman, 2001). For example, children's knowledge of the name of the letter t helps them learn that the novel word TM is pronounced as team. Four experiments were carried out to determine whether letter names at the ends of words are equally useful. Four- and five-year-olds derived little benefit from such information in reading (Experiments 1 and 3) or spelling (Experiment 2), although adults did (Experiment 4). For young children, word-final information appears to have less influence on reading and spelling performance than does word-initial information. The results help delineate the circumstances under which children can go beyond a logographic approach in learning about print.     

Dimensions of depression and perfectionism in pregnant and nonpregnant women: their levels and interrelationships and their relationship to marital satisfaction

The authors studied S. J. Blatt's (1974) 2 dimensions of depression (anaclitic and introjective), P. L. Hewitt and G. L. Flett's (1991b) 3 dimensions of perfectionism (socially prescribed, self-oriented, and other-oriented), and the relationship between these and marital satisfaction in 100 married women in the last trimester of their first pregnancy and in 50 married women who had not yet experienced pregnancy. The measures used were the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (S. J. Blatt, J. P. D'Afflitti, & D. M. Quinlan. 1976a, 1976b), the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (P. L. Hewitt & G. L. Flett, 1989), and G. B. Spanier's (1976) Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Pregnant and nonpregnant women did not differ in anaclitic depression, but the level of introjective depression of pregnant women was lower than that of nonpregnant women. The two groups did not differ in level of marital satisfaction or in any of the dimensions of perfectionism. For both groups, introjective depression was positively correlated with socially prescribed perfectionism and negatively correlated with marital satisfaction. Self-oriented perfectionism was positively related to introjective depression and negatively related to marital satisfaction for nonpregnant women. For the pregnant women, there was a negative relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and marital satisfaction. Anaclitic depression and other-oriented perfectionism were unrelated to any of the other variables studied.     

Perception of the minority's collective identity and voting behavior: the case of the Palestinians in Israel

The author investigated how Palestinian (n = 130) and Jewish (n = 153) Israeli university students perceived the collective identity of the Palestinian minority in Israel. The Palestinian and Jewish respondents perceived the "identity space" of the minority as linear, or bipolar, with 1 pole defined by the national (Palestinian) identity and the other defined by the civic (Israeli) label. The Palestinian respondents defined their collective identity in national (Palestinian, Arab) and integrative (Israeli-Palestinian) terms; the Jewish respondents perceived the minority's identity as integrative (Israeli-Palestinian). Different political outlooks among Palestinian respondents were related to their identification with the civic (Israeli) identity but not to their identification with the national (Palestinian) identity. In contrast, different political outlooks among Jewish respondents were related to their inclusion, or exclusion, of the national (Palestinian) component in their definition of the minority's identity. Implications of the results are discussed in terms of a minority acculturation model (J. Berry, J. Trimble, & E. Olmedo, 1986).     

Problems in developing functional handwriting

The development of handwriting quality and speed of 407 primary school children was followed from Grade 1 to Grade 5 in a longitudinal experiment. Performance was analyzed to enquire into the extent and bases for handwriting dysfunction. 27% of the children were classified as dysfunctional at the end of Grade 1. At the end of Grade 5 only 13% were so classified. Most children have adequate perception and motor abilities to develop functional handwriting. Dysfunction of handwriting speed can usually be traced to dysfunction of its quality. Dysfunction of quality can be traced to insufficient individualization in the primary instruction in handwriting which leads to a mismatch between the time allocated to teach certain letters to certain children and the time required for these children to learn the form of these letters.     

Peculiar aspects of reading and writing performances in patients with olivopontocerebellar atrophy

Olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA) is a still debated condition, of which motor disruption is the most common feature. A high incidence of associated mood disorders may exist, but there are few studies on concomitant cognitive impairment. Our aim was to assess whether there is reading and writing disruption in olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA). 6 patients were administered different reading and writing tasks. Scores were then compared to those obtained by healthy volunteers. There was an evident impairment in reading and writing execution in our patients compared to those of the control group. On the contrary, no difference could be found in abstraction, problem-solving, and memory tasks. We discuss the results, debating the role of the cerebellum in the conscious process of cognition or in ocular movement control (necessary for reading and writing fluidity and effective execution) and in the dynamic activation of all the cerebral cortex mediated by the diffuse projection to the reticular system.     

Two-year test-retest reliability of the colored progressive matrices

The Raven Colored Progressive Matrices was administered to a sample of 259 children in Lithuania and re-administered 2 years later. The test-retest reliability was .499.     

Factorial validity and internal reliability of Honey and Mumford's Learning Styles Questionnaire

Honey and Mumford's Learning Styles Questionnaire was derived from the same conceptual basis as Kolb's Learning Style Inventory and may provide a more reliable and valid measure of Kolb's learning style constructs. The Learning Styles Questionnaire has not been psychometrically evaluated as extensively as the Learning Style Inventory. Since there is no published information on how the Learning Styles Questionnaire scales were derived, an attempt was made to factor analyze the responses to the questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis of 284 psychology undergraduates' responses identified a four-factor oblimin solution as the most satisfactory model investigated. Implications for interpretation and use within higher education are discussed.