Social categorization and attitude change

Two experiments were carried out investigating the effect of categorization on attitude change. It was predicted that the division of a number of individuals into two subgroups (categorization), in such a way that initial attitudes correlate with subgroup membership, would lead to accentuation of attitudinal differences between subgroups. It was further predicted that an identical distribution of initial attitudes without superimposed categorization would lead to convergence of attitude positions. In experiment 1, the effect of a male-female classification on attitude change was studied. It was indeed found that subjects changed their attitudes in the direction opposite to the position of the outgroup (intergroup attitude differentiation), but only for groups who were initially more extreme than the comparison group. In the control condition (no categorization), conformity effects were observed. In experiment 2, an antagonistic intergroup setting was induced. In this situation, strong intergroup attitude differentiation effects were observed, which were not affected by the magnitude of the initial intergroup discrepancy. In the control condition, subjects did not show conformity to the overall group mean, but maintained their initial noncentral attitude position.     

Recognition of emotions in music by children and adults

32 children 5 to 6 yr. old, 32 9 to 11 yr. old, and 32 adults linked musical fragments to emotions in a similar manner, older subjects being more accurate. Some emotions were more difficult than others; anger and fear were often confused. Older subjects gave better justifications for their choices.     

Metaperceptions of bias in intimate relationships

Meta-awareness of bias in intimate partner judgments was investigated in 3 studies. In Study 1, participants rated fictional partners in happier relationships as more positively biased in their partner perceptions. In Study 2, participants thought their judgments of their own current partners were positively biased and that they were judged by their partners in a positively biased fashion. Using a sample of couples, Study 3 showed that metaperceptions of bias were anchored to actual levels of bias at the individual and relationship levels. In addition, positive bias was accentuated for traits that were more relevant to mate evaluation. These findings (as expected) suggest that positive bias in partner judgments can be a normative and consciously accessible feature of intimate relationships.     

Is masked neighbor priming inhibitory? Evidence using the incremental priming technique

To investigate neighbor effects in visual word recognition, the masked priming technique holds considerable advantages over unprimed methods, because a target word is used as its own control. However, inhibitory neighbor effects obtained with masked priming are still open for different interpretations, because the primes differ across conditions. Given this theoretical problem, it is useful to investigate neighbor priming effects using a prime as its own control. This option is available in the incremental priming technique (Jacobs, Grainger, & Ferrand, 1995), in which a within-condition baseline is created by comparing the response times (RTs) to a target when it is primed at different prime durations. In this study, we examined masked neighbor priming using this technique. Both the traditional and the within-condition baseline indicated that masked neighbor word priming is inhibitory in nature. The results are discussed in terms of current theories of visual word recognition.     

Sex differences in the causes of self-reported adolescent delinquency

Sex differences in the causes of self-reported adolescent delinquency were examined in full and half siblings born to a nationally representative sample of women in the United States. Qualitative sex differences in the genes that influence delinquency were not detected. Similarly, the proportions of variance in both aggressive and nonaggressive delinquency attributable to genetic and environmental influences did not differ significantly between girls and boys. Nonetheless, total variance in delinquency was greater among boys, and a scalar sex-differences model suggested that genetic and environmental influences on delinquency have less effect on population variation in delinquency among girls. Similarly, a test of the polygenic multiple threshold model suggested that girls require greater causal liability for the expression of delinquency than boys.     

Rorschach Comprehensive System data for a sample of 37 nonpatient/nondelinquent adolescents from the United States

This study is composed of 37 American adolescents, ages 15 to 17 years of age, all from the United States. The principal author was the sole examiner. Inclusion criteria are described. Interrater reliability statistics at the response level are presented along with scores for the Rorschach Comprehensive System (CS; Exner, 2003). The results revealed differences from the published norms on variables that reflect poor form quality, fewer popular responses, more attention to detail, more poor human relationship responses, and a more simplistic, affective-free approach to the environment, among others.     

Paradoxical experiential therapy: A description of the technique and rationale of a nonbehavioral therapy for an unselected patient population

Paradoxical Experiential Therapy, a new technique of psychotherapy, is a nonbehavioral, short-term, experiential form of individual psychotherapy which produces long-lasting changes in ego strength, anxiety, depression, guilt, anger, and other common psychiatric symptoms, in an unselected patient population, in approximately 40 to 60 hours of therapy. This is accomplished by the use of structured fantasies accompanied by feelings which are instantly paradoxical to the content and nature of the fantasies themselves, and by other structured fantasies with paradoxical input from the therapist.