Nonlinear and Nonmonotonic Effects of Outcome on Procedural and Distributive Fairness Judgments1

It has generally been assumed that increases in the concrete outcomes of a procedure will result in judgments of greater procedural and distributive fairness, but research on this topic has been inconsistent. Using a classic procedural justice paradigm (Walker, LaTour, Lind, &. Thibaut, 1974), the experiment tested the effects of four levels of outcome. Forty-eight male and female undergraduates were led to believe that their team had been wrongfully charged with cheating in a business simulation game. An adversary adjudication was held, purportedly to resolve the charge. The outcome of the adjudication was confiscation of all, two thirds, one third, or none of the subject's monetary winnings from the game. Both procedural and distributive fairness measures showed dear nonlinear outcome effects. The relationship between outcomes and both fairness measures showed some evidence of being nonmonotonic as well: A two-thirds loss resulted in less favorable reactions than did a total loss. Ratings on other scales suggest that the nonlinear effects are due to beliefs that the judge did not fully consider the evidence in the two-thirds loss and one-third loss conditions. The discussion focuses on the theoretical implications of the findings for procedural justice and social exchange processes and the practical implications for conflict resolution procedure.     

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS AND TREATMENT OF SEVERE PICA

A two-phase functional analysis of a profoundly retarded 19-year-old male's pica facilitated the design of an effective intervention containing no aversive components. In the first analysis, frequent staff-client interaction resulted in 25% and 66% less pica than limited and no interaction, respectively. Paradoxical effects were obtained in the second analysis, where no protective helmet resulted in 38% and 26% less pica than the helmet with face shield and helmet without face shield, respectively. On the basis of these analyses, limited interaction and no helmet conditions were combined in an effective, staff-implemented treatment at a medium-sized institution.     

Midi-level measurement of social anxiety in psychiatric and non-psychiatric samples

This paper reports the development and assessment of midi-level behavioral measures of social anxiety in the context of two experiments, one studying an analog student sample, the other a psychiatric sample. Judgments on nine categories of clinically practical midi-level behaviors (e.g. Facial Expression, Orienting, Sense of Timing), based on a review of the literature on human ethology and on pilot research, were compared to global judgments of social anxiety and social skill and to physiological arousal. Intraclass correlations exceeded 0.80 for judgments of the global and midi-level behavioral ratings on both samples. Results of correlational analyses indicated that while there were several significant predictors of global skill and anxiety among the midis, the magnitude of the relationship between midis and globals was stronger for the patient than the student sample. Further analyses based on S's heart rate (HR) reactivity suggested that while global ratings did not significantly predict H R in a high social anxiety situation, one midi-level behavioral rating (self-manipulations) did. The clinical utility of the newly developed measures is discussed with particular attention to their practicality for behavior therapy.     

An individualized regression and clustering assessment of the social values of adults and children

Research investigating social values in interdependency situations has generally demonstrated age differences across the 5- to 10-year-old age range. However, the precise nature of these differences is unclear. Further, the differences in the social values of adults and children has not been addressed. The present study examined the social values of undergraduates and children using a measurement technique designed to allow an accurate inference of social values. Ninety-one 6- to 10-year-old children and 100 undergraduates rated the desirability of a set of outcomes which systematically varied with regard to the benefits to themselves and another person. Theoretically specified characteristics of the outcomes were then used to generate a regression equation predicting the desirability ratings separately for each individual. These regression equations were then clustered into groups of individuals who used decision rules characteristic of the major social values. The results indicate that the 8- to 10-year-old children, compared to the 6- to 7-year olds, more often expressed a social value involving equality and tended to less often express a social value involving superiority. Comparison of the social values expressed by the children and adults indicated that the adults more often expressed group-enhancement and individualism social values and less often expressed a social value involving superiority.     

The selective impact of question form and input mode on the symbolic distance effect in children

Five experiments are reported on the symbolic distance effect (SDE) and related phenomena with 6- and 9-year-old children. In the first of these, children were asked to judge the relative sizes of animals in verbal and pictorial tests featuring the comparatives "bigger" and "smaller." A perceptual condition with actual objects was included by way of comparison. A Symbolic Distance Effect was obtained for both lexical and pictorial input. Mode differences were also observed. Pictures produced faster responses than words, and congruity effects occurred only in the pictorial condition. Although performance was similar in tests with either comparative, our subsequent experiments on both 6- and 9-year-olds reveal a significant asymmetry in the child's capacity to verify statements of relation as a function of the direction along the (size) continuum implied by the question. However, important differences between age groups also apparent in the data lead us to conclude that the older subjects develop strategies to overcome this asymmetry by translating certain statements of relation into a form more congruent with their natural modes of encoding.     

Calvinism and psychoanalysis: A comparative study

Summary Although the title of this essay suggests a comparison of psychoanalysis and Calvinism, I have chosen to compare primarily the two leaders of these movements. On many points they shared similar beliefs. Certain of these areas have been highlighted and discussed briefly: ascetic tendencies, work, religion, concepts of God and of man, actions as symptoms, and predestination and determinism.     

Book reviews

The Journal of Value Inquiry -