Recommended Regulation of Common Drugs: The Relative Influence of Facts vs. Labels

The present study examined the hypothesis that individuals are more influenced by a drug name than by the side effects associated with that drug when making recommendations regarding regulation. Subjects recommended the amount of regulation that should exist for eight drugs ranging from aspirin to LSD. One third of the subjects were asked to make recommendations based only on the drug name. Another third made recommendations based only on the facts associated with the drugs (i.e., side effects, symptoms). A final third made recommendations based on both facts and the drug name. Results indicated that, when given only the facts, subjects' recommendations deviated greatly from the actual regulation of the drugs but that the facts were ignored if subjects knew the name of the drug. These results suggest that critical information may be ignored when decisions are made about drug regulation. The implications for self-regulated drug use are discussed.     

Prosocial orientation and COVID-19 vaccine willingness in the U.S.

Despite evidence of the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and their wide availability, many in the U.S. are not vaccinated. Research demonstrates that prosocial orientations predict COVID-19 health behaviors (e.g., social distancing) and vaccination intentions, however, little work has examined COVID-19 vaccination willingness in the U.S. since vaccines were approved. Findings from two U.S. samples show that, in contrast to other COVID-19 health behaviors, vaccine willingness in unvaccinated people is unrelated to prosocial orientation. Study 2 demonstrates that the lack of association between vaccine willingness and prosocial orientation in unvaccinated participants was specific to those with stronger beliefs that COVID-19 vaccines are ineffective. Thus, in prosocial people, perceptions of vaccines' ineffectiveness may undermine COVID-19 vaccine willingness.     

The effect of pattern and texture gradient on slant and shape judgments

The experiment reported was designed to explore the relationship between gradient of texture and monocular slantshape perception. The effects of instructional set and order of slant and shape judgments were studied in interaction with four patterns differing in regularity of texture. Judgments of slant and shape were made by the same Ss for all patterns at 20°, 45°, 60°slant for slant judgments and 0°, 20°, 45°, 60° for width judgments. There were three instructional groups. Within each group one half of the Ss made slant judgments first, the other half shape judgments first. For all patterns, accurate perception of the slant of patterned material resulted in increased compensation in width judgments. Apparent width was found to be a function of pattern and also subject to instructional manipulation.     

Interrelationships among students' study activities,self-concept of academic ability,and achievement as a function of characteristics of high-school biology courses

This investigation focused on the interrelationships among students' study activities, students' self-concept of academic ability ratings, students' academic achievement, and instructional practices in 12 high school biology courses. Using a framework derived from a previous investigation, course features were classified into those that appear to (a) place demands on, (b) support, or (c) compensate for student engagement in particular study activities. Students' study activities, self-concept of academic ability ratings, and achievement were measured with experimenter-developed instruments. Results are reported for (a) characteristics of instruments and course features, (b) relationships between central factors of the investigation, and (c) multi-level relationships between course features and student variables. Results at the student level indicated that self-concept of academic ability and, to a lesser extent, students' study activities were positively associated with student achievement. Students' self-concept of academic ability ratings were also linked to students' engagement in generative, proactive study activities. At the course level the supportive practices of providing challenging homework assignments and extensive feedback on student coursework were associated with student engagement in effortful, generative, proactive study activities. The provision of extensive feedback was also associated with high student achievement. Multi-level relationships were analysed using hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) analyses. These analyses revealed, for example, that in courses in which little or no feedback is given on homework assignments, the relationship between achievement and student engagement in diligent effort management activities was enhanced. Other HLM analyses were conducted to examine the mediating role of course features on the relationship between students' self-concept of academic ability and their study activities and achievement. For example, the presence of challenging course demands was associated with an enhancement of the relationship between self-concept of academic ability and achievement whereas the presence of instructor provisions (supports and compensations) designed to reduce course demands was associated with a reduction in this relationship.     

STIMULUS (INSTRUCTIONAL) FADING DURING EXTINCTION OF SELF-INJURIOUS ESCAPE BEHAVIOR

Three individuals with developmental disabilities were exposed to a series of assessment conditions to identify the source of reinforcement for their self-injurious behavior. In each case, self-injury occurred most often in instructional (demand) situations containing a brief time-out from the task contingent on self-injury, indicating that the behavior was an escape response (i.e., maintained by negative reinforcement). Treatment was implemented in a multiple baseline across subjects design and consisted of extinction (prevention of escape) plus instructional fading (initial elimination of instructions followed by their gradual reintroduction). Results showed that the combined treatment produced immediate and large reductions in self-injury that were maintained as the frequency of instructions was increased across sessions to match the original baseline rate of presentation. Results of a component analysis conducted with 1 subject suggested that stimulus fading accelerated the behavior-reducing effects of extinction.     

Racial Attitudes and the Death Penalty1

This study investigated the relationship between overt and subtle forms of racism with Whites' recommendations for capital sentencing of Black and White offenders convicted of murder. White participants (n= 104) viewed 5 other “jurors” (all Whites or 4 Whites and 1 Black) on videotape individually presenting their decisions to vote for the death penalty in the case. It was hypothesized that the bias of high prejudice-scoring participants would be overt, but that the pattern for low prejudice-scoring participants would be more complex. As predicted, among high prejudice-scoring participants, Black defendants received stronger recommendations for the death penalty than did White defendants. Among low prejudice-scoring White participants, Black offenders received stronger recommendations for the death penalty only when a Black juror advocated the death penalty.     

An Attributional Analysis of Emotional Reactions to Schizophrenia in Mexican and Anglo American Cultures1

The present study uses attribution theory to identify factors that may lead to unfavorable emotional reactions toward patients with schizophrenia and to highlight factors that may contribute to the observed inverse relationship between industrial status of a country and schizophrenia outcome. University students from Mexico and the U.S., 2 countries differing in industrial status, served as participants. Eighty-eight Mexicans from Guadalajara and 88 Anglo Americans from Los Angeles, California read vignettes of a patient described to meet DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia. In one vignette, the patient's disorder was characterized by predominantly positive symptoms (e.g., hallucinations, delusions), whereas in the other vignette negative symptoms (e.g., social withdrawal, apathy) predominated. In support of an attributional approach, negative symptoms were associated with greater perceived control than were positive symptoms. Correspondingly, negative symptoms were found to provoke more intense negative affect and less intense positive affect than were positive symptoms. Some national and gender differences were also found.