Touch dominates haptic estimates of discordant visual-haptic size

Observers (72 college students) estimated the size of plastic squares that they held in their fingers and simultaneously viewed through a reducing lens that halved the squares’ visual size. The squares were grasped from below through a cloth that prevented direct sight of the hand. Each estimate was a match selected later, either haptically or visually, from a set of comparison squares. Vision dominated the visual estimates and touch dominated the haptic estimates, whether or not the observers knew in advance which type of estimate they would be asked to make. Neither modality inherently dominates perceived size.     

Arbitrariness of frustration: Inhibition or instigation effects on aggression

The purpose of the present research was to assess the relative influence of instigation or inhibition in mediating retaliation after arbitrary or non-arbitrary frustration. Sixty-four men were asked to learn a concept that was being taught by a peer. Although all men were frustrated, half were deliberately frustrated while the other half were not deliberately frustrated by the teacher. Following the task, the learner was given the opportunity to prevent the teacher from gaining employment under conditions where his evaluation was either anonymous or to be made public. The results of a 2 × 2 analysis of variance yielded several significant effects. The data revealed that subjects rejected the teacher more when the frustration was arbitrary than when it was non-arbitrary. Moreover, when the evaluation was anonymous, subjects rejected the teacher more than when the evaluation was to be made public. Furthermore, the difference in the amount of rejection expressed between arbitrary and non-arbitrary conditions was greater when the evaluation was anonymous than when it was public. These results were interpreted as demonstrating the greater contribution of instigatory rather than inhibitory factors in expressing aggression following deliberate or non-deliberate frustration.     

Communicative stress and stuttering frequency during normal,whispered, and articulation-without-phonation speech modes

The effect of communicative stress on the frequency of stuttered syllables in 12 adult stutterers reading six different but equivalent passages using normal voicing, whispering, and articulation-without-phonation speech under a stress and a non-stress condition was studied. Although the frequency of stuttering was significantly greater in the normal voicing mode than in the whispering mode and greater in the whispering mode than in the articulation-without-phonation mode, no differences were found between the stress and the nonstress conditions with respect to stuttering.     

Effect of effort and latent extinction on resistance to extinction

Sixty-four male Wistar rats were given acquisition training in an enclosed straight-alley runway which could be adjusted for angles of inclination. The 2×2×2 design involved two angles of inclination in acquisition (0° and 40°) and two angles of inclination in extinction (0° and 40°). Between acquisition and extinction, half the subjects were exposed to a latent extinction procedure and half served as controls. Number of responses in a 30-min extinction session was an inverse function of effort required in extinction. Additionally, latent extinction procedures resulted in reduced resistance to extinction, but only when the effort conditions of acquisition and extinction were constant. When the effort conditions of acquisition and extinction were dissimilar, latent extinction procedures resulted in increased resistance to extinction. The results raise questions about the nature of the learning which occurs during latent extinction training.     

Career stages: A partial test of Levinson's model of life/career stages

This study purports to test a theory of life and career stages developed by Daniel Levinson and his associates. The theory suggests four distinct stages between ages 20 and 45 each with their own developmental tasks and related behaviors and attitudes. Subjects (759 managerial, professional, and technical employees) were selected randomly from levels and departments of a major public sector employer in the midwest United States. The measure of career stage asked respondents to indicate whether they had passed through, were still in, or had not yet reached each stage as operationalized by a short vignette. Attitudinal and behavioral measures were abstracted from previously developed instruments. Only moderate support for the theory was found with little or no evidence to support the age-linked notion of these stages. Stages were found to be discriminable in terms of certain attitudes (upward mobility, career and overall job satisfaction, and job commitment) as predicted. Suggestions are given for improvements in measurement, research design, and theory refinement.     

Reward behavior by male and female leaders: A causal inference analysis

This research investigated causal inferences between leader reward behavior (positive and punitive) and subordinate goal attainment, absenteeism, and work satisfaction over a 3-month period in a merchandise distribution center (n = 252). Four groups were studied: (a) male supervisors-male subordinates, (b) male supervisors-female subordinates, (c) female supervisors-female subordinates, and (d) female supervisors-male subordinates. Using the techniques of tests of mean differences and corrected cross-lag correlations, the results revealed that: (a) No significant differences attributed to sex were found between the four groups with the perceptions of leader reward behavior or subordinate outcome measures, and (b) the causal inference analysis suggested that the relationships between leader reward behavior and subordinate attitudes and behavior were independent of the effects of sex of supervisor or subordinate. Implications for research on sex stereotypes and leadership were discussed.     

The Attraction-Leniency Effect in Jury Research: An Examination of External Validity

The external validity of the attraction-leniency effect observed repeatedly in jury research was examined by adding two small elements of juridicial realism to the usual paradigm modeled after Landy and Aronson (1969). An attraction-leniency effect was not found when judge's instructions regarding the criteria of guilt were provided, and subjects assessed probable guilt rather than appropriate sentence.     

Defining the terms of Go-Between Process

Science asks that a theory state its basic terms and operations with economy and precision. Twenty-two terms and operations of Zuk's Go-Between Process are defined. It is desirable in science also to carefully distinguish among related theories. Go-Between Process and Structural-Strategic Family Therapy are related theories, and differences are described.