Re-evaluation of decision alternatives dependent upon the reversibility of a decision and the passage of time

In the present experiment subjects made a decision between two alternatives which was either reversible or irreversible. After the choice, subjects evaluated the attractiveness of both alternatives once more under different time levels. It was found that with increasing time level, re-evaluation of alternatives increased under irreversible and decreased under reversible conditions. The results are discussed in the framework of dissonance theory.     

Reaction time task as unconditional stimulus

The present study was conducted to demonstrate classic conditioning in electrodermal (ED) and heart rate (HR) responses by using a nonaversive reaction time (RT) task as unconditional stimulus (US). Three groups of 12 subjects each were studied to test the efficacy of this US procedure by varying the essential components of the RT task-US between groups. Eight seconds differential delay conditioning was applied in each group. Simple geometric features (square, cross) displayed on a TV screen were used as CS+ and CS−. RT task consisted of a nonaversive tone (72 dBA, 1000 or 1200 Hz) and a motor response (pressing a button with the left index finger). Subjects were asked to respond as soon as the tone stimulus was presented. The three groups received different stimulus sequences during the 16-trial acquisition phase only. In one group (Group C1), CS+ was followed by a tone to which subjects were to respond, whereas CS− was not followed by a tone. Similarly, in a second group (Group H), CS+ was followed by a tone, whereas CS− was not; however, subjects of Group H (habituation group) were not required to respond to the tone. In a third group, (Group C2) CS+ was followed by a tone to which subjects were to respond, while CS− was followed by a different tone requiring no response. According to analysis of Group C1 data, differential conditioning was obtained in each response measure. Group H displayed habituation in each response measure obtained. In Group C2, differential conditioning was obtained in the second latency window of ED responses only. In all trials, first-interval anticipatory ED responses and HR responses did occur during acquisition, but were not differentiated with respect to the CS conditions. Although the results of Group C2 need further exploration, differential conditioning of HR and in all latency windows of ED responses was demonstrated by the use of a nonaversive RT task as US.     

Letter visibility and word recognition: The optimal viewing position in printed words

It has repeatedly been shown that the time and accuracy of recognizing a word depend strongly on where in the word the eye is fixating. Word-recognition performance is maximal when the eye fixates a region near the word’s center, and decreases to both sides of this “optimal viewing position.” The reason for this phenomenon is assumed to be the strong drop-off of visual acuity: the visibility of letters decreases with increasing eccentricity from fixation location. Consequently, fewer letters can be identified when the beginning or ending of a word is fixated than when its center is fixated. The present study is a test of this visual acuity hypothesis. If the phenomenon is caused by letter visibility, then it should be sensitive to variations of visual conditions in which the letters are presented. By increasing the interletter distances of the word(e.g.,a_t_t_e_m_ p_ t), letter visibility was decreased. As expected from our hypothesis, the viewing-position effect became more exaggerated. An additional experiment showed that destroying word-shape information (e.g., aTtEmPt) decreased overall word-recognition performance but had no influence on the viewingposition effect. Varying the viewing position in words might thus be used as a paradigm, allowing one to separate out the contribution of letter information and supraletter information to word recognition.     

The effects of feedback about self and others on the recall and judgments of feedback-relevant information

After people have received feedback about the outcome of their behavior, their responses to information bearing on the validity of this feedback may be influenced by their desire to maintain a favorable self-image. This experiment investigated the cognitive mediators of these responses. Subjects who received negative feedback about their performance on an intelligence test disparaged intelligence tests in general and judged a report they had read to be unfavorable to intelligence tests. Nevertheless, they recalled more arguments in the report that were favorable to intelligence tests than did positive feedback recipients. These results contradicted the hypothesis that subjects selectively attend to information that helps them to maintain a positive self-concept in light of negative information about themselves. Rather, they may attempt to refute arguments that support the validity of the negative feedback they receive, and this relatively greater processing may facilitate the recall of these arguments later on. In contrast, there was no evidence that subjects try to refute information that calls the validity of positive feedback into question. Results had implications for two additional issues: first, whether the effect of performance feedback depends on whether it is received before or after information bearing on its validity; second, whether feedback has similar effects on recall and judgments by persons to whom it does not directly pertain.     

Misattribution of arousal and the effects of self-threatening information

Two experiments are reported on the effects of misattributing arousal. In both experiments, subjects took an intelligence test and received fictitious negative results about their performance. In the first experiment, subjects before receiving feedback were given a pill labeled as arousing; however, the ostensible effectiveness of the pill was varied. The greater the alleged strength of the pill, the less the test was derogated following feedback about performance on it and the more effort subjects reported expending on the test. In the second experiment, subjects were told that the pill was either arousing or relaxing and that its effect lasted for either a short or a long period of time. Initial test evaluations were more positive and estimates of effort expended were greater when the pill was described as arousing than when it was described as relaxing. However, whereas these differences were maintained over time when the pill's effects were described as of long duration, they disappeared over time when the pill's effects were described as of short duration.     

A clarification of selective exposure: The impact of choice

Selective exposure as a reaction to cognitive dissonance has long eluded researchers working in the realm of dissonance theory. It is proposed here that the difficulties in selective exposure paradigms have resulted from inadequate designs, and more particularly, it is likely that many of the previous findings are due to confoundings. The present experiment manipulates the variable of choice with the intent of controlling for a variety of possible confounds. The experiment shows a simple, theoretically predicted effect: Selective exposure, favoring supporting over nonsupporting information, increases to the degree that an onerous task is undertaken with volition.