Effects of bars and blanks on recognition of words and nonwords embedded in a row of letters

Solid bars or blank spaces placed before, after, or on both sides of a pronounceable four-letter string embedded in a longer string of letters facilitated recognition of the embedded string. This effect was equal whether bar or blanks were used, and whether the embedded string was a word or a pronounceable nonword. The effect of bars or blanks on pronounceable strings was interpreted in terms of a multiletter processing operation.     

REWARD SIZE AND GAME PLAYING BEHAVIOR

S haw J. Reward size and game playing behavior. Scand, J. Psychol ., 1972, 13 , 121–132.—The results of studies dealing with the effects of heightened incentives in game playing situations present a complicated pattern of findings ranging from those favoring cooperation, through those indicating no relation, to those favoring competition. A critical review of these studies is made followed by attempts to reconcile the divergent findings. These include: ( a ) Gallo's (1968 b ) index of average payoff per trial, and ( b ) Oskamp & Kleinke's (1970) notion that large rewards may induce individualistic behavior. Suggestions are made for further research on reward size as related to ( a ) noneconomic rewards, ( b ) matrix structure, ( c ) reward pattern, ( d ) multichoice methodologies, and ( e ) parametric values.     

A theoretical analysis of sex differences in same-sex friendships

An investigation of sex differences in same-sex friendships was conducted in terms of the intersection and social penetration model of relationship development, and Bem's theory of sex role orientation. The results indicated that there were significant sex differences in the nature of the same-sex friendships studied. In the terminology of Levinger's (Toward the Analysis of Close Relationships, Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1980, 16, 510–544) intersection model, female same-sex friendships indicated greater involvement. In the terminology of Altman and Taylor's (Social Penetration: The Development of Interpersonal Relationships, New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1973) social penetration model, female friendships demonstrated greater depth. Overall, the female friendships were of longer duration than those of the males. The differences in involvement and depth were found within each designated level of friendship (causal, good, and close). However, the difference in involvement was moderated by the sex role orientation of the participants, in that the sex difference was greater between sex-typed individuals than between androgynous individuals. An examination of questionnaire subscale intercorrelations indicated that females tended to seek friends to whom they could relate in many different areas, while males tended to develop different relationships to meet different needs.     

Some stages of grief

Does grief progress through stages? Do all people go through the same experiences? What health considerations are present in each grief experience? Does religion help? Although all people do not go through the same stages nor do they progress at the same rate, many people do go through such stages as the following: shock, lamentations, withdrawal, frustration, panic, depression, detachment, adaptation, reinvestment, and growth. There is often an interaction in these stages between stress and physical symptoms, and many grievers report that religion gives a good philosophical arean in which to work through their grief.     

Fitness promotion for adolescent girls: the impact and effectiveness of promotional material which emphasizes the slim ideal

This study looks at techniques for promoting fitness participation among adolescent girls, in particular those which emphasize the "slim ideal." Various promotional posters were designed which systematically used different models (slim, average, and overweight) and different messages (slimness, activity, and health). The relative effectiveness of these posters was tested using a probability sample of 627 female high school students. The slim model was found to be the most effective poster, while slimness was the least effective of the messages. Demographic and self- and body-image factors had relatively little effect on the ratings of the posters. Focus group interviews conducted with the student sample indicated that they were concerned about their body weight, and that they associated slimness with fitness. However, the slimness message was not thought to encourage participation in fitness because overt emphasis on body image may lead to self-consciousness and fear of social rejection. The idea that participation would lead to a slim physique was also thought to be unrealistic. The students were more critical of the slimness message than of the slim model in the posters. Overall, the data indicate that promoting fitness through messages relating fitness to slimness is not an effective approach with adolescent girls. The use of very slim models in promotional material may be effective, but this approach may not be desirable because it reinforces the dominant cultural stereotype of the "ideal" slim female form.     

On the interdependence of temporal and spatial judgments

Three experiments are reported on the tau and kappa effects, the dependence of judgments of distance upon duration (tau) and of judgments of duration upon distance (kappa). In Experiment 1, three lights in a horizontal sequence were used to define two temporal and two spatial intervals over a total duration of 160 msec. The subject was required to choose the shorter of either the two durations or the two distances. The results confirmed Collyer’s (1977) findings that the two effects are inconsistently observed across subjects when the display duration is brief. In Experiment 2, display duration was systematically manipulated from 160 to 1,500 msec. It is argued that relative temporal judgments should become easier as the total display duration is increased and that, hence, the kappa effect should become less marked. On the other hand, relative spatial judgments should become more difficult as the total duration of the display is increased, and the tau effect should become more marked. The data were in conformity with the hypothesis. In Experiment 3, data are presented for a tau experiment which fit the assumption that the effect depends upon a weighted average of distance and the expected distance which would be traversed in the given time at constant velocity.     

THE USE OF CONTINGENT-INTERRUPTED MUSIC IN THE TREATMENT OF DISRUPTIVE BUS-RIDING BEHAVIOR

The present study evaluated the efficacy of using contingent-interrupted music in treating the disruptive bus-riding behavior of an 8-year-old profoundly retarded female. Music was played during each bus ride as long as the subject was sitting appropriately, and interrupted contingent upon each response defined as disruptive bus riding, during an ABCDCDCDA design. A significant reduction in disruptive bus riding occurred with each introduction of contingent-interrupted music. The treatment procedure described in this report was easy to administer, produced rapid treatment gains, and showed virtually no regression during an 8-week follow-up period.     

Elementary school principals assess services of school psychologists nationwide

A one-page questionnaire was sent to 400 elementary school principals nationwide to assess their opinions regarding services of the school psychologist. These elementary school principals indicated that the school psychologist was found to be most helpful when providing the traditional services of psychological testing, personality and emotional assessment, consultation, and screening. Changes in school psychological services desired by the elementary school principals were more time from the school psychologist and an increase in individual and group counseling, preventive mental health, and inservice training. If elementary principal opinion is to be regarded, gross alterations to existing services of the school psychologist are not indicated by the results of this study.     

Processing of tachistoscopic displays with controlled order of characters and spaces

The task used was designed to force Ss consistently to process the letters of a tachistoscopic display in the same spatial order, if Ss are able to process the letters in a brief display serially and if Ss have enough voluntary control over the selection of a processing order to use the order chosen by the E. In the main series of experiments the set of slides shown in each session included slides having a blank space in some position in the linear array of letters. For control, no-blank slides, a sharp, monotonic decrease in the percentage of correct detections of a signal letter with distance of the signal letter from the focusing dot was obtained. An unexpected result from the slides having a blank space was that detection of the signal letter was considerably more accurate on the slides having a blank space immediately following the signal letter than on the control slides having no blank space or the slides having a blank space immediately before the signal letter in the processing order. In one experiment blank spaces were replaced by black rectangles with no substantial change in the pattern of results. The results from the slides having a blank space or a black rectangle were interpreted as indicating that the onset of processing the image of a letter was determined by the distance in the display from the focusing dot to the letter and that the duration of processing an image of a letter was determined by the distance in the display from the letter to the next letter in the processing order.