Nonmetric tests of ratio vs. subtractive theories of stimulus comparison

Theories of stimulus comparison were tested by examining ordinal properties of data obtained with six scaling tasks. Subjects judged simple “ratios” or “differences” of stimulus pairs constructed from a factorial design. In four additional tasks, the same judges also compared relations between pairs of stimulus pairs, judging “ratios of ratios,” “ratios of differences,” “differences of ratios,” and “differences of differences.” The data were consistent with a subtractive theory, which asserts that two stimuli are compared by subtraction, regardless of the task, but that judges can compare two stimulus differences by either a ratio or a difference. All six tasks could be related by the subtractive theory using a single set of scale values. Other simple theories, including the theory that “ratio” judgments can be represented by a ratio model, could not reproduce the six rank orders (of the six sets of data) using a single set of scale values.     

Measurement and the mental map

In order to test between subtractive and ratio theories of stimulus comparison, judges were asked to estimate “ratios” and “differences” of easterliness and westerliness of U.S. cities. “Difference” judgments fit the subtractive model, and “ratio” judgments fit the ratio model. However, “ratios” and “differences” were monotonically related, contrary to the theory that judges compute both relations on a common scale. Results are consistent with the theory that there is but one operation for both “ratios” and “differences.” To assume that the single operation is a ratio requires the complex interpretation that easterliness and westerliness are nonlinearly related. A simpler interpretation is provided by a subtractive theory, in which all four types of judgments are monotonically related to subjective differences on a single cognitive map.     

Children's stereotypes about sex differences in emotionality

In spite of the egalitarian atmosphere of recent years, contemporary preschool children possess pronounced stereotypes about sex differences in emotionality. They associate anger with maleness, but associate happiness, sadness, and fear with femaleness. These stereotypes are similar to those held by adults, but are largely dissimilar to actual sex differences in emotionality. The impact and possible etiology of these stereotypes are discussed.     

Learning What is Essential: Relative and Absolute Changes in Children's Beliefs about the Heritability of Ethnicity

There are conflicting findings regarding the development of essentialist beliefs about social categories. The present studies address these findings by differentiating between the developments of the relative versus absolute essentialist status of categories. Participants were Israeli Secular Jewish and Muslim Arab kindergarteners, second graders, and sixth graders. Study 1 asked children which among alternative properties of a parent was most likely to transfer to a child. Findings showed that while kindergarteners did not systematically discriminate among properties, second and sixth graders privileged ethnicity. Study 2 asked children whether membership in various social categories was biologically or environmentally determined. Findings showed that kindergarteners and second graders, but not sixth graders, believed ethnicity to be biologically inherited. These results are discussed vis-à-vis different theories about the origins of social essentialism.     

In and out of a daydream: attachment orientations, daily couple interactions, and sexual fantasies

In this study, the authors examined the contribution of attachment orientations to the content of daily sexual fantasies. The two partners of 48 couples independently reported on their attachment orientations and provided daily reports on relationship interactions and sexual fantasies for a period of 21 days. Results showed that attachment anxiety was associated with wishes for intimacy and representations of others as more affectionate in sexual fantasies. Conversely, avoidant attachment was associated with avoidance-related wishes and representations of the self and others as more aggressive and alienated. Negative couple interactions increased habitual attachment-related wishes and self-representations. Specifically, during days characterized by negative couple interactions (relationship-damaging behaviors), attachment anxiety was associated with portrayal of the self as more helpless and avoidant attachment was associated with the expression of more avoidant wishes and portrayal of the self as less helpless. The discussion focuses on the manifestations of attachment-related interpersonal goals in sexual fantasies.     

Stress and accessibility of proximity-related thoughts: exploring the normative and intraindividual components of attachment theory

Three studies examine the effects of stress on the accessibility of proximity-related thoughts. In all the studies, participants reported on their attachment style, and the accessibility of proximity themes and worries in a lexical decision task was assessed upon the priming of a stress or neutral word. In Study 2, the primed stress word was semantically related to attachment themes. In Study 3, lexical decisions were made under low or high cognitive load conditions. Overall, the priming of a stress word led to increased accessibility of proximity themes, regardless of attachment style. Anxious-ambivalent people also showed high accessibility to proximity themes and worries in both neutral and stress contexts. In most conditions, avoidant persons' reactions were similar to those of secure persons. However, they showed no accessibility to proximity worries even after the priming of a semantically related word and reacted with high accessibility to these worries upon the addition of cognitive load.     

Reassuring sex: Can sexual desire and intimacy reduce relationship‐specific attachment insecurities?

Past research has shown that attachment orientations shape sexual processes within relationships. Yet, little has been done to explore the opposite direction. In the present research, we examined whether sexual desire and emotional intimacy reduce attachment insecurities over time in emerging relationships. In an 8‐month longitudinal study, we followed 62 newly dating couples across three measurement waves. At Time 1, romantic partners discussed sexual aspects of their relationship and judges coded their displays of sexual desire and intimacy. Participants also completed measures of relationship‐specific attachment anxiety and avoidance in each wave. The results indicated that men's displays of desire predicted a decline in their own and their partner's relationship‐specific insecurities. Conversely, women's displays of desire inhibited the decline in their partner's relationship‐specific insecurities, whereas women's displays of intimacy predicted a decline in their partner's relationship‐specific insecurities. These findings suggest that different sex‐related processes underlie attachment formation in men and women.     

Racial Differences in Work Attitudes: What You See Depends on What You Study

Differences in a constellation of work attitudes were studied with respect to black and white employees using a sample of healthcare workers. Preliminary analyses using MANOVA indicated that blacks had more positive work attitudes than did whites. However, systematic analyses of set of covariates including personal, lifestyle, and organizational variables eliminated all racial differences in work attitudes. Implications of these findings and directions for future research were discussed.