The effect of romantic and nonromantic films on perception of female friendly and seductive behavior

Two experiments investigating gender differences in perception of nonverbal seductive and friendly cues were conducted using standardized videotaped interactions. Results of the first experiment indicated no gender differences in perceptions, contradicting previous results obtained by Abbey (“Sex Differences in Attributions for Friendly Behavior: Do Males Misperceive Females' Friendliness?” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1982, 42, 830–838), who used a nonstandardized interaction. Results of the second experiment indicated that exposure to romantic and nonromantic scenarios in the media may produce contrast effects primarily affecting male interpretation of female nonverbal cues.     

Recall in preschool children

Free recall, cued recall, color recall, organization in recall, and sorting of 3- and 4-year-olds was assessed on 9-item lists of objects that were orthogonally varied on color and category dimensions. Half of the children in each age group were presented items successively, and the other half simultaneously. Older children recalled more items than younger children in both free and cued recall, and also organized their recall more. Moreover, simultaneous presentation benefited the older, but not younger children. Clustering and sorting data suggested a decreasing reliance on perceptual information, and increasing utilization of conceptual information, over the preschool years. The results were discussed in terms of the importance of concrete, external stimulus support at both time of encoding and retrieval.     

Evaluative verbalization and delay maintenance behavior in children

An experiment is presented which examined the influence of verbalizations on children's tendencies to postpone immediate gratification in terms of increased delayed reward. Children's verbalizations were varied in terms of their evaluative valence and whether they focused upon the reward itself or the delay task. During a delay task children in experimental groups periodically verbalized evaluative statements that were either positive (I like …) or negative (I don't like …) and which focused upon either the reward itself (… the tokens) or the delay behavior (… to wait). Children who focused on reward, under conditions of either positive or negative evaluation, postponed immediate gratification less than control subjects who made no verbalization. Children who evaluated delay behavior positively postponed immediate gratification longer than silent subjects, though children who negatively evaluated delay behavior did not differ from subjects who did not verbalize. The results are interpreted in terms of the influence of evaluative valence and focus as parameters of plans for delay behavior.     

Gender bias in clinical judgment: An assessment of the analogue method's transparency and social desirability

The main purpose of this research was to determine whether clinicians discern the intent of an analogue study of gender bias in clinical judgment and, if so, whether they respond in a socially desirable manner. A total of 147 psychologists responded to a national mail survey in which they were instructed to make clinical ratings of a case summary describing either a female or male client. In one condition (the Social Desirability condition), clinicians were informed of the study's intent and instructed to respond in a socially desirable fashion. In another condition (the No Social Desirability condition), the study's intent was not revealed and clinicians were asked to guess the study's hypothesis following their ratings. Results indicate that only 10 of 100 clinicians reported having deduced the purpose of the study. The small number of guessers prohibited examination of whether guessing the intent leads to socially desirable responses. Results provide no evidence that either therapist or client gender influenced clinical judgment. Implications for evaluating experimental findings which fail to support gender bias in clinical judgment are discussed.This research was supported in part by a Biomedical Research Grant awarded to the first author when he was a faculty member at the University of Southern California. Thanks are due to Bernie Weiner and Rena Repetti for their comments on early drafts.     

Relationship between Psychological Needs and the Five-Factor Model of Personality Classification

The relationship between psychological needs, operationalized by the Adjective Check List (ACL), and the Five-Factor model of personality classification, operationalized by the NEO-PI-R, was evaluated in 147 (101 women and 46 men) psychology graduate students. We found presence of the Five Factors in the ACL in that 30 of 37 ACL scales correlated greater than 40 with at least one of the NEO-PI-R factors. This replicates and extends previous findings and is further evidence of construct validity of the five-factor model, as it pertains to personality classification.