The oblique effect in a vernier acuity situation

Observers viewed either vertical or obliquely oriented vernier targets from either an upright position or with their heads tilted. Vernier acuity was consistently better for retinally vertical than for gravitationally vertical targets, even when presented against a background context of vertical stripes designed to aid veridical perception of gravitational orientation. These results indicate that vernier acuity depends on retinal image orientation rather than on perceived orientation. The high contrast of the vernier lines ensures that their gravitational orientation is clearly perceived. Thus the present results provide a stronger basis for ruling out the effects of perceptual orientation than previous studies involving grating contrast-threshold measurements. Since the vernier targets were presented as brief flashes, it is unlikely that the measured oblique effect is attributable to differences in eye-movement patterns.     

How students’ achievement goals shape their beliefs about effective teaching: A ‘build‐a‐professor’ study

Background. Which instructor qualities do students consider most important? The answer likely depends on the student. This study attempted to trace beliefs about the most essential instructor qualities to students’ academic achievement goals. Aims. The present study tested the hypothesis that students pursuing mastery goals favour instructors who stimulate and challenge them intellectually, whereas those pursuing performance goals favour instructors who present material clearly and provide clear cues about how to succeed. Sample. Participants were 157 students at a 4‐year public university. Method. Participants designed the ideal professor through a hypothetical combination of nine widely valued instructor qualities, such as enthusiasm, presentation clarity, and an interactive teaching style. The more they acquired of any one instructor quality, the less they could acquire of the others, thus compelling students to distinguish necessary qualities from desirable luxury qualities. Results. Students’ achievement goals corresponded to their views about the most essential instructor qualities. Mastery goals predicted greater demand for professors who intellectually challenge students and possess topic expertise, whereas performance goals predicted high demand for professors who present material clearly and provide cues about how to succeed in the course. Conclusions. The findings support emerging theorizing about how mastery and performance goals nudge students to pursue different learning agendas, with distinct consequences to their learning experience.     

An evolutionary perspective on effective vs. ineffective pick-up lines

This experiment examined women's impressions of men using various "pick-up" lines. Seventy women imagined being approached by a man using a flippant and flirtatious "pick-up" line, a direct complimentary line, or an innocuous line that masks his interest. His attractiveness varied too. They then considered him for long-term or short-term relationships. Matching a "good dad" hypothesis, they favored him for a long-term relationship if he used a direct or innocuous line instead of the flippant line, because the latter conveyed lower trustworthiness and intelligence. Matching a "good genes" hypothesis, they favored him for a short-term relationship if he was attractive instead of unattractive, regardless of his pick-up line, presumably because attractiveness signals heritable fitness. Limitations and theoretical implications are discussed.     

The Political Attitudes and Activities of Mainline Protestant Clergy in the Election of 2000: A Study of Six Denominations

This study examines clergy across six mainline Protestant denominations in terms of their social characteristics, their theological positions, and their political attitudes and behavior. The analysis is based on data collected through random surveys of clergy in each denomination conducted in 2001 using the same instrument. The predominant focus of the article is on the nature and level of political activities exhibited by mainline Protestant clergy in the election year of 2000. The analysis revealed that mainline Protestant clergy are indeed relatively active politically, but that, despite their commonality of belonging to the same broad religious tradition, the nature and level of such political activities varies across the six denominations. Variation in the level of political activity is related to a number of different variables. And, while multivariate analysis reduces the number of significant factors that account for such differences, the remaining significant factors are associated with each of the major theoretical approaches that have been advanced to account for differences in participation levels.     

Performance goals: The moderating roles of context and achievement orientation

Past research has yielded mixed findings for performance achievement goals. To help resolve this inconsistency, two experiments explored the moderating role of context and individual differences in achievement orientation. Participants in Study 1 pursued either a performance goal or no goal while solving enjoyable puzzles. They did so within either an evaluative or non-evaluative context, and received positive feedback after task completion. Results show that performance goals did not affect performance on the puzzles and undermined interest only when pursued within evaluative contexts by people low in achievement orientation. Study 2 replicated Study 1 and extended it by manipulating outcome feedback valence. Negative feedback given in an evaluative context undermined interest for people high in achievement orientation, but had no effect on those low in achievement orientation. The findings are related to classic achievement motivation findings and current approach-avoidant models of achievement goal theory.     

Effects of perceptual quality on the processing of human faces presented to the left and right cerebral hemispheres

Three experiments examined the effects of stimulus duration, retinal eccentricity, and visual noise on the processing of human faces presented to the left visual field/right hemisphere (LVF-RH) and right visual field/left hemisphere (RVF-LH). In Experiment 1 observers identified which of 10 similar male faces was presented on a screen. The single face was presented for 10, 55, or 100 ms at 1 degree, 4 degrees, or 9 degrees of visual angle to the left or right of fixation. Decreasing stimulus duration and increasing retinal eccentricity lowered face recognition. The effect of duration was the same for LVF-RH and RVF-LH trials, but the detrimental effect of increasing retinal eccentricity was larger on LVF-RH trials than on RVF-LH trials. In Experiment 2 observers indicated whether a single face from this same set was a member of a memorized set of five positive faces. The probe face on each trial was presented alone or embedded in visual noise. Visual noise increased the error rate more on LVF-RH trials than on RVF-LH trials. This effect was replicated in Experiment 3, which also required observers to make a much easier discrimination between male and female faces. In the male/female task visual noise tended to impair performance more on RVF-LH trials than on LVF-RH trials, opposite the effect for the male/male task. These results are discussed in terms of hemispheric asymmetry for global versus local features of faces, the level of feature analysis demanded by a task, and the level of feature analysis most disrupted by perceptual degradation.     

Some conditions that affect admissions of attitude change

Previous research has shown yielders to persuasive communications to be negatively evaluated by observers of the persuasion but positively evaluated by the persuaders. Resisters of persuasion, on the other hand, are evaluated positively by observers but negatively by the initiators of the persuasive effort. Two studies were conducted to determine (a) whether individuals are aware of the differing evaluations of yielders and resisters by persuaders and observers and (b) the extent to which targets of influence attempts strategically employ this information to enhance their images in the eyes of others. Experiment 1, a role-playing study, demonstrated that targets of persuasive appeals are cognizant of the pattern of evaluations provided to yielders and resisters by persuaders and observers. Experiment 2 indicated that targets' public reports of attitude change were shaped so as to produce the most positive evaluations from the audience to those reports. The greatest stated influence occurred in the sole presence of the persuasive agent, an intermediate amount of stated change occurred when both persuader and observer were present, and still less occurred in the sole presence of an observer to the influence attempt. The results of anonymous, private measures of change paralleled in pattern those of the publicly admitted change, but were not significant.     

Reassessing the Concept and Measurement of Evangelicals: The Case for the RELTRAD Approach

Social scientists have generally adopted one of three analytical approaches to understanding evangelicalism and those who thereby fall within the ranks of evangelicals. The choice of which approach one adopts is not “neutral,” as each approach embodies different theoretical perspectives related to evangelicals, posits different means by which religion is linked to attitudes and behavior, entails different measurement issues, and captures somewhat different segments of society as being evangelical. This article delineates and explicates the inherent conceptual differences among the three approaches and examines the measurement issues associated with each approach. Given this reassessment, the article concludes by contending that the relative merits of the affiliation (or RELTRAD) approach generally outweigh those of the other two approaches.