Negative attitudes toward masturbation and pelvic vasocongestion: A thermographic analysis

The present study examined differences in pelvic vasocongestion as a function of negative attitudes toward masturbation. Pelvic vasocongestion was measured thermographically, which is a noninvasive means of detecting and photographing individual heat patterns to indicate physiological condition and functional changes within. The results indicated that women, with positive attitudes toward masturbation, who read an erotic story, experienced the greatest increase in pelvic vasocongestion. This and other findings were discussed in terms of masturbation acting to facilitate the patterning of sexual arousal and orgasmic functioning, especially in regard to creating the capacity for pelvic engorgement.     

Personality and the topography of the conditioned eyelid response

One-hundred and four women were tested on an eyelid conditioning paradigm in a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design where two levels of US intensity (1 vs 3 p.s.i.) were balanced against two rest pause interpolations (after 25 and after 50 trials), and the presence or absence of a warning stimulus prior to CS-US presentation. Subjects were later classified as high, low or intermediate extraverts on the basis of a personality questionnaire. A very detailed analysis of conditioned responses was carried out, using both simple and composite measures including work-ratio, utility-ratio, CR frequency, peak latency, peak amplitude, response area and effective response area, degree of avoidance amplitude and latency, etc. Major findings related to similar effects of high intensity US vs low intensity US, and introversion vs extraversion; introverts react as if they were responding to more intense stimuli than extraverts. This finding cuts across other parameter variables, and supports Eysenck's formulation of personality-conditioning relationships in terms of higher cortical arousal in introverts as compared with extraverts.     

Consistency of the factorial validity of the WISC-R for upper and lower SES groups

The WISC-R was factor analyzed for both upper and lower SES classifications from the standardization sample. Both two- and three-factor solutions were extracted, and these solutions generally parallel other previously reported two- and three-factor WISC-R solutions. The stability of these factors was then examined by calculating coefficients of congruence and salient variable similarity indices between matched factor pairs from the two SES groups. The three-factor solution was the most appropriate for both groups, though the two-factor solution was equally plausible. The WISC-R factor structure appears to be invariant with regard to SES.     

The importance of inhalation volume when measuring smoking behavior

Theoretical and technical considerations of measuring puff and inhalation volumes during cigarette smoking are reviewed. Measures of smoking behavior using a flowmeter and inductance plethysmography are described and demonstrated with seven subjects smoking over a 3-to 4-h period. Puff volume and duration, inhaled volume and duration, interpuff and intercigarette interval, and number of puffs varied for each individual over the session. The ratio of puff volume to inhaled volume changed with successive cigarettes. Smokers adjust the concentration of smoke by blending air with the smoke. Thus, to completely characterize smoking behavior, the volume of smoke and air inhaled into the lungs must be measured directly.     

Vicarious and operant experiences in the etiology of illness behavior: A replication with healthy individuals

The purpose of the present investigation was to replicate a previous study of diabetic patients on the role of parental modeling in the etiology of illness behavior. A random sample of healthy individuals were assigned to an avoidant model (AM) (i.e. parent reported to have avoided work. chores etc. when ill) or non-avoidant model (NAM) group. Subjects subsequently provided retrospective and current information concerning their illness-behavior experiences. The results indicated that individuals with an AM reported more responsibility avoidance when ill currently and as a child compared to the NAM subjects. Additionally. AM subjects reported receiving more positive reinforcement for current illness compared to NAM subjects. It was concluded that the process by which individuals learn to respond to illness may be similar in healthy and chronically-ill individuals but that positive reinforcement for illness may be more likely to be received by healthy individuals during acute illness than by chronically-ill individuals. The present study provides further preliminary support for the learningtheory model of illness behavior.     

Mechanisms of attentional selection: temporally modulated priority tags

When a single abrupt onset appears in a multielement display, it captures attention. When multiple onset elements occur, they have conditional priority over no-onset elements such that a limited number of onsets can be serviced with high priority in visual search (Yantis & Johnson, 1990). We report three experiments in which we assess two possible mechanisms for attentional prioritization: a priority queue into which a fixed number of high-priority elements are placed for early servicing during search, and a mechanism that temporarily tags all high-priority elements for early servicing or more frequent sampling. We manipulated the visual quality or inter-letter confusability of the stimuli to prolong encoding and/or comparison operations; this manipulation led to a decrease in the estimated number of elements serviced with high priority. We conclude that a mechanism incorporating temporally decaying priority tags is implicated in servicing multiple abrupt onsets in visual search.     

The Reasons for Living Inventory: psychometric properties

The test-retest reliability, internal consistency reliability, normative, and item analysis data of the Reasons for Living Inventory were investigated in a sample of 116 college students. The inventory has six subscales, each of which assesses a category of adaptive beliefs and expectations considered reasons for not committing suicide. The inventory was administered twice, with a 3-week interval between testings. Test-retest coefficients for the men, women, and total sample were moderate to high. The alpha coefficients and item-total correlations for the subscales and the total inventory provided strong support for internal consistency. 26 items were consistently endorsed by 30% or more of our total sample as "extremely important," while only four were suggested as "not at all important" reasons for not committing suicide.     

Attitudes toward women and their work roles: Effects of intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientations

This study examined the effects of personal religious orientation, religious denomination, and gender on attitudes toward women and their work roles using a sample of 263 single undergraduate university students. Subjects with a high intrinsic religious orientation put significantly more emphasis on family than career in their anticipated general lifestyle relative to those with a low intrinsic religious orientation. Subjects with a high intrinsic religious orientation were also more likely to anticipate the female spouse spending less time in a profession during the children's early years. Males showed more traditional attitudes toward women than females, but there were no gender effects on measures of preferred general lifestyle, preferred child-care distribution, or preferred career involvement for the wife. Subjects belonging to mainline and conservative denomination did not differ significantly in their attitudes toward women or their work roles.