Aggression Toward Gay Men as Gender Role Enforcement: Effects of Male Role Norms, Sexual Prejudice, and Masculine Gender Role Stress

ABSTRACT This study examined sexual prejudice and masculine gender role stress as mediators of the relations between male gender norms and anger and aggression toward gay men. Participants were 150 self-identified heterosexual men who completed measures of adherence to male gender role norms, sexual prejudice, masculine gender role stress, and state anger. Participants then viewed a video depicting intimate relationship behavior between 2 gay men, reported state anger a second time, and competed in a laboratory aggression task against either a heterosexual or a gay male. Results indicated that adherence to the antifemininity norm exerted an indirect effect, primarily through sexual prejudice, on increases in anger. Adherence to the status and antifemininity norms exerted indirect effects, also through sexual prejudice, on physical aggression toward the gay, but not the heterosexual, male. Findings provide the first multivariate evidence for determinants of aggression toward gay men motivated by gender role enforcement.     

Does Acquisitive Self‐Presentation in Personality Self‐Ratings Enhance Validity? Evidence from two experimental field studies

The aim of the present research was to demonstrate that acquisitive self‐presentation in personality scales is not a barrier to their criterion‐related validities in human resource contexts, but rather a means to improve them. A pilot study (Study 1) with 96 job incumbents provided preliminary positive evidence. In Study 2, in the experimental group (n=99), the instructions asked job incumbents to work on a Big‐Five personality inventory (BFI‐K) as if they took part in a personnel selection procedure for a personally very attractive position. In the control group (n=93) of Study 2, job incumbents were asked to answer the inventory items honestly. As expected, the correlation between the self‐ratings of the motive to get along (i.e., which comprises emotional stability, conscientiousness, and agreeableness) and contextual performance assessments was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group in Study 2. Additionally, the correlation between the self‐ratings of the motive to get ahead (i.e., which comprises extraversion and openness to experience) and task performance and leadership assessments was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group in Study 2. It is proposed that responding to a personality inventory in a human resource decision situation should be conceptualized as a workplace simulation.     

On being both with us and against us: a normative conflict model of dissent in social groups.

Although past research has demonstrated a positive relationship between collective identification and normative conformity, there may be circumstances in which strongly identified members do not conform but instead choose to challenge group norms. This article proposes a normative conflict model, which distinguishes between nonconformity due to dissent (challenging norms to change them) and nonconformity due to disengagement (distancing oneself from the group). The normative conflict model predicts that strongly identified members are likely to challenge group norms when they experience conflict between norms and important alternate standards for behavior, in particular when they perceive norms as being harmful to the group. Data in support of the model are reviewed, mechanisms by which external variables may influence dissent in social groups are elaborated, and the model is linked to contemporary perspectives on collective identity.     

Verbal uncertainty expressions: A critical review of two decades of research

The frequency with which verbal uncertainty expressions are employed suggests that they play an important role in the communication of states of uncertainty and may have an important role in emerging technologies such as Expert Systems. This article critically reviews empirical studies of verbal uncertainty expressions spanning two decades of research between 1967 and 1987 with the principal conclusions that: (1) People are highly internally consistent in their use of verbal uncertainty expressions; (2) No conclusions about between-subject variability are justified principally because (a) there is currently no consensus as to what is to count as consistent or inconsistent use and (b) there are several factors that confound purported analyses of between-subject consistency such as the composition of the stimulus set and the scaling tasks themselves; (3) One study suggests that assessments of the meaning of verbal uncertainty expressions may be conditioned by the prior perceived probabilities of the events they describe. However, other interpretations of this study are open. The review also discusses the more general epistemological question of whether the concept of uncertainty as manifest by verbal uncertainty expressions is really amenable to the unidimensional framework within which empirical studies have been conceived. I am indebted to Dylan Jones (UWIST) for his encouragement and support and to John Fox, (ICRF), Tom Wallsten and David Budescu for comments on earlier drafts. This work was supported, in part, by the Science and Engineering Research Council while the author was a postgraduate student at the Department of Applied Psychology, UWIST (now UWCC School of Psychology).     

Consolidation and interference in the perceptual memory system

Previous verbal/memory studies have indicated that perceptual processes continue to occur after the stimulus is terminated. The present study investigated whether a blank period after a nonverbal stimulus would function to strengthen or consolidate the sensory trace in memory. A “delayed-comparison task” of recognition memory for pitch was employed in two experiments. The results indicated that a blank interval after the tone to be remembered increased the memory strength of that tone when the tone’s duration was brief (.2 sec). However, an empty interval after a tone with a longer duration (.5 sec) did not affect memory performance. Memory strength also decreased over time during a retroactive interval tone. A storage-interference model described the quantitative results accurately.     

Cross-octave masking of single tones and musical sequences: The effects of structure on auditory recognition

A series of experiments explored the role of structural information in the auditory recognition process, within the context of a backward recognition masking paradigm. A masking tone presented after a test tone has been found to interfere with the perceptual processing of the test tone, the degree of interference decreasing with increased durations of the silent intertone interval between the test and masking tones. In the current studies, the task was modified to utilize three-tone sequences as the test stimuli. Six test sequences were employed (LMH, LHM, MLH, MHL, HLM, HML), where L, M, and H represent the lowest, middle, and highest frequencies in the melody. The observers identified these six possible sequences when the three tones of the test sequence were interleaved with three presentations of a single masking tone. All three tones of the test sequence were drawn from the same octave, while the masking tones could be drawn from any of three octaves, symmetrical around the octave containing the test tones. Under these conditions, interference occurred primarily from masking tones drawn from the same octave as the test tones. Masking tones drawn from other octaves were found to produce little, if any, interference with perception of the test tones. This effect was found to occur only for the identification of tonal sequences. Substantial masking of single-tone targets occurred with masking tones drawn from octaves other than that containing the targets. The results make apparent the use of structural information during auditory recognition. A theoretical interpretation was advanced which suggests that, while single tones are perceived on the basis of absolute pitch, the presence of auditory structure may allow relational information, such as exact pitch intervals or melodic contour, to facilitate perception of the tonal sequence.     

Political distinctiveness: An identity optimising approach

According to Optimal Distinctiveness Theory and Self-Categorization Theory possible self-definition as a member of contextually moderately distinctive social categories should be more central to identity than association with very general or with highly unique social categories. Data from a large scale cohort survey of 4156 18–21-year-olds were analysed to test this hypothesis. Respondents self-reported political affiliations were classified according to the social popularity (size and support) accorded each party The data are consistent with the hypothesis that minority political parties should provide more central and important bases of social identity Supporters of minority parties showed greatest commitment, perceived their parties to be more representative of themselves, and were less likely to simply conform to parental political views. Minority supporters were also significantly more likely to discuss politics with their friends. Additional data from Scotland confirmed that identification with Scotland was more strongly associated with support for the Scottish Nationalist Party than with support for other minority or majority parties. These data provide convergent evidence that minority parties may attract members through their capacity to provide a meaningful social identity.     

Imagination,Illusion and Experience in Film

Philosophical Studies -     

Synthesis of visible speech

We have implemented a facial animation system to carry out visible speech synthesis. Using this system, it is possible to manipulate control parameters to synthesize a sequence of speech articulations. In addition, it is possible to synthesize novel articulations, such as one that is half way between /ba/ and /da/.