Gender role masculinity and angry aggression in women

The extent to which gender role masculinity is related to degree of women's angry retaliation was investigated. The study also examined whether the relationship between gender role masculinity and anger is mediated by gender role differences in reactivity to provocation, or to differences in the labeling of anger. It was expected that the influence of gender role masculinity on affect and aggression would be greatest when the nature of the affective arousal is ambiguous. Sixty undergraduate women (predominantly upper middle class and white) were given a placebo pill. They were either given ambiguous information about the pill's effects, or were told it was a vitamin or a stimulant. They then were either provoked or not provoked, and finally received an opportunity to retaliate. The participants had been divided by median split into high- and low-masculinity groups based on their scores on Spence and Helmreich's (1978) Personal Attributes Questionnaire. As expected, when provoked, high-masculinity subjects were more aggressive than low-masculinity subjects but only in the ambiguous drug information condition. Although they reported more arousal-related sensations, they did not rate themselves higher in anger. The results are discussed in terms of gender role influences on the experience of anger and the expression of aggression.     

Shifts in the perceived location of a blurred edge increase with contrast

Perceived brightness is nonlinearly related to luminance. Consequently, any mechanism operating on the (transformed) luminance profile of a blurred edge to detect its location should make errors, and the magnitude of these errors should increase with contrast. The perceived location of a blurred edge was measured at a range of contrasts and a range of blur space constants in a vernier alignment task. It was found that the perceived location of a blurred edge was affected by the contrast and the blur space constant of the edge. At low contrasts, the apparent location of the blurred edge was near the calculated location of the edge, assuming the linear transduction of luminance. At higher contrasts, the perceived location of a blurred edge was shifted toward the dark side of the edge, and the shift increased with contrast.     

Individuality and hubris in mythology: The struggle to be human

Mankind's social and psychological evolution require changing attitudes and behavior to maintain a harmony with the world, society, and his own self. Loss of immediacy with the world, power over it, and the increasing capacity for individuality pose special problems for the accomplishment of such harmony. How this is recognized, understood, and dealt with is a task undertaken through psychoanalysis, myth, philosophy, and literature. Various examples are given to show that the constancy of the basic truths about the nature of being human leads to a resonance among the diverse approaches and across the span of millennia and cultures.     

A probabilistic model for validation of behavioral hierarchies

A probabilistic model for the validation of behavioral hierarchies is presented. Estimation is by means of iterative convergence to maximum likelihood estimates, and two approaches to assessing the fit of the model to sample data are discussed. The relation of this general probabilistic model to other more restricted models which have been presented previously is explored and three cases of the general model are applied to exemplary data.     

Application of the Premack principle to the behavioral control of extremely inactive schizrophrenics

The four most inactive schizophrenic patients were selected by an observational technique from a ward of severely ill chronic patients. Of the four, two patients repeatedly refused to accept any dispensable rewards. Applying Premack's principle of reinforcement, consistent work behavior was shaped and maintained, using sitting as the reinforcer. The results indicate that the strict application of Premack's principle may have considerable therapeutic potential for those patients who, by refusing all tangible rewards, fail to respond to a reinforcement regime.     

Phenomenal dominance relationship of substructures in binary pattern learning

The effect of run order in different substructures of a pattern on binary pattern learning is investigated. Thirty-six subjects learned binary patterns by the serial anticipation method. Run lengths and order of the runs in odd and even numbered positions respectively were systematically varied. Latency times of anticipation, prediction errors and number of presentations to a criterion indicated that the order of runs in odd numbered position has a greater effect on grasping the pattern than the order of runs in even numbered position. This effect is explained by the particular phenomenal dominance relationship of the two substructures.