Where is the facilitation of media violence: The effects of nonexposure and placement of anger arousal

The present study examined the conditions under which media violence would “facilitate” aggression in angered individuals. It was noted that previous research has lacked support for facilitation due to improper control groups. It was predicted, based upon evidence that aggressive and neutral films are capable of both arousing a subject and shifting his attention away from previous anger instigation (attentional shift), that only under a condition where an aggressive film is viewed prior to anger arousal will increased aggression occur if compared to a no-film control. It was found that when subjects were angered prior to film exposure, netural films reduced aggression, with aggressive films not differing from a no-film control. Under subsequent anger arousal, however, there was a facilitation for aggressive film exposure. The implication of this, and other recent media violence studies, for past and future research in the area of media violence and aggression is discussed.     

The impact of computers on cognitive psychology

Computer developments and their applications in cognitive psychology are reviewed. Examples from recent studies illustrate the ways that computers are used for different research purposes: stimulus generation, on-line interactive experimental control, response collection, data analysis, and theory building. A quantitative analysis of federal funding for computer-based and noncomputer research compares costs over the past 9 years for the areas of perception, memory, learning, and thinking. A tabulation of journal articles relevant to computer-based cognitive research shows the distribution of articles over various categories of hardware and software development. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of using computers in cognitive research are evaluated.     

Retention over time in relation to arousal during learning: An explanation of discrepant results

Arousal increment (more simply, arousal) during learning is related to subsequent retention. Published results are discrepant. In some studies physiologically higher arousal, relative to lower, is related to better short-term (a few minutes) and long-term (30 min or more) retention. In other studies higher arousal is related to poorer short-term and better long-term retention. Both results are explained here in terms of the retentivity-accessibility hypothesis, which is derived in this article on the basis of an analysis of methodological differences between studies obtaining the two results. The hypothesis states that high arousal is associated with strong retentivity but poor short-term accessibility. The hypothesis is evaluated on the basis of its compatibility with published results.     

Analysis of certified public accounting subgroup and accounting student personality traits using the California Psychological Inventory

Samples of 56 male certified public accounting firm employees and 24 male accounting undergraduate students were given the CPI to test for subgroup differences in personality traits. The samples were also compared with eight occupational groups reported in the CPI manual. A statistical analysis of CPI scale mean score differences indicates a dichotomy of the accounting sample with the older accountants more conservative, conforming and restrictive than the younger accountants.     

Conservatism as a function of bag composition

The first purpose of this bookbag and pokerchip experiment was to examine the influence of the sample size and the relative frequency of the red chips in the sample on the amount of conservatism. The second purpose was to replicate the results of DE SWART (1972), and to test his hypothesis that the slope B of the function: log Φ(T)=A+B(r−b), is linearly related to log [p_r/(1−p_r)], where p_r represents the bag composition.     

Reinforcement and response rate interaction in multiple random-interval avoidance schedules

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the interaction between response rate and reinforcement frequency in multiple random-interval avoidance schedules. Responses cancelled delivery of shocks that could be scheduled at different random intervals in each component. When shock-frequency reduction was taken as the measure of reinforcement, the relationship between response rate and frequency of reinforcement was described by the same equations used by Herrnstein (1970) to describe responding with positive reinforcement.     

On the development of national attitudes in children

The present study consists of three related experiments which are concerned with the development of national attitudes in children between the ages of seven and twelve. It was predicted on the basis of a structural interpretation of Allport's three-stage developmental theory of prejudice that national attitudes will increase at first due to increasing consistency of judgment and decrease afterwards due to cognitive differentiation. The hypothesis is partially confirmed with respect to the attitudes of children towards other countries but not confirmed with respect to the attitudes of children towards people who are perceived as foreigners. A tentative explanation is offered for the last finding. It was shown moreover that the attitudes of older children display more cognitive balance than those of younger children. In connection with the last problem, a quantified modification Bf Heider's theory of balanced states was introduced.     

A new illusion: The underestimation of distance during pursuit eye movements

A new visual illusion is reported. The apparent distance through which a displaced target appears to move is significantly shorter when pursuit tracked than when that same distance is observed by means of a saccadic eye movement. This misperception of distance seems to be related to the Aubert-Fleischl paradox, the underestimation of the velocity of a tracked target, and to reveal a consistent characteristic of the pursuit eye movement system.