Arbitrariness of frustration: Inhibition or instigation effects on aggression

The purpose of the present research was to assess the relative influence of instigation or inhibition in mediating retaliation after arbitrary or non-arbitrary frustration. Sixty-four men were asked to learn a concept that was being taught by a peer. Although all men were frustrated, half were deliberately frustrated while the other half were not deliberately frustrated by the teacher. Following the task, the learner was given the opportunity to prevent the teacher from gaining employment under conditions where his evaluation was either anonymous or to be made public. The results of a 2 × 2 analysis of variance yielded several significant effects. The data revealed that subjects rejected the teacher more when the frustration was arbitrary than when it was non-arbitrary. Moreover, when the evaluation was anonymous, subjects rejected the teacher more than when the evaluation was to be made public. Furthermore, the difference in the amount of rejection expressed between arbitrary and non-arbitrary conditions was greater when the evaluation was anonymous than when it was public. These results were interpreted as demonstrating the greater contribution of instigatory rather than inhibitory factors in expressing aggression following deliberate or non-deliberate frustration.     

Picture memory: How the action schema affects retention

When an action scene is viewed, an action schema guides the formation of an episodic representation. Within episodic memory, items of high relevance to the theme of the action schema are represented in a prototypical form closely connected to the action theme. In contrast, items of low relevance are represented in detail but their representation is unconnected to that of the action. The action schema is used as a retrieval framework for both recalling and recognizing whether or not an item was depicted in a scene (i.e., item presence), but is not used for recognition of figurative detail (i.e., item appearance). Four experiments confirmed these hypotheses. Children, aged 7- and 9-years, and adults organized pictured scenes around themes from action schemata. The appearance of high relevant items was recognized poorly, while their presence was recalled well. Memory for the presence of high relevant items surpassed that for low relevant items even when recognition of item names was assessed. Conversely, the appearance of low relevant items was recognized accurately, but memory for their presence was difficult to retrieve.     

A SUPERVISORY STRATEGY TO IMPROVE WORK PERFORMANCE FOR LOWER FUNCTIONING RETARDED CLIENTS IN A SHELTERED WORKSHOP

A multiple component strategy was investigated for aiding staff responsible for supervising production of lower functioning retarded clients on contract tasks in an institution-based sheltered workshop. The strategy was assessed in a combined multi-element, multiple baseline across groups design with a reversal component. Production performance increased during the production supervisory strategy with all 16 clients, with the range of increase varying from a few percentage points to 150% of baseline production. Both the clients and staff (responsible for conducting the research) preferred working under experimental conditions rather than under baseline conditions which approximated those found in “typical” sheltered workshops.     

The application of the standard of care doctrine to psychological testing

Malpractice issues surrounding clinical psychologists' misuse of diagnostic testing are examined. Common forms of misuse are contrasted with appropriate standards of use for six frequently administered tests: The WAIS-R, WISC-R, Rorschach, TAT, Bender Gestalt, and MMPI. It is argued that not only negligent and unethical conduct but also intentional malfeasance may be construed when a qualified specialist applies unstandardized procedures which lack scientific authenticity. Suggestions are provided to both psychologists and attorneys to reduce the misuse of psychological tests in clinical and forensic evaluations.     

The relationship of mathematics self-efficacy expectations to the selection of science-based college majors

The major purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship of mathematics self-efficacy expectations to the selection of science-based majors in college males and females. Based on results obtained from a pilot sample of college students, an instrument assessing mathematics self-efficacy expectations was developed. The items used in the mathematics self-efficacy scale included everyday math tasks, math problems, and math-based college courses. Subjects, 153 female and 109 male undergraduates, completed the mathematics self-efficacy scale, the Bem Sex Role Inventory, an adapted version of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales, and a questionnaire concerning their college major choices. Results indicated that mathematics self-efficacy expectations were significantly related to the extent to which students selected science-based college majors, thus supporting the postulated role of cognitive mediational factors in educational and career choice behavior. In addition, the math-related self-efficacy expectations of college males were significantly stronger than were those of college females. Implications of the findings for the process of educational and career decision-making are discussed.     

Distinguishing characteristics of the life roles of worker,student, and homemaker for young adults

The purpose of this study was to determine if three adult life roles could be distinguished by career and achievement motivation and antecedents to such motivation. Subjects were a sample of 212 young adults who had graduated 3 years prior to data collection from two high schools in the state of Illinois and were classified according to the three life roles of worker, student, and homemaker. Four indicators of career motivation, one indicator of achievement motivation, and a broad range of antecedent factors, including background characteristics, self-concept factors, and context factors, were used to distinguish among the life roles. Results from discriminant analyses on the three role groups indicate that in general students are distinguished from homemakers and workers on functions characterized by higher education and career aspirations, greater perceived support from parents for their achievement, and lower attributions of cooperation for achievements; homemakers are distinguished from students and workers on functions characterized by endorsing higher social approval values for their successes, lower career commitment, and lower perceived teacher support for achievement. Workers are distinguished from students on some factors and distinguished from homemakers on others. Implications for future research and practice indicate the usefulness of life roles when investigating the career and achievement patterns of young adults and designing interventions for the enhancement of life role choices.