“Weapons effect” revisited: Motor effects of the reception of aversive stimulation and exposure to pictures of firearms

The effect of presenting images of firearms on the speed of clenching of the fist of human subjects simultaneously receiving an aversive stimulation was studied. It was thought that, whereas the classic interpersonal experimental situation confounds the effects of the stimulus presented and several interpersonal processes, speed of fist clenching in a noninterpersonal setting could constitute a valid measure of the subject's readiness to fight. Twenty-four male and 24 female students (ages > 20 and <36 years) were instructed to press with their right hand a device commanding the projection of slides upon reception of an acoustic signal. Speed of clenching of the hand was recorded in the four conditions generated by the combination of two levels of acoustic signal (aversive and nonaversive) and two modalities of slides (firearms or tools). The results show that the reception of aversive sound accelerates fist clenching. Simultaneous presentation of slides of firearms and reception of aversive noise increases the speed of clenching of the fist. The slides' main effect was not significant. More irritable subjects tend to execute this movement faster than their less irritable counterparts, and more emotionally susceptible subjects tend to be slower than less susceptible ones. Male subjects were faster than females. This pattern of results is discussed in relation to the hypothesis formulated by the authors.     

The attitudes toward forcible date rape (FDR) scale: Development of a measurement model

Using data from 341 female and 237 male college students that were collected previously (Fischer, G. J.,Archives of Sexual Behavior, 15, 457–466, 1986), several true score measurement models were used to describe the variance-covariance structure of a nine-item attitude toward a forcible date rape (FDR) scale. The congeneric true score model fit the data best, but not satisfactorily. By deleting noncongeneric items, a six-item, unweighted linear composite variable based on the congeneric true score model was shown to fit the data, and reliabilities and validities based on this model proved satisfactory for females, males, and the total sample. The factor structure of the model for females and for males was not equivalent, but the general patterns were similar. Suggestions for further research included a validation study of the six-item scale on an independent sample and a comparison of 5-and 7-point Likert response scales to see if the lack of model equivalence by gender could be due, in part, to more variability in attitudes toward forcible date rape in men than women.     

Gender effects on individual verdicts and on mock jury verdicts in a Simulated Acquaintance Rape Trial

Since more women than men college students vote guilty in a simulated acquaintance rape trial [e.g., G. J. Fischer (1991) “Cognitive predictors of not-guilty verdicts in a Simulated Acquaintance Rape Trial,”Psychological Reports, Vol. 68, pp. 1199–1206], guilty mock jury verdicts were expected to increase as a function of the number of women on the jury (i.e., 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12). However, guilty verdicts did not increase significantly until either females were an overwhelming majority (i.e., 10 women to 2 men) or the jury was all female. Even in the latter conditions, guilty verdicts were fewer than would be expected based on the 86% of women and 66% of men voting guilty on a survey completed after reading about the trial, but before serving on a jury. Although a very large majority of females were needed to increase guilty verdicts, a majority appeared to lessen the likelihood of not guilty verdicts. For example, when a majority of jurors were female, 0/18 hung juries leaned toward a not guilty verdict vs. 11/34 juries leaning toward a not guilty verdict when less than or equal to one half of the jurors were female. Most of the students were White (85%), with 4% Asian, 3.2% Black, 3.2% Hispanic, and 4% “Other.”     

Peter Block's Flawless Consulting and the Homunculus Theory: Within Each Person Is a Perfect Consultant

Authenticity on the part of the consultant is significant to the process of consulting, according to Peter Block (1981). As the consultant acknowledges feelings and thoughts when they surface, client commitment and trust develop. By defining five phases to consulting and by detailing the work that must be completed in each phase, Block (1981) has provided a step-by-step procedure for consulting without errors.     

Pathological left-handedness and familial sinistrality in relation to degree of mental retardation

The relationship between personal and familial hand preference and mental retardation was examined. Six unimanual tasks were performed by 232 subjects within four mental retardation severity groups. Family handedness histories were obtained. Right hand preference varied inversely with severity of mental retardation. The handedness of mentally retarded groups at the different functional levels paralleled, but tended much more to the sinistral, than that of the corresponding parent groups. The parent-proband handedness correlations were largely insignificant, especially in lower functioning groups. The findings support both pathological left-handedness theory and an association between brain damage causing mental retardation and familial sinistrality.     

Acceptability of positive and reductive behavioral interventions: Factors that influence teachers'' decisions

Treatment acceptability refers to individuals' judgments as to whether psychological treatment procedures are appropriate, fair, and reasonable for a given problem. In the present two-experiment study, experienced teachers' ratings of acceptability for positive (i.e., praise, home-based reinforcement, and token economy) and reductive (i.e., ignoring, response-cost lottery, and seclusion time-out) behavioral interventions were investigated. Using the Intervention Rating Profile (IRP) and a case study methodology to manipulate variables of intervention complexity and problem behavior severity, it was established that (a) teachers' acceptability ratings of both positive and reductive interventions varied with the severity of a target behavior, (b) the complexity of an intervention influenced teachers' ratings of acceptability, less complex or time-consuming interventions being rated generally more acceptable, and (c) mean acceptability ratings were significantly more favorable for positive than reductive treatments. These findings are discussed in the context of previous acceptability research and future investigations.     

Processing resource capacity and the comprehension of garden path sentences

Three experiments explored the relationship between verbal working memory capacity and the comprehension of garden path sentences. In Experiment 1, subjects with high, medium, and low working memory spans made acceptability judgments about garden path and control sentences under whole sentence and rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) conditions. There were no significant differences between subjects with different working memory spans in the comprehension of garden path sentences in either condition. In Experiments 2A and 2B, subjects with high and low working memory spans were tested on the same materials at three RSVP rates. There were no significant differences between subjects with different working memory spans in the magnitude of the effect of garden path sentences at any presentation rate. The results suggest that working memory capacity, as measured by the Daneman and Carpenter (1980) reading span task, is not a major determinant of individual differences in the processing of garden path sentences.     

Relating infant temperament to learning disabilities

The role of infant temperament in the development of learning disabilities was at issue. As infants, boys with severe learning disabilities were found to be (1) lower in activity level, (2) more irregular, (3) less approaching, and (4) more negative in mood than normal boys. Discussion centered around conceptualizing learning disabilities as the outcome of a developmental process. Thus patterns of early parent-infant interaction are established, based in part upon the infant's temperament, that may evolve into a learning disability.The authors would like to express appreciation to George Diamond, director of Pupil Personnel Services for the Addison, Illinois, School District, for his help in obtaining these data.