Sensation seeking, augmenting-reducing, and absolute auditory threshold: a strength-of-the-nervous-system perspective

The following measures were obtained from 42 student volunteers: the General and the Disinhibition subscales of the Sensation Seeking Scale (Form IV), the Reducer-Augmenter Scale, and the Absolute Auditory Threshold. General sensation seeking correlated significantly with the Reducer-Augmenter Scale, r(40) = .59, p less than .001, and the Absolute Auditory Threshold, r(40) = .45, p less than .005. Both results proved general across sex. These findings, that high-sensation seekers tend to be reducers and to lack sensitivity to weak stimulation, were interpreted as supporting strength-of-the-nervous-system theory more than the formulation of Zuckerman and his associates.     

Children's perceptions of parents and their roles: A cross-national study in Australia,England, North America,and Sweden

Within a broader project on children's sexual thinking, 838 children and 5 to 15 years in Australia, England, North America, and Sweden were interviewed (Goldman & Goldman, 1980, 1981.) Two items were focused upon: how children perceive differences between mothers and fathers, and how children perceive the roles of mothers and fathers. Five categories of differences between mother and father were located. Attitudinal differences positively correlated with age in all four countries. Parental roles contained five response categories. All categories show the traditional sex bias. Mother is seen by all children as predominantly concerned with domestic duties, care of children, and low status occupations, while father is seen overwhelmingly in a leisure role, as occupier of high status occupations, and playing authority-leadership roles in the family. Implications are discussed in terms of the need for society to accept and promote androgynous persons.     

VideoNoter: A productivity tool for video data analysis

The software described in this paper, VideoNoter, addresses the need for tools that support annotation and retrieval of video data and organize the presentation of multiple analyses of the same data. Video is widely perceived as an important medium for psychological research, because video recording makes the fleeting particulars of human interaction available as data for detailed analysis, while retaining much of the context of the event. Though the benefits of using video data are high, the process can be prohibitively time-consuming. We have developed a prototype computer-based video analysis tool that can enhance the productivity of the video analysis process. In this paper, we report on the design and implementation of VideoNoter, and we discuss how it facilitates video data analysis.     

Biculturalism,Locus of Control,and Leader Behavior in Ethnically Mixed Small Groups1

The study examined the interactive effects of degree of biculturalism and locus of control on leader behavior in supportive and nonsupportive ethnically mixed small groups. Subjects were 36 male Chicano college students who participated in a small group discussion composed of four members: a naive subject who invariably served as group leader, and three confederates representing distinct ethnic groups (Anglo, Black, and Chicano). Behavioral observations revealed several interesting interactions involving group support. High biculturals, in comparison to low biculturals, adopted a more active leader role in nonsupportive than in supportive groups, asking for more opinions and evaluations, and making more clarification statements. Furthermore, while low bicultural externals and high bicultural internals tended to be more interpersonally assertive and to make more clarification statements under supportive conditions, it was low bicultural internals and high bicultural externals who exhibited the most active leader roles in nonsupportive groups. Additional findings revealed that statements made by the Anglo confederate were clarified more often in the supportive condition, while statements made by either the Black or the Chicano confederate were clarified more often in the nonsupportive condition. The results are discussed in relation to previous literature and the need to develop a more responsive social psychology of interethnic dynamics.     

Matching-to-sample and oddity-from-sample in goldfish.

Acquisition of three-alternative simultaneous matching-to-sample and oddity-from-sample was investigated. Five goldfish were trained on matching and five on oddity for a minimum of 70 days. Subsequently, six of the fish were trained for 70 days on the other task. Acquisition was similar for oddity and matching. Correct responding started at about chance level and slowly increased to about 75%, with some animals performing at levels of over 85%. Acquisition of oddity following matching and matching following oddity began below chance. Maximal level of performance on second-task oddity was comparable to that on first-task matching. By contrast, the maximal levels of performance when matching was the second task were not as high as that of the same subjects at the end of first-task oddity. All fish exhibited strong color preferences during matching acquisition but not during oddity acquisition. The data demonstrated that goldfish can acquire a discrimination in which the stimulus associated with reinforcement depends on the identity of a second stimulus.     

Training Counselors for Special Education

Through a one-year internship, counselors develop attitudes and competencies needed to promote the career development of handicapped high school students. This new specialty in the counseling field, although it incorporates elements of rehabilitation, school, and vocational counseling, occurs within the framework of special education classes in regular high schools, and therefore is markedly different from any existing specialty. The role model developed in this project, now in its fifth year, stresses outreach, planning, and an active part for the counselor. This approach has been found effective both with handicapped and with learning disabled students in several urban schools.     

Psychosocial maturity and interpersonal attraction

Psychosocial maturity (PSM), assessed by scores on the Inventory of Psychosocial Development, was related to interpersonal behavior. In Experiment I PSM and proportion of attitude similarity was varied using Byrne's attraction paradigm in a between-subjects design. The personality variable failed to affect attraction. In Experiment II PSM and proportion of attitude similarity were manipulated in a within-subjects design. High PSM subjects rated the stranger significantly higher in attraction at high levels of similarity and significantly lower in attraction at low levels of similarity when compared to Low PSM individuals. The results were discussed in terms of design differences in personality research and potential mechanisms by which PSM affects attraction (self-esteem and/or competence).     

Career decision making and interview frequency

A survey of one university's graduates in 1971 and an analysis of its student case notes in 1973 indicated a relationship between level of indecision, frequency of careers advisory interviews, and ability to make an early career choice. In 1974, therefore, one of the two careers advisers responsible for arts students adopted a policy — with those students whose career choice seemed uncertain at first interview — of agreeing appropriate short-term goals and arranging a follow-up interview. In 1975 both arts advisers adopted this method, restricting single interviews to those who had initially expressed clearly-defined career goals, and significant increase in early decisions was achieved. The importance of early decisions is discussed in relationship to job opportunities and student satisfaction.     

Delusions and Personal Autonomy

This article will examine the claim that personal autonomy is impaired by a paradigmatic instance of serious psychopathology – namely, the condition of being delusional – in light of the hierarchical conception of personal autonomy. This conception of personal autonomy aims at yielding value‐neutral judgements about freedom and self‐governance. I will argue that when viewed from the perspective of this specific conception of autonomy, delusions do not necessarily impair an agent's personal autonomy. In order to establish this claim, I will probe the general idea that delusional subjects are beset by a mental disease that is rationally incapacitating, to which the hierarchical theorist might appeal. I argue that, understood within the parameters set by the commitment to value neutrality, this idea fails to provide support for the claim that delusion necessarily impairs personal autonomy. One contribution this article makes to the effort of understanding how delusion impairs personal autonomy is to help us pinpoint the ways in which our value commitments inform our judgements of impaired personal autonomy in delusional agents.