Effects of Emotional Factors Upon Recall

Bendig's (1) Pittsburgh Scales of Social Extraversion-Introversion (SEI) and Emotionality (Em) were translated so that they were of appropriate reading difficulty for children as well as for adults. The revised scales correlated highly (both .90) with the Pittsburgh scales, and they had high test-retest reliabilities (.92 and .89). Data from samples representing third grade to college ages were presented for the revised scales. SEI-Em correlations were nonsignificant for most subsamples, indicating that the revised SEI-Em scales are independent. Scale means were stable across ages. The revised scales should be considered as research instruments, since more representative normative data and validity data are still required. The scales should, though, facilitate developmental research in extraversion and emotionality.     

Two Kinds of Learning

Episodic analysis is the separation of a novel into its component episodes —i.e., into short stories each of which has a unitary theme—in order to provide equivalent units for content analysis. Independent coders show two types of disagreement. Neither is serious for content analysis, and both may be minimized by some suggested ground rules. In a study of 13 stylistically different books, intercoder reliability ranged from 76% to 94%. Variations in accuracy were clearly related to literary style. Relevant information on the coding process and reliability, as well as data on the number and length of episodes in the 13 books, are given in tabular form. Problems connected with reliable coding are discussed and some solutions are suggested.     

“Authoritarianism” and Agreement with Things Authoritative

The use of personality and attitudinal questionnaires in private executive and military samples is briefly reviewed. The need for evidence regarding the factor similarity of such questionnaires in comparative studies is noted. Such a comparative factorial study of an abbreviated version of the Shure-Meeker (11) Personality/Attitude Schedule (PAS) is reported. In terms of the general scales examined, three of the four scales emerge in both samples. The order of emergence, as well as the number and item content of the factors, differs slightly between the two samples. Caution is suggested in assuming factor similarity across samples in comparative studies utilizing the PAS and other personality and attitudinal instruments.     

Discrepant Data and Improbable Results: An Examination of Vohs,Mead, and Goode (2006)

A highly cited article by Vohs, Mead, and Goode (2006) reported several experiments in which an incidental reminder of money produced large effects on subsequent behaviors unrelated to money. We attempted 2 high-powered direct replications of the first experiment, which found that money-primed subjects worked on a puzzle nearly twice as long as controls before quitting. The replication studies showed no evidence of money priming. Moreover, 25% of the subjects in our studies solved the puzzle correctly or incorrectly, whereas none reportedly did so in the original study. We also list anomalies in the reported results of the original study.     

Effects of extensive dual-task practice on processing stages in simultaneous choice tasks

Schumacher et al. Psychological Science 12:101–108, (2001) demonstrated the elimination of most dual-task costs (“perfect time-sharing”) after extensive dual-task practice of a visual and an auditory task in combination. For the present research, we used a transfer methodology to examine this practice effect in more detail, asking what task-processing stages were sped up by this dual-task practice. Such research will be essential to specify mechanisms associated with the practice-related elimination of dual-task costs. In three experiments, we introduced postpractice transfer probes focusing on the perception, central response-selection, and final motor-response stages. The results indicated that the major change achieved by dual-task practice was a speed-up in the central response-selection stages of both tasks. Additionally, perceptual-stage shortening of the auditory task was found to contribute to the improvements in time-sharing. For a better understanding of such time-sharing, we discuss the contributions of the present findings in relation to models of practiced dual-task performance.     

A Review of Mortality Research on Clergy and Other Religious Professionals

An exhaustive literature search was undertaken to find studies on mortality rates among clergy. A total of twelve studies, published between 1959 and 2000, were identified that examined mortality among American and European clergy. All but one of the reports found lower all-cause death rates for clergy compared to the people in general population of similar age. Protestant ministers consistently were found to have more than a 25% mortality advantage in various studies. Catholic nuns had a mortality advantage of roughly 20%–25%, whereas the mortality advantage of Catholic priests was just over 10%. Possible factors contributing to the lower death rates of clergy are discussed.