The four-card problem and the generality of formal reasoning

Three experiments were designed to investigate the failure of intelligent adults to solve an apparently simple problem of formal reasoning devised by Wason. Both the mode of presentation and the type of material reduced the difficulty of the problem, while retaining its essential form. However, success on the original problem remained at a low level, even when subjects had attempted an easier version and had been given an explanation.

These results enable one to reject a “strong” formulation of Piaget's theory of formal reasoning. A “weaker” formulation is suggested as a basis for further research.     

Forming, changing, and acting on attitude toward affirmative action programs in employment: a theory-driven approach

A model of attitude toward affirmative action programs (AAPs) was applied in 4 studies involving 1,622 participants. In Study 1, attributes people tacitly associate with AAPs were identified by open-ended elicitation. Using those attributes, an instrument was developed and administered in Studies 2, 3, and 4. In those studies, a multiplicative composite of beliefs and evaluations about the AAP attributes predicted AAP attitude, consistent with M. Fishbein and I. Ajzen's (1975) theory of reasoned action. Demographic effects on AAP attitude were partially mediated by this composite. In Studies 3 and 4, an experimental manipulation of AAP information was successful in changing AAP attitude, but in a way that polarized existing demographic differences. Study 4 also showed that AAP attitude and subjective norm jointly and uniquely predicted intentions to perform AAP-related behaviors. Intentions predicted the actual behavior of mailing postcards to political representatives reflecting participants' support for AAPs.     

Hand preferences in unimanual and bimanual feeding by wild vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops)

Lateral preference was examined in spontaneous feeding actions in 2 troops of wild vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops). Processing of 4 foods (termites, leaf shoots, sugarcane, and fruit) was studied. Actions included unimanual reaching to moving objects, operating from an unstable posture, and coordinated bimanual processing. Between 19 and 31 subjects were available, according to the task. In 2 tasks, laterality of 2 independent stages was measured separately, giving 6 measures in all. On 4 of these measures, most monkeys were ambipreferent, and only a few showed significant hand preferences. Only for termite feeding and detaching material from fruits did the majority show significant lateralization; no tasks elicited exclusive use of 1 hand. Preference appeared labile, because in 2 tasks, population trends reversed with increasing age. No population trends to left or right were found; instead, these monkeys showed ambilaterality, with lateralization associated with task complexity.     

Modulation of auditory spatial attention by visual emotional cues: differential effects of attentional engagement and disengagement for pleasant and unpleasant cues

Previous research has demonstrated that threatening, compared to neutral pictures, can bias attention towards non-emotional auditory targets. Here we investigated which subcomponents of attention contributed to the influence of emotional visual stimuli on auditory spatial attention. Participants indicated the location of an auditory target, after brief (250 ms) presentation of a spatially non-predictive peripheral visual cue. Responses to targets were faster at the location of the preceding visual cue, compared to at the opposite location (cue validity effect). The cue validity effect was larger for targets following pleasant and unpleasant cues compared to neutral cues, for right-sided targets. For unpleasant cues, the crossmodal cue validity effect was driven by delayed attentional disengagement, and for pleasant cues, it was driven by enhanced engagement. We conclude that both pleasant and unpleasant visual cues influence the distribution of attention across modalities and that the associated attentional mechanisms depend on the valence of the visual cue.     

Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing

Leaders should be a key source of ethical guidance for employees. Yet, little empirical research focuses on an ethical dimension of leadership. We propose social learning theory as a theoretical basis for understanding ethical leadership and offer a constitutive definition of the ethical leadership construct. In seven interlocking studies, we investigate the viability and importance of this construct. We develop and test a new instrument to measure ethical leadership, examine the proposed connections of ethical leadership with other constructs in a nomological network, and demonstrate its predictive validity for important employee outcomes. Specifically, ethical leadership is related to consideration behavior, honesty, trust in the leader, interactional fairness, socialized charismatic leadership (as measured by the idealized influence dimension of transformational leadership), and abusive supervision, but is not subsumed by any of these. Finally, ethical leadership predicts outcomes such as perceived effectiveness of leaders, followers’ job satisfaction and dedication, and their willingness to report problems to management.     

The Influence of Gender Role Stereotypes, the Woman's Race, and Level of Provocation and Resistance on Domestic Violence Culpability Attributions

The influence of traditional or egalitarian gender role stereotypes on perceptions of domestic violence was investigated when the woman's race and her provocation of and resistance to domestic violence were varied. Two hundred eighty-eight European American participants who varied in their gender role stereotype beliefs provided culpability ratings. A factor analysis reduced culpability items to six concepts. Biases against the African American woman occurred, but not to the European American woman, particularly when she provoked the man. The woman's behavior before and after violence influenced participants' culpability notions, and beliefs in gender role stereotypes influenced perceptions of truthfulness based on race. Implications for the scope of educational programs to enhance support and eliminate biases are discussed.     

Television Viewers' Ideal Body Proportions: The Case of the Curvaceously Thin Woman

Dozens of studies have linked ideal-body media exposure to the idealization of a slim female figure, but none have examined the proportions of this figure. College women's and men's exposure to ideal-body images on television was correlated with their perceptions of the ideal female bust, waist, and hip sizes and their approval of surgical body-alteration methods. For women, exposure to ideal-body images on television predicted the choice of a smaller waist and hips, and either a larger bust (for those who perceived themselves to be smaller-busted) or a smaller bust (for those who perceived themselves to be larger-busted). For both women and men, exposure to ideal-body images on television predicted approval of women's use of surgical body-alteration methods such as liposuction and breast augmentation.     

Cognitive change 5 years after coronary artery bypass surgery.

A longitudinal study of cognitive function after coronary artery bypass surgery examined 107 participants using 11 tests, preoperatively and at 6 days, 8 weeks, and 5 years after surgery. The overall neuropsychological (NP) change score declined at 6 days, showed some recovery at 8 weeks, and declined again at 5 years. The number of microemboli recorded during surgery, postoperative short-term cognitive change, and degree of recovery at 8 weeks were identified as predictors of change in NP score to 5 years. This suggests that even over a 5-year period, operative damage is detectable. Patients' vulnerability to short-term deterioration and resilience or ability to recover over a few weeks from operative cerebral insult are important processes of unknown mechanisms.