Influence of positive affect on the subjective utility of gains and losses: it is just not worth the risk

A modification of the procedure originally used by Davidson, Suppes, and Siegel (1956) to measure subjective utility was used to study the influence of positive affect on individuals' perceived value (utility) functions. Results indicated, as expected, that persons in whom positive affect had been induced showed a more negative subjective utility for losses than did controls. This indicates that losses seem worse to people who are feeling happy than to those in a control condition. The subjective utility functions of the two groups did not differ as much, however, when people were considering potential gain. Thus, at least in the situation tested in this study, potential gains did not seem to be more appealing (nor less so) for affect subjects than they did for controls. These findings are discussed in relation to theoretical issues in decision making and work suggesting that positive affect can promote increased sensitivity to losses in situations of potential meaningful loss.     

The recognition of threatening facial stimuli

Two studies examined the information that defines a threatening facial display. The first study identified those facial characteristics that distinguish between representations of threatening and nonthreatening facial displays. Masks that presented either threatening or nonthreatening facial displays were obtained from a number of non-Western cultures and scored for the presence of those facial features that discriminated between such displays in the drawings of two American samples. Threatening masks contained a significantly higher number of these characteristics across all cultures examined. The second study determined whether the information provided by the facial display might be more primary nonrepresentational visual patterns than facial features with obvious denotative meaning (e.g., diagonal lines rather than downturned eyebrows). The subjective response to sets of diagonal, angular, and curvilinear visual stimuli revealed that the nonrepresentational features of angularity and diagonality in the visual stimulus appeared to have the ability to evoke the subjective responses that convey the meaning of threat.     

The role of visual information in control of a constrained locomotor task

The nature of visually guided locomotion was examined in an experiment where subjects had to walk to targets under various conditions. Target distance was manipulated so that subjects had to (a) lengthen their paces in order to hit the target; (b) shorten their paces; (c) make no adjustments to their standard pace length at all. They did this under four visual conditions: (a) normal vision; (b) with vision restricted to a "snapshot" each time the foot that was to be placed on the target was on the ground; (c) with a snapshot each time the foot to be placed was in the swing phase; and (d) no vision after departure fro the target. The results show that the subjects succeed in reaching the target in most cases. However, the smoothness and fluidity of their movements vary significantly between conditions. Under normal vision or where visual snapshots are delivered when the pointing foot is on the ground, locomotion is smoothly regulated as the subjects approach the target. where snapshots are delivered when the pointing foot is in the swing phase, regulation becomes clumsy and ill coordinated. Where no vision is available at all during the approach, adjustments are made, but these are least coordinated of all. The results show that well-coordinated visual regulation does not require continuous visual guidance but depends on intermittent information being available at the appropriate times in the action sequence. Such timing is often more important than the total amount of information that is available for guidance.     

The development of locomotor coordination: longitudinal change and invariance

Developmental sequence, relative timing, center of gravity, and phase-plane analyses were used to study a minimum of 15 years of longitudinal, filmed data on the development of hopping in 7 children. The developmental sequences revealed common, qualitative changes in the movement of the children, although each child progressed through the changes at his/her own rate. The timing analyses showed that, in the advanced hop, the tightest limb relationships were found within the hopping leg, then between contralateral limbs of the same girdle, and then between legs and arms. Relative-timing calculations revealed (a) intralimb, timing invariances that were present in first attempts to perform the skill at age 3 and remained for 15 years across all developmental levels; (b) emergent, interlimb timings that gradually became invariant; and (c) intra- and interlimb timing showing gradual development over the 15 years. One invariant, the time between landing and deepest knee flexion, is also invariant in the walk and the run (Shapiro, Zernicke, Gregor, & Diestel, 1981). Phase plane analyses indicated that the timing of peak and zero velocities may be the coordinative constant accounting for a relative timing invariance between the two legs. Position of the body's center of gravity may explain the invariant relative time between landing and deepest knee flexion, or the explanation could lie in the "equation of constraint" regulating joint equilibrium points. The data suggest that modeling the developing hop as the evolving interaction of four vibratory systems would be promising.     

The Effect of Job Level and Amount of Information on the Evaluation of Male and Female Job Applicants

The addition of job-related information regarding an applicant's leadership ability reduced bias against female applicants applying for a managerial position.     

Children's perception of certain musical properties: scale and contour

Children's perception of scale and contour in melodies was investigated in five studies. Experimental tasks included judging transposed renditions of melodies (Studies 1 and 3), discriminating between transposed renditions of a melody (Study 2), judging contour-preserving transformations of melodies (Study 4), and judging similarity to a familiar target melody of transformations preserving rhythm or rhythm and contour (Study 5). The first and second studies showed that young children detect key transposition changes even in familiar melodies and they perceive similarity over key transpositions even in unfamiliar melodies. Young children also are sensitive to melodic contour over transformations that preserve it (Study 5), yet they distinguish spontaneously between melodies with the same contour and different intervals (Study 4). The key distance effect reported in the literature did not occur in the tasks of this investigation (Studies 1 and 3), and it may be apparent only for melodies shorter or more impoverished than those used here.     

PROMPTING ONE LOW-FAT,HIGH-FIBER SELECTION IN A FAST-FOOD RESTAURANT

Evidence increasingly links a high-fat, low-fiber diet to coronary heart disease and certain site cancers, indicating a need for large-scale dietary change. Studies showing the effectiveness of particular procedures in specific settings are important at this point. The present study, using an A-B-A-B design and sales data from computerized cash registers, replicated and extended previous work by showing that inexpensive prompts (i.e., signs and fliers) in a national fast-food restaurant could increase the sales of salads, a low-fat, high-fiber menu selection. Suggestions also are made pertinent to more widespread use of the procedures.     

Television Food Commericals' Effect on Children's Resistance to Temptation1

This study investigated the effect of television food commercials on children's self-control within a resistance to temptation paradigm. Commercial type, food stimulus type, and the child's sex provided the three independent variables in a 4 × 4 × 2 factorial design. Behavioral and self-report indices of temptation and control were measured. Children were significantly more tempted to transgress for the low-nutrition food, regardless of the commercial shown. Sex differences in reported degree of temptation were found. However, the television commercials did not affect the children's latency to transgress.     

A survey of celiac-sprue patients: effect of dietary restrictions on religious practices

Celiac-Sprue Disease, also referred to as Non-Tropical Sprue, is a dietary disease. Celiac-Sprue patients were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding the effect of dietary restrictions on participation in the Passover meal and reception of Communion. A pilot study suggested that subjects made changes in their religious practices because of dietary restrictions. A second, more detailed survey, was performed in which 58 subjects participated and 14 religions were represented. The results indicated that many subjects made changes in their religious practices (p less than .01), made changes on their own initiative (p less than .01), or violated diet prescribed for the disease under the religious setting versus other settings (p less than .05).