Controlling Stroop effects by manipulating expectations for color words

An important characteristic of automatic processing is its uncontrollability. The Stroop phenomenon is regarded as a prototypical example of this characteristic of automatic processing, hence, the Stroop effect should not change when the percentages of color words versus neutral stimuli are manipulated to induce controlled processing. We found that Stroop interference decreased as the percentage of color words increased. Furthermore, the magnitude of the inhibitory component of the Stroop effect was negatively correlated with the percentage of color words; the facilitatory component was insensitive to the manipulation. These results suggest that the Stroop effect is controllable (see Logan, 1980) and that the locus of control is postlexical. The results also suggest that facilitation and inhibition are produced by different mechanisms and challenge those models of the Stroop phenomenon (e.g., Cohen, Dunbar, & McClelland, 1990; Phaf, Van der Heijden, & Hudson, 1990) that assume that a single processing mechanism causes facilitation and inhibition and that control affects facilitation and inhibition alike (Logan, 1980).     

SEXUAL ASSAULT HISTORY AND WOMEN'S REPRODUCTIVE AND SEXUAL HEALTH

Associations of sexual assault history with reproductive and sexual symptoms were evaluated in 3,419 women randomly selected from two communities. Sexual assault was associated with excessive menstrual bleeding, genital burning, and painful intercourse (whether or not attributable to disease or injury), medically explained missing two menstrual periods, and medically unexplained dysmenorrhea, menstrual irregularity, and lack of sexual pleasure. Physically violent assaults and those committed by strangers were most strongly related to reproductive symptoms. Multiple assaults, assaults accomplished by persuasion, spouse assault, and completed intercourse were most strongly related to sexual symptoms. Assault was occasionally associated more strongly with reproductive symptoms among women with lower income or less education, possibly because of economic stress or differences in assault circumstances. Associations with unexplained menstrual irregularity were strongest among African American women; ethnic differences in reported circumstances of assault appeared to account for these differences. Assault was associated with sexual indifference only among Latinas.     

An empirical couple typology based on differentiation

Both spouses of 100 married, heterosexual couples completed the Personal Authority in the Family System Questionnaire (PAFS-Q). A cluster analysis of the couples' scores on the four intimacy and fusion scales of the PAFS-Q produced four clusters that were meaningfully distinct in the patterns of differentiation of the wives and husbands. Couples comprising these clusters are described in terms of intergenerational theories of family interaction.This paper is based on the master's thesis of the first author submitted to the Graduate School of Texas Woman's University. A presentation based on this work was given at the 1988 annual convention of the Southwestern Psychological Association, Tulsa, Oklahoma. The authors thank Glenda Peters and Joe Natale for their contributions to the preparation of this paper. A more extensive report of the methodology and results of this study can be obtained from the second author.     

Duration discrimination of empty time intervals marked by intermodal pulses

In 1973, Rousseau and Kristofferson reported that short empty intermodal time intervals marked by a light flash and a brief tone were poorly discriminated by subjects, and that AT,5 was constant over a large range of durations. It led them to suggest that short intramodal empty intervals, marked by stimuli from the same sensory modality, might be handled by a “more efficient mechanism” to which intermodal intervals would not have access. Unfortunately, their study lacked the basic evidence needed to make a strong statement: no direct comparison between inter- and intramodal duration discrimination and no within-subject discrimination function were available. To clarify these two issues, three experiments were performed. The data indicate that intermodal time intervals are discriminated more poorly than intramodal ones, and that intermodal duration discrimination functions follow Weber’s law. Analysis of data from different experiments lead to the conclusion that inter- and intramodal intervals are timed by a common timekeeper and that intermodal intervals induce a large noise component in the timekeeping operation.

     

Discontent Among Male Lawyers, Female Lawyers, and Female Legal Secretaries

Female lawyers, female legal secretaries, and male lawyers were interviewed about their feelings of grievance and three grievance-related attitudes. The working women, like the men, are generally content with their personal situations at work and at home. The women are significantly more upset than are the men about the plight of working women.