Relations between neonatal states and 8-month developmental outcome in preterm infants

This study investigated longitudinal relations between measures of neonatal state behavior and developmental outcome in a sample of preterm infants (N = 16). Results indicate that irritability/reactivity in the neonatal period is positively associated with Bayley scores and exploratory play at 8 months. Conversely, neonatal alertness was not associated with these developmental measures. These preliminary findings, based on a small sample, are discussed in the context of preterm function.     

Confidence depends on level of aggregation

The credible intervals that people set around their point estimates are typically too narrow (cf. Lichtenstein, Fischhoff, & Phillips, 1982). That is, a set of many such intervals does not contain the actual values of the criterion variables as often as it should given the probability assigned to this event for each estimate. The typical interpretation of such data is that people are overconfident about the accuracy of their judgments. This paper presents data from two studies showing the typical levels of overconfidence for individual estimates of unknown quantities. However, data from the same subjects on a different measure of confidence for the same items, their own global assessment for the set of multiple estimates as a whole, showed significantly lower levels of confidence and overconfidence than their average individual assessment for items in the set. It is argued that the event and global assessments of judgment quality are fundamentally different and are affected by unique psychological processes. Finally, we discuss the implications of a difference between confidence in single and multiple estimates for confidence research and theory.     

Gender displays in portrait photographs

Following the research of Goffman (1976) and Henley (1977) on sex differences in nonverbal behavior, 1,296 portrait photographs from high school and university yearbooks and from the media files of a university were analyzed for sex differences. Females smiled with a significantly greater frequency and expansiveness than males and head canted significantly more than males. Results supporting the hypothesis that males would face the camera more directly than females failed to reach the acceptable significance level. The prediction that persons working in opposite-sex roles would deintensify their gender displays failed to gain support.The author expresses appreciation to Bill Drell and Andrea Wilson for their assistance in data collection.     

The Impact of Time Proximity and Level of Generality on Attitude-Behavior Consistency1

This study examines the effects of (1) generality equivalence between attitudinal and behavioral entities and (2) the order and proximity of the attitude and behavior questions on the observed relationship between attitudes and behavior. The behaviors examined are sentence recommendations for six hypothetical defendants. The sample is composed of 185 line probation officers from New York State. The variables chosen conform to Martin Fishbein's model of behavioral intentions. As predicted, the observed relationship is affected by both level of specificity and proximity of the questions. Order of the questions has little effect.     

Effects of degree of interpersonal similarity on physical distance and self-reported attraction: A comparison of uniqueness and reinforcement theory predictions

The apparently divergent similarity-attraction findings of the reinforcement theory and uniqueness theory researchers were investigated by exposing male (N = 45) and female (N = 45) subjects to conditions of slight, moderate, or high similarity relative to one comparison other. Similarity was manipulated by means of a bogus personality and attitude inventory. For the self-report measures, results consistent with reinforcement theory were obtained in that greater self-reported attraction to the partner was linearly related to increased similarity. Additionally, interpersonal distance was curvilinearly related to similarity. This distancing pattern reflected the fact that moderate similarity subjects positioned themselves relatively closer to the other person's chair than the slight or high similarity subjects. The physical distance results support the uniqueness theory notion that high similarity may have some aversive properties. The discrepancy between the physical distance and self-report results is discussed in terms of an implicit causal theory that subjects may have about interpersonal similarity (i.e., greater similarity is good).     

Menstrual cycle affects kinesthetic aftereffect, an index of personality and perceptual style

Research suggests that kinesthetic aftereffect (KAE) scores reflect status on a postulated stimulus intensity modulation (SIM) mechanism that damps down subjective stimulus intensity for some (reducing) and increases it for others (augmenting). Such a mechanism would help account for empirically observed individual differences in such behaviors as pain tolerance, sensory deprivation reactivity, and stimulation seeking. It was hypothesized and confirmed in three adult female samples that KAE varies curvilinearly over the menstrual cycle: Greater KAE reduction occurs at the cycle's beginning and end. Neither tiredness, oral contraception, medication, attention, nor social expectations can explain this finding. Of the behaviors studied in the KAE literature, only five are also encompassed by the menstrual cycle literature. Four of these (antisocial behavior, acute schizophrenic episodes, accidents, and activity level) show similar curvilinearity over the cycle. We hypothesize that cyclical variation in the SIM mechanism mediates the curvilinear pattern observed for both these four behaviors and KAE.     

A cusp catastrophe: Hysteresis, bimodality, and inaccessibility in rabbit eyelid conditioning

Three properties of the cusp catastrophe: bimodality, inaccessibility, and hysteresis were evaluated in rabbit eyelid conditioning. Bimodality was evidenced by the fact that responding tended to occur at either very low or very high levels, and inaccessibility by the fact that intermediate levels of responding were rarely encountered. Hysteresis was demonstrated when: (a) levels of responding attained under a continuous schedule of reinforcement were largely maintained by a schedule which was too lean to promote conditioning by itself; and (b) levels of responding attained with a high intensity unconditional stimulus were largely maintained by a lower intensity unconditional stimulus which was too weak to promote conditioning in its own right. These results are consistent with the model of conditioning suggested by P. W. Frey and R. J. Sears (Psychological Review, 1978, 85, 321–340) which postulates response-mapping rules based on the cusp catastrophe.