Social uncertainty and interdependence: A study of resource allocation decisions in groups

Social uncertainty about the behavior of others with whom one is interdependent for rewards is hypothesized to encourage self-interested behavior and inhibit behavioral commitment to the group. This paper examines the roles of uncertainty, expectations, and feedback about other group members' contributions to the group in interdependent decision making. In the absence of feedback, resources tend to be divided between individual and group interests. Resource allocations to the group are found to increase significantly if group members receive feedback about other members' allocations, particularly if that feedback is at the individual level, not an aggregated group level. However, the effects of feedback presence and type are eliminated when group members state their expectations about other members' future contributions to the group. Implications for expectancy value theories of motivation and commitment to groups in organizations are discussed.     

Who Uses the Cost-Benefit Rules of Choice? Implications for the Normative Status of Microeconomic Theory

We find three factors to be associated with use of cost-benefit rules in everyday decisions. These are effectiveness in achieving desirable life outcomes, intelligence, and training in economics. We argue that these empirical findings support the claim that cost-benefit reasoning is normative.     

A comparison of Guided Imaginal Coping and imaginal exposure in the treatment of panic disorder

The present study evaluated the efficacy of a new intervention, Guided Imaginal Coping (GIC), compared to imaginal exposure (IEX), and a waiting-list control (WLC) condition among 24 clinic outpatients meeting DSM-III-R criteria for panic disorder (PD) or PD with agoraphobia. GIC was the more consistently effective intervention, with individuals demonstrating significant improvement in frequency and severity of panic attacks (Pas) as well as significant reductions in physiological and subjective arousal to provocative imagery. Individuals in the IEX intervention demonstrated less consistent improvement on the dependent measures, while individuals in the WLC condition essentially remained unchanged. Both GIC and IEX were effective according to a composite measure of clinically significant improvement. However, only GIC was superior to the WLC condition when clinical improvement was defined as zero PAs at follow-up. These findings, while preliminary, suggest that GIC can be added to the armamentarium of effective approaches to treating PD.     

A collection of 4,741 word fragments that have unique completions with respect to 146,205 words

A collection of 4,741 word fragments that have a unique completion is described. All word fragments are specified by two letters (e.g.,__Q__U__can only be completed by the word LIQUEURS). The words completing these fragments range in length from five to nine letters. The fragments are unique with respect to a pool of 146,205 words, which helps rule out the possibility that obscure words could be used as a completion to the fragments. The collection of fragments as well as the words that complete them is available in ASCII format on computer disks or in printed form.     

In search of gender bias in evaluations and trait inferences: The role of diagnosticity and gender stereotypicality of behavioral information

Meta-analytic reviews indicate that the gender of a target person has a significant but small impact on evaluators' judgments about this person. The present study examines the extent to which this small effect reflects evaluators' tendencies not to use an evaluatee's gender because they assume that case information about a target is more informative about his or her abilities, knowledge, and traits than is gender. The first study indicates that decreasing the diagnosticity of case information does not increase the tendency for people to be influenced by the target's gender. However, the first and second study illustrate that despite the weak influence of the target's gender, subjects are still using gender stereotypes when making social judgments about the evaluatee. This is evidenced by the impact of the stereotypicality of the case information. This is most clearly seen in Study 2, which illustrates how components of gender stereotypes are influencing judgments.Portions of this research were supported by a University of Minnesota Dissertation Grant. Thanks go to Gail Swenson, Rose Enriques, and Wayne Bylsma for their assistance in the data collection, to my committee members Eugene Borgida (Chairperson), Marti Gonzales, Mark Snyder, Geoffrey Maruyama, Barbara Loken for their suggestions on the first study, and to Cindy Thomsen and Eugene Borgida for their support, encouragement, and consultations.     

Comparison of the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children--revised in rural Native American and white children

The Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (TONI) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised (WISC--R) were administered to 46 Native American and white students who were suspected by their classroom teachers of having learning handicaps. Pearson correlations between these sets of IQs ranged from .42 (TONI and WISC--R Performance) to .89 (WISC--R Verbal and Full Scale).     

Research on working women: A report card of 22 journals

The study was part of an official project of the Women in Management Division of the Academy of Management to examine the status of research in gender issues in organizations. It specifically looked at 22 major scholarly and trade journals plus the Proceedings of the Academy of Management for the six-year period of 1983–1988 to determine quantity, patterns, and trends in publication of research on issues of interest to the domain of the division. Results show a downward trend in gender-issue publication at a time when working women are becoming an ever-increasing percentage of the work force. This is particularly true of the so-called prestige journals. Psychology journals accounted for 64% of the total, management 13.4%, personnel 19%, and Proceedings 3.5%. Implications for research and careers are discussed.A shorter, less-complete version of this paper was presented in summary form at the annual meeting of The Academy of Management in Washington, DC, August 1989 as part of a symposium for the Women in Management Division.