The Pique Technique: Overcoming Mindlessness or Shifting Heuristics?

An unusual request can increase compliance in situations in which the typical response to the request is refusal. This procedure, called the pique technique, is said to be effective because the unusual request causes people to give mindful consideration to it. We tested this explanation in 2 studies. Passersby were asked for either a common amount of change or 37 cents. Participants who inquired about the unusual amount were given either a specific or an uninformative reason. The pique technique increased compliance, but only when participants stopped to ask about the request. These participants gave more money, regardless of the reason provided. The findings failed to support the notion that an unusual request leads to a mindful consideration of it.     

Factor Structure of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale in Hong Kong Adolescents

E. A. Southwell &; M. Merbaum (Eds.). Personality: Readings in Theory and Research. (2nd ed.) Belmont, Calif.: Brooks/Cole, 1971, 422 pages. Reviewed by Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi     

First Impressions: Exploring the Structure of Titles for Nonformal Public Interpretive Programs

ABSTRACT

Visitors considering attending an interpretive program open to the public at a zoo, historic site, park, or museum may have no more information available to them than the title of the program and its location and date. This research investigated how the structure of a program title helped or hindered people from inferring the topic of the program, whether it is for adults or children, level of formality, and interestingness. Ninety-six college students at 2 universities rated 18 titles for interpretive programs on 4 dimensions. Interestingness of the program topic was related to reported intention to attend the program. Being able to infer whether the program was for adults or children and whether it was formal or informal was related to interestingness. Program titles should be strategically constructed as potential program participants make inferences about the program from the title.     

Interpersonal constructs and communicative ability in a police environment: A preliminary investigation

Abstract

This study investigates the relation between indexes of the development of interpersonal construct systems and the qualities of messages generated in response to persuasive tasks within the context of an urban police force. Hypotheses assuming that length of service as a line officer would predict less developed construct systems, and that more developed construct systems would predict message strategies that acknowledge the unique qualities of receivers found general support. In addition, the possibility of further relations between length of service and message variables was explored, but no substantial evidence was found for such effects. These results show the importance of environmental influences on construct development, and suggest that interpersonal perception and message behavior functionally adapt to the needs of organizational participation.     

Visual agnosia and prosopagnosia in childhood: a prospective case study.

Selective impairments in visual processing are well documented in adults but rarely reported in children. The few childhood cases reported are mostly retrospective accounts with little attention paid to developmental, assessment or management issues. We report a prospective case study of a boy with prosopagnosia and visual processing deficits of presumed developmental origin. At the age of 4 years, AL presented with a range of cognitive and visual recognition deficits. Subsequent assessments revealed an evolving pattern in visual recognition and dissociations between developing skills. At the age of 7 AL has impairments in early perceptual analysis, visual organisation and in complex visual processing. Although he can identify facial features and match faces he is unable to recognise familiar faces. His reading and spelling are developing normally. The nature of his deficits and his progress are discussed within a cognitive neuropsychological framework.     

The emerging relationship of psychology and the Internet: proposed guidelines for conducting Internet intervention research

The Internet is rapidly developing into an important medium of communication in modern society, and both psychological research and therapeutic interventions are being increasingly conducted using this new communication medium. As therapeutic interventions using the Internet are becoming more prevalent, it is becoming increasingly important to conduct research on psychotherapeutic Internet interventions to assist in the development of an appropriate standard of practice regarding interventions using this new medium. In this article, we examine the Internet and the current psychological uses which are being initiated using this medium. Ethical concerns related to the psychological use of the Internet are discussed, and guidelines are proposed for the conduct of Internet intervention research.     

Congruence Lattices of Semilattices with Operators

The duality between congruence lattices of semilattices, and algebraic subsets of an algebraic lattice, is extended to include semilattices with operators. For a set G of operators on a semilattice S, we have \({{\rm Con}(S,+,0,G) \cong^{d} {{\rm S}_{p}}(L,H)}\), where L is the ideal lattice of S, and H is a corresponding set of adjoint maps on L. This duality is used to find some representations of lattices as congruence lattices of semilattices with operators. It is also shown that these congruence lattices satisfy the Jónsson–Kiefer property.