Downward Social Comparison in the Minimal Intergroup Situation: A Test of a Self-Enhancement Interpretation1

We tested some implications of Wills' (1981) downward comparison interpretation of ingroup bias in the minimal intergroup paradigm. Based on a self-enhancement interpretation of ingroup bias, we predicted that subjects who expected to succeed on a task for dispositional reasons and subsequently failed would be most threatened by the feedback and hence, would engage in downward social comparison strategies. The results did not support the self-enhancement interpretation, but a number of interesting findings emerged. First, downward social comparison involving favorable comparisons of the ingroup relative to the outgroup was pervasive and not mediated by self-esteem. Second, ingroup bias was greatest when individuals' outcomes were consistent with their expectations; ingroup bias was mitigated when subjects received feedback that was inconsistent with their expectations. Third, although low self-esteem subjects rated members of the outgroup more negatively than did high self-esteem subjects, high self-esteem subjects engaged in more downward social comparison by enhancing the self relative to both members of the outgroup and their own ingroup. Finally, self-enhancement strategies were affected by performance expectations, attributions, and chronic self-esteem: People who expected to perform well because of stable, dispositional reasons and who were high in self-esteem showed the greatest tendency to engage in self-enhancing comparisons with others. This was true regardless of whether subjects ultimately succeeded or failed on the important task and regardless of whether the comparison others were members of the outgroup or the ingroup.     

EMERGENT INTRAVERBAL RESPONSES VIA TACT AND MATCH-TO-SAMPLE INSTRUCTION

The present investigation evaluated the effectiveness of category tact and match‐to‐sample instruction in facilitating the emergence of intraverbal responses (i.e., naming several items belonging to a specific category) for 2 children with autism. Results demonstrated the emergence of untaught responses, suggesting an effective instructional protocol for establishing intraverbal responses without direct instruction.     

Situationally Equivocal Eyewitness Evidence and the Violence of Crimes

Eyewitness evidence is amongst the most important types of evidence in investigative and juridical proceedings. Yet, eyewitness evidence frequently derives from observations made under situationally equivocal conditions, including such factors as darkness and physical obstruction of view. The effect of the violence of a given crime on potential jurors' evaluation of such equivocal evidence was addressed. A witness's identification of a suspect in a violent crime was generated in three versions, varying only in the level of violence of the crime. Respondents were more likely to accept this identification as accurate under more violent conditions and were also less likely to report noticing or considering equivocal aspects (darkness and physical obstruction) in situations of greater violence. Predisposing factors to judgement of guilt lay significantly in the acceptance of punishment as a viable deterrent to crime and of societal guilt for the criminal's behaviour, although political or religious orientations were not shown to influence these results, and none of these factors interacted with the violence of the crime to influence judgement of guilt or innocence. These findings indicate the importance of affective factors in judgements of guilt or innocence, especially when these judgements are based on situationally equivocal eyewitness evidence. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Integrating cognitive bias modification into a standard cognitive behavioural treatment package for social phobia: A randomized controlled trial

ObjectiveThe aim of the current study was to integrate recent developments in the retraining of attentional biases towards threat into a standard cognitive behavioural treatment package for social phobia.Method134 participants (M age – 32.4: 53% female) meeting DSM-IV criteria for social phobia received a 12-week cognitive behavioural treatment program. They were randomly allocated to receive on a daily basis using home practice, either an additional computerised probe procedure designed to train attentional resource allocation away from threat, or a placebo variant of this procedure. Measures included diagnostic severity, social anxiety symptoms, life interference, and depression as well as state anxiety in response to a laboratory social threat.ResultsAt the end of treatment there were no significant differences between groups in attentional bias towards threat or in treatment response (all p's > 0.05). Both groups showed similar and highly significant reductions in diagnostic severity, social anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, and life interference at post-treatment that was maintained and in most cases increased at 6 month follow-up (uncontrolled effect sizes ranged from d = 0.34 to d = 1.90).ConclusionsThe current results do not indicate that integration of information processing-derived attentional bias modification procedures into standard treatment packages as conducted in this study augments attentional change or enhances treatment efficacy. Further refinement of bias modification techniques, and better methods of integrating them with conventional approaches, may be needed to produce better effects.     

The Top Ten Sales Articles of the 20th Century

The dawn of a millennium brings reflection on accomplishments and progress over the prior century. A common exercise is to identify the “best of the best” in a variety of fields of endeavor (e.g., music, science, art, or literature). In this article we identify the “best of the best” in academic research concerning sales management and professional selling. We conducted a survey of practicing sales academics to identify the “Top 10” sales articles of the century. Each of these articles is briefly reviewed, with attention to its purpose, content and contribution. A citation analysis was also conducted to validate the expert opinion rankings. In total, the results present an intriguing perspective on the accomplishments of the sales academy and its progress as a scholarly community.