On the time course of negative priming: Another look

In two experiments, the pattern of persistence of negative priming effects across delay intervals of 500 and 2,500 msec was assessed using a within-subjects, random sequencing of delays. Neill and Valdes (1992; Neill, Valdes, Terry, & Gorfein, 1992) have argued that a within-subject experimental design is required for decay of negative priming to be seen, in contrast to results reported elsewhere (e.g., Tipper, Weaver, Cameron, Brehaut, & Bastedo, 1991) showing stable negative priming effects across delays. In neither experiment was substantial evidence of decay detected, raising questions for the notion that suppression necessarily declines across brief temporal intervals and for the assertion that episodic retrieval is the sole source of negative priming.     

What's in a name?

Medical students pose as physicians during clinical training. This article presents three cases where students justify misrepresenting their status for different reasons: self-concern for career, necessity for clinical training, and belief that the truth could cause undue psychological stress in the patient. The author suggests that serious consequences of this practice should be constantly reviewed in a critical light.     

Children's responses to stories with male and female characters

The sex of the main character was varied in six children's stories which were then read by fourth, sixth and eighth graders. The children answered four questions about the stories. Both boys and girls responded more positively to the questions “Would you like to be (character's name?)” and “Would you like to do the things (character's name) did?” when the main character was a male. Boys preferred stories about males, and this preference increased with grade level. A preference for stories about females was marginally significant only for the older girls. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Concepts of intellect in relation to learning and adult development

This article is a summary and integration of results from studies of the organization and development of human abilities. Several kinds of results are interpreted as converging toward support of theories stipulating a hierarchy of intellectual functions. Near the top of this hierarchy, most related to intelligence as this is usually conceived, are the two broad sets of abilities known as fluid intelligence (Gf) and crystallized intelligence (Gc). The major focus of the review is on the decline of Gf through the “vital years of adulthood,” from 20 to 60 years of age. Major conclusions are:1. Sensory detector functions, near the bottom of the hierarchy of intellectual capacities, decline with development through the vital years, but this kind of decline is not responsible for aging decline of the major features of fluid intelligence: keenness of sensory function is not of the sine qua non of mature expressions of human intelligence.2. Memory abilities are somewhat higher in the hierarchy of intellectual functions, and thus are more strongly related to intelligence, than are sensory detectors. With increase in time interval over which retention is required, there is increase in the relationship of memory to Gf and to decline of Gf over the vital years. Accompanying this increase is an increase in the extent to which memory is dependent upon adequacy of organization at the stage of encoding. This, in turn, reflects the adequacy of eduction of relations and correlates, which is an essential feature of Gf.3. To the extent that very short-term memory is implicated in fluid intelligence, and the decline of this, it is intimately related to either a capacity or inclination to maintain close attention under conditions of high demand for attention.4. The speed with which one obtains correct answers to difficult problems is not closely related to the number of correct answers obtained when all subjects attempt all items in fluid intelligence tests, but clerical/perpetual speed, as indicated in tasks of quickly finding a particular symbol among others or tasks of making same/different judgments, is related to aging decline of Gf. As with short-term memory, this form of intellectual speediness appears to be closely related to capacities (or inclinations) for maintaining attention, dividing attention, and holding things in mind while doing other things.5. Crystallized intelligence probably increases over the vital years. This reflects dynamic restructuring of knowledge systems. It appears that there is not only an aging increase in knowledge but also an increase in the accessibility of information, a result being that humans become more creative (in one sense) as age increases through the vital years.6. Results from multivariate cross-sectional studies of intelligence are seen to be consistent with comparable results obtained with other kinds of research strategies.     

Negative attitudes toward masturbation and pelvic vasocongestion: A thermographic analysis

The present study examined differences in pelvic vasocongestion as a function of negative attitudes toward masturbation. Pelvic vasocongestion was measured thermographically, which is a noninvasive means of detecting and photographing individual heat patterns to indicate physiological condition and functional changes within. The results indicated that women, with positive attitudes toward masturbation, who read an erotic story, experienced the greatest increase in pelvic vasocongestion. This and other findings were discussed in terms of masturbation acting to facilitate the patterning of sexual arousal and orgasmic functioning, especially in regard to creating the capacity for pelvic engorgement.     

Sexual preference,feminism, and women's perceptions of their parents

In an attempt to clarify the relation between parental variables, sexual preference, and sex-role attitudes, three groups of women were studied: lesbian feminists, heterosexual feminists, and heterosexual traditional women. The women were asked about their perceptions of their parents when they were in high school. The groups differed more from each other with respect to their perceptions of their fathers than their mothers. The perceived attitudes of the father were much more important in differentiating lesbian feminists from heterosexuals than in differentiating heterosexual feminists from heterosexual traditionals. Both the heterosexual groups (feminist and traditionals) reported having a more affectionate and involved father who also encouraged them more in the expression of anger than the lesbian feminists reported. The results suggest women's father relationships must not be obscured in research and support Johnson's hypothesis that the father relationship is more central than the mother relationship in sex typing and especially in the specifically sexual aspects of sex typing.     

Component analysis of the type A coronary-prone behavior pattern in male and female college students

Two studies investigated the psychological dimensions encompassed by the Rosenman Structured Interview (SI) method of assessing the Type A behavior pattern. In Study 1, female students completed the SI and Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS). Factor analysis of the verbal stylistic and answer content components of the SI yielded a 5-factor solution, with one factor--Clinical Rating--accounting for most nonerror variance in Type A ratings. The remaining factors were derived from answer content and correlated more substantially with JAS Type A ratings than with SI Type A ratings. In Study 2, male and female college students completed the SI and JAS and a battery of questionnaires that tap trait dimensions implied by the conceptual definition of Type A. For both males and females, SI ratings of Type A could almost be completely predicted by scores on the Clinical Rating factor. For both sexes, content dimensions of the SI related to other measures of Type A and to Type A-consistent traits, whereas the Clinical Rating factor was only modestly associated with such traits. Moreover, sex differences were observed in the trait constellations composing SI and JAS definitions of Type A. These results suggest that a discrepancy exists between conceptual and operational definitions of the Type A pattern.