Variables affecting subjective organization during posthypnotic amnesia

Subjects learned a list of unrelated words to a criterion of either two successive correct trials (standard criterion), or two successive correct trials plus five additional recall trials (extra criterion). The extra recall trials significantly increased the subjective organization of recall. In the extra criterion group, a posthypnotic amnesia suggestion and a nonhypnotic distraction task produced equivalent decrements both in the amount recalled and in the subjective organization of recall. In the standard criterion group, suggestion and distraction reduced the amount recalled, but not the subjective organization of recall. The implications of these findings for understanding the contradictory results of earlier studies of recall organization during amnesia are discussed. Implications for theories of hypnotic amnesia are also discussed.     

New religions and the internet: Recruiting in a new public space

The mass suicide of 39 members of Heaven's Gate in March of 1997 led to public fears about the presence of ‘spiritual predators’ on the world wide web. This paper describes and examines the nature of these fears, as reported in the media. It then sets these fears against what we know about the use of the Internet by new religions, about who joins new religious movements and why, and the social profile of Internet users. It is argued that the emergence of the Internet has yet to significantly change the nature of religious recruitment in contemporary society. The Internet as a medium of communication, however, may be having other largely unanticipated effects on the form and functioning of religion, both old and new, in the future. Some of the potential perils of the Internet are discussed with reference to the impact of this new medium on questions of religious freedom, community, social pluralism, and social control.     

An improved technique for monitoring fixation in tachistoscopic tasks

A monocular lens mounted behind a stimulus screen was used to monitor fixation in a tachistoscopic recognition task. This technique was found superior to the often used “sideview technique” and as accurate as the method involving identification of a fixation stimulus. It was found that the “telescope technique” is preferable in those studies where presentation of a fixation stimulus might interfere with recognition or report of the experimental stimulus.     

The effect of an intensive behavioral program on the distribution of EEG alpha power in stutterers during the processing of verbal and visuospatial information

Prior to an intensive behavioral treatment program, stutterers showed greater than normal activation of the posterior frontal region of the right hemisphere during the performance of speech tasks. After treatment they showed increases in proportional alpha for most regions of the two cerebral hemispheres, but most markedly for the posterior frontal region of the right hemisphere for both verbal and nonverbal tasks. This increase resulted in a reversal of the previous R/L interhemispheric alpha relationships with the left posterior frontal region showing greater activation during speech after treatment. The relationship of this finding to previous findings is briefly discussed and an hypothesis of decreased inhibitory control of the right hemisphere at the posterior frontal region by the left hemisphere during speech in stutterers is proposed and briefly expounded.     

Frame-of-Reference Training: Overcoming the Effects of Organizational Citizenship Behavior on Performance Rating Accuracy

Frame-of-reference (FOR) training has been shown to increase rating accuracy. Studies suggest, however, that organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) can influence performance ratings insomuch as they are considered in the rating process. We examined the effects of OCB on the effectiveness of FOR training for improving performance rating accuracy. Results from 77 managers showed that OCB attenuates FOR training effectiveness because of rating inflation, unless the managers are trained to observe and evaluate the OCB.     

Links between attachment orientations and dispositional and diary–based measures of disclosure in dating couples: A study of actor and partner effects

Issues concerning the influence of attachment characteristics on own and partner’s disclosure were addressed using a sample of 113 couples in medium–term dating relationships. Individual differences in attachment were assessed in terms of relationship anxiety and avoidance. Disposition to disclose was assessed using questionnaire measures of self–disclosure, relationship–focused disclosure, and the ability to elicit disclosure from the partner; in addition, structured diaries were used to assess aspects of disclosure (amount, intimacy, emotional tone, and satisfaction) in the context of couples’ everyday interactions. Couple–level analyses showed that avoidance strongly predicted dispositional measures of disclosure, whereas anxiety (particularly partner’s anxiety) was related to negative evaluations of everyday interactions. Interactive effects of attachment dimensions and gender were also obtained, highlighting the complexity of communication behavior. The results are discussed in terms of the goals and strategies associated with working models of attachment.     

The importance of the organization of partner knowledge in understanding perceptions of relationship quality and conflict resolution behavior in married couples

This research investigated how the organization of partner knowledge was related to global relationship evaluations and specific interpersonal behaviors in a sample of 107 married couples. Spouses first completed several questionnaires and later participated in a 12-min videotaped conflict resolution task. As expected, wives in older relationships exhibited greater marital quality (self-reported and observed) when they had (a) an integrative knowledge structure and used many negative traits to describe their spouse or (b) a compartmentalized knowledge structure and used few negative traits to describe their spouse. Greater marital quality, however, was found for husbands when they were (a) in older relationships and possessed an integrative structure or (b) in newer relationships and possessed a compartmentalized structure. Exploratory analyses suggested that in some circumstances people may have greater marital quality when they share an organizational style with their spouse.     

Trait-specific dependence in romantic relationships

ABSTRACT Informed by three theoretical frameworks—trait psychology, evolutionary psychology, and interdependence theory—we report four investigations designed to develop and test the reliability and validity of a new construct and accompanying multiscale inventory, the Trait-Specific Dependence Inventory (TSDI). The TSDI assesses comparisons between present and alternative romantic partners on major dimensions of mate value. In Study 1, principal components analyses revealed that the provisional pool of theory-generated TSDI items were represented by six factors: Agreeable/Committed, Resource Accruing Potential, Physical Prowess, Emotional Stability, Surgency, and Physical Attractiveness. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis replicated these results on a different sample and tested how well different structural models fit the data. Study 3 provided evidence for the convergent and discriminant validity of the six TSDI scales by correlating each one with a matched personality trait scale that did not explicitly incorporate comparisons between partners. Study 4 provided further validation evidence, revealing that the six TSDI scales successfully predicted three relationship outcome measures—love, time investment, and anger/upset—above and beyond matched sets of traditional personality trait measures. These results suggest that the TSDI is a reliable, valid, and unique construct that represents a new trait-specific method of assessing dependence in romantic relationships. The construct of trait-specific dependence is introduced and linked with other theories of mate value.     

Sui generis phenomena and disciplinary axioms: Rethinking Pals' proposal

Daniel Pals and I have made independent arguments for the resolution of the debate over reductionism in religious studies with the adoption of appropriate ‘disciplinary axioms’. This paper undertakes a critical review of Pals' proposal, suggesting that his axiomatic conception of the sui generis nature of religious phemomena is substantively inadequate because he misconceives the theoretical grounds for axiom adoption in the social sciences. An argument is advanced, by comparison, for the advantages of an alternative formulation which demarcates religious phenomena in terms of ‘references to the transcendent’.