Toward a reconceptualization of the reciprocal imitation phenomenon: Two experiments

This paper reports two experiments which consider the increased imitation exhibited by models who have been imitated. Experiment 1 was concerned with whether the reciprocal imitation effect is really reciprocal or if the subsequent imitation will generalize to someone else. It was found that adult subjects who were previously imitated at the 75% rate on a perceptual judgments task subsequently imitated their partner more, rated their partner more attractive, and felt more confidence when imitated than did subjects imitated at the 25% rate. These results were obtained regardless of which confederate the subjects imitated, thus indicating that reciprocal imitation is not necessarily reciprocal, but is generalizable. Experiment 2 assessed whether the subsequent imitation is the product of the effects of being imitated or is the result of the subject observing the imitator's imitation. The results indicated that after having observed imitation at a 75% rate, adult onlookers are more likely to subsequently imitate and be attracted to the imitator, the imitated person, and a person new to the situation than are onlookers who observed a 25% imitation rate. A theoretical modification is advanced which holds that subsequent imitation effects, whether from observing others imitate or from being the target of the imitation, result from a process of imitation of imitativeness. The results of these two experiments have implications for theory in imitation and social learning.     

Overhabituation and dishabituation: Effects of extraversion and amount of training

The Eysenck (1967) hypothesis that introverts have higher levels of cortical activation than extraverts has received support in a number of psychophysiological studies, though there is not complete consistency. The present study extended the habituation paradigm used in some previous work to include an examination of differences between extraverts and introverts during and following long-term overhabituation. Electrodermal activity was recorded while 72 extraverts and 72 introverts were subjected to criterion auditory habituation to a 1000-Hz, 90-db tone, followed by 60, 100, or 140 trials of overhabituation. The overhabituation run was followed by a test stimulus of 7000 Hz and a final repetition of the standard stimulus. Results showed that introverts increased in response frequency with increasing overhabituation exposure, while extraverts showed an increase only from 100 to 140 trials. In addition, the hypothesis that differences in test response amplitude favoring introverts would be eliminated by extended overhabituation training was supported. Specifically, extraverts showed increased responses at 100 and 140 trials, while introverts remained approximately constant across the three conditions. Finally, results supported the Sokolov hypothesis that overhabituation training produces test responses of larger amplitude.     

Dishabituation and spontaneous recovery of the electrodermal orienting response: Effects of extraversion,impulsivity, sociability,and caffeine

The relationship between extraversion and psychophysiological indices of arousal is not yet fully understood. The present study attempted to further clarify this relationship by using caffeine to systematically manipulate arousal. Subjects pretested on the Eysenck Personality Inventory were given caffeine or a placebo, then underwent habituation, dishabituation, and spontaneous recovery of the electrodermal OR. Separate analyses examined the main and interactive effects of extraversion, impulsivity, and sociability with caffeine. Several tonic and phasic measures showed group reversal effects, with introverts having higher tonic levels and larger phasic responses under placebo conditions and extraverts having larger phasic responses and higher tonic levels under caffeine. Although both tonic and phasic responses were differentially affected, the group reversal effects occurred at different points in time on tonic than they did on phasic measures relative to the theoretical buildup of inhibition. The findings for impulsivity were quite consistent with those for extraversion, and both sets of results were generally supportive of the Eysenck hypothesis.     

Cognitive correlates of the Type A Coronary-Prone Behavior Pattern

The present study investigated the relationship between the Type A Coronary-Prone Behavior Pattern and two measures of self-relevant cognitions: Ellis's (1962) irrational beliefs, and private and public self-consciousness (Fenigstein, Scheier, & Buss, 1975). The Type A pattern was found consistently to be negatively correlated with a belief in the value of avoiding problems and responsibilities. For males, the Type A pattern was also correlated with irrational beliefs about self-standards for achievement and perfectionism. For females, the Type A pattern was correlated with private self-consciousness and beliefs involving overreaction to frustration and anxious overconcern about potential problems. The results are discussed in terms of the relationship of these cognitive variables to the behavioral components of the Type A pattern and the implications of such relationships for potential cognitive interventions.The authors wish to thank Allison Baker and Jim Pendleton for their help in conducting the study.     

Occupational Achievement Motivation as a Function of Biological Sex, Sex-Linked Personality, and Occupation Stereotype

Predicted sex differences in occupational achievement motivation based on the work of Horner (1968) and Stein, Pohly and Mueller (1971) were examined by administering questionnaires to 87 female and 91 male undergraduate psychology students. Subjects made six achievement related responses to twelve occupations which had been stereotyped by a separate group of subjects as being either high prestige masculine, middle prestige masculine, middle prestige feminine or middle prestige androgynous (appropriate for both sexes). Analyses of variance were performed on all achievement responses with subjects'sex, sex-linked personality (Spence, Helmreich & Stapp, 1974), and occupational stereotype as independent variables. Significant sex by occupation stereotype interactions were found on all six dependent measures supporting the Stein et al. prediction of highest achievement motivation toward sex appropriate occupations. The fact that females did not show significantly lower motivation than males toward high prestige masculine occupations is inconsistent with earlier findings. Sex-linked personality was related to some of the achievement measures but did not interact with either occupation stereotype or biological sex.     

Developmental trends in free classification: Evidence for a new conceptualization of perceptual development

Two studies are reported to explore the hypothesis that young children perceive integrally some stimuli that older children perceive separably. In both, kinder-garteners, second graders, and fifth graders (approximately 5, 8, and 11 years old) are required to classify sets of stimuli that vary in size and brightness. Triads are used in Experiment 1 and tetrads are used in Experiment 2. Also, in Experiment 2, second classifications, judgments of which classification is “best,” and verbal justifications for classifications are obtained. The general finding is that the kinder-garten data systematically implicate integrality of size and brightness while the fifth-grade data systematically implicate separability of size and brightness. The second-grade data are more ambiguous. Issues related to refining the developmental hypothesis and to extending its supportive data base are considered in a final discussion.     

Units of word recognition: Evidence for the use of multiple units

The present experiments were concerned with subsyllabic units in word recognition. The studies employed a same-different RT task. A one-syllable word and a probe were presented simultaneously, and subjects responded “same” if the probe was an integral subset of the word (BLAST:BL), and “different” otherwise (BLAST:BC). Probes included single letters (BLAST:L), doublets (BLAST:LA), triplets (BLAST:LAS), and the whole word (BLAST: BLAST). The first experiment suggested that a variety of spelling patterns, as well as the whole word, served as units of processing. In particular, initial consonant clusters were processed as quickly as single letters, and only slightly faster than the whole words. Consonant strings were used in the second experiment, which demonstrated spelling pattern effects with permissible strings (BLGST:BL) as compared to nonpermissable strings (BXJPK:BX). A third experiment demonstrated that the particular effective units depend on task demands.