Individual differences and measures of aggression in laboratory studies

After inducing hostility toward a confederate by threatening subjects' self-esteem, subjects were then given the opportunity either to deliver shocks (Experiment 1) or to withhold rewards (Experiment 2) from their confederate. Physiological measures were taken prior to the hostility induction, shortly after the induction and, finally, after the opportunity to aggress. Measures of individual differences relating to aggressive behavior were also considered. While the experimental manipulation was the best predictor in the ‘withholding rewards’ condition, measures of dissipation-rumination tendencies and emotional vulnerability were the best predictors in the ‘shock administration’ condition. In both conditions, systolic blood pressure seemed to reflect differences in arousal as a function of the hostility induction procedure, while subjects in the withhold rewards procedure also showed a decrease in systolic pressure after having an opportunity to aggress toward the confederate. It was concluded that not only is the withholding of rewards a more ethically acceptable procedure than shock administration, but it is also more likely to reflect experimental rather than individual difference affects.     

Auditory-visual interaction and the timing of inputs

Summary The objective of this study was to analyze the structural properties of the respective inputs that are conducive to immediate auditory-visual cross-modal bias. The study was designed as an updated and extended replication of one by Thomas (1941). Subjects were presented with either auditory or visual target signals in several positions around the median plane, together with a competing signal, always in the other modality, 15° to the left or to the right of that plane. The task was to indicate whether the target signal came left or right of center. Target and competing signals were delivered according to three temporal configurations: continuously on for 4 s, or periodically interrupted at either a fast or a slow tempo, and all combinations of the three configurations were used. Judgements of the location of the auditory target signal were attracted toward the visual competing signal in all conditions but two, those with a periodic target signal and a continuous competing one. Conditions with the two signals in the same configuration yielded larger biases than those combining different configurations, confirming that synchronization of discordant inputs is a major condition of cross-modal interactions. The occurrence of significant bias in nonsynchronous conditions, on the other hand, suggests that another factor might be the attraction of localization responses by competing signals with salient temporal configurations, and that interruption might be one important source of saliency. Auditory biases of visual localization were, as usual, smaller than visual biases, but nevertheless reached significance in a majority of conditions, and were also influenced by timing in much the same way as the latter.This work was supported in part by the Belgian Fonds de la Recherche Fondamentale Collective (FRFC) under convention 2.4505.80. The first author is Chercheur qualifié of the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS). The results have already been reported at the Symposium on Perception, Action and Development, Brussels, January 1984     

PRIMARY ENCOPRESIS: EVALUATION AND TREATMENT

Cathartic and behavioral treatment procedures for eliminating diurnal and nocturnal primary encopresis were investigated using a multiple-baseline design across four children. The dependent and independent variables measured were appropriate bowel movements, soiling accidents, independent toiletings, and cathartic use. Over 177 reliability observations (home visits) were conducted. For two of the children, treatment with cathartics and child-time remedied their soiling accidents and increased their independent toiletings in 8 to 11 weeks. While the cathartics and child-time increased the rate of appropriate bowel movements, they did not eliminate the soiling accidents with the other two children. Independent toiletings for these two children were achieved after 32 to 39 weeks of treatment when punishment procedures (positive practice, time-out, and hourly toilet sits) were incorporated and the suppositories were faded systematically.     

Idiothetic inquiry and the toil of Sisyphus

In response to the article by Lamiell and Trierweiler (this issue), we examine the stated epistemological origins of idiothetic proposals for theory and research in personality We argue that the justification for those proposals as advanced by Lamiell and his colleagues is wholely insufficient in view of prior research on the consistency of behavior This assertion together with our identification of problems in scaling personality and personality consistencies lead us to conclude that the pursuit of the idiothetic method is both unwarranted and ineffectual     

The accuracy of aimed movements to visual targets during development: the role of visual information

Children aged 1.5 to 8 years were required to touch accurately an illuminated target lamp located on a vertical board. Movements were made when visual information was complete (target lit for 3 s, room illuminated; partial (target lit for 3 s, room dark, and reduced (target lit for 0.7 s, room dark). Dependent variables were response accuracy, reaction time, and movement time. Accuracy decreased with decreasing availability of visual information and improved with age under all conditions. Reaction times were shorter in the dark (Conditions 2 and 3) than in the light; they decreased with age up to age 5 and did not continue to decrease thereafter. Movement time did not change with age under Conditions 1 and 3 but tended to increase with age under Condition 2. Slower movements were more accurate at all ages, provided visual feedback could be utilized. Increased reliance on the strategy "slower movements yield higher accuracy" was held to account for developmental changes under Condition 2, whereas in Conditions 1 and 3 improvement in the efficiency of motor preprogramming was implicated.     

Sexual arousal in response to aggression: ideological, aggressive, and sexual correlates

In two experiments we assessed the impact of aggression on nonrapists' sexual arousal. In the first, both male subjects (n = 37) and female subjects (n = 43) reported more sexual arousal in response to nonaggressive than to aggressive depictions when the portrayals were sexually explicit, but the opposite occurred when the portrayals were nonsexual. Only male subjects (N = 359) participated in the second experiment. On the basis of their self-reported sexual arousal to the use of force, they were classified into the no arousal, moderate arousal or high arousal from force groups. To evaluate the veridicality of this classification, we assessed some subjects' (n = 118) penile tumescence in response to various depictions. The findings generally replicated those of the first experiment and confirmed the accuracy of the arousal-from-force classification. The no arousal and the moderate arousal from force subjects were less sexually aroused by aggressive than by nonaggressive portrayals, but the opposite was found for the high arousal from force group. Using the entire sample (N = 359), we also assessed differences on various factors among these three groups. We found strong differences on ideological factors, including acceptance of violence against and dominance over women. We also found differences in acceptance of nonsexual aggression and in subjects' beliefs that they might actually use force against women. In contrast, differences were not found on sexuality factors. The data's implications for theories on the causes of rape are discussed.     

Perceptual learning by educable mentally retarded, average, and gifted children of primary school age

A match-to-sample task and a preference-ranking procedure were used to provide predifferentiation experiences on a color discrimination for 6- and 8-yr.-old children. The subjects included an educable mentally retarded 8-yr.-old group, an average 8-yr.-old group, a gifted 6-yr.-old group, and an average 6-yr.-old group. Mental age was the best predictor of success on task. A significant interaction of sex and teaching method suggests an advantage of girls in this group in instructional situations in which the perceptual learning task and testing tasks are not exactly the same. Girls did better than boys when a different response for task content was required in testing from that in teaching. Boys and girls performed similarly when the training task was the same as the testing task.     

EEG alpha asymmetry: task difficulty and hypnotizability

Parieto-occipital EEG alpha was recorded bilaterally, while 20 high- and 20 low-hypnotizable women performed one left-hemisphere and one right-hemisphere task of low difficulty and two other comparable tasks of high difficulty. Every task was performed twice, once with eyes open and once with eyes closed. All subjects were right-handed. The tasks were originally selected to be of high and low difficulty. The subjective rating of task-difficulty was also evaluated. The integrated amplitude alpha and the alpha ratio (R-L/R + L) were the dependent variables. The highly hypnotizable women showed significantly higher alpha amplitude in eyes-closed condition than the low scorers; this difference disappeared during task performance and in the eyes-open condition. The left-tasks showed lower alpha amplitude in both hemispheres than right-tasks and baseline. The right-hemisphere alpha amplitude was lower than left in all experimental conditions. On tasks of high and low difficulty there was different hemispheric behavior on right and left tasks. Performance reflecting the right and left hemispheres in the low-difficulty condition showed no changes between baseline, right- and left-tasks, while under high difficulty there was a decrease in alpha amplitude in the right and even more marked decrease in the left hemisphere during left-tasks. The pattern of task effects for ratio scores was the same as for alpha amplitude, however, despite the analysis of alpha scores, an interaction of hypnotizability X task-difficulty was detected. The highly hypnotizable women showed less negative alpha ratio during a task of low difficulty than during tasks of high difficulty; the reverse was true for the low-hypnotizable women. Finally, the highly hypnotizable subjects showed less subjective difficulty during performance than the low scorers.