The experimental psychology of attitude change and the tradition of classical rhetoric

Social psychologists might be surprised to learn that their discipline has been cut off from a vast and ancient family tree. The study of attitude change in the context of experimental social psychology began around 1918. It developed into a defined discipline in the 1930s and 1940s, particularly through the work of Carl Hovland and his associates. Unlike earlier specialties in experimental psychology, social psychology emerged well after the 19th-century split between psychology and philosophy in college curricula. Before this period of growth in empirical teaching and practice, the study of persuasion in classical rhetoric was a bedrock of higher education for more than 2000 years. Because of social psychology's late development in empirical science, there is a historical disconnect between experimental social psychology and its ancient philosophical counterpart, classical rhetoric. This article demonstrates similarities and differences between Hovland's findings and the theoretical groundings of classical rhetoric. We suggest areas where modern social psychology might benefit from a look at the older, more holistic theories of the art of rhetoric.     

On the relation between maternal state of mind and sensitivity in the prediction of infant attachment security

Attachment theorists assume that maternal mental representations influence responsivity, which influences infant attachment security. However, primary studies do not support this mediation model. The authors tested mediation using 2 mother-infant samples and found no evidence of mediation. Therefore, the authors explored sensitivity as a moderator, studying the (a) interaction of mental representation and sensitivity as it predicts infant attachment security and (b) level of sensitivity in mothers whose infants' attachment security is either concordant or discordant with their own. The interactional analyses were not significant. But the match-mismatch data showed that when mother-infant attachment strategies were discordant, maternal sensitivity was more consistent with infant than maternal attachment strategy. These findings are congruent with an interpretation of sensitivity as a moderator that can block transmission of attachment strategy.     

Source-monitoring training: toward reducing rater expectancy effects in behavioral measurement

The authors developed a source-monitoring procedure to reduce the biasing effects of rater expectations on behavioral measurement. Study participants (N = 224) were given positive or negative information regarding the performance of a group and, after observing the group, were assigned to a source-monitoring or control condition. Raters in the source-monitoring condition were instructed to report only behaviors that evoked detailed memories (remember judgments) and to avoid reporting behaviors based on feelings of familiarity (know judgments). Results revealed that controlling raters' response strategy reduced (and often eliminated) the biasing effects of performance expectations. These findings advance our understanding of the performance-cue bias and offer a potentially useful technique for decreasing rater bias.     

Social exclusion impairs self-regulation

Six experiments showed that being excluded or rejected caused decrements in self-regulation. In Experiment 1, participants who were led to anticipate a lonely future life were less able to make themselves consume a healthy but bad-tasting beverage. In Experiment 2, some participants were told that no one else in their group wanted to work with them, and these participants later ate more cookies than other participants. In Experiment 3, excluded participants quit sooner on a frustrating task. In Experiments 4-6, exclusion led to impairment of attention regulation as measured with a dichotic listening task. Experiments 5 and 6 further showed that decrements in self-regulation can be eliminated by offering a cash incentive or increasing self-awareness. Thus, rejected people are capable of self-regulation but are normally disinclined to make the effort.     

Sex- and age-related differences in mathematics

This study examined sex differences and age-related changes in mathematics based on Eccles's 1985 expectancy-value model of "achievement-related choices" and Dweck's 1986 motivation-process model. We have assessed motivational variables and performance in mathematics for youth in Grades 5, 7, and 9 in a German comprehensive secondary school. Significant sex differences in Grades 7 and 9 were observed even when school marks were controlled for. Furthermore, the results indicated differences between Grade 7 and Grade 9 on most of the motivational variables. Older students show a less favorable motivational pattern. Our results give evidence of the importance of motivational encouragement in mathematics classes, especially for girls and low achieving learners.     

Suppositions, extensionality, and conditionals: a critique of the mental model theory of Johnson-Laird And Byrne (2002)

P. N. Johnson-Laird and R. M. J. Byrne proposed an influential theory of conditionals in which mental models represent logical possibilities and inferences are drawn from the extensions of possibilities that are used to represent conditionals. In this article, the authors argue that the extensional semantics underlying this theory is equivalent to that of the material, truth-functional conditional, at least for what they term "basic" conditionals, concerning arbitrary problem content. On the basis of both logical argument and psychological evidence, the authors propose that this approach is fundamentally mistaken and that conditionals must be viewed within a suppositional theory based on what philosophical logicians call the Ramsey test. The Johnson-Laird and Byrne theory is critically examined with respect to its account of basic conditionals, nonbasic conditionals, and counterfactuals.     

Identity and emergency intervention: how social group membership and inclusiveness of group boundaries shape helping behavior

Two experiments exploring the effects of social category membership on real-life helping behavior are reported. In Study 1, intergroup rivalries between soccer fans are used to examine the role of identity in emergency helping. An injured stranger wearing an in-group team shirt is more likely to be helped than when wearing a rival team shirt or an unbranded sports shirt. In Study 2, a more inclusive social categorization is made salient for potential helpers. Helping is extended to those who were previously identified as out-group members but not to those who do not display signs of group membership. Taken together, the studies show the importance of both shared identity between bystander and victim and the inclusiveness of salient identity for increasing the likelihood of emergency intervention.     

Personality traits in dumpling squid (Euprymna tasmanica): context-specific traits and their correlation with biological characteristics

Personality traits are a major class of behavioral variation often observed within populations of animals. However, little is known of the integration between personality and an individual's underlying biology. To address this, the authors measured personality traits in squid (Euprymna tasmanica) in 2 contexts while also describing trait correlates with biological parameters. Four traits (shy avoidance- bold aggression, activity, bury persistence, and reactivity) were reliably measured; however, trait expression between contexts was not correlated and thus was context-specific. Trait variation was not a function of gender or of somatic or reproductive condition but was explained partially by a squid's sexual maturity and its size. Results are discussed in terms of the interplay between personality variation and resulting life history strategies in animals.     

Metabolic and endocrine disturbances in psychiatric disorders: a multidisciplinary approach to appropriate atypical antipsychotic utilization

Patients with psychiatric disorders have an increased rate of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality compared with the general population. Metabolic issues such as weight gain, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, diabetic ketoacidosis,and pancreatitis have been reported with the use of antipsychotic agents. Although atypical antipsychotics have not been linked directly to the development of metabolic syndrome, these medications have been shown to increase risk factors that can lead to metabolic and endocrine disturbances. Therefore, clinicians should provide ongoing monitoring for patients who are being treated for psychiatric disorders with these agents. According to the 2004 Consensus Report on Antipsychotics, screening measures should include baseline and follow-up monitoring of personal/family histories, weight (body mass index), waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, and fasting lipid profile.