Misattribution, preparatory information, and speech anxiety

In two experiments with undergraduate subjects, I compared the effects of misattribution versus information manipulations on speech anxiety. In Experiment 1, some subjects were allegedly exposed to subliminal noise while reading a speech in front of a camera. These subjects were told that subliminal noise makes people feel either unpleasantly aroused or pleasantly relaxed or that it has no effect. Subjects in a fourth condition were given accurate information about how they would feel (unpleasantly aroused) but were not exposed to the subliminal noise misattribution source. In Experiment 2, I replicated the arousing noise and accurate information conditions from the first study and added two new groups incorporating a delay that should preclude misattribution. In both experiments, the alleged presence of arousing subliminal noise reduced subjects' speech dysfluencies during the speech task, whereas the presentation of accurate information alone did not have a comparable ameliorative effect. Thus, both experiments supported the misattribution interpretation of why neutral labels for arousal can reduce emotionality.     

The incidence of out-of-body experiences in hospitalized patients

The author studied out-of-body experiences (OBEs), cultural differences in reporting those OBEs, and associations between OBEs and frequency of dream recall in 100 white and 100 black adults hospitalized in a university medical center. Of the 200 subjects interviewed, 31 reported having had an OBE, six during the current hospitalization. White patients reported OBEs significantly more often than did black patients, possibly because of methodological problems in the interview techniques. Chi-squared tests showed significant positive associations between frequency of dream recall and incidence of OBEs, and between vivid dreams and incidence of OBEs.     

Effects of text genre and verbal ability on adult age differences in sensitivity to text structure

The present study examined the effects of verbal ability and text genre on adult age differences in sensitivity to the semantic structure of prose. Young and older adults of low or high verbal ability heard narrative and expository passages at different presentation rates. The results demonstrated that older adults recalled less than younger adults and that age differences in recall were larger for low-verbal adults and expository texts. However, subjects from all groups favored the main ideas in their recalls for both types of passages. The results indicated that adult age similarities in the ability to focus on the main ideas when processing prose was not compromised by the verbal ability of the subjects or the organization of the passages used. However, the results also demonstrate how the characteristics of the learner and the characteristics of the text modulate the size of the age differences observed.     

Gender Differences in the Dimensionality of Social Support1

Although theoretical frameworks have been developed and research has been conducted in the area of social support, little attention has been given to the influence of gender on the dimensionality of social support. In addition, much of the research on social support has been conducted solely with student samples. In the present study, two samples (students, N = 304, and working adults, N = 301) completed a social support questionnaire. The survey instrument measured four types of social support (appraisal, instrumental, informational, and emotional) from four different sources (supervisor, coworker, spouse, and friends). For the student sample, women reported higher levels of social support than men on most dimensions (i.e., 11 of 16 dimensions), with 5 yielding statistically significant differences. For the sample of working adults, men reported higher levels of social support on most of the dimensions (i.e., 10 of 16), with 5 representing statistically significant differences. Differences in results between the two samples are discussed.     

The Effect of Early Music Training on Child Cognitive Development

The relationship between participation in a structured music curriculum and cognitive development was studied with 71 4- through 6-year olds. Children were pre- and posttested with six subtests of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, fourth edition (SB) and the Young Child Music Skills Assessment (MSA). Approximately one half of the sample participated in a 30-week, 75-minute weekly, parent-involved music curriculum. Statistical analysis showed significant gains for participants receiving music instruction on the MSA and on the SB Bead Memory subtest. Four-order partial correlations analysis found musical treatment influence on Bead Memory scores when the participants were controlled for sex, ethnicity, parental education, and economic class. Treatment also produced higher scores on other SB measurements for select populations. This study suggests a significant correspondence between early music instruction and spatial–temporal reasoning abilities.     

Measurement of Impulsivity: Construct Coherence, Longitudinal Stability, and Relationship with Externalizing Problems in Middle Childhood and Adolescence

This study focused on the assessment of impulsivity in nonreferred school-aged children. Children had been participants since infancy in the Bloomington Longitudinal Study. Individual differences in impulsivity were assessed in the laboratory when children were 6 (44 boys, 36 girls) and 8 (50 boys, 39 girls) years of age. Impulsivity constructs derived from these assessments were related to parent and teacher ratings of externalizing problems across the school-age period (ages 7–10) and to parent and self-ratings of these outcomes across adolescence (ages 14–17). Consistent with prior research, individual measures of impulsivity factor-analyzed into subdimensions reflecting children's executive control capabilities, delay of gratification, and ability or willingness to sustain attention and compliance during work tasks. Children's performance on the main interactive task index, inhibitory control, showed a signficant level of stability between ages 6 and 8. During the school-age years, children who performed impulsively on the laboratory measures were perceived by mothers and by teachers as more impulsive, inattentive, and overactive than others, affirming the external validity of the impulsivity constructs. Finally, impulsive behavior in the laboratory at ages 6 and 8 predicted maternal and self-ratings of externalizing problem behavior across adolescence, supporting the longterm predictive value of the laboratory-derived impulsivity measures.     

Attractiveness and Income for Men and Women in Management1

It is commonly believed that attractive people are more successful, but the empirical support for this belief is mixed. A number of role-playing, laboratory studies have demonstrated that more attractive men are more often hired, but the laboratory data for women are less consistent. Few studies have explored the effects of attractiveness on actual hiring and starting salaries for men or women. Even less work has been done on the impact of attractiveness once on the job. It was predicted that there would be positive effects for attractiveness and that the effects would be stronger as people worked longer on their jobs. To test this prediction, a sample of 737 male and female MBA graduates from the years between 1973 and 1982 was used to explore how facial attractiveness relates to starting and later salaries. Results indicated that more attractive men had higher starting salaries and they continued to earn more over time. For women, there was no effect of attractiveness for starting salaries, but more attractive women earned more later on in their jobs. By 1983, men were found to earn $2600 more on the average for each unit of attractiveness (on a 5-point scale) and women earned $2150 more. Implications for research in this area are discussed.     

The factor analytic structure of the Roberts Apperception Test for Children: a comparison of the standardization sample with a sample of chronically ill children

A confirmatory principal component factor analysis of the Roberts Apperception Test for Children was conducted using the standardization sample and a sample of chronically ill children. An interpretation of three- and four-factor solutions identified the three-factor solution as superior to the four-factor solution as measured by chi-square goodness of fit and coefficients of convergence. A cluster analysis using Ward's minimum variance method was calculated to determine the typical profiles that best describe the chronically ill sample. Results of this analysis reveal two distinct profiles that differ primarily on the level of adaptive psychological functioning.