Examination and Measurement of Halo Via Curvilinear Regression: A New Approach to Halo1

Much disagreement and confusion has surrounded the nature of the relationship between halo and performance rating accuracy. Traditionally, the relationship has been assumed to be linear ( Cooper, 1981 ), but Fisicaro (1988 ) proposed that the relationship between halo and performance rating accuracy is, instead, curvilinear. Using the halo index suggested by Balzer & Sulsky (1992 ), the results of the present study provided empirical evidence to support Fisicaro's proposal. Future research examining the relationship between halo and accuracy should consider the use of quadratic models, instead of linear ones. For the practitioner, this result implies that low rating dimension intercorrelations (negative halo) may lead to inaccuracy in ratings in much the same way as do high rating dimension intercorrelations (positive halo).     

Anger,aggression, and humor in newfoundland floor hockey: An evolutionary analysis

This paper examines patterns of anger, aggression, and humor during 95 floor hockey games in a small fishing village in Newfoundland. The observed behaviors meet the prediction, based on evolutionary theory, that anger and aggression will be more frequent among males at the age when mate competition is most intense. Aggression was also found to be combined with humor most frequently in interactions among players attempting to form social relationships. This last finding is consistent with the hypothesis that combining humor (smiling and laughing) with what would otherwise be interpreted as aggressive behavior is a means of establishing trusting relationships between individuals. The potential contribution of an evolutionary approach to studies of anger and aggression is discussed. ©1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Assessing automaticity

We propose two principles that should be followed in the study of automaticity for cognitive processes. Both follow from the general rule that experimental research should be guided by a model of the task in question, frequently a process model. The first is that the concept of automaticity is best applied to component processes of complex behaviors rather than to behaviors as a whole. The second is that the criteria chosen for the identification of automaticity should be motivated by the processes in question. Examples are discussed of research programs that are relevant to each principle.     

Social competence and sociomoral reasoning in young offenders

This study considers the relationship between social competence, sociomoral reasoning, and self‐reported delinquency in a sample of convicted young offenders. Correlations across these factors showed that social competence was significantly related to delinquency. This finding was corroborated by multiple regression, which showed that social competence was the most significant predictor of self‐reported delinquency. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Book reviews

Clark, M. S. and Fiske, S. T. (Eds.). Affect and cognition: The Seventeenth Annual Cornegie Symposium on Cognition. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1982. Pp. 357. ISBN 0-89859-212-7. £24.00.

Norman, D. A. (Ed.). Perspectives on Cognitive Science. Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex. 1981. Pp. 303. ISBN 0-89391-071-6. $19.95

Gollin, E. S. (Ed.). Developmental Plasticity: Behavioral and Biological Aspects of Variations in Development. New York: Academic Press. 1981. Pp. 282. ISBN 0-12-289620-3. £16.60.

Rapin, I. Children with Brain Dysfunction. New York: Raven Press. 1982. Pp. 300. ISBN 0-89004-844-4. $46.50.

Schank, R. C. Reading and Understanding: Teaching from the Perspective of Artificial Intelligence. Hillsdale, N. J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1982. Pp. xii + 196. ISBN 0-89859-169-4. £13.95.

Sheehan, P. W. and McConkey, K. M. Hypnosis and Experience: The Exploration of Phenomena and Process. Hillsdale, N. J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1982. Pp. 297. ISBN 0-89859-195-3. £17.50.

Burton, A. (Ed.). The Pathology and Psychology of Cognition. London: Methuen. 1983. Pp. 306. ISBN 0-416-30810-4. Hardback, £13.00; paperback, £5.95.

Otto, W. and White, S. (Eds.). Reading Expository Material. London: Academic Press. 1982. Pp. xiv + 303. ISBN 0-12-531050-1. £19.60.

Lerdahl, F. and Jackendoff, R. A Generative Theory of Tonal Music. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. 1983. Pp. 368. ISBN 0-262-12094-1. £31.30.

Lewis, B. (Ed.). Bioacoustics: A Comparative Approach. London: Academic Press. 1983. Pp. 493. ISBN 0-12-446550-1. £29.50.

Carpenter, T. P., Moser, J. M. and Romberg, T. A. Addition and Subtraction: A Cognitive Perspective. Hillsdale, N. J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1982. Pp. 245. ISBN 0-89859-171-6. £14.95.

Le Ny, J-F. and Kintsch, W. (Eds.). Language and comprehension. Amsterdam: North-Holland. 1982. Pp. 358. ISBN 0-444-86538-1.Dfl. 120.00.

Schwartz, B. and Lacey, H. Behaviorism, science and human nature. New York: W. W. Norton. 1982. Pp. 282. ISBN 0-393-01585-8. $19.95.

Cole, P. R. Language disorders in preschool children. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall. 1982. Pp. 178. ISBN 0-13-522862-X. £19.75.

Wood, M. L. Language disorders in school-age children. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall. 1982. Pp. 156. ISBN 0-13-522946-4. £19.75.

Baddeley, A. D. Your memory: A user's guide. London: Sidgwick & Jackson. 1982. Pp. 222. ISBN 0-283-98929-7. £9.95.

Lass, N. J. (Ed.). Speech and language: Advances in basic research and practice, Vol. 6. London: Academic Press. 1982. Pp. 477. ISBN 0-12-608606-0. £36.40.

Neisser, U. (Ed.). Memory observed: Remembering in natural contexts. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman. 1982. Pp. 433 + xiii. ISBN 07167-1 1371-3. £8.80 (paperback), £18.80 (hardback).

Gentner, D. and Stevens, A. L. Mental models. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1983. Pp. viii + 348. ISBN 0-89859-242-9. £24.95.

Miles, T. R. Dyslexia: The pattern of diculties. London: Granada. 1983. Pp. 225. ISBN 0-246-11345-6. £9.95.

Humphrey, N. Consciousness regained. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1983. Pp. 222. ISBN 0-19-217732-X. £12.95.

Levinson, S. C. Pragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1983. Pp. xvi + 420. ISBN 0-521-22235-4 (Case). £25.00. ISBN 0-521-29414-2 (Paper). £8.50.     

Memory conformity for confidently recognized items: The power of social influence on memory reports

Memory conformity occurs when one person's memory report influences another's. Memory conformity is more likely to occur when the information comes from a credible source, and when internal evidence is weak. Here, we investigate whether there are situational variations in how heavily participants weigh internal cues to accuracy when confronted with conflicting information from a partner. The results show that even confidently held memories are subject to influence from external sources, and that social influence is exaggerated when the source is seen to be highly credible.