Social comparison,attraction, and choice of a comparison other

The effects of attitudinal similarity and task-relevant affiliative status, together with three situational factors (presence or absence of a monetary reward, choice of information source or work partner, and choice made before or after Ss completed preliminary work on the task), on the choice of comparison others were examined. The most significant determinant of the comparison other chosen was attitude similarity (p < .01). There was also a significant interaction between attitude similarity, task-relevant affifliative status, and time of choice (p < .05). The nature of the interaction suggested that general impressions such as conveyed by general attitudinal information may be more important in the selection of referent others than comparability on situation-specific factors.     

Prior induced affect and sex differences in attraction

Male (N = 90) and female(N = 90) Ss were shown either 12 humorous or 12 serious TV commercials and were asked to rate each commercial on six 7-point personal feelings scales as well as on a 6-point evaluative (like-dislike) scale. The Ss were then shown the purported evaluative responses of a same-sex stranger which were .17, .50, or .83 similar to their own. Analysis of the personal feelings scales indicated expected differences (p < .001) in affect associated with the two sets of commercials. Females who viewed the serious commercials evidenced greater attraction toward the stranger than did females who saw the humorous commercials (p < .05). The similarity attraction function for males in the humorous condition had a greater slope and a lower y intercept than the similarity attraction function for males in the serious condition. A factor analysis of female affective responses to five socially relevant commercials in the serious set suggested the operation of two affective dimensions, one of which appeared to reflect feelings of social concern.     

Influence of stimulus symmetry on visual scanning patterns

Eye movements of four Ss performing a complexity rating task in which the stimuli consisted of random shapes differing in symmetry, number of turns (sides) in the perimeter, and structural angularity were examined. It was found that for both symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes, the number of fixations and fixation time increased directly with structural complexity (number of sides). Distributions of fixations for symmetrical shapes clustered in one-half of the shapes, while the distributions of fixations for asymmetrical shapes did not exhibit this one-sided bias. No differences were found in the distributions of fixation time to either half of asymmetrical or symmetrical shapes. The findings suggest that S utilizes an organizing code in addition to the featural code in characterizing a given shape. The organizing code permits S to generate the feature code for a gwen shape on the basis of partial information.     

Partial differential feedback: An on-line training configuration for the optimization of multidimensional cue learning

The present paper describes a PDP-9 computer configuration arranged for experimental research into the acquisition of judgmental skill, but designed to overcome certain deficiences noted in stimulus-response-outcome (SRO) paradigms. The configuration departs radically from traditional approaches in that (a) the stimulus is placed under S control; (b) the requirement for a “response” is eliminated; (c) outcome feedback is a continuously changing function of the multiattribute stimulus settings under the control of S; and (d) the configuration makes possible the rapid learning of an essential feature of such learning tasks, namely the partial derivatives of the criterion or outcome variable with respect to each of the stimulus attributes.     

Marx on species-being and social essence

We see in the early texts of Marx a continuity of thought, where the individual essence of man is likewise regarded to be social. This concept is for Marx not abstract; that is, it is not to be understood in isolation from nature or other men.     

Repeated vs varied distractors in immediate memory

Ss heard groups of eight spoken digits presented for immediate recall. Irrelevant distractor letters were interpolated between digits, using either the same letter interpolated eight times or eight different letters. The latter condition produced significantly more errors in recall. Error scores were also affected by rate of presentation of items and by whether letter-digit sequences started with a letter or a digit. It is suggested that selective immediate recall may bear some resemblance to aspects of visual search.     

The effects of a graduated stimulus change on the acquisition of a simple discrimination in severely retarded boys

Methods were compared for teaching severely retarded boys to discriminate the position of a 0.75-in. black square and to press the response key closest to it. Seven boys were given trial-and-error training; one learned the task. The six boys who did not learn were presented with a program of graduated stimulus changes. All but one acquired the performance, and he was under appropriate control during the program. When he reached the criterion stimuli, he reverted to a position-based response learned during trial-and-error training. Six similar subjects were presented with graduated stimulus training alone. All six learned the criterion discrimination with few or no errors. Both groups were tested for retention of the criterion performance 35 days after training was completed. Two boys who had near-perfect criterion discrimination performances showed no signs of retention after 35 days. These boys had a history of trial-and-error training.