THE WILL ROGERS ILLUSION IN JUDGMENTS ABOUT SOCIAL GROUPS

Abstract— Subjects' judgments of the mean of 12 scores were influenced by the way in which the scores were dichotomized. The estimated mean was higher when the three highest scores formed one group (e.g., payments for women) and the nine lowest formed the other (e.g., payments for men) than when the nine highest were one group and the three lowest the other. We call this phenomenon the Will Rogers Illusion (WRI). The WRI occurred only when estimates of the subgroup means were made prior to the estimates of the mean of the whole group. When the latter mean was judged first, the WRI was reversed. These and other data indicate that the means of subgroups can influence judgments of group means, a finding that is relevant to research on social stereotypes.     

Public self-Attention and personal standards: The impact of group composition

Increases in self-attention as a function of decreases in the relative size of one’s subgroup in a heterogeneous group context have been shown to result in increased regulation of behavior toward social (normative) standards for behavior. The present study demonstrated increased regulation of behavior toward a personal standard for behavior as a function of variations in group composition. One hundred twenty-five subjects individually completed the Creativity subscale of Scott’s Personal Value Scale assessing attitudes toward originality. They then completed a word-association task in groups ranging in size from 2 to 8. Originality of word-associations was determined by reference to previously established word-association norms and norms based on frequency of responses given in the present study. Results indicate that originality in responses increase as the relative size of one’s own subgroup decreases (indexing increases in self-attention) for subjects who value originality. Discussion centers on the distinction between experimentally manipulated public and private self-attention and standards that are adopted for behavioral self-regulation. Portions of this study were presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York, April 1991.     

Psychological effects of sustained shipboard operations on U.S. Navy personnel

This study investigated the psychological and physical health status of 265 crew members on two U.S. Navy ships (a guided missile cruiser and a frigate on convoy escort duty for tankers under U.S. flag) during the Persian Gulf conflict at four time periods during combat-ready operations on a single day. Findings suggest that adaptation occurs to extreme stressors associated with sustained operations. Suggestions are made relative to measures that may minimize psychological and physical conditions that adversely affect performance under conditions of heavy stress. Report No. 89-18, supported by the Naval Medical Research and Development Command, Bethesda MD, Department of the Navy, under research Work Unit No. 63206N.M0096. The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, nor the U.S. Government.     

High-Trait and Low-Trait Angry College Students: A Comparison of Family Environments

In this study the authors investigated differences in the family environments of high- and low-trait angry college students. High-trait angry students described their family environments as significantly less cohesive, less emotionally expressive, more conflictual, and more disorganized than did their low-trait angry counterparts. Implications of the findings to the counseling of students with anger-related problems are discussed.     

Interrelationships among students' study activities,self-concept of academic ability,and achievement as a function of characteristics of high-school biology courses

This investigation focused on the interrelationships among students' study activities, students' self-concept of academic ability ratings, students' academic achievement, and instructional practices in 12 high school biology courses. Using a framework derived from a previous investigation, course features were classified into those that appear to (a) place demands on, (b) support, or (c) compensate for student engagement in particular study activities. Students' study activities, self-concept of academic ability ratings, and achievement were measured with experimenter-developed instruments. Results are reported for (a) characteristics of instruments and course features, (b) relationships between central factors of the investigation, and (c) multi-level relationships between course features and student variables. Results at the student level indicated that self-concept of academic ability and, to a lesser extent, students' study activities were positively associated with student achievement. Students' self-concept of academic ability ratings were also linked to students' engagement in generative, proactive study activities. At the course level the supportive practices of providing challenging homework assignments and extensive feedback on student coursework were associated with student engagement in effortful, generative, proactive study activities. The provision of extensive feedback was also associated with high student achievement. Multi-level relationships were analysed using hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) analyses. These analyses revealed, for example, that in courses in which little or no feedback is given on homework assignments, the relationship between achievement and student engagement in diligent effort management activities was enhanced. Other HLM analyses were conducted to examine the mediating role of course features on the relationship between students' self-concept of academic ability and their study activities and achievement. For example, the presence of challenging course demands was associated with an enhancement of the relationship between self-concept of academic ability and achievement whereas the presence of instructor provisions (supports and compensations) designed to reduce course demands was associated with a reduction in this relationship.     

A near-death experience among the Mapuche people

This paper describes a possible near-death experience (NDE) among the Mapuche people of Chile. The individual reporting the experience was in a cataleptic-like state for two days, the experience itself occurring at the end of this period. Some common features of NDEs, such as encounters with deceased people and being sent back, are present, together with clear evidence that past and present cultural environment shape in part the content of mental experiences.This work was funded in part by the University of Chile (DTI Project Q-3064).The author thanks Editorial Andrés Bello for permissionto translate the near death account into English.