The effect of suspense and its resolution on the appreciation of dramatic presentations

In a factorial design, degree of suspense (low, intermediate, high) of an adventure presented audiovisually was varied with resolution of the suspense (resolved, lingering). The variations were accomplished by producing different versions of the same program. Appreciation of the presentation was measured in the viewers' facial displays, in structured interviews, and in ratings. Consistently across measures, it was found that under conditions of resolved suspense, appreciation substantially increased with degree of suspense. Under conditions of lingering suspense, appreciation also increased with degree of suspense but to a significantly smaller extent. Excitatory responses were measured in skin temperature and heart rate. A significant differentiation of heart rate as a function of degree of suspense was observed. In addition, both skin temperature and heart rate disclosed sudden declines in excitation with the effective resolution of suspense.     

The relationship among sex-role stereotyping,sex-role preference,and the sex difference in spatial visualization

At an early age, children attain concepts of sex-appropriate activities, behaviors, attitudes, and goals, i.e., sex-role stereotypes. These conceptual stereotypes seem to assign a less favorable role to females. Thus it seems plausible that their acceptance (by both sexes) might be at least partly responsible for the performance differences that begin to arise in adolescence and adulthood. In view of the importance of early adolescence as a transitional period during which sex-role requirements are augmented and intellectual sex differences emerge, 105 11-year-olds and 102 14-year-olds were selected as subjects. Their spatial abilities, sex-role concepts, and sex-role preferences were assessed. Stereotyping sex roles (in general) was not associated with spatial performance; stereotyping sex roles that included information regarding subjects' views about intellectual competence was related to performance. The sex difference in spatial ability that emerged at age 14 was among subjects with own-sex preferences only; there were no sex differences among subjects who preferred to be boys.This article is based upon a doctoral dissertation presented to the Department of Psychology of Columbia University. The author would like to express her thanks to her advisers, Phillip Shaver and Deanna Kuhn; to her committee members, Robert Krauss, Norma Graham, Patrick Lee, and Wayne Proudfoot; to Carol Jacklin and Ruth Wylie for their advice and support; and to Flora Churnin, Douglas Churnin, and Carl Nash for their invaluable assistance during all phases of this study.     

Behavioral treatment of obesity: a two-year follow-up

Data obtained from a two-year follow-up of 10 obese women treated via behavioral methods is presented. Failure to obtain lasting results was noted, and reasons for this failure suggested. Implications of these data for investigators in the area of obesity were discussed.A review of the recent literature indicates a number of studies with encouraging results obtained via the behavioral treatment of obesity (Hall and Hall, unpublished). However, long-term follow-up data are generally lacking. This lack of long-term data is especially troublesome in the area of obesity. With regard to traditional treatment methods, such as drugs, psychotherapy, and nutritional counseling, it has generally been noted that those overweight individuals who complete a course of treatment, and who lose weight, regain the weight lost (Stunkard and McClaren-Hume, 1958) Within the literature on the behavioral treatment of obesity, only one study (Stuart, 1967) has provided weight data for as long as 1 year after initiation of treatment Stuart's data indicated a gradual loss of weight over the year. However, these data did not reflect S's ability to control weight following termination of treatment, for during the year, follow-up sessions were scheduled monthly, and thus, therapist contact was available.The present paper, in an attempt to fill the need for long-term follow-up data, presents data obtained 2 years after the termination of a behavioral treatment program. None of the Ss had been in contact with the therapist since the termination of the study 2 years earlier.     

Teacher attitudes toward educational and psychological services for conduct problem children

Ninety-nine teachers participated in a survey designed to assess teacher attitudes toward and experience with a variety of strategies for dealing with conduct problem children in regular classes. Results indicated that (a) a majority of teachers favored placing conduct problem children in regular rather than special classes; (b) current sources of assistance (school psychologists, clinical psychologists, principals, parents, and other teachers) were uniformly perceived as only slightly effective in helping teachers handle problem children; and (c) of 14 alternative educational and psychological assistance delivery strategies, teachers most frequently preferred smaller classes, teacher aides, increased counseling staff, and resource classrooms.This study was funded as part of Grant No. OEG-0-71-2872 from the U.S. Office of Education. The opinions expressed in this paper are in no way intended to reflect those of the granting agency. The suggestions of Marlene Schneider, Eleanor Wilcox, Ruth Shepard, and Susan O'Leary were extremely helpful in the initial formulation of the questionnaire used in this study. The authors are further indebted to Kenneth Kaufman, Marvin R. Goldfried, Leonard Krasner, Lillian Stevens, W. E. Hedley, and R. Mullaney for allowing us to use their continuing education courses as the sources of our sample of teachers, and to the many teachers who completed the questionnaire.     

Speed-accuracy tradeoff functions in choice reaction time: Experimental designs and computational procedures

The existence of tradeoffs between speed and accuracy is an important interpretative problem in choice reaction time (RT) experiments. A recently suggested solution to this problem is the use of complete speed-accuracy tradeoff functions as the primary dependent variable in choice RT ,experiments instead of a single mean RT and error rate. This paper reviews and compares existing procedures for generating empirical speed-accuracy tradeoff, functions for use as dependent variables in choice RT experiments. Two major types of tradeoff function are identified, and their experimental designs and computational procedures are discussed and evaluated. Systematic disparities are demonstrated between the two tradeoff functions in both empirical and computer-simulated data. Although all existing procedures for generating speed-accuracy tradeoff functions involve empirically untested assumptions, one procedure requires less stringent assumptions and is less sensitive to sources of experimental and statistical error. This procedure involves plotting accuracy against RT over a set of experimental conditions in which subjects’ criteria for speed vs. accuracy are systematically varied.     

The motive to avoid success: A further examination

Horner's (1968) “fear of success” study was replicated and expanded. One hundred seventy-seven high school (HS) and college students wrote stories in response to the following cues: “After first-term finals, John (Anne) finds himself (herself) at the top of his (her) medical-school class.” Results indicated similarity of response of HS men, HS women, and college men, all of whom expressed more fear of success imagery in response to the Anne cue than to the John cue. College women did not conform to this pattern.