SEX DIFFERENCES IN THE ATTRIBUTION OF SOCIALLY DESIRABLE AND UNDESIRABLE TRAITS TO OUT-GROUP MEMBERS*

One hundred and forty-four male and female Australian subjects rated an Australian or a Vietnamese target group on the possession of five socially desirable and five socially undesirable personality traits. As predicted, the out-group was perceived less favourably than the in-group, but only by the males, the females not making the distinction.     

INCREASING APPOINTMENT KEEPING BY REDUCING THE CALL-APPOINTMENT INTERVAL

We examined the effect of reducing the interval between a patient's call for an appointment and the appointment itself. In Experiment 1, patients calling a family planning unit of a public health department were assigned appointments within either 1 or 3 weeks of their call. Data on patient “shows” and “no-shows” were recorded weekly for 6 weeks. Show rates for those in the 1-week appointment group were significantly higher than those in the 3-week group. In Experiment 2, patients were assigned to appointment dates either the next operating clinic day (next-day group) or 2 weeks from the call date (2-week group). Show rates for those in the next-day group were significantly better than show rates for patients in the 2-week group. Clinic productivity, time spent with patients, and consumer satisfaction were also assessed. Implications for appointment scheduling are discussed.     

Emerging independence in nursing graduates: An analysis of traditional-nontraditional value patterns

The study sought to determine whether current nursing graduates value assertiveness, independence, and achievement to a greater degree than had past graduates, and whether selection or socialization might account for such a change. Scores on the Allport Vernon Lindsey Scale of Values for 55 1974 graduates of a private baccalaureate school of nursing were compared with 66 1980 graduates. Only scores on the political scale were significantly higher for the 1980 class. 1980 graduates displayed a traditional value pattern of high social and low political scores upon entering the educational program. Longitudinal comparison of scores for the 1980 class showed a significant rise in scores on the political scale; graduating scores did not differ significantly from college norms. The results suggest a rise in nontraditional values which is the result of the educational socialization process.     

Sex-role orientation and depressive symptomatology

Sex Roles - The incidence of depressive disorders among women in our society is considerably higher than it is for men. Several investigators have suggested that this is due to traditional sex...     

Further evaluation of prompt density,rate of reinforcement,and the persistence of manding

Previous research has evaluated the effects of prompt rates on the rate of communicative behavior. More recent research has suggested that dense prompting can result in communicative behavior that is more resistant to change. However, existing research has not considered the impact that higher response rates had on reinforcement rate, a variable known to impact response persistence. The current study systematically replicated previous research by evaluating communicative responding in contexts associated with dense- and lean-prompt schedules and extended existing research by (a) holding reinforcement rates similar across the two prompting schedules (lean and dense), and (b) evaluating the persistence of communicative responding in the contexts associated with each prompting schedule. The results for Experiment 1 clearly replicated and extended previous research. The results for Experiment 2 were equivocal and suggested that previous reinforcement history and response class size impacted outcomes.     

The free classification of analyzable and unanalyzable stimuli

The free classification of two-dimensional analyzable and unanalyzable stimuli was investigated. Analyzable stimuli consist of dimensions which are distinct and phenomenally separable (e.g., colored geometric forms); unanalyzable stimuli consist of two dimensions which are not distinct, not phenomenally separable, and which are probably perceived as a unitary dimension (e.g., Munsell colors). In the first experiment, Ss judged the similarity between each stimulus pair for both types of stimuli. The results replicated previous work in showing that the city-block metric was appropriate for the analyzable stimuli and that the euclidean metric was appropriate for unanalyzable stimuli. In the second experiment, Ss classified sets of analyzable and unanalyzable stimuli into two or three groups in any way they wished. For analyzable stimuli, classification was based on the dimensional structure-stimuli which alter the dimensional structure by defining another dimension change classification. For unanalyzable stimuli, classification was based on the similarity structure-stimuli which alter the similarity structure change classification.     

A method for the precise switching of speech

A simple procedure by which a speech signal may be switched on or off (or from one ear to the other) at a precise instant of time is described. The speech sample is first recorded on a magnetic tape loop. A reference pulse is then recorded preceding the speech signal. This reference pulse triggers an adjustable time delay which in tum operates an electronic switch at an appropriate time.     

A device for the easy administration of volatile anesthetics to rats undergoing stereotaxic surgery

Conventional procedures do not provide a practical method for the administration of volatile anesthetics such as halothane to rats while they are undergoing stereotaxic surgery. This paper describes a device which meets this need and which is easy and inexpensive to construct. A two-piece cylinder cut from the mouth of a polyethylene bottle forms a closed system around the muzzle of a rat and does not interfere with the stereotaxic apparatus or with the operation itself. The cylinder is attached to any standard device for the dispension of volatile anesthetics. The immediate advantage is that behavioral assesaments can be made relatively soon after surgery.