Attitude Similarity,Attraction, and Physical Proximity In a Dynamic Space1

Previous research on physical proximity as an index of attraction based on attitude similarity has been limited to semifixed feature spaces. The present study tested the similarity-proximity relationship in a dynamic space. Female subjects' attraction to a female confederate was manipulated by means of false attitude information. The subjects then briefly interacted with the confederate in a dynamic space. Subjects' spatial behaviors were not directly related to attitude similarity-dissimilarity or to attraction. The implications of these findings for the generality of the similarity-proximity relationship and for research on nonverbal communication are discussed.     

Ambiguity of acceptance,social desirability,and dating choice

Male subjects differing in social desirability (likableness, physical attractiveness) chose a date from an array of females of three levels of physical attractiveness. Choices were made under two conditions: one where acceptance was assured regardless of whom subject chose; the other where acceptance was left ambiguous. The findings were as follows: (a) subjects selected a more physically attractive female when assured of acceptance than when acceptance was left ambiguous; (b) subjects estimated that highly physically attractive females were less likely to accept them as a date than were either moderately physically attractive or physically unattractive females; (c) subjects' self-ratings of their likableness were not related to the physical attractiveness of their choices under either choice condition nor to their estimates of their chances that the females would accept them as a date; and (d) subjects' self-evaluated physical attractiveness, although unrelated to the physical attractiveness of the subjects' choices, did relate to subjects' estimates of their chances of acceptance. Highly physically attractive subjects estimated their chances of acceptance as better than did subjects who considered themselves low in physical attractiveness. The implications of the findings for the “matching hypothesis” are discussed.     

Token economy: who responds how?

Token economy programs (TEP) can successfully modify a variety of specific and generalized behaviors in clinical populations (Gripp and Magaro, 1974). but this general success is offset by the frequent occurrence of individual nonresponsiveness (Kazdin. 1973), Two solutions to the problem of nonresponsiveness have been proposed. One proposal regards the nonresponder as needing intensified training with behavioral methods while the other suggests that the operant paradigm may be inappropriate or inefficient with such patients. In either case, it would be helpful to identify potential nonresponders before or shortly after their introduction to a TEP in order that alternative treatments or pretraining might be developed to suit them while reserving the TEP for those who could derive maximum benefit from it. However, little consistent relationship between individual responsiveness and other patient-related characteristics has been found upon which to base such judgements. The present research examined the changes in response to treatment over time of a TEP population and its component diagnostic groups with the hypothesis that distinct and unique patterns of response would be associated with the diagnostic groups and that the patterns would be different from that shown by the total group.     

The effects of covert and overt modeling on assertive behavior

Three modeling therapy formats (overt modeling with a standard hierarchy of situations. covert modeling with the standard hierarchy, and covert modeling with a self-tailored hierarchy) were compared to assess their relative efficacy in developing assertive skills. Half the subjects in each treatment condition received or did not receive generalization training. Significant within-group improvement was indicated on four self-report measures. Overall, the results suggest that covert modeling was as effective as overt modeling or covert modeling plus self-tailoring for instating assertion among nonassertive college women.     

Group aversion by imaginal, vicarious and shared recipient-observer shocks

Sixty college students completed waiting control or alternative group aversion conditions, matched for severity and chronicity of nail-biting. Treatments spanned four sessions. Imaginai aversion (covert sensitization) clients visualized shocks to themselves. Vicarious aversion clients observed shocks to a trained model. A ‘hotseat’ format randomized a few actual shocks to each client with observing peers shocked on remaining trials. The predominant pattern of outcome and subjective impact results was as follows: Hotseat consistently best; vicarious typically second; imaginal usually third; controls worst. Clinical and conceptual issues are raised.     

Positive illusions in marital relationships: a 13-year longitudinal study

This study examined the long-term consequences of idealization in marriage, using both daily diary and questionnaire data collected from a sample of 168 newlywed couples who participated in a 4-wave, 13-year longitudinal study of marriage. Idealization was operationalized as the tendency for people to perceive their partner as more agreeable than would be expected based on their reports of their partner's agreeable and disagreeable behaviors. Spouses who idealized one another were more in love with each other as newlyweds. Longitudinal analyses suggested that spouses were less likely to suffer declines in love when they idealized one another as newlyweds. Newlywed levels of idealization did not predict divorce.     

Transgenic mice expressing a truncated form of CREB-binding protein (CBP) exhibit deficits in hippocampal synaptic plasticity and memory storage

Deletions, translocations, or point mutations in the CREB-binding protein (CBP) gene have been associated with Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome; a human developmental disorder characterized by retarded growth and reduced mental function. To examine the role of CBP in memory, transgenic mice were generated in which the CaMKII alpha promoter drives expression of an inhibitory truncated CBP protein in forebrain neurons. Examination of hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), a form of synaptic plasticity thought to underlie memory storage, revealed significantly reduced late-phase LTP induced by dopamine-regulated potentiation in hippocampal slices from CBP transgenic mice. However, four-train induced late-phase LTP is normal. Behaviorally, CBP transgenic mice exhibited memory deficits in spatial learning in the Morris water maze and deficits in long-term memory for contextual fear conditioning, two hippocampus-dependent tasks. Together, these results demonstrate that CBP is involved in specific forms of hippocampal synaptic plasticity and hippocampus-dependent long-term memory formation.     

The effects of non-contingent extrinsic and intrinsic rewards on memory consolidation

Emotional and arousing treatments given shortly after learning enhance delayed memory retrieval in animal and human studies. Positive affect and reward induced prior to a variety of cognitive tasks enhance performance, but their ability to affect memory consolidation has not been investigated before. Therefore, we investigated the effects of a small, non-contingent, intrinsic or extrinsic reward on delayed memory retrieval. Participants (n=108) studied and recalled a list of 30 affectively neutral, imageable nouns. Experimental groups were then given either an intrinsic reward (e.g., praise) or an extrinsic reward (e.g., US 1 dollar). After a one-week delay, participants' retrieval performance for the word list was significantly better in the extrinsic reward groups, whether the reward was expected or not, than in controls. Those who received the intrinsic reward performed somewhat better than controls, but the difference was not significant. Thus, at least some forms of arousal and reward, even when semantically unrelated to the learned material, can effectively modulate memory consolidation. These types of treatments might be useful for the development of new memory intervention strategies.     

Increasingly cautious sampling,not the black colouration of unpalatable prey,is used by fish in avoidance learning

Animal Cognition - The efficiency of aposematic colouration of prey is based on the innate bias or facilitation of avoidance learning of predators. In many toxic bufonids, larvae are uniformly...     

The role of dark pattern stimuli and personality in online impulse shopping: An application of S-O-R theory

Online impulse shopping is a growing industry. This paper uses the Stimulus-Organism-Response framework to model online impulse purchase behavior using a novel combination of stimuli and organism characteristics. The stimuli: social proof, limited-quantity scarcity, and high-demand, are three commonly used website features known as dark patterns. The organism characteristic personality is measured by the big 5 personality traits and persona generated through latent profile analysis. Using the machine learning algorithm XGBoost, impulse purchasing response was predicted separately for each dark pattern stimuli. Results show personality characteristics are important features when predicting consumer impulse purchasing in response to dark pattern messages. Moreover, the personality traits (and personas) most predictive of impulse shopping behavior varied by type of dark pattern. Findings suggest personality influences susceptibility to different dark patterns, indicating a need for tailored interventions to mitigate individual consumer vulnerabilities to impulse shopping.