Arousal and the Bakan vigilance task: The effects of noise intensity and the presence of others

The joint effects of social setting and loud noise on task performance are examined. In a modified version of the Bakan vigilance task subjects were required to detect a sequence of two identical even digits and to report the two digits preceding the signal. Two types of acoustic environment were compared: loud noise at 90 dBC and quiet noise at 60 dBC. Two types of social setting were employed: “pair” where two subjects worked in the same room on similar tasks, and “single” where a subject performed the task alone. The effects of noise and the presence of another did not interact. Loud noise increased the speed of responses to signals early in the task. This effect is attributed to noise-induced arousal. There was a higher incidence of recall errors in pre-signal digits when subjects were in pairs. This effect is attributed to distraction. This research was part of a series of studies sponsored by the Social Science Research Council (Grant HR 5563 awarded to Dr. A.J. Chapman and Dr. D.M. Jones).     

MOMENTUM VERSUS EXTINCTION EFFECTS IN THE TREATMENT OF SELF-INJURIOUS ESCAPE BEHAVIOR

An individual's self-injurious escape behavior was treated using a high-probability instructional sequence with and without extinction. When presented alone, the high-probability sequence did not reduce self-injurious behavior. When escape extinction was implemented either alone or in combination with the high-probability sequence, self-injury decreased and compliance increased, suggesting that extinction may be a necessary component of the treatment for behavior problems maintained by escape.     

Stability and change in children's skill

Summary This paper explores age-related performance variability, both within trials and between sessions, in repetitive hopping. The mean, the standard deviation (SD), and the coefficient of variation (CV) of several timing and ground-reaction-force variables of hopping were analysed by repeated-measures ANOVA for age-related effects across test sessions and foot used. Forty-five subjects in five age groups (3–4 years, 4–5 years, 6–7 years, 8–9 years, or Adult) performed self-paced, one-footed hopping on three occasions within one week. As was expected, the results showed main effects for Age in all force and time variables, with the exception of CV of medio-lateral force. No significant main effects for Feet were revealed. However, significant Feet x Session interactions were found in flight-time measures, with higher flight-time SD and lower CV for the non-preferred foot in Session 1, a reversal in Session 2, and a negligible difference in Session 3. Across sessions, decreased SD and CV for both vertical and medio-lateral force and shorter flight time indicated more efficient hopping. Overall, it was concluded that SD and CV measures were more sensitive measures of children's performance across repeated sessions than were mean scores and that the order of testing the limbs is an important consideration in experimental protocols when lateralized tasks are measured.     

Gender interactions between interviewer and survey respondents: Issues of pornography and community standards

Several sociological perspectives, including social distance and social acquiescence theories, suggest that survey responses to threatening or sensitive questions may be influenced by interviewer gender. Most of the empirical work bearing on this issue has been conducted using face-to-face interviews. Research presented here examines interviewer gender effects in a telephone survey concerned with a sexually sensitive topic — the sale and consumption of pornographic materials. Subjects were mostly white middle-class adults living in a medium-sized metropolitan community. Approximately equal numbers of males (n=230) and females (n=219) were interviewed. Findings suggest that, although a weak trend indicative of an acquiescence effect was observed, interviewer gender effects may not in general be a serious source of nonsampling errors in telephone surveys.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1991 Conference of the Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research, Chicago, Illinois. The authors would like to thank Seymour Sudman, Richard Warnecke, and two anonymous reviewers for their insights on earlier versions of this paper.     

The effect of context on visual representational momentum

Effects of background context on representational momentum -were examined in six experiments. In each experiment, three orientations of a target rectangle undergoing implied rotation (i.e., the inducing stimuli) were presented, and subjects judged whether the orientation of a fourth rectangle (i.e., the probe) was the same as or different from that of the third inducing stimulus. Target rectangles were enclosed within a larger square frame context during induction (i.e., presentation of the inducing stimuli), judgment (i.e., presentation of the probe), or both induction and judgment. If context during induction moved in the same direction as the inducing stimuli or if context during judgment was rotated slightly forward from the orientation of the final inducing stimulus, representational momentum was increased. If context during induction moved in the direction opposite to the inducing stimuli or if context during judgment was rotated slightly backward from the orientation of the final inducing stimulus, representational momentum was decreased or reversed. If context was present during both induction and judgment, direction of representational momentum was biased toward the context at judgment Implications of context for accounts of representational momentum are discussed, and a tentative model is proposed.     

The effects of size,clutter, and complexity on vanishing-point distances in visual imagery

Summary The portrayal of vanishing-point distances in visual imagery was examined in six experiments. In all experiments, subjects formed visual images of squares, and the squares were to be oriented orthogonally to subjects' line of sight. The squares differed in their level of surface complexity, and were either undivided, divided into 4 equally sized smaller squares, or divided into 16 equally sized smaller squares. Squares also differed in stated referent size, and ranged from 3 in. to 128 ft along each side. After subjects had formed an image of a specified square, they transformed their image so that the square was portrayed to move away from them. Eventually, the imaged square was portrayed to be so far away that if it were any further away, it could not be identified. Subjects estimated the distance to the square that was portrayed in their image at that time, the vanishing-point distance, and the relationship between stated referent size and imaged vanishing-point distance was best described by a power function with an exponent less than 1. In general, there were trends for exponents (slopes on log axes) to increase slightly and for multiplicative constants (y intercepts on log axes) to decrease as surface complexity increased. No differences in exponents or in multiplicative constants were found when the vanishing-point was approached from either sub-threshold or suprathreshold directions. When clutter in the form of additional imaged objects located to either side of the primary imaged object was added to the image, the exponent of the vanishing-point function increased slightly and the multiplicative constant decreased. The success of a power function (and the failure of the size-distance invariance hypothesis) in describing the vanishing-point distance function calls into question the notions (a) that a constant grain size exists in the, imaginal visual field at a given location and (b) that grain size specifies a lower limit in the storage of information in visual images.     

EFFECTS OF TRANSMITTER TUNING ON ATTITUDE CHANGE PERSISTENCE:

Abstract— assiter, Petto, and Apple (this issue) replicated the effect of transmitter tuning on attitude change persistence (Boninger, Brock, Cook, Cruder, & Romer, 1990) and included an additional condition as the basis for an alternative explanation. Although their independent replication is an important contribution that provides significant empirical corroboration, a superficial rendering of the interrupted-task literature (Zeigarnik, 1927/1938) and ambiguity in the operationalization of the additional condition appear to weaken their proposed interruption-perseveration explanation. We also summarize ancillary data from our earlier work (Boninger et al., 1990) that shed further doubt on this alternative explanation.     

The development of moral beliefs: A retrospective study

The present study tested a model of moral belief development based on Erikson’s (1963) and McAdams’ (1989) theories of personality development. The sequence of moral belief development is beliefs about outcomes, outcome certainty, beliefs about humanity, and social concern. The developmental antecedents of these beliefs were measured using 13 rationally constructed scales based on background data items. The belief and developmental scales were given to a sample of 246 undergraduates. Using a series of hierarchical blocked regressions, we found a pattern among the beliefs that supported a stage or contingent sequence model of belief development. The results suggest that a supportive, conventional and consistent family environment is a major antecedent of beliefs about outcomes and outcome certainty. Adjustment to the demands of adult culture rather than peer culture is the major antecedent of belief about humanity and social concern. Parts of this research were supported by a grant from the U.S. Office of Naval Research (Contract No. N00014-91-J-4167), Michael D. Mumford and Theodore L. Gessner, Principal Investigators.     

Gender and body images: Stereotypes and realities

Body image is a multidimensional construct defined by persons' perceptions of and attitudes about their body. Although the sexes differ on some parameters of body image, the present experiment was conducted to determine the manner and extent to which the sexes are socially perceived to differ. Male and female college students (n=72) completed a standardized body-image inventory, the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire, in response to three counterbalanced instructional contexts—for self, for the typical male peer, and for the typical female peer. As compared with the actual, often modest, sex differences found on several body-image indices, the sexes were perceived to differ substantially on all measured aspects of body image. The stereotypical misperception of the sexes was clearly a more disparaging distortion of the body image of women than of men. The findings were interpreted in relation to possible contributing factors and directions for future research.The authors gratefully acknowledge the technical assistance of Alana Ellington, Cheryl Kissel, Albert Hunter, and Wendy Weaver in the completion of this research.