Related attributes in the choice of comparison others: It's there,but it isn't all there is

Subjects within a group of nine were supposedly given different amounts of practice prior to taking a test on which performance was either related or unrelated to practice. After taking the test, each subject was given his score, his rank order in the group, and the amount of practice presumably done by each of the other group members. The subject was then given a choice of which performance score he would like to know; a second choice was also given. On both first and second choices, subjects in the related condition were more likely to choose to see the scores of others with the same amount of practice. Related condition subjects were more interested in their comparison choices and thought they had done better on the task than unrelated subjects. In addition to this confirmation of the related attributes hypothesis, there was a significant tendency toward comparison on the basis of similarity of performance per se and a significant tendency toward upward comparison.     

Age- and task-related differences in the use of category-size information for the retrieval of categorized items

Both the accuracy of category-size information and its use during the retrieval of categorized materials were investigated among kindergarten (5-year-old) and third-grade (8-year-old) children. Subjects were asked for free recall of a 34-item, categorized list wherein eight categories contained varying numbers of items. Subjects recalled items under either limited-time or unlimited-time conditions. Additionally, subjects were tested under one of three instructions: they were provided with the size of each category (Informed group), they were asked to estimate the size of each category (Estimation group), or they were given standard free recall instructions. Analysis of both the amount recalled and intercategory pause times indicated that third-graders' use of category size information was spontaneous, while kindergartners used the size information only when explicitly provided with it or asked for size estimates. Also, kindergartners' estimates of category size were much more in error than those of third-graders, although both groups erred on the side of underestimation. Importantly, when recall time limitations made the use of exhaustive category search less appropriate, third-graders were more apt to modify their search strategies.     

Consistent curricular choice and congruence of subsequent changes

Curriculum choices of 324 male and 157 female liberal arts students who took the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) during freshman orientation were classified as congruent or incongruent on the basis of rated correspondence between three-letter codes derived from (SCII) Holland theme scales and expressed curricular choice. The choices of those subjects reporting one or more changes in five semesters were examined for level of congruence using a two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures. While serious methodological limitations are noted, analysis of variance procedures indicated that congruent subjects tended to be more stable, more differentiated, and more academically oriented than incongruent subjects. Among subjects who reported one or more changes, Artistic subjects decreased in congruence while Investigative subjects showed no overall change. Results are discussed in terms of recent theory and previous research.     

Hemispheric specialization in reading and word recognition

Three experiments dealing with hemispheric specialization are presented. In Experiment 1, words and/or faces were presented tachistoscopically to the left or right of fixation. Words were more accurately identified in the right visual field and faces were more accurately identified in the left visual field. A forced choice error analysis for words indicated that errors made for word stimuli were most frequently visually similar words and this effect was particularly pronounced in the left visual field. Two additional experiments supported this finding. On the basis of the results, it was argued that word identification is a multistage process, with visual feature analysis carried out by the right hemisphere and identification and naming by the left hemisphere. In addition, Kinsbourne's attentional model of brain function was rejected in favor of an anatomical model which suggests that simultaneous processing of verbal and nonverbal information does not constrict the attention of either hemisphere.     

Performance evaluation: On choosing to know the related attributes of others when we know their performance

It was hypothesized that people will choose to find out about the performance attributes of others who perform similarly to themselves if they believe the attributes are related to performance. Subjects within a group of nine were supposedly given different amounts of practice prior to taking a test on which performance was said to be either related or unrelated to practice. After taking the test, each subject was given his score, his rank order in the group, and the score obtained by each of the other group members. The subject was then allowed to find out about the number of items practiced by one other person in the group. A second choice was also given. On both first and second choices, subjects in the related condition chose to learn about others who were adjacent to them in the rank order. Subjects in the unrelated condition chose to learn about others with extreme scores. First choices in both conditions were strongly biased upward, supporting the unidirectional drive hypothesis.     

Mothers' responses to the cries of normal and premature infants as a function of the birth status of their own child

Mothers of premature and full-term infants viewed and heard videotapes of premature and full-term infants. The onset of crying by both infants elicited physiological arousal (evident in blood pressure, skin conductance, and heart rate increases) in the adults. The mothers of premature infants responded with especially marked arousal to the infants' cries. These mothers also reported that they were more attentive and alert while the infant was crying. The subjects responded similarly to the cries of full-term and premature infants. Mothers who described their own baby as easy exhibited a lower increase in diastolic blood pressure and heart rate, and reported being more alert, attentive, and willing to interact with the stimulus babies than those whose own baby appeared “difficult.”     

Belief in a just world and trust

Three studies examined the relationship between belief in a just world and level of trust. Results showed that subjects with a high level of belief in a just world were (a) less suspicious with regard to deception in a social-psychological experiment, (b) less suspicious with regard to the promise of a free gift, and (c) less suspicious with regard to the government's position on several public issues. The same studies also examined the relationships among belief in internal-external control, authoritarianism, and level of trust. In some but not all cases, belief in internal control and high level of authoritarianism were related to more trusting attitudes. It was suggested that the relationship between internality (as measured by the I-E Scale) and trust was mediated by the construct of belief in a just world.     

Electroencephalographic and dichotic indices of cerebral laterality in stutterers

To test the hypothesis that stuttering is the product of faulty cerebral laterality four experiments were performed on each of five adult stutterers and five fluent speakers. These tests were: (1) dichotic listening with consonant-vowel pairs, (2) alpha recording over both hemispheres during the performance of cognitive tasks intended to engage preferentially the left or right hemispheres, (3) contingent negative variation with either an articulatory or bilaterally symmetrical response, and (4) readiness potential with the same responses. The results fail to disconfirm the null hypothesis regarding stutterers and their fluent peers. All subjects showed consistent patterns of cerebral laterality indicative of localization of speech function in the left hemisphere. Suggestions are made regarding a possible contribution of deficient sensorimotor integration in stuttering.