The effects of relaxation instructions on drinking behavior in the presence of stress.

Previous research indicates that antecedent stress is associated with increased alcohol consumption. The present study examined the influence of different treatments following threatened exposure to a public speaking situation on both drinking style measures and amount consumed in an ad lib drinking assessment session. The treatments included relaxation instructions, a sensitization or stress-enhancing treatment, and an attention-refocusing or neutral control. Significant differences in poststress drinking rates and amount consumed between the stress-relaxation and stress-sensitization groups were found. The data indicate that relaxation is an effective procedure for attenuating the impact of stress on quantity and style of drinking.     

Evidence of a detrimental effect of extrinsic incentives on breaking a mental set

College students were either rewarded ($1.50) or not for solving a series of 10 water-jar problems. The first 9 of these were designed to establish a set for a relatively complicated, three-jar solution (B ? A ? 2C). The 10th problem was a set breaker which required that subjects discover a simple (A-C) solution. The mental activities needed to produce a solution to the two types of problems (Problems 1 to 9 and Problem 10) were, therefore, different and one interest was in seeing whether reward would be detrimental for performance on both types of problems. It was not. Poorer reward group performance was obtained only on Problem 10. This result was not due to between-group differences in mathematical ability, and explanations in terms of differences in time taken to check answers or concern over quality of performance were considered and discounted. Measures of intrinsic interest (subject evaluations of the task and a measure of willingness to volunteer for future research) failed to support the belief that interest differences account for performance differences.     

中学生图形推理认知特征诊断

在前人的研究基础上进行口语报告分析,形成图形推理的认知成分模型。引进多策略多成分潜在特质模型（MLTM for MS）将图形推理的认知成分模型与心理测量模型加以整合,对235名中学生图形推理认知特征进行诊断。结果发现：（1）图形推理总能力相同的被试,各成分对应能力即视知觉识别能力、规则构建能力、规则应用能力不一定相同。（2）被试使用知觉分析策略和分析策略的正确作答概率较高,而使用猜测策略的正确作答概率较低。     

Claimed versus calculated cue-weighting systems for screening employee applicants

This research compares the cue-weighting system which assessors claimed they used with the cue-weighting system one would infer they used based on multiple observations of their assessing behavior. The claimed cue-weighting systems agreed poorly with the empirically calculated cue-weighting systems for all assessors except one who utilized only one cue. Methodological and substantive implications in the area of perceptions of competent people are discussed.