Motivated aggressiveness perpetuated by exposure to aggressive films and reduced by exposure to nonaggressive films

Under conditions of both minimal and extreme initial provocation, the effect of exposure to neutral vs aggressive films on subsequent aggressive behavior was assessed relative to a no-exposure condition. Excitatory changes were also recorded. Under minimal provocation, communication conditions were found to have no differential effect on aggressive behavior. Under extreme provocation, relative to the no-exposure condition the neutral film significantly reduced subsequent aggression, whereas the aggressive film reduced it to an insignificant degree only. The excitatory changes observed in the extreme-provocation conditions coincided with these differences in aggressive behavior. The findings, obviously countercathartic, were interpreted as inconsistent with the proposition that filmed aggression elicits aggressive behavior. Bandura's reasoning on attentional shift was modified to account for the data. An alternative explanation was developed from considerations of the aggression-modifying effect of residual excitation.     

A scale to measure attitudes toward working

The purpose of this study was to develop a scale that could measure attitude toward work and be used to determine the relation between length of unemployment time and work attitudes. Standardization of the Employment Readiness Scale was completed through its administration to three independent groups (N = 430): (1) employed workers: employees who worked in unskilled, semiskilled, and occasionally skilled job classifications; (2) unemployed individuals who were actively looking for regular employment at the Tennessee State Employment Service; and (3) the chronically unemployed: individuals, who, for the most part, were not looking for regular employment and who were seeking night lodging and meals at the Salvation Army or the Knoxville Union Rescue Mission. Through item analysis, it was determined that 43 of the 45-scale items were significant at or beyond the .01 level. It was further established that a relationship existed between work attitudes and length of unemployment. The longer an individual was unemployed, the less positive was his attitude toward work.     

Brutality of assault in political cartoons affecting humor appreciation

Political cartoons depicting a presidential candidate undergoing an aggressive assault were manipulated to assess the effect on humor appreciation of variations in the degree of brutality of the aggressive tactics (minimal, intermediate, extreme). The identity of the depicted candidate (Richard Nixon vs George McGovern) was also manipulated. Humor-appreciation ratings were given to these cartoons by student subjects during the week preceding the 1972 presidential elections. Attitudes toward the depicted candidates were assessed in a postexperimental questionnaire. Neither degree of brutality nor affect toward the victim exerted a significant main effect, but a significant transverse interaction between the two variables was observed. When the assault involved minimal levels of brutality, the victimization of a rejected candidate was appreciated significantly more than that of a favored one; when intermediate levels of brutality were depicted, assaults against rejected candidates did not differ appreciably from attacks upon favored candidates in the level of mirth they elicited; when the brutality was extreme, aggression against rejected candidates was appreciated less than assaults against favored candidates, although nonsignificantly so. Of the various theoretical notions which were advanced to predict the results, a rationale involving the decoder's motivation to favor or object to the manner in which the aggressive agent is characterized as well as his motivation to enjoy or dislike the communication's projected outcome was considered to account best for the findings.     

Informational cues and attributions based on role behavior

A recent experiment by Messick and Reeder (Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1972, 18, 482–491) attempted to extend Jones, Davis, and Gergen's (Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1961, 63, 302–310) classic finding that out-of-role behavior.is more informative for person perception than in-role behavior. It is argued, however, that this study confounded two variables, role performance and occupation. Evidence is presented that the occupation variable alone could have produced Messick and Reeder's results. Both variables seem to affect attributions. The importance of these findings for relating attribution theory and role theory is discussed.     

Autonomy support from parents and coaches: Synergistic or compensatory effects on sport-related outcomes of adolescent-athletes?

ObjectivesThis study examined how autonomy support from parents and autonomy support from coaches are associated with sport-related outcomes of adolescent-athletes. Two alternative hypotheses were proposed: (a) a synergistic socialization interaction in which high levels of autonomy support provided by parents and coaches are both needed to obtain the most positive sport-related outcomes, (b) a compensatory-protective interaction in which coaching autonomy support is more important for sport-related outcomes in athletes perceiving lower levels of parental autonomy support.DesignTwo studies using prospective designs.MethodStudy 1 was conducted with adolescent soccer players (N = 46) and Study 2 was conducted with gymnasts (N = 85). In both studies, athletes reported the extent to which they perceived their parents and coaches provided autonomy support. Athletes also completed scales assessing their motivation toward sport (Studies 1 and 2), situational motivation prior to and following a competition (Study 2), and need satisfaction (Study 1). Sport achievement and performance were also assessed in the form of goal attainment (Study 1), self-reported achievement following the competition (Study 2), and flow states (Study 2). Hierarchical moderated regressions were conducted in order to test our competing hypotheses.ResultsAnalyses provided support for the compensatory-protective interaction hypothesis. Coaching autonomy support was more strongly related to sport motivation, need satisfaction, sport achievement, and flow in athletes who perceived lower level of parental autonomy support.ConclusionsThis research program provided support for the study of the interactive effect of perceived autonomy support from distinct socialization agents (i.e., parents and coaches) and its impact on adolescent-athletes.     

School Substance Use Norms and Racial Composition Moderate Parental and Peer Influences on Adolescent Substance Use

Parental and peer influences on adolescent substance use have been well demonstrated. However, limited research has examined how parental and peer influences vary across school contexts. This study used a multilevel approach to examine the effects of school substance use norms and school racial composition in predicting adolescent substance use (a composite measure of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use) and in moderating parental and peer influences on adolescent substance use. A total of 14,346 adolescents from 34 schools in a mid‐western county completed surveys electronically at school. Analyses were conducted using hierarchical linear modeling. Results indicated that school‐level disapproval against substance use and percentage of minority students at school were negatively associated with adolescent substance use. School‐level disapproval moderated the association between peer substance use and adolescent substance use, with the association being stronger when school‐level disapproval was lower. School racial composition moderated the influence of parental disapproval and peer substance use on adolescent substance use. Specifically, both the association between parental disapproval and adolescent substance use and the association between peer substance use and adolescent substance use were weaker for adolescents who attended schools with higher percentages of minority students. Findings highlighted the importance of considering the role of school contexts, in conjunction with parental and peer influences, in understanding adolescent substance use.     

Parental practices of Italian mothers and fathers during early infancy: The role of knowledge about parenting and child development

Our contribution aims to verify whether parental knowledge about child development and parenting constitutes a protective factor in the application of dysfunctional educational practices. Numerous studies have found that parental knowledge has a great influence on parenting, however it remains unclear whether both are casually linked in a direct and linear way. Data currently available on parental knowledge almost exclusively refers to mothers and subjects at risk. Furthermore, there are almost no studies which take into consideration subjects who are Italian citizens.In contrast our work takes into consideration a normative sample of 157 Italian couples who are the parents of children aged between 16 and 36 months and who completed the Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory (KIDI; MacPhee, 1981) and the Parenting Scale (Arnold, O’Leary, Wolff, & Acker, 1993). The results highlight differences between mothers and fathers, both in terms of knowledge levels (higher for mothers) and educational practices (maternal practices are more frequently dysfunctional); knowledge influences educational practices above all in the case of fathers, although said effect is slight, which supports the idea that interaction between knowledge and parental practices is not linear but rather mediated by other factors.     

Optimisation of phase ratio in the triple jump using computer simulation

The triple jump is an athletic event comprising three phases in which the optimal proportion of each phase to the total distance jumped, termed the phase ratio, is unknown. This study used a whole-body torque-driven computer simulation model of all three phases of the triple jump to investigate optimal technique. The technique of the simulation model was optimised by varying torque generator activation parameters using a Genetic Algorithm in order to maximise total jump distance, resulting in a hop-dominated technique (35.7%:30.8%:33.6%) and a distance of 14.05 m. Optimisations were then run with penalties forcing the model to adopt hop and jump phases of 33%, 34%, 35%, 36%, and 37% of the optimised distance, resulting in total distances of: 13.79 m, 13.87 m, 13.95 m, 14.05 m, and 14.02 m; and 14.01 m, 14.02 m, 13.97 m, 13.84 m, and 13.67 m respectively. These results indicate that in this subject-specific case there is a plateau in optimum technique encompassing balanced and hop-dominated techniques, but that a jump-dominated technique is associated with a decrease in performance. Hop-dominated techniques are associated with higher forces than jump-dominated techniques; therefore optimal phase ratio may be related to a combination of strength and approach velocity.     

Predicting Substance Use Patterns Among Rural Adults: The Roles of Mothers,Fathers, and Parenthood

This study examined the role of parenthood and parental influences on substance use patterns for 710 stimulant users age 18–61 living in the rural Midwest and Mid‐south U.S. Longitudinal growth analyses showed that a maternal history of drug use was associated with increased baseline drug use severity, lesser declines in severity, and greater plateau of drug use severity over time. Parental conflict was associated with lesser declines in drug use severity, and drug use severity declined more steeply for participants who were themselves parents. Participants with two parents having a history of alcohol use had a greater baseline severity of alcohol use, with paternal history of drug use associated with lower baseline alcohol use severity. These findings demonstrate the importance of identifying parental influences in evaluating adult substance use, and point to the inclusion of parents in efforts to prevent and treat substance use disorders.