A resource exchange theory approach to interpersonal interactions: A test of Foa's theory.

Employed U. G. Foa and E. B. Foa's (1974) resource exchange theory to examine the types and patterns of exchanges involved in 57 college students' interpersonal interactions. Two judgment tasks were used to test both the functional and structural aspects of this theory. The dimensions of particularism and concreteness were hypothesized to underlie the 6 resource categories of love, status, information, money, goods, and services. In addition, resources perceived to be in the same category were expected to be exchanged with a higher probability than resources in different categories. Support for both the structural and the functional relations among the resource categories was consistent not with the initial classification of the behaviors used to represent the 6 resource categories but with the meaning associated with the behaviors. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Word-association commonality: A standardized test and a theory.

The Verdun association list (VAL) is a word-association test with stimulus words selected to elicit a high frequency of common responses among normal adults. Commonality, reaction time, and response stability measures are incorporated in the test. Standardization was based on 2 independent, representative metropolitan samples of normal employed adults—575 Ss in all. Validation groups consisted of (1) 2 independent samples each comprising 100 working and 100 nonworking hospitalized mental patients; (2) all 15 psychiatric patients, some working and some not, who attended the night treatment center of a general hospital over a 2-mo period, and (3) the 44 Canadian Army volunteers at 1 induction session at a recruitment center who were rejected as unfit for military service on various nonphysical grounds. The high agreement between cut-off scores and all external criteria suggested that the VAL could be effective in a wide variety of industrial, clinical, and experimental settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive behavior modification and modeling for test anxiety.

11 male and 37 female test-anxious undergraduates were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 experimental or 2 control conditions: (a) a core treatment, which consisted of D. H. Meichenbaum's (1972) cognitive behavior modification and study skills training, (b) the core treatment plus videotaped modeling, (c) the core treatment plus rehearsal modeling, (d) study skills control, and (e) waiting list control. On self-report measures, treated groups improved more than controls, with the rehearsal modeling condition ranking first among the treatments. No treatment led to significant improvement in academic performance, a finding consistent with the majority of test anxiety studies which have used grades as a dependent variable. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational theory and human resource accounting.

Discusses the theoretical design of a recently launched longitudinal study of business organizations, and presents preliminary findings. Conditioning variables, e.g., time, size of organizations, and type of work performed, are crucial to an accurate investigation of organizational functioning. Initial results indicate that organizational, managerial, and work group behavior measures relate most strongly to cost performance a year and more later, not concurrently. Results also indicate the necessity of developing accounting methods which reflect the present discounted economic value of the productive capabilities of the human organization of the enterprise. The generalizability of these concepts to organizational problems in other settings (education, government, and the cities) is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond attribution theory: Cognitive processes in performance appraisal.

Construes performance appraisal as the outcome of a dual-process system of evaluation and decision making whereby attention, categorization, recall, and information integration are carried out through either an automatic or a controlled process. In the automatic process, an employee's behavior is categorized without conscious monitoring unless the decisions involved are problematic; a consciously monitored categorization process would then occur. Subsequent recall of the employee is viewed to be biased by the attributes of prototypes (abstract images) representing categories to which the employee has been assigned. Dispositional and contextual factors influence the availability of categories during both assignment and recall. Although automatic and controlled processes can create accurate employee evaluations, categorization interacting with task type tends to affect subsequent employee information with halo, lenient/stringent, racial, sexual, ethnic, and personality biases. Behavior taxonomies, individual differences in cognitive structure, validation of behavior-sampling techniques, and laboratory studies of appraisal processes are presented as potential topics for research. (93 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive resource demands of reading normal and transformed typography.

Tested the hypothesis that reading sentences presented in transformed typography involves cognitive processes that may not be involved in, or may be automatized during, the reading of normal typography, thus causing superior memory for the transformed sentences. In 2 experiments, 48 undergraduates read normal and inverted sentences while performing a secondary auditory task. Secondary task performance suffered reliably more when the task was carried out while reading transformed as opposed to normal typography. The size of this effect was consistent across the 2 experiments. It is concluded that greater attention demands may be associated with the additional processes invoked when reading transformed typography. Differences in procedures involved in encoding normal and transformed sentences are considered. (French abstract) (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relevancy in the test of motivator-hygiene theory.

Compared sequence of events and item rating and ranking as methodologies in replication of motivator-hygiene (M-H) theory predictions of job attitudes. A measure of relevance was obtained in order to determine its effect in producing the empirical inconsistencies. Results show that ratings and rankings of items measuring job attitudes are heavily contaminated by irrelevancy. In addition to irrelevancy, the failure of rating and ranking of items to replicate M-H theory predictions seems to be further due to the biases produced by social desirability, value systems, and misinterpretations or reinterpretation of items by the respondents. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive modification of test anxious college students.

Assigned 15 male and 6 female test anxious 17-25 yr. olds (1 high school student and 20 undergraduates) to a group cognitive modification treatment, group desensitization, or a waiting list control group. The cognitive modification group combined an insight-oriented therapy which was designed to make test anxious Ss aware of their anxiety-engendering thoughts with a modified desensitization procedure which employed (a) coping imagery on how to handle anxiety and (b) self-instructional training to attend to the task and not ruminate about oneself. Results indicate that the cognitive modification group was most effective in significantly reducing test anxiety as assessed by (a) test performance obtained in an analog test situation, (b) self-reports given immediately after posttreatment and later at a 1-mo follow-up, and (c) GPA. Following treatment, the test anxious Ss in the cognitive modification group did not differ from a group of 10 low test anxious Ss, and in fact the cognitive modification Ss reported a significant increase in facilitative anxiety. (63 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some issues in specifying qualities for the community psychologist.

Comments on the context and content of guidelines for community psychologists as proposed by J. G. Kelly (see record 1972-21047-001). It might be more productive to discuss unique observable behaviors and measurable competencies, since issues of professional responsibility require discussion of explicit transactions between practitioners and clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Excuse theory: A test of the self-protective role of attributions.

Tested the hypothesis that individuals use consensus-raising, distinctiveness-raising, and consistency-lowering attributional explanations as strategies to excuse their poor performance on an ego-involving task. It was also predicted that such excuse-making tactics occurring after failure feedback, in comparison with those occurring after success feedback, lead to (1) decreased negative emotions when individuals anticipate that their excuse attempts will not be closely scrutinized by an informed or all-knowing audience, and (2) increased negative emotions when individuals anticipate that an evaluative audience has access to their private cognitions and feelings about their poor performance. 96 male undergraduate students were given high or low scores on a purported intelligence test and were administered a mood questionnaire and either items from Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale (control condition) or an excuse questionnaire (excuse condition). Results support the use of distinctiveness-raising and consistency-lowering, but not consensus-raising, attributional explanations. In addition, the predicted effects of excuse making on emotional state were generally obtained; that is, without the scrutiny of the all-knowing audience, the excuse making lessened negative affect after failure, whereas under the scrutiny of an all-knowing audience, excuse making served to increase negative affect. Results are discussed in terms of the circumstances under which excuse behaviors are construed as self-protective or self-defeating. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test of a theory of anxiety about body integrity: Part 2.

Kolhberg (1966) suggested that uncertainty about body integrity was more plausibly explained by cognitive factors than by the psychoanalytic theory of castration anxiety. This hypothesis leads to the prediction that children who understand the concept of anatomical constancy would show less anxiety in relation to threats to the body's integrity than children who have not yet attained the concept. The results of this study are not consistent with Kolhberg's cognitive developmental prediction. Additionally, the results of this study also reveal significant relationships between children's level of anxiety in response to threats to the body's integrity and age (or stage of development). Those subjects showing the highest level of anxiety were in the 3 to 5-year-old age group, the period referred to by psychoanalysts as the phallic period. This finding is consistent with the prediction derived from Freudian psychosexual theory which posits that 3- to 5-year-old children would be particularly sensitive to threats to the integrity and unity of their bodies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive mediation in general psychiatric outpatients: A test of the content-specificity hypothesis.

We investigated the degree of content specificity evident in the negative cognitions associated with anxiety and depression in two large samples of general psychiatric outpatients. Standardized measures of affect and cognition were analyzed in a multiple regression design. As predicted by A. T. Beck's (see PA, Vol 76:11913; see also 1967 and 1976) cognitive theory of psychopathology, thoughts of loss and failure were specifically associated with depression, whereas cognitions of harm and danger were uniquely predictive of anxiety. In addition, hopelessness was specific to depression and not to anxiety. Dysfunctional beliefs showed no consistent association with either mood state. The implication of these results, as well as related findings, is discussed in terms of a cognitive perspective on the differentiation of emotional disorders. Also discussed are the methodological difficulties encountered in research on cognitive-affective relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theoretical and empirical examination of cognitive resource theory.

Two assumptions and seven hypotheses defining F. E. Fiedler and J. E. Garcia's (1987) cognitive resource theory are critiqued and examined with data from 48 four-man groups. Information for leaders and subordinates was available on the dimensions of IQ, directiveness, group atmosphere, rank, and group performance on seven tasks. Results yielded support for Hypothesis 2 of the theory (i.e., leader intelligence was more strongly correlated with group performance for highly directive leaders, relative to nondirective leaders). Problems with the theory associated with (a) the definition of intelligence, (b) the undervalued importance of specific task demands and the combinations of tasks, and (c) the role of stress are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Faculty teaching goals: A test of Holland's theory.

Tested J. L. Holland's (1966, 1973) theory relating personality, vocational choice, and academic environment in a hexagonal matrix. 1,140 faculty members rated the importance of 16 factors in the areas of character and intellectual and vocational development. Results suggest that disciplinary differences among Holland's proposed environmental groups are generally (a) congruent with the postulated characteristics of the respective environments, (b) consistent across different kinds of colleges and universities, and (c) similar to the order of psychological resemblances defined by Holland's hexagonal model. Implications for reseach on faculty activities are discussed. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test of dual coding theory for bilingual memory.

Presented 33 elementary teachers and 50 female community college students (all of whom varied in French-English bilingual dominance and experience) with (1) pictures to be labeled in English, (2) French words to be translated into English, and (3) English nouns to be copied as they were. Later, Ss were unexpectedly tested for recall. Results replicate and extend those of A. Paivio and W. E. Lambert (see record 1982-09020-001), demonstrating a 3.3:2.4:1 ratio of recall for images to translation equivalents to copying. Results support bilingual dual coding theory as proposed by Paivio and A. Desrochers (see record 1982-02758-001). (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test of the melioration theory of matching.

Melioration theory entails that matching in concurrent schedules occurs because the subjects equalize the local reinforcement rates (reinforcers received for each alternative divided by the time allocated to each alternative). The role of local reinforcement rates was tested by using multiple schedules in which one component involved an alternative with a high absolute rate of reinforcement and a low local reinforcement rate while the second component involved an alternative with a low absolute rate and a high local rate. These alternatives were then presented simultaneously in probe trials to determine preference between them. Contrary to melioration, the absolute rate of reinforcement, not the local rate, was the controlling variable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test of the Taylor-Spence theory of anxiety.

"The present studies tested the Taylor-Spence theory under 2 conditions: (a) Competing and noncompeting materials were equated in difficulty for a nonanxious group. The prediction from the Taylor-Spence theory that the anxious Ss would perform more poorly on the competing than on the noncompeting material was not sustained. (b) Anxious and nonanxious Ss were tested on easy competing and difficult noncompeting materials. The prediction from the Taylor-Spence theory was that anxious Ss would do more poorly (relative to nonanxious Ss) on the easy competing than on the difficult noncompeting material. The results were opposite from those predicted and significant at beyond the .05 level." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive theory and the generality of pessimism among depressed persons.

38 depressed (as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory) and 52 nondepressed college students were given a series of anagrams to solve. A 1-chance subgroup was informed that they would win a free movie ticket if they were successful in the task. A 2nd-chance subgroup received the same instructions as the 1-chance subgroup but were also informed that if they failed, they would have another opportunity in a different, undefined task. Ss were subdivided into success and failure subgroups that either succeeded at or failed the anagram task. Immediately afterwards, Ss reported their emotional state on the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List. Depressed Ss reported greater depression, anxiety, and hostility than nondepressed Ss in the 1-chance condition but not in the 2nd-chance condition; this interaction occurred independent of Ss' success or failure in the task. Results are viewed as indicating that current cognitive theories about the generality of pessimism in depression are incomplete. An explanation of the results in terms of the saliency of future reward opportunity is suggested as a basis for further study. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High status job title compensation for underpayment: A test of equity theory.

In 2 experiments, 148 undergraduate student workers performed a proofreading task and were given extra job responsibilities in conjunction with a high-status job title that was either earned on the basis of their superior performance or unearned. It was found that the earned job title proved adequate compensation for the additional inputs to keep Ss feeling equitably paid and to maintain their pre-title level of performance. In contrast, bestowal of an unearned job title at first led to an improvement in performance accompanied by feelings of overpayment but subsequently led to a sharp performance decrement and feelings of underpayment. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extraversion and performance: A test of the theory of cortical inhibition.

Hypothesized that extraversion scores should correlate with scores on performance tasks purported to depend on cortical inhibition. Data from 104 undergraduates who performed spatial and internal inhibition tasks did not reveal any significant correlations between extraversion (Maudsley Personality Inventory) and performance measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)