Adult performance as a function of sex of experimenter and sex of subject.

8 male and 8 female Es each tested 8 male and 8 female Ss in a simple sorting task. During an initial 1.5 min. each S's base rate of response was ascertained; following this, the E delivered a supportive statement every 30 sec. for the next 5.5 min. Performance did not increase as a function of the introduction of the supportive statements. Significant differences in base rate and in performance after the base rate period were found as a function of sex of E and of the interaction between sex of E and sex of S. Highly reliable differences appeared in the performance of Ss tested by different Es. The rank-order correlations of men and women tested by men and by women were significant, indicating a similar hierarchy in level of performance of male and female Ss tested by the male Es and a similar hierarchy for Ss tested by female Es. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of guilt, approachability of examiner, and stimulus relevance upon sexual responses to thematic apperception stimuli.

Examined the effects of approachability of female Es and stimulus relevance upon the sexual responses of 24 high- and 24 low-guilt male undergraduates (as determined by the Mosher Forced Choice Guilt Scale) to thematic stimuli. Consistent with previous results, findings show that all Ss made more sexual responses to high-relevant than low-relevant stimuli and that low-guilt Ss gave more sexual responses than high-guilt Ss to the high-relevant stimuli. Ss' perceptions of the Es were also examined. Results support predictions derived from social learning theory that high-guilt Ss are unable to discriminate between Es playing approachable and unapproachable roles, while low-guilt Ss are able to do so. Results support the hypothesis that high-guilt Ss are relatively insensitive to situational cues regarding external reward or punishment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interaction of subject and experimenter sex with the body percept in verbal concept identification.

Classified 64 male and 64 female undergraduates as having a high or low body percept based on Holtzman Inkblot Technique scores. Ss were then given a task involving verbal concept identification of body parts. Variables measured included verbal concept identification, talk time, number of responses, intelligence, and abstract ability. The Es were 1 male and 1 female, each of whom tested 1/2 of Ss of each sex. When paired with Es of the same sex, high percept Ss solved the problem sooner and talked more. The opposite occurred for low percept scorers. Solution also came more quickly for high percept Ss. (38 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential indoctrination of examiners and Rorschach responses.

14 graduate student examiners (Es) volunteered for a "quick, more efficient method of learning the Rorschach procedure." 7 students were told that experienced Es always elicit more human than animal responses from their Ss; the other 7 were told that experienced Es always elicit more animal than human responses. Each E tested 2 undergraduates; each session was tape recorded. The 2 groups of Es differed significantly from each other in the predicted direction (p = .04) in the ratio of animal to human responses obtained from their Ss. The expected evidence for verbal conditioning of the Ss was not found. No E or S reported any awareness of any influence attempt. Presumably, the Es influenced their Ss through postural, gestural, and facial cues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On reducing experimenter bias: The effects of forewarning.

Tested the hypothesis, with 67 male and 70 female undergraduates, that forewarning would reduce the effects of E bias. Es were given different expectations as to how Ss would perform on a person perception task. Each E then ran a number of Ss. 1/2 of each E's Ss were forewarned of the possibility of E bias and 1/2 were not forewarned. The hypothesis is supported among females (p     

Influence of the experimenter on pupillary dilation to sexually provocative pictures.

2 Es with markedly different personality characteristics and styles of interacting with Ss tested male undergraduates (Ns = 22 and 25) for pupillary dilation to pictures of nude and partially clothed women, as well as to pictures of men, and to control pictures. The Ss of E1, an aloof and businesslike graduate student, dilated equally to male and female pictures. The Ss of E2, a casual outgoing undergraduate, dilated more to pictures of women than to those of men. These results indicate that pupillary dilation to sexually provocative stimuli reflect S's relationship to the E and his view concerning permissible emotional responses to the stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social reinforcement with children as a function of CA, sex of E, and sex of S.

The interactive effect of sex on the performance of Ss at varying ages was investigated. The performance (in a game) of Ss at 3 age levels (3-4, 6-7, 9-10) was reviewed after exposure to male or female E. Sex of E had a statistically significant effect at the 3-4 level only, women being more effective in stimulating performance than men. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4FC47S. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual responsibility as a function of test administrator's gender.

Discusses the finding of T. Schill, et al. (see record 1970-20959-001) on the effect of E gender on the sexual responsivity of Ss. 40 male and female undergraduates were assigned to groups with either a male or female E. Ss were given a word association test with 20 neutral and 30 double-entendre words (e.g., cherry). No significant differences were found between the frequency and flagrancy of male and female sexual responses when the E was of the same gender. Males showed significant inhibition when tested by a female E (p     

Inducement of expectancy and set of subjects as determinants of subjects' responses in experimenter expectancy research.

Describes an experiment in which 18 undergraduate Es tested 216 undergraduate Ss on a simple motor performance task under 3 conditions of induced expectancy in which (a) the hypothesis was simply told to the Es, (b) the principal investigator role-played great concern about the outcome, or (c) Es were asked to manipulate actively Ss' responses. Ss were assigned to 3 conditions of evaluation apprehension. The method of randomization allowed for a check on the effects of early-testing vs. late-testing of Ss. When the Es were simply told about the hypothesis of changes in response rates across time, no expectancy effects were noted. When the principal investigator showed concern about the outcome, a significant Expectancy * Evaluation Apprehension interaction effect was obtained across the 6 trials of the task. When the Es attempted actively to manipulate results, effects opposite to their expectancies were observed. An analysis of tape-recordings of the experimental sessions revealed that intentional-inducement Es spoke more than other Es. Results indicate that a minimum of both E outcome concern and S performance concern must be present for the mediation of an expectancy. It is postulated that the reversed expectancy effects for Ss tested by intentional-inducement Es might have been due to Ss reacting against strong cues transmitted by the Es. (French summary) (21 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of counselor facilitative level on client suggestibility.

Investigated the effects of the level of counselor facilitation on client suggestibility. 48 university students were individually tested for suggestibility in 1 of 3 conditions. In the experimental conditions, Ss interacted with an E rated as either high or low on a scale of empathy and were then administered the Barber Suggestibility Scale. In the control condition, Ss were simply administered the test. Results support the hypothesis that Ss of higher rated Es would demonstrate more suggestibility than Ss of lower rated Es. Results do not support the hypothesis that S interaction with lower rated Es would elicit less suggestibility than a no-interaction control. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-directed attention, awareness of bodily states, and suggestibility.

Two studies tested the hypothesis that self-directed attention would cause increased awareness of internal states and would thus reduce suggestibility effects. Exp I applied this reasoning to the experience of an emotion. 55 male undergraduates viewed moderately arousing slides of female nudes after being led to expect the slides to be either highly arousing or nonarousing. As predicted, ratings of the slides corresponded less with these experimentally manipulated anticipations when self-focus was heightened by the presence of a mirror than when it was not. Exp II examined a different internal experience: the perception of taste. Ss were 41 male and 31 female undergraduates. Some Ss were led to expect a strong flavor as part of a test series, and other Ss were led to expect a weak flavor. Ss high in private self-consciousness (assessed by the A. Fenigstein et al 1975 scale) were less affected by this expectancy manipulation and more accurate in reporting their actual internal state than Ss low in private self-consciousness. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of culture, language, and sex on conversational distance.

Assessed interpersonal distance between seated conversants from 3 cultures varying in purported contact norms. 19 male and 23 female Japanese, 18 male and 16 female Venezuelan, and 16 male and 15 female American undergraduates had a 5-min conversation on a common topic with a same-sex, same-nationality confederate. Three hypotheses were tested: (a) When speaking their native languages, Japanese will sit farther apart than Venezuelans, with Americans at an intermediate distance; (b) females will sit closer than males; and (c) foreign Ss, when speaking English, will more closely approximate American conversational distance than when speaking their native languages. The hypotheses were generally confirmed and support E. T. Hall's (1966) distinction between cultures in terms of their proxemic manifestations of social contact norms. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual aspects of TAT administration.

Investigated the frequency of administration of 4 sexual-romantic TAT cards by 20 male and 6 female graduate student examiners to clinic clients. Male examiners gave more of these cards to female clients than to male clients but female examiners did not make such discriminations. Results confirm R. Schafer's observation that the examiner's voyeuristic needs may be gratified through testing and parallel the findings of R. Rosenthal that male Es behave differently to female Ss than to male Ss. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of counselor sex and sex role and client sex on clients' perceptions and self-disclosure in a counseling analogue study.

Studied the effects of client sex and counselor sex and sex role on the counseling relationship, using an analogue format in which 35 male and 39 female undergraduate students participated in simulated counseling interviews. Ss were stratified by sex and randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment conditions: (a) masculine male counselor, (b) feminine male counselor, (c) masculine female counselor, and (d) feminine female counselor. At the conclusion of the interview, the S completed the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory (Form OS-M-64) and a questionnaire assessing the S's satisfaction with the counseling session. The audiotapes of the sessions were rated by trained judges for (a) positive affective self-references, (b) negative affective self-references, and (c) total non-affective self-references of the Ss. Male Ss were more satisfied with the counseling process than female Ss. Male Ss indicated greater satisfaction and a higher level of counselor regard with feminine counselors than with masculine counselors, regardless of counselor sex, but female Ss indicated greater satisfaction and a higher level of counselor regard with masculine counselors than with feminine counselors, regardless of counselor sex. Male Ss talked most about themselves with feminine female counselors and least about themselves with masculine female counselors, while female Ss talked most about themselves with feminine male counselors and least about themselves with masculine male counselors. These findings are related to the feminist pleas for same-sex pairing in the counseling relationship. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality variables affecting WAIS scores.

Assigned 32 undergraduate Es and 32 undergraduate Ss to 1 of 4 groups based on their scores on a hostility and a dominance scale. Each E interviewed 1 S for 10 min., rated the S on warmth and likability, and scored 4 WAIS verbal subtests completed by the S. Each S also rated the E for warmth and likability. Results indicate that (a) nonhostile Es gave more credit to hostile-dominant Ss and to nonhostile-nondominant Ss than to nonhostile-dominant Ss; (b) E's liking of S and rating of S's warmth were significantly related to total scores; and (c) S's ratings of E's warmth and likability were not positively related to S's test scores. It is concluded that E bias was present. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The experimenter as a sex-role model in sex-role stereotyping.

Notes that the influence of the experimenter (E) has been neglected in sex role stereotypy research. Thus, it was predicted that male and female Ss' stereotyping would vary as the sex roles modeled by male and female Es varied from traditional to liberated. 100 high school students rated the concepts of adult male and female on standard stereotypic items and rated the Es' behavior and personality. The general hypothesis of E influence was supported by several significant interaction effects. Results show that the male concept was rated more competent and less warm-expressive than the female concept, thus replicating the basic finding in the literature, but traditional stereotypical differences were most accentuated when male and female Ss were crossed with task-oriented Es of the opposite sex. The reconceptualization of sex-role stereotypes as situationally influenced expectancies, in accord with a social learning theory interpretation of stereotyping, is discussed. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Need for approval and susceptibility to unintended social influence.

Investigated the relationship between Ss' need for approval and their susceptibility to the subtle unintended influence of biased Es. 48 female undergraduates divided into high- and low-need-for-approval groups (on the basis of their Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale scores) were tested by 6 male Es. It was suggested that prior failures to find such a relationship were due to the absence during the programmed pretask interaction of E and S of cues which would be likely to arouse S's approval motivation and thereby make him more susceptible to E's influence. A single sentence designed to arouse S's motivation was thus inserted into the standard pretask instructions. Under these conditions, Ss high in need for approval demonstrated a significant susceptibility to E expectancy effects, while low-approval-motivation Ss did not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preferences for counselor gender: Students' sex role, other characteristics, and type of problem.

102 female and 67 male students (aged 17–74 yrs) from a large urban university rated their preferences for counselor gender for 9 client concerns and completed the Bem Sex-Role Inventory and a demographic questionnaire. Most Ss who expressed a preference for counselor gender preferred male counselors over female ones for all concerns other than problems with sexual issues. Preferences for male counselors were expressed more often, however, for vocational/academic and social/interpersonal concerns than for personal/intimate problems. Discriminant analyses revealed profiles of Ss who preferred male counselors or had no preference. Variables such as S sex-role, age, and race were found to be particularly useful in predicting gender preferences. Results are interpreted in terms of S. L. Bem's (see record 1981-25685-001) gender-schema theory. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Good looks may help: Effects of helper's physical attractiveness and sex of helper on males' and females' help-seeking behavior.

96 19–21 yr old Ss were asked to solve a detective story and were under the impression that correct solutions could be obtained only after a specified number of preliminary questions were answered correctly. Some of these questions were unanswerable, and Ss could ask another S for help. In line with past research (E. Bercheid and E. Walster, 1974; A. Nadler, see PA, Vol 66:5817; H. Sigall and E. Aronson, PA, Vol 43:8310; S. Stokes and L. Bickman, PA, Vol 54:3045), data indicate that for same-sex others, Ss tended to seek less help from physically attractive than unattractive helpers. In cases of cross-sex helping (a) males sought less help from a physically attractive female than an unattractive female and (b) females sought more help from a physically attractive than an unattractive male. Findings are discussed in terms of a self-presentation approach to interpersonal help-seeking behavior. A model of help-seeking and self-presentation is presented. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Feedback and response mode in performing a Bayesian decision task.

In a complex decision-making situation 64 male undergraduates received data generated by 1 of 3 hypotheses according to specified conditional probabilities. Ss inferred which hypothesis had generated the data or estimated the probability of each hypothesis given the data. Feedback was given after each trial either as the hypothesis which generated the data or the probability that each hypothesis generated the data calculated by Bayes' theorem. The percentage of trials when Ss chose the most probable hypothesis was significantly higher for the groups responding with a single hypothesis than for the probability response groups, and higher for the Bayesian probability feedback groups than for the groups receiving no feedback. The Bayesian probability feedback group also gave probability responses which were much closer to the optimal probabilities than did the no-feedback group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)