Experimental effects of ego-defense preference on interpersonal relations.

The hypothesis that a connection exists between the personality personality defenses of interacting individuals and their attitudes toward and perceptions of their interaction is explored by assessing the defense mechanisms of a group of Ss to psychosexual stimuli, the Blacky Pictures, and evaluating their interaction when pairs of Ss are engaged in a task which arouses a specific psychosexual disturbance. The results indicate that the interaction of two people who project the same psychosexual impulse is more negative than pairs of people who use other defenses. Dissimilar defenses do not seem to adversely affect the interaction; however, when both partners have high conflict, more negative interaction tends to result than when only one is disturbed. The relative hierarchies of defense mechanisms and psychosexual dimensions, with regard to their effect on interpersonal relations are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of interpersonal relationships upon verbal conditioning.

"Two conditioning experiments were conducted in which E used 'mmm-hmm' to reinforce sentences which S began with pronouns 'I' or 'We.' Experiment I relied upon instructions to create a condition of either High- or Low-Attraction between S and E. Experiment II utilized… [a] scale to establish Compatible and Incompatible groups in terms of interpersonal needs… . Ss who were incompatible, or not attracted to E, suppressed the effects of reinforcement until removed from E's presence. The implications of these findings for generalizing from verbal conditioning situations to the patient-therapist relationship in clinical settings was discussed." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Test performance as an involuntary function of interpersonal relationships.

The hypothesis that tension aroused by making a new acquaintance might adversely affect test performance is here investigated. Two person teams of subjects are given the Vigotsky Blocks Tests. In the control group, the subjects knew each other before the experiment and knew the experimenter. In the experimental group, the subjects were unacquainted before the experimental session. Analysis of the results shows that the experimental groups took significantly longer to complete the test. Although this result tends to support the hypothesis, several alternate explanations are proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Broadening student experience in mental hygiene and abnormal psychology.

"At Whittier college an attempt is made to relate closely the student's experience in the mental hygiene and abnormal psychology courses." "In mental hygiene, emphasis is placed upon the practical problems of community mental health, and an attempt is made to stimulate the student's interest… ." "In the abnormal psychology course… trips are arranged to an institution for the mentally defective, a hospital for the care of the physically handicapped, a school for delinquents, and a state mental hospital. Other procedures and possibilities for provoking student interest and enriching class experience are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in the perception of interpersonal relationships in successfully treated adolescent delinquent boys.

Successful psychotherapy with adolescent delinquent boys revealed significant improvement in the perception of interpersonal relationships on thematic stories to pictures selected to measure 3 areas of personality functioning (self-image, control of aggression, and attitude toward authority). People in the stories were seen as having more highly differentiated roles and relationships. These changes were highly correlated with improved academic performance (revealed on achievement tests) and improvement in overt behavior (reduction in antisocial behavior and better employment history). The results are consistent with many views regarding the nature of personality change in psychotherapy and strongly indicate that improvement in the perception of interpersonal relationships is associated with higher levels of overall performance and integration. Exactly how these changes are brought about during psychotherapy still remains to be explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental illness, predictability, and affective consequences as stimulus factors in person perception.

Before and after attempting to predict the behavior of a stimulus person (SP) in a choice situation, 64 Ss were asked to record their impressions of him on a trait rating scale. By design (a) the SP was presented as normal or mentally ill, (b) his behavior was predictable or unpredictable, and (c) errors of prediction were or were not signaled by a noxious buzzer. As predicted, evaluative judgments of the mentally ill SP did not vary as a function of predictability unless predictive failures were accompanied by unpleasant consequences, and unless the SP himself had control over the delivery of these consequences. Judgments of the normal SP were solely a function of his predictability, regardless of the consequences of predictive failure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subjective probabilities of interpersonal relationships.

"Subjective probabilities of the existence of various interpersonal relationships under various conditions were obtained with a questionnaire given male college students. Positive affective relationships were regarded as generally most probable, and negative affective relationships as least probable." Various aspects of the interpersonal relationship, e.g., "likes," "trusts," "confides in," "feels superior to," etc., were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some situational and psychological determinants of the desire for structured interpersonal relations.

"The sales personnel of a life insurance company district were intensively interviewed about the kind of social interaction preferred." It was shown that "the desire for structured personal interaction is… a defense mechanism which attempts to control the behavior of those individuals in the system who have the authority to initiate negative sanctions." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of stigma and set in interpersonal interaction.

This study focuses on 1 condition which seems to influence the role of stigmata in interpersonal relationships. The results indicate that mental illness and the extent to which a person is held responsible for this stigma determine the amount of pain inflicted upon him and how favorably he is evaluated. Responsibility was varied by having a confederate report to the undergraduate Ss either a typical or an atypical and pathogenic childhood. A bad childhood mitigated the harshness of the treatment accorded the mentally ill person, but for the normal individual this experience appears to be as stigmatizing as mental illness itself. The individual perceived as abnormal either because of mental illness or a poor childhood experience is treated in a harsher manner than the normal. He is also described as less adequate in his performance, although there is no objective basis for this, he is less liked, and Ss prefer no further interaction with him. An interesting implication of comparing the evaluation with the behavior displayed is that people can be induced to behave more favorably while retaining all of their dislike and contempt for the stigmatized person. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental manipulation of spatial information in young and elderly adults.

Investigated the ability of 20-, 60-, and 70-yr-olds (12 men and 12 women at each age level) to mentally manipulate spatial information in a large-scale environment. In a perspective-taking task, Ss were asked to determine the location of target objects from imagined locations. In an array rotation task, Ss were asked to imagine that the array of objects rotated relative to their current position. Young and elderly Ss performed with equivalent accuracy on the array rotation task, but young Ss were more accurate on the perspective-taking task. Ss who were taken to each object location prior to testing were more accurate in the perspective-taking task than Ss who did not have this experience. There was no effect of prior experience on performance in the array rotation task. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Help that works: The effects of aid on subsequent task performance.

Explored the interactive effects of aid, situational "demandingness" (i.e., task difficulty and threatening aspects of the helper's behavior), and help-recipients' self-esteem on recipients' postaid task performance. Based on the threat-to-self-esteem model of reactions to help (J. D. Fisher, in press), and past research (H. Sigall and R. Gould; see record 1977-25438-001) of reactions to help, it was predicted that if aid is threatening or challenging, then only high self-esteem Ss will respond with especially competent postaid task performance. Aspects of the helping context that exacerbate the threat or highlight the challenge posed by aid will further accentuate the difference in performance between high and low self-esteem Ss. Overall, these predictions were confirmed by data generated from 35 low and 43 high self-esteem (Self-Esteem Inventory) female undergraduates. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social perception and the motivational structure of interpersonal relations.

An extension of a previous research (see 28: 673). The introduction of another variable, viz., the knowledge of the result of cooperative or competitive ventures, affected the perception of the partner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reaction time in normal and defective subjects following varied warning conditions.

As a test of a stimulus-trace theory of behavioral inadequacy, normal and mentally defective Ss performed on a simple reaction-time task with warning intervals of 2, 4, 8, 12 sec. The warning stimulus was a light which for ? of the Ss in each group was on for 1.5 sec. at the beginning of the warning interval. For the other Ss the warning signal was on throughout the warning interval. The signal to respond was a buzzer. The normal Ss performance did not differ for the 2 warning conditions but there were marked differences between the defective groups. A 2nd experiment using only defective Ss provided a control for a possible task artifact. The results were interpreted as suggesting a deficiency in short-term memory in defective Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Effect of previously assigned goals on self-set goals and performance": Correction to Locke, Frederick, Buckner, and Bobko.

Reports an error in "Effect of previously assigned goals on self-set goals and performance" by Edwin A. Locke, Elizabeth Frederick, Elizabeth Buckner and Philip Bobko (Journal of Applied Psychology, 1984[Nov], Vol 69[4], 694-699). The third line was left out on p. 696, top right column. The entire section should read as follows: "Figure 1 compares the goals on T-1 with the mean goals chosen on T-2 by the same groups of subjects (i.e., grouped according to T-1 goals). On T-2 the mean goal levels of the seven original groups ranged from 4.8 to 12.9, in contrast with the T-1 range of 2 to 26." (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1985-08583-001.) 231 undergraduates were asked to list from 2–26 uses for common objects depending on the level of difficulty of the section (1 of 7) to which they were assigned. Ss were given a 1-min practice trial after task explanations and were then administered 2 experimental trials. Ss were told they were free to change their goals to a higher or lower level for the 2nd trial if they did not like the goal they had been assigned. Results show that Ss chose more difficult goals, if the assigned goals had been easy, and easier goals, if the assigned goals had been difficult. Ss were heavily influenced in their self-set goals by their previously assigned goals. The performance of Ss with impossible goals did not drop on the 2nd trial. A goal–expectancy interaction was found on the 2nd trial that was due to expectancy being positively related to performance at the higher but not the lower goal levels. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive controls and mental retardation.

Devised a color-digit interference task and 2 sorting tasks as variants of the Stroop Color-Word Test and R. Gardner, et al. (see record 1961-02266-001) sorting tasks, respectively. These tasks proved applicable to a mentally retarded sample (n = 39) and provided reliable measures of 2 cognitive control dimensions (constricted-flexible control and equivalence range). As predicted, the main test scores were significantly more variable in retarded Ss than in normals (n = 32). Analyses of performance on the color-digit interference task indicated that retarded Ss were significantly slower than the normals on all parts of the task, particularly under conditions of distraction (whether inherent in the task or externally imposed). Low IQ retarded Ss were significantly slower than high IQ retarded Ss on all parts of the task. The extreme cognitive control test scores of the retarded Ss, the nature of the attentional deficit among these Ss, and the relevance of a cognitive control approach for the training of retarded persons are discussed. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigating the orientation effect on the water-level task: Who? When? and Why?

Four experiments with adults on Piaget's (J. Piaget & B. Inhelder, 1956) water-level task investigated previous reports that containers tilted at larger angles produce more error than those tilted at smaller angles. Exp 1 found that this orientation effect occurred in both male and female Ss when the angles were manipulated between Ss but was absent in male Ss when manipulated within Ss. Exps 2 and 3 indicated that male, and to a lesser degree female Ss, appear to benefit from exposure to easier (less-tilted) stimulus trials and, as a result, perform more accurately on subsequent difficult trials. Exp 4 implicated mental rotation processes in the orientation effect by demonstrating that accuracy varied as a function of how far Ss needed to mentally rotate the container from its initial position to its test position. A developmental sequence is proposed in which relevant spatial abilities are assumed to facilitate acquisition of the principle that liquids are invariantly horizontal, which in turn leads to more accurate performance on the task. Differences in cognitive strategies may be responsible for the Gender X Orientation interaction observed under some conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When practice makes imperfect: Debilitating effects of overlearning.

Hypothesized that as overlearning leads to "mindlessness," the individual components of a task become relatively inaccessible to consciousness and therefore unavailable to serve as evidence of task competence. This may lead to a decrement in performance if circumstances (e.g., a label connoting relative inferiority) lead one to question one's ability. This was tested in an experiment with 126 adult females by varying practice on a task (no practice, moderate practice, and overpractice) by label assigned to Ss (no label, assistant, boss). As predicted, performance decrements resulted for the no-practice and overpracticed Ss who were assigned the inferior status level but not for the moderate-practice Ss for whom the task components were still salient. In a 2nd experiment with 72 Ss, it was found that the debilitation could be prevented for an overlearned task by making components of the task salient. Implications are explored for the vulnerability of experts to these performance debilitations. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward retarded children: Effects of labeling and behavioral aggressiveness.

Examined effects of the label "mentally retarded" on attitudes of peers among 48 3rd graders. Half of the Ss were shown a videotape of an actor displaying acting-out behavior, while the remaining half were shown a videotape with the same actor engaging in passive behavior. Half of the Ss in each of these 2 groups were told that the actor was a 5th grader, and the other half were told that he was a mentally retarded boy in a special class. Analysis of variance results revealed a significant interaction between label and behavior, which indicated that Ss responded more negatively to the "mentally retarded" actor who displayed acting-out behavior than to the same actor who exhibited identical behavior but was not labeled. It is concluded that labels should be considered only as they interact with specific behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Warmth, competence, and identification.

60 male undergraduate psychology students rated themselves on a series of 7-step bipolar adjective scales. Ss then observed a young man perform a simple mechanical task, performed the same task, and rerated the man and themselves. It was found that when Ss perceived the man as personally warm, they projected onto him attributes which, they believed, characterized them. When the man was perceived as warm and/or competent in the mechanical task, Ss viewed themselves as more similar to him than in the absence of these perceptions. Results are interpreted as supporting J. Kagan's theory of identification. (French summary) (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding failure in the job acquisition process: An attributional approach.

Examined differences in the attributions made by nondisabled persons of failure to obtain employment by disabled vs nondisabled job applicants. Four experimental groups, each consisting of 30 college students, read stimulus material in which an unsuccessful job applicant was described as alcoholic, mentally ill, deaf, or nondisabled. Ss were then asked to respond to a scale constructed to test for 4 sources of attribution of failure to secure the job: ability, effort, 12-item Likert-type task difficulty, and luck. Implications for the effects of different attributions on client motivation are discussed. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)