Individual adaptations and structural change as solutions to social dilemmas.

80 undergraduates, in groups of 6, took "harvests" from a regenerating resource pool so as to maximize their harvests while maintaining the pool. False feedback was provided regarding the other Ss' harvest sizes. One-third of the Ss thought that the others were overusing the resource, one-third thought that the others were underusing it, and the remaining third were led to believe that the others were using the resource optimally. This "use" variable was crossed with a manipulation of the purported homogeneity of the others' behavior: Half the Ss thought that the others took relatively similar harvests (low variance), whereas the other half thought the others' harvests differed greatly (high variance). Results indicate that harvest size increased over time, especially in the underuse, high-variance condition. Ss in the overuse condition who expected that other group members would reciprocate self-restraint (high-trust Ss) decreased their harvest in comparison to low-trust Ss in this condition. As expected, more Ss in the overuse condition voted to give up free access to the resource in favor of a leader than did Ss in the other conditions. Data are also presented regarding the Ss' behavior as the elected leader. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitions and behavior in asymmetric social dilemmas: A comparison of two cultures.

This study investigated whether cognitions and behavior in an asymmetric social dilemma can be predicted by national culture. Results indicated that, as predicted, groups of decision makers from Japan--a collectivist, hierarchical culture--were more cooperative, expected others to be more cooperative, and were more likely to adopt an equal allocation distribution rule to resolve the dilemma than were groups of decision makers from the US--an individualist, egalitarian culture. An opportunity for communication had a greater impact on expectations of others' behavior in groups of U.S. decision makers than in groups of Japanese decision makers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethical dilemmas in AIDS research: Individual privacy and public health.

Research on the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) presents a stark example of the dilemmas involved in balancing individual rights and social welfare in conducting psychosocial research. These dilemmas are pronounced in research on public health. Unfortunately, significant legal threats to confidentiality are matched inadequately by legal means of protecting privacy. Researchers are advised to request certificates of confidentiality from the Public Health Service. A privilege statute is needed to protect the privacy of participants in research on AIDS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology's two cultures.

100 undergraduates without previous psychology training, 81 officers of divisions of the American Psychological Association (APA), and 164 APA members who belonged to only 1 division were administered an epistemic differential scale. Results demonstrate the existence of scientific and humanistic cultures within psychology and identify 6 dimensions that define the conflicting values of these cultures. The value dimensions are (a) most important scholarly values (scientific vs humanistic), (b) lawfulness of behavior (determinism vs indeterminism), (c) basic source of knowledge (observation vs intuition), (d) appropriate setting for discovery (laboratory vs field study/case history), (e) generality of laws (nomothetic vs idiographic), and (f) appropriate level of analysis (elementism vs holism). Psychologists associated with institutions and programs devoted to the natural science aspects of the field occupied the positions identified by the first-mentioned terms in the 6 polarities. With 1 exception (determinism), other psychologists clustered toward the position identified by the 2nd terms. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors affecting employee selection in two cultures.

4 samples—100 Illinois and 100 Greek students, 32 Illinois and 20 Greek personnel directors (PDs)—were asked to respond to a structured questionnaire which permitted the computation of the relative weights that would be given to various characteristics (competence, age, sex, race, religion, sociability, and wealth) by these people, if they were hiring employees for various levels of jobs in the accounting and finance department of a company. The responses of the 4 samples were similar. However, the American PDs gave more weight to race and the Greek PDs more weight to age than did the other samples. The students differed significantly from the PDs; in both cultures, the students gave larger weights to competence than did the personnel directors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patterns of memory abilities in two cultures.

Presents evidence that patterns of abilities, rather than absolute differences along a single dimension, are the best cross-cultural evidence for the effects of environment and culture upon memory development. An object and place recall task was administered to 96 5- and 7-yr-old Ss in the US and in a village in Guatemala. Actual vs verbal presentation of the objects and places to be remembered was varied. Place recall was better than object recall in the Guatemalan but not in the American children. Results suggest that environment and culture can contribute to the differential development of various mnemonic abilities. Soviet suggestions regarding the role of external mediators were also supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity problems comparing values across cultures and possible solutions.

The authors argue that commonly used ranking and rating methods of value surveys may have low validity in cross-cultural value comparisons because participants' reports about values can be affected by factors such as cultural differences in the meaning of particular value terms as well as the possibility that some value judgments are based on social comparison or deprivation rather than on any "direct reading" of personal preferences. Four different value survey methods—ranking, rating, attitude scale, and behavioral scenario methods—were compared. It was found that ranking and rating methods of assessing differences between Chinese and Americans had low convergence with each other and with the criterion of cultural experts' independent judgments. Attitude questions had slight and nonsignificant convergence with the expert judgment criterion. A scenario method of value assessment, however, yielded reasonable criterion validity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training interns to respond to sexual dilemmas.

Previous research has documented that psychologists receive little training in responding to sexual dilemmas in psychotherapy. The authors describe 2 training experiences focusing on the personal, professional, ethical, and legal issues involved in sexual attraction between psychologists and clients. Small group discussions were particularly useful as trainees were able not only to receive educational material but also to examine their feelings and behaviors when they experienced sexual attraction. A conference format providing didactic information was especially helpful to new psychology trainees. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and interpersonal predictors of loneliness in two cultures.

Administered measures of loneliness and relevant personality and interpersonal constructs to 259 mainland US and 332 Puerto Rican undergraduates to (a) assess cross-cultural variability in previously reported correlates of loneliness and (b) determine the relative contributions of such predictors to the experience of loneliness for each sample. Results show that the Puerto Rican sample reported greater loneliness, and most personality and interpersonal variables yielded differences between the groups. However, the correlates of loneliness appeared to be quite similar for both samples. Factor analyses of loneliness correlates yielded interpretable factors that preserved the ability of the original variables to predict loneliness. Data are consistent with the hypothesis that culture influences the specific values observed for personality and related measures, whereas the fundamental organization of personality remains stable across cultures. Cultural factors are discussed as possible explanations for the few group differences found with respect to predictors of loneliness. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual and structural origins of friendship and social position among professionals.

Friendship affects individual and organizational well-being through direct relations, social positions, and complex network structures. In this study, the authors use longitudinal data from 2 groups of master's of business administration students to increase understanding of how friendship networks develop. The authors propose and test a dynamic model in which attribute similarity facilitates dyadic friendship ties, as well as similar network centrality and social position; early friendship increases later similarity in structural position and centrality; and early structural similarity enhances the likelihood of future friendship. Findings largely supported the model, demonstrating how homophily and early social contacts can jointly shape maturing friendship networks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual abilities and task demands in relation to performance and satisfaction on two repetitive monitoring tasks.

Hypothesized that task satisfaction is related to individual performance-relevant abilities. Two repetitive monitoring tasks were designed, differing only with respect to the demands placed on specific abilities. Each task was performed by 50 male college students for 3 hrs. A measure of perceptual style predicted performance in the less demanding task, whereas measures of perceptual style, general intelligence, selective attention, and memory predicted performance in the more demanding task. The task-related ability was negatively related to satisfaction in the simple task, whereas curvilinear relationships between abilities and satisfaction were found in the more complex task. Implications for personnel selection and job design are discussed. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapeutic jurisprudence: Five dilemmas to ponder.

This article identifies and examines 5 conundrums confronting therapeutic jurisprudence. Is therapeutic jurisprudence distinguishable from other jurisprudences that share its goal of using the law to improve the well-being of others (the identity dilemma)? Can the term therapeutic be defined in a meaningful way (the definitional dilemma)? Will the vagaries of empirical research, on which therapeutic jurisprudence heavily relies, doom its proposals (the dilemma of empirical indeterminacy)? How will a therapeutic jurisprudence proposal that benefits only a subgroup of those it affects be implemented (the rule of law dilemma)? When and how should a therapeutic jurisprudence proposal be balanced against countervailing constitutional and social policies (the balancing dilemma)? (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The two faces of conscientiousness: Duty and achievement striving in escalation of commitment dilemmas.

The author proposes that 2 facets of conscientiousness, duty and achievement striving, affect decision makers in escalation of commitment dilemmas in opposing ways, thus masking the predictive ability of a broad measure of conscientiousness. It is proposed that duty is associated with an other-centered orientation and that achievement striving is associated with a self-centered orientation. Analyses of decisions from 360 respondents showed that duty was associated with a deescalation of commitment, achievement striving was associated with an escalation of commitment, and the broad measure of conscientiousness was unassociated with commitment. The author advocates the utility of understanding potential self-centered versus other-centered aspects of the criterion of interest when conducting personality-based research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in stimulus intensity modulation and its relationship to two styles of depression in older adults.

Research comparing depressive persons with and without manic symptoms shows striking parallels with differences between augmenters and reducers on the Kinesthetic Aftereffect (KAE) task (A. Petrie, 1967). Twenty-three community-dwelling older adults identified by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (S. R. Hathaway & J. C. McKinley, 1951) as depressive without manic symptoms were compared with 24 older adults with manic symptoms on the KAE, the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI; P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1985), and Strelau (J. Strelau, 1983) Temperament Inventory. As hypothesized, augmentation was related to depression without manic symptoms, and reduction was related to depression with manic symptoms. Stepwise discriminant analyses indicated that the KAE is a potent discriminator between the 2 types of depression. Three characteristics of Strelau's "strength of nervous system"—excitation, and inhibition and mobility—discriminate significantly between the 2 groups as well as NEO extraversion and conscientiousness. Results suggest that older depressive persons with and without manic symptoms may benefit from different therapeutic interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inequities in access to and use of shared resources in social dilemmas.

Investigated the effects of inequities in access to and use of shared resources on harvest decisions and preferences for structural change in resource dilemmas. 70 undergraduates, in groups of approximately 6, harvested resource units from a common resource pool over 10 trials. Following the harvest trials, Ss were asked to vote on how to conduct the session. The variables were (a) access to the resource pool, (b) perceived resource use, and (c) perceived inequity in other group members' harvests. It was hypothesized that high-variance Ss, when placed in a situation where harvest inequities could be attributed to access differences, would demonstrate a stronger preference for equality-restoring decision structures than would low-variance Ss. Results offer little support for this prediction; the variance manipulation had the predicted effect only among high-access Ss in the overuse condition. The access and use variables had independent effects on preferences for structural change. Harvest decisions were mediated by the 3 design variables in the manner predicted by a 3-factor model that assumes that harvest size will be governed by self-interest, a desire to use the common resource responsibly, and conformity to implicit group norms. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward cooperation in commons dilemmas.

This paper first reviews 6 main theories about and influences on cooperation in the commons dilemmas. Commons is defined as any desirable, divisible entity to which multiple individuals or groups have access. Although a commons might consist of space or time, this paper considers resource commons, that is, reservoirs of accessible energy or valuable materials. The dilemma exists when individuals are presented with a choice between self and collective interest in considering environmental problems. Secondly, the authors suggest 2 new directions by clarifying the nature of cooperation both conceptually and mathematically, and outlining a new theoretical perspective. Measures of cooperation must include 4 elements: the number of harvesters, the amount of the resource, the rate of resource regeneration, and the size of harvests. The authors' theoretical suggestion is to place greater emphasis on the rise and fall of various influences on harvester behaviour over the course of a commons dilemma, an emphasis called the sequential-influence approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethical dilemmas in police psychology.

A body of police psychologists was surveyed with regard to the ethical dilemmas that they experienced in providing psychological services to law enforcement organizations. A majority (55%) of the respondents reported that they had encountered an ethical conflict. The most common ethical dilemmas were related to issues of confidentiality, conflicts between the ethical standards of the psychologist and the needs of the agency, and dual relationships. In this article these areas of concern are explored, and suggestions to help resolve these issues are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)