Evidence against early selection: Stimulus quality effects in previewed displays.

H. Pashler (see record 1985-05791-001) reported that when Ss identified a probed letter in a display of 8 characters, the effect of stimulus quality on reaction time (RT) persisted full blown even when Ss had 300 msec to preprocess the display. Pashler argued that these results are incompatible with theories of late selection but that they are naturally accommodated by the ones of early selection. The authors report 14 experiments using Pashler's methodology in which the effects of stimulus quality were reliably attenuated with a preview of the letter array. Pashler's results were also replicated, but only under a narrow set of conditions. Several "early selection" accounts of the interaction of probe delay with stimulus quality were examined and rejected in favor of a late selection account. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A correction to the hierarchical regression analysis used by Smyth: A comment on Pedhazur.

The author acknowledges that E. J. Pedhazur (see record 1984-13952-001) correctly pointed out errors in the present author's (see record 1983-07281-001) use of ANCOVA via hierarchical regression analysis in a study on psychopathology as a function of neuroticism. One of the conclusions reached in the study required modification once the errors were corrected. That is, J. Reyher's (1962) paradigm did produce psychopathology in highly hypnotically susceptible Ss, but the Ss' neuroticism did not influence their reports of psychopathology. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-awareness-reducing effects of alcohol consumption.

Three experiments with 180 males examined the effects of alcohol consumption on the self-aware state. Based on a model proposed by J. G. Hull (see record 1982-05684-001), it was predicted that alcohol would reduce self-awareness. In Exp I, Ss consumed either alcohol or tonic and then gave short speeches about themselves. All Ss expected to consume alcohol. The speeches were coded for frequency of self-focused statements. In support of predictions, alcohol reduced the relative frequency of self-focused statements. Exp II replicated this finding and demonstrated that it did not depend on Ss' expectancies regarding the beverage they consumed. Exp III investigated a potential mechanism for these effects. Alcohol was proposed to reduce self-awareness by interfering with the encoding of self-relevant information. Using an incidental-memory paradigm, it was found that high-private self-conscious Ss recalled more self-relevant words than did low-self-conscious Ss under placebo conditions, thus replicating the findings of Hull and A. S. Levy (see record 1980-27166-001). (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obesity and protection from risk.

Responds to W. B. Webb's (see record 1987-26955-001) and H. E. Yuker's (see record 1987-26956-001) comments on the present authors and J. Plotkin's (see record 1986-12806-001) study of human Ss review board decisions by affirming the need for human Ss review boards and by defending the study's distinction between sensitive and nonsensitive forms of discrimination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Scanning and form-contingent color aftereffects.

G. K. Humphrey et al (see record 1994-28172-001) and J. Broerse and P. Grimbeek (see record 1994-28160-001) suggested that the form-contingent color aftereffect reported by S. Siegel et al (see record 1992-22207-001) would not be obtained if Ss were instructed to scan the induction and assessment forms. The authors present data from 10 adult Ss who were instructed to scan the forms. These scanning Ss displayed aftereffects that were no different from those described earlier by Siegel et al. Scanning Ss do display spatiotopic contingent color aftereffects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual information and response strategies: A comment on Briand and Klein.

Comments on the interference effect found by K. A. Briand and R. M. Klein (see record 1989-21213-001), V. Di Lollo and M. Moscovitch (see record 1984-14011-001), and P. Dixon (see record 1986-21077-001). A framework for discussion is based on the target-array confusion model described by Dixon, and distinguishes between the available perceptual information Ss have to make a response and the strategies Ss use to combine this information and arrive at a decision. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The paradigm and the fuzzy logical model of perception are alive and well.

J. E. Cutting et al (see record 1993-00237-001) criticized the paradigm for inquiry and the fuzzy logical model of perception (FLMP) presented in D. W. Massaro (see record 1989-14292-001). In this reply to their remarks, it is shown that (1) the properties of the paradigm are ideal for inquiry; (2) models are best tested against the results of individual Ss and not average group data; (3) model fitting and ANOVA do not give contradictory results; (4) the FLMP can be proven false and does not have a superpower to predict a plethora of functions or to absorb random variability; and (5) various extraneous characteristics of a model, such as equation length, cannot account for the success of the FLMP. On the other hand, the empirical findings of Cutting et al give important new properties of pattern recognition. Finally, Cutting's theory of directed perception is compared with the FLMP. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The alcoholism controversy revisited.

Responds to G. A. Marlatt's (see record 1986-02189-001) reply to the present author's (see record 1986-02199-001) criticism of Marlatt's (see record 1984-13214-001) earlier article regarding the effectiveness of controlled drinking treatment for alcoholics by refuting Marlatt's defense of the methodology used in M. B. Sobell and L. C. Sobell's (see record 1973-23611-001) research on controlled drinking for hospitalized patients; it is suggested that arguments over the outcome for the Sobell and Sobell experiment are moot since the treatment procedures employed did not result in either sustained controlled drinking or stable abstinence in the abstinence-trained Ss. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attention, similarity, and the identification–categorization relationship.

A unified quantitative approach to modeling Ss' identification and categorization of multidimensional perceptual stimuli is proposed and tested. Two Ss identified and categorized the same set of perceptually confusable stimuli varying on separable dimensions. The identification data were modeled using R. N. Shepard's (see record 1959-05134-001) multidimensional scaling-choice framework, which was then extended to model the Ss' categorization performance. The categorization model, which generalizes the context theory of classification developed by D. L. Medin and M. M. Schaffer (see record 1979-12633-001), assumes that Ss store category exemplars in memory. Classification decisions are based on the similarity of stimuli to the stored exemplars. It is assumed that the same multidimensional perceptual representation underlies performance in both the identification and categorization paradigms. However, because of the influence of selective attention, similarity relationships change systematically across the 2 paradigms. Findings provide some support for the hypothesis that Ss distribute attention among component dimensions so as to optimize categorization performance and that Ss may have augmented their category representations with inferred exemplars. Results demonstrate that excellent predictions of categorization performance can be made given knowledge of performance in an identification paradigm. (51 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of order of presentation, primacy, and physical attractiveness on attributions of ability.

Conducted 4 experiments with 720 undergraduates to determine if physical attractiveness interacts with or negates the primacy effect found by E. E. Jones et al (see record 1969-06853-001). Results demonstrate that attractive Ss received uniformly high attributions regardless of performance. Unattractive Ss, however, received attributions similar to those received by Ss who had no physical-attractiveness stimuli presented. Physical attractiveness had an effect only when presented before performance. When presented after performance, attributions received by attractive-stimulus Ss were not significantly different from attributions received by unattractive-stimulus Ss, as had been the case when attractiveness was presented before performance. Results support D. Newston (see record 1974-11048-001) and Newston and R. J. Rindner's (1979) hypothesis that perceivers may stop processing information once a point of sufficient subjective information is reached. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of atypical exemplars of social and nonsocial superordinate categories within the class inclusion paradigm.

Investigated hierarchical categorization using typical and atypical exemplars from social and nonsocial superordinate categories within the class inclusion paradigm. Ss were 96 male and female children in kindergarten and Grades 2, 4, and 6. Of the 33 stimulus pictures, 9 depicted nonsocial categories (e.g., birds), 18 depicted social occupations more typical of males than females (e.g., doctors), and 6 depicted social roles equally typical of males and females (e.g., parents). Results confirm the findings of M. T. Carson and A. Abrahamson (see record 1977-20805-001) that atypical instances of nonsocial categories significantly reduced inclusion performance. A parallel adverse effect was found for atypical exemplars of the social categories with Ss in the midstage of acquisition. Consistent with E. Rosch's (1973) theoretical framework and the findings of Rosch and C. B. Mervis (see record 1976-06117-001), these results are interpreted to reflect differences in the conceptual breadth of children's hierarchical knowledge structures. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing symbol usage versus symbol competency.

Responds to comments by S. Sugarman (see record 1984-22390-001) and C. A. Ristau (see record 1984-22382-001) on the present authors' (see record 1984-22384-001) article on chimpanzee language acquisition. The assumption that chimpanzees use their acquired symboling capacity in a manner different from that of human children is addressed. It is concluded that these differences are not significant in that they reflect the need, with ape Ss, to report data that are not open to criticisms of cuing, rather than real differences in communicative purpose. It is argued that a distinction must be made between the totality of an ape's symbol production and the ape's capacity to respond correctly in particular test settings. This separation reveals the inappropriateness of criticizing the tests of ape capacities as though such tests were the only extant behavioral evidence of symboling capacity. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When are social judgments made? Evidence for the spontaneousness of trait inferences.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 50(2) of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (see record 2008-10962-001). There are errors in the labeling of Figure 1 on p. 244. The ordinate percentages should be three times greater than indicated. In addition, the algebraic formula in the note for Table 2 on p. 245 is incorrect. The correct ordinate percentages and the correct algebraic formula are provided in the erratum.] Adapted E. Tulving and D. M. Thomson's (see record 2005-09647-002) encoding specificity paradigm for 2 recall experiments with 153 undergraduates to investigate whether Ss would make trait inferences without intentions or instructions at the encoding stage of processing behavioral information. Under memory instructions only, Ss read sentences describing people performing actions that implied traits. Later, Ss recalled each sentence under 1 of 3 cuing conditions: a dispositional cue (e.g., generous); a strong, nondispositional semantic associate to an important sentence word; or no cue. Results show that recall was best when cued by the disposition words. Ss were unaware of having made trait inferences. Interpreted in terms of encoding specificity, findings indicate that Ss unintentionally made trait inferences at encoding. It is suggested that attributions are made spontaneously, as part of the routine comprehension of social events. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The overjustification effect: A developmental test of self-perception interpretations.

Examined the self-perception explanations of the overjustification effect and their underlying assumptions about cognitive structures based on the operation of multiple-sufficient-causal schemata (MSCS). Two studies were carried out that initially identified the Ss as belonging to the additive, transitional, or discounting stage of MSCS according to the procedure of M. C. Smith (see record 1974-22388-001). A total of 94 5-, 8-, and 11-yr-old schoolchildren were selected as Ss. Half of the Ss were given a tangible reward for an interesting task in the usual overjustification paradigm. The results of both studies indicate that the rewarded groups showed a decline in intrinsic interest that was independent of the Ss' level of functioning on the schema. The author examines objections to the present research strategy and assesses the educational implications of the outcomes. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theodore M. Newcomb and the acquaintance process: A commentary.

Comments on an article by T. M. Newcomb (see record 1980-05433-001), giving a summary of Newcomb's career and commending the type of study which he alone conducted for many years. These studies were done in natural settings with Ss indigenous to those settings, involved little or no intervention by the experimenter, were long term, and studied the interdependency of variables rather than simple cause-and-effect relations. Newcomb's work could provide the "new methodological paradigm" which many social psychologists are calling for. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

If you are gender schematic, all members of the opposite sex look alike.

96 male and 96 female undergraduates classified on the basis of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory were asked to recall "who said what" after listening to a taped conversation either among 3 men and 3 women (the gender study) or among 3 Blacks and 3 Whites (the race study). Analysis of Ss' errors revealed that both sex-typed and cross-sex-typed Ss confused the members of the opposite sex with one another significantly more than androgynous or undifferentiated Ss did. In contrast, no individual differences related to sex typing emerged in the race study, which suggests that the greater gender schematicity of sex-typed individuals is specific to gender, as S. L. Bem's (see record 1981-25685-001) gender schema theory implies. The finding that cross-sex-typed Ss were significantly more gender schematic than anyone else and the apparent inconsistency of the data with the self-schema theory of H. Markus et al (see record 1982-23588-001) are discussed. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preschoolers' understanding of pretense and presumption of congruity between action and representation.

In a series of 4 studies, A. S. Lillard's (see record 1993-32884-001) paradigm for studying preschoolers' understanding of pretense was replicated and systematically examined. The design varied the extent of the contradiction built into Lillard's format. Decreases in contradictory information yielded increases in the incidence of correct judgments indicative of an implicitly representational understanding of pretense. The findings present a challenge to Lillard's (see record 1993-32884-001) conceptual analysis of pretense and suggest that methods adopted from the classic false-belief paradigm of H. Wimmer and J. Perner (see record 1983-27705-001) may be inappropriate for assessing preschoolers understanding of pretense. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In defense of reasoning: A reply to Greene (1992).

Responds to S. B. Greene's (see record 1992-15270-001) argument that assertions of the form "None of the A are in the same place as some of the C" are difficult for Ss to generate and that this explains the results of multiply quantified reasoning without having to invoke mental models or deductive reasoning by P. N. Johnson-Laird et al (see record 1990-03501-001). This article shows (1) that the phenomenon fails to explain most of the principal results; (2) that, far from undermining the theory of mental models, it can actually be explained by the theory; and (3) that the best available account of the results is that Ss both reason and rely on mental models to do so. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)