The Negro stereotype and perceptual accentuation.

3 hypotheses were tested: (1) There is no difference in the degree of personality stereotyping of Negro photographs varying widely in physiognomic Negroidness; (2) Anti-Negro judges exaggerate the personality stereotype of Negroes, whereas pro-Negro judges de-emphasize it; and (3) Both anti- and pro-Negro judges perceive the Negro as more Negroid in physiognomic traits than do neutral judges. The first 2 hypotheses were supported by the data. Although a comparison of the mean Negroidness scores for the 3 groups of judges supported the third hypothesis, the difference between the neutral group and the pro-Negro group was not statistically significant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of training Negroes upon cooperative problem solving in biracial teams.

Previous research had indicated that in spite of purposeful structuring to the contrary, Negroes consistently defer to the opinions of whites. The present study investigates the possibility of inducing greater assertiveness and autonomy on the part of Negroes when working with whites. Ss performed a task involving cognitive judgments (items from Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices and other nonverbal tests), first individually, then in groups of 2, paired according to race. Some Ss were given a pretrial condition structured to enhance their level of confidence in their own judgment. Judgmental accuracy and influence on the group decision improved in both races with pretrial conditioning; without it Negroes showed the characteristic deference to the opinion of the white partner, and were less accurate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autonomic responses and their relationship to race attitudes.

Slides showing Negroes elicited greater GSR in Ss having scale-measured prejudice. But the sex of the S also was a factor. "Autonomic activity may be considered as another dimension of attitudinal behavior to be considered along with the verbal and overt action dimension." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selective recall and memory distortion of favorable and unfavorable material.

"An experiment has been described in which the recall of meaningful material by Negro and white delinquent boys has been compared. In an immediate recall series, the Negro Ss recalled more items favorable and unfavorable to Negroes than did the white Ss. In a delayed recall series the Negro Ss were even more superior in the recall of favorable items, but not in the recall of unfavorable items." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude change through modification of attitude structure.

183 experimental Ss were tested regarding their attitudes toward allowing Negroes to move into white neighborhoods, toward 25 values in terms of expected satisfaction from each, and toward the 25 values in terms of "allowing Negroes to move into white neighborhoods" would lead to or block attainment of the values both before and after a change procedure designed to increase the S's awareness that nonsegregation would lead to the attainment of four important values. The experimental procedure changed perceptions and attitudes toward Negro housing segregation in S's with moderate initial attitude on the issue. Little attitude change was produced in extremely prejudiced and extremely nonprejudiced S's (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory for pictures: Does an age-related decline exist?

Examined the effects of varying detail on memory. In Exp I, pictorial embellishment was varied by presenting 27 Ss aged 60+ yrs and 30 undergraduates with normal photographs, high-contrast photographs, or line drawings, and testing their memory immediately and 4 wks later. All of the Ss did best with the most elaborate pictures (normal photographs), and old Ss remembered as well as young at the immediate but not at the delayed interval. In Exp II, with 21 old Ss and 21 18–36 yr olds, detail was varied by adding background to line drawings of a central object. Ss of both ages profited from enhanced background detail, and there were no differences in memory as a function of age. Exp III replicated Exp II, except that Ss (10 elderly and 17 college students) studied the pictures under divided attention conditions. Again, Ss of both ages recognized elaborate pictures best, and no significant age differences emerged. Results suggest that old and young adults profit from visual embellishment and that memory for meaningful pictures remains relatively intact with age. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internal-external control as situational variable in determining information seeking by Negro students.

Notes that Negroes have been reported to hold an external locus of control and to be relatively nonachievement-oriented. 60 Negro undergraduates were told that they were engaged in a diadic experiment aimed either at changing attitudes or at "interaction." Ss were randomly assigned to 3 groups with different levels of success expectancy and task reinforcement value. Number of questions asked about the experiment and the time spent examining each of 3 classes of magazine articles were used as measures of information-seeking behavior. Data support the general hypotheses that internals more actively than externals seek information which they perceive as useful in environmental control and that Negroes behave in an internal, achievement-oriented manner under conditions of appropriate expectancies and reinforcement values. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some effects of reward upon the social perception and motivation of psychiatric patients varying in depression.

This study is concerned with the effects of task performance upon the affective state and social judgments of depressed individuals. Nondepressed and depressed male psychiatric patients were randomly assigned to an experimentally-induced superior- and inferior-performance condition. Prior to and immediately following the experimental task, Ss rated their own mood and judged photographs of male and female adults on a happiness-sadness continuum. Indices of self-confidence were also obtained. Ss in the superior-performance group in comparison to inferior-performance Ss were more self-confident, rated themselves as happier, and perceived others as happier. Depressive Ss tended to be more affected than nondepressed Ss by task performance when estimating how they would do in a future task; the groups did not differ, however, in performance effects on self-ratings or on judgments of photographs. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Face recognition accuracy as a function of mode of representation.

The relative effectiveness of line drawings and photographs as ways of representing information in face reconstruction systems was compared in 2 experiments. In Exp I, 3 independent groups of college students (27 in each group) were required to identify well-known faces shown either as photographs, detailed line drawings, or outline drawings. Photographs were significantly more effective as stimuli than line drawings, which in turn were superior to outlines. In Exp II, 80 Ss aged 16–60 yrs recruited from the public participated in a recognition task. Photographs and detailed line drawings of previously unknown faces served as stimuli. Ss recognized photographs significantly more accurately than line drawings, even when the pose of the target was changed between the exposure and test series. Results are discussed in terms of the development of computer-based face reconstruction systems and theories of face recognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of white authoritarianism in biracial work groups.

This study attempted to determine the effect on Negro Ss of interaction with high and low authoritarian white Ss under varying degrees of forced or voluntary cooperation. Though apparently more prejudiced against low status culture groups, the authoritarian (high F scale) white was more compliant to a biracial situation than nonauthoritarian whites. Among several other findings, the authors conclude: "These results indicate that even when Negroes are given objective evidence of equal mental ability in a relatively brief interracial contact they tend to feel inadequate and to orient compliantly toward whites." From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2GD48K. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do the Kallikaks look "menacing" or "retarded?"

To extend R. E. Fancher's (see record 1987-31600-001) review of claims that photographs of the Kallikak family in H. H. Goddard's (1912) study had been retouched to make them look more menacing and retarded, 29 Ss (aged 18–69 yrs) were surveyed for their impressions of the photographs. Overall, Ss were strongly inclined to view the photographed individuals as "kind" and "very bright." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Boundary extension: Fundamental aspect of pictorial representation or encoding artifact?

Viewers remember seeing more of a scene than was actually depicted in a photograph, a phenomenon called boundary extension (H. Intraub & M. Richardson, 1989). The authors tested whether prior warning would eliminate this distortion, by having 81 Ss view 12 photographs of simple scenes for 15 sec each after receiving 1 of 3 encoding instructions. All Ss were told to remember each picture in detail. Control Ss received no additional information. Test-informed Ss received prior warning about the type of tests. Demo Ss experienced a demonstration of the phenomenon and were instructed to guard against it. After presentation, a drawing task and a boundary recognition test were administered. Prior warning sometimes reduced, but never eliminated, boundary extension. It is suggested that the phenomenon reflects activation of scene expectations during perception. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of two independent stresses upon autonomic responding.

Attempted to determine whether the GSR and cardiac response to "aversive" photographs contained both orienting and emotional components. 40 female undergraduates were shown either photographs of dead or photographs of live individuals projected upside down. 1/2 of the Ss expected, but never received, shocks. Data were interpreted to indicate that in addition to the orienting response, an emotional component was present in the response to the aversive photographs. The effect of shock threat was to increase reactivity to all stimuli. Analysis revealed that the GSR was most responsive to the content of the stimuli while the cardiac response was most sensitive to the shock threat. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of experience in judging children's photographs.

3 groups of Ss—undergraduates, parents, professional psychologists—ranked photographs of 10 children on intelligence, sociability, activity, sensitivity, and mental health. In comparison with a child psychologist who had observed the children over a 2-year period, Ss, as groups, made consistent judgments of intelligence, sociability, and health; but, as individuals, their judgments were of low validity. Judgments of children's photographs are not related to practical experience or to professional training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical attractiveness and mental illness.

Investigated the relation between physical attractiveness and mental disorder in 2 studies of women. In the 1st study, 23 hospitalized mental patients, 30 university employees, and 29 shoppers served as Ss. Results show that the hospitalized mental patients were decidedly less physically attractive than normal controls, based either on live (face-to-face) ratings or on ratings of photographs of the Ss by judges who were unaware of the Ss' mental statuses. Early and current adjustment were reliably associated with appearance for both mental patients and nonpatients. A 2nd study of 50 mental patients replicated some of the 1st study's findings and further examined the consequences of appearance within a psychiatric hospital setting. As compared to the more attractive patients, homelier patients were less socially responsive in a standardized interview procedure, had more severe diagnoses, were hospitalized for longer periods, and received fewer visitors from the community. Physical attractiveness accounted for a large significant amount of length-of-hospitalization variation when degree of psychopathology and other possible moderator variables were controlled statistically. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Older and younger adults' attributions of responsibility toward rape victims and rapists.

Examined the judgments made by 384 undergraduates and 384 50–74 yr olds of assailant and victim responsibility for a sexual assault. Ss were assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: they viewed slides of an assault, read a passage about the crime, or read the passage and saw photographs of both the assailant and the victim. The rapist was presented as either a well-dressed or poorly dressed young man, and the victim appeared either as a provocative or demure young woman. Ss also learned that the victim either physically resisted or failed to resist the assailant. Young Ss attributed more responsibility to the assailant than did older Ss, and the provocative woman was perceived as more responsible for the victimization than the demure woman. Young Ss attributed greater responsibility to the victim when she resisted the assault of a well-dressed assailant than when she resisted a poorly dressed assailant. Females attributed less responsibility to the demure woman when she was assaulted by a poorly dressed assailant than a well dressed assailant. In contrast to older Ss, young Ss who visually observed the crime held the victim more responsible for her victimization. Results are interpreted in terms of the defensive attribution hypothesis of E. Walster (see record 1966-02829-001) and the discounting principle of attribution presented by H. H. Kelley (see record 1973-24800-001). (French abstract) (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Guided memory in eyewitness identification.

72 witnesses (college students) of staged vandalism either subsequently viewed no lineup (NL) or viewed lineups in which the vandal was present (VP) or absent (VA). Ss were asked 5 mo later to view 5 simultaneously displayed lineup photographs. Half the Ss in each lineup condition group were asked whether the vandal's photograph was present and, if so, to identify it; the other half of the Ss were asked to do the same after an interview guiding recollection of the incident, the vandal, and the S's reactions. Recognition accuracy was greater for Ss who underwent guided memory interviews (60% vs 40%). The VP Ss were more often accurate and more confident than were NL or VA Ss. Thus, the guided memory procedure enhanced the accuracy of identification after a moderate delay without biasing the witnesses' recollections about the offender. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The perception of Jewish photographs by non-Jews and Jews.

2 groups of Ss, a Jewish group and a non-Jewish group labeled 100 photographs as Jewish or non-Jewish and selected the 30 that appeared most Jewish-looking. "In both groups high F scorers, but in neither group was there a significant difference in accuracy between high and low scorers. There was no significant relationship in either group between response bias and accuracy. With respect to between-group differences Jews were more accurate than non-Jews and manifested a tendency to label more photographs as Jewish." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's comprehension of actions depicted in photographs.

Two experiments investigated comprehension of pictorial representations in 160 3–6 yr old children. In Exp I, Ss were asked to mimic the poses of children depicted in black and white photographs, to mimic the same poses depicted by the live model, and to describe the contents of the photographs. Exp II replicated the 1st experiment with line drawings and a doll. Performance was significantly better with the live model than with the photographs, drawings, or doll. A comparison among the 3 representational forms indicated that photographs were the most difficult to mimic and describe and that the doll was the least difficult to describe. Results are discussed with respect to the developing ability to interpret symbolic representations and the effects of media-specific characteristics. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)