Effects of sex guilt on interpersonal pleasuring.

Two experiments (120 undergraduate males) investigated whether conceptualization of sex guilt could be extended to an interpersonal physical pleasuring paradigm. In Exp I, low-guilt (as determined by the Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory) Ss administered more overall pleasure to a female confederate than did high-guilt Ss. In Exp II, in addition to a main effect for guilt, high-guilt Ss administered significantly lower levels of pleasure when they anticipated further interaction with the confederate than when they did not. Low-guilt Ss administered slightly more pleasure when they anticipated further interaction with the confederate. Results are not consistent with D. L. Mosher's (see PA, Vols 39:9269 and 40:4236) hypothesis that low-guilt Ss are more sensitive to situational cues than high-guilt Ss. It is suggested that the inconsistency was a function of the reinforcement value of interpersonal pleasuring. Although previous research required Ss to make responses that had little apparent reinforcement value, the nature of the pleasuring response did appear to have reinforcement value for both low- and high-guilt Ss, since they increased their levels of pleasuring over trials. A 3rd experiment (24 Ss) that failed to find a relationship between hostility-guilt and pleasuring provided strong support for the relation between sex guilt and interpersonal pleasuring. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aggression and blood pressure responses of high- and low-guilt subjects following frustration.

After completion of the Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory, a total of 64 females were randomly assigned to frustration or neutral conditions. Frustrated Ss were told by E that their performance on a counting task was unsatisfactory and were not given an expected reward. Frustrated Ss showed (a) a significant increase in diastolic blood pressure during the task; (b) more aggression toward E on a postexperimental Research Evaluation Questionnaire (REQ); and (c) a significant decrease in diastolic pressure after the REQ, especially in low-guilt Ss. No differences were found between groups in systolic pressure, and not all high-guilt Ss inhibited their aggression. (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)     

Effects of interview length and applicant quality on interview decision time.

Investigated the impact of applicant quality (high vs low) and expectation of interview length (30 vs 15 min) on interview decision time using 60 experienced employment counselors from private employment agencies as Ss (30 males average age 35.5 yrs; modal education level 4 yrs of college). Ss were shown a videotape of a staged interview and were asked to make a hire/not hire decision as soon as they felt they had sufficient information. As predicted, Ss required significantly more time to decide when viewing the high-quality applicant. They also required more time to decide when they expected the interview to last 30 min. An examination of the correlations between ratings and decision time for the high-quality-applicant condition showed most of them to be negative. However, correlations in the low-quality-applicant condition were mostly positive. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children with peer adjustment problems: Sequential and nonsequential analyses of school behaviors.

Compared the behavior of 48 4th- and 6th-grade boys with positive (P) and negative (N) peer status in a naturalistic school setting. N Ss differed more from P Ss in the older sample than in the younger sample. N Ss also showed an excess of playful aggressive behavior, suggesting a deficit in aggression socialization. Sequential analyses provided general support for the reciprocity hypothesis, which posits that individuals tend to match the affective quality of a response to that of the previous response. Peer interactions beginning with negative and neutral responses, however, progressed differently for N and P Ss. Whereas negative exchanges with P Ss became neutralized over time, negative exchanges with N Ss tended to persist in a negative manner. Paradoxically, N Ss showed a greater tendency to respond in a friendly positive manner after receiving neutral peer contacts than P Ss. The utility of sequential analyses for identifying interaction patterns that might contribute to the development of maladaptive behaviors and the importance of social systems-oriented intervention strategies are discussed. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In defense of the Velten mood induction procedure.

Examined whether the Velton Mood Induction procedure (VMIC) (E. Velton, 1968) produced mood effects only through demand characteristics, in 2 studies. In study 1, 50 undergraduates were assigned to 1 of the 5 mood conditions: Positive, negative, neutral, and positive and negative demand. They were presented the VMIC, and were then asked to complete the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL). In study 2, 49 Ss were assigned to 1 of 4 imagine conditions with target moods: Elated, depressed, in a positive or negative mood; and were then asked to complete the MAACL. Mood effects of the VMIC were genuine and not simply the product of demand characteristics. Ss reported mood change after reading the VMIC. The VMIC did not provide Ss with information about a mood state that they did not already know, and Ss did not respond more extremely to the moods of depression and elation as compared to negative and positive moods. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processing deficits and the mediation of positive affect in persuasion.

Motivational and cognitive mediators of the reduced processing of persuasive messages shown by recipients in a positive mood were tested. Ss in positive or neutral moods read strong or weak counterattitudinal advocacies for either a limited time or for as long as they wanted. Under limited exposure conditions, neutral mood Ss showed attitude change indicative of systematic processing, whereas positive mood Ss showed no differentiation of strong and weak versions of the message. When message exposure was unlimited, positive mood Ss viewed the message longer than did neutral mood Ss and sytematically processed it rather than relying on persuasion heuristics. These findings replicated with 2 manipulations of mood and 2 different attitude issues. We interpret the results as providing evidence that reduced cognitive capacity to process the message contributes to the decrements shown by positive mood Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How unassertive women perceive emotional expressions.

Examined assertive and unassertive women's perception of others' emotional reactions. 96 undergraduate women completed the College Self-Expression Scale, an assertiveness inventory. Ss were presented with 12 requests which they imagined refusing. Ss were then shown, in sequence, 3 different photographs depicting the other person's response. Ss identified and indicated the intensity of the particular emotion they saw in the photograph. Results indicate that when viewing a smiling expression, low assertive Ss saw significantly more negative emotion and less positive emotion than high assertive Ss. High and low assertive Ss did not differ in the emotion they perceived in the slightly distressed or very distressed expressions. Results suggest an interpersonal focus in understanding unassertive behavior. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Looking happy: The experimental manipulation of a positive visual attention bias.

Individuals with a positive visual attention bias may use their gaze to regulate their emotions while under stress. The current study experimentally trained differential biases in participants' (N = 55) attention toward positive or neutral information. In each training trial, one positive and one neutral word were presented and then a visual target appeared consistently in the location of the positive or neutral words. Participants were instructed to make a simple perceptual discrimination response to the target. Immediately before and after attentional training, participants were exposed to a stress task consisting of viewing a series of extremely negative images while having their eyes tracked. Visual fixation time to negative images, assessed with an eye tracker, served as an indicator of using gaze to successfully regulate emotion. Those participants experimentally trained to selectively attend to affectively positive information looked significantly less at the negative images in the visual stress task following the attentional training, thus demonstrating a learned aversion to negative stimuli. Participants trained toward neutral information did not show this biased gaze pattern. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Post-decision changes in time spent viewing chosen and rejected alternatives.

Investigated postdecision changes in time spent viewing chosen and rejected alternatives as a function of providing 30 undergraduates with positive information (PI), negative information (NI), or no information (NOI) as to the correctness of their decisions. The procedure consisted of (a) recording the time spent by each S viewing each of a series of nonrepresentational patterns; (b) presenting the 2 patterns closest in viewing time for a decision; (c) providing either PI, NI, or NOI as to the correctness of the decision; and (d) presenting the series of patterns a 2nd time and recording once again the time spent viewing each. Consistent with the results of studies employing ratings or rankings of attractiveness, analyses of variance revealed that the Ss of the NOI group increased their viewing of the chosen alternative (p     

Displaced aggression and its modification through exposure to antiaggressive communications.

This study explores the conditions under which displacement of aggression to delinquents takes place and the effect of exposure to group norms emphasizing nonaggresive responses to provocation. 55 college Ss were assembled in groups of 3 to discuss by notes the fictitious case of a juvenile delinquent. ? of these Ss received noncommittal, neutral communications, while ? received notes which stressed rational, constructive approaches to instigatory situations. ? of each group was subsequently insulted by the E. Ss exposed to neutral communications were significantly more punitive toward the delinquent following insult while those receiving the nonaggressive communications did not show this displacement effect and were also less negative toward the E than the neutral Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancy, alcohol, and sex guilt as determinants of interest in and reaction to sexual stimuli.

Selected 72 male undergraduate social drinkers from high, moderate, and low scorers on the Sex Guilt subscale of the Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Scale. Ss were assigned to 1 of 4 conditions in a balanced-placebo design utilized to control for psychological as well as physiological factors determining the effects of drinking on behavior. After consuming beverages, Ss viewed and evaluated photographic slides of erotic content and then reported on their sexual arousal. The time Ss spent viewing each slide was unobtrusively recorded. Overall, greater sexual arousal was indicated by Ss who thought they had received alcoholic beverages, regardless of actual drink content. In all conditions except the high sex guilt/expect tonic groups, viewing times increased as a positive linear function of pornography ratings of the slides. Results demonstrate that psychological aspects of individual differences can mediate expectancy effects in research on alcohol and social behavior. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preparing children for medical examinations: The importance of previous medical experience.

Investigated the relationship between past experience and children's response to preparation for medical examinations in 79 outpatients (aged 3–12 yrs). Ss were assigned to 1 of 5 preparation conditions prior to receiving a medical examination and a throat culture: sensory information, training in coping skills, combined sensory information and coping skills training, attention control, and no-treatment control. Results indicate that Ss with previous negative medical experiences demonstrated more behavioral distress during a throat culture examination than did Ss with previous positive or neutral medical experiences. The attention control condition appeared to increase the distress of Ss with previous negative medical experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational biases in causal attributions of arousal.

Two studies hypothesized that the desire to seek ambiguity as to the cause of a particular state of arousal will increase if either that arousal state or its source is potentially threatening to self-esteem. In Exp I, 22 high- and 21 low-sex-guilt male undergraduates (as determined by the Mosher Forced Choice Sex Guilt Inventory) were shown either an arousing erotic movie or a nonarousing movie; in Exp II, 28 high- and 28 low-guilt females were led to believe that they were very aroused by pictures of nude men. Ambiguity was introduced into both situations by means of a bogus, nonthreatening, alternative arousal source (a placebo). Results indicate that high-guilt Ss were actively involved in the process of determining which source was arousing them. More importantly, this involvement appeared to be motivated by ego-defensiveness. In both experiments, when high-guilt Ss were confronted by an erotic stimulus, they chose to attribute arousal to the bogus source—and thus create ambiguity as to the actual cause and nature of their arousal—more than did low-guilt Ss. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood as a moderator of acceptance of interpersonal feedback.

Two studies demonstrated that feedback is likely to be accepted when its affective tone matches an individual's mood state. In Study 1, Ss in an induced positive mood were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of positive feedback, whereas Ss in an induced negative mood were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of negative feedback. In Study 2, after a neutral mood induction, nondepressed Ss were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of positive feedback, whereas depressed Ss were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of negative feedback. After a positive mood induction, both nondepressed and depressed Ss were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of positive feedback. These results suggest that motivations for self-enhancement or self-consistency do not generally underlie acceptance of feedback. Instead, a model of accessibility of information in memory is proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Binocular vision and spatial perception on 4- and 5-month-old infants.

Conducted 4 experiments investigating the relation between the development of binocular vision and infant spatial perception. Exps I and II compared monocular depth perception in 39 4- and 5-mo-old infants. Results show that Ss in both age groups reached more consistently for the nearer of 2 objects under binocular viewing conditions than under monocular viewing conditions. Exps III and IV investigated whether the superiority of binocular depth perception in 89 4-mo-olds is related to the development of sensitivity to binocular disparity. In Exps I–II, under binocular viewing conditions, Ss who were identified as disparity-sensitive reached more consistently for the nearer object than did Ss who were identified as disparity-insensitive. The 2 group's performances did not differ under monocular viewing conditions. Results suggest that, binocularly, the disparity-sensitive Ss perceived the objects' distances more accurately than did the disparity-insensistive Ss. In Exps II–IV when Ss were habituated to an object, then presented with the same object and a novel object that differed only in size, disparity-sensitive Ss showed size constancy by recovering from habituation when viewing the novel object. Disparity-insensitive Ss did not show clear evidence of size constancy. Findings suggest that the development of sensitivity to binocular disparity is accompanied by a substantial increase in the accuracy of infant spatial perception. (64 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Victim reactions in aggressive erotic films as a factor in violence against women.

Investigated whether the behavioral characteristics of the people in erotic films and the nature of the targets available for aggression afterward can affect subsequent aggression. In Exp I, 80 male undergraduates were angered by a male or female confederate. They were then shown a neutral film or 1 of 3 erotic films. The erotic films differed in terms of their aggressive content (2 were aggressive and 1 was not) and the reactions of the female victim in the 2 aggressive films (positive vs negative). Ss were then allowed to aggress against the confederate via electric shock. Results indicated that films had no effect on male targets, whereas both types of aggressive erotic films increased aggression toward the females. In Exp II with 80 male Ss, the effects of the above films on nonangry viewers were investigated with only female confederates. Results indicate that angered Ss were more aggressive toward the female after viewing either aggressive erotic film but that only the positive-outcome aggressive film increased aggression in nonangered Ss. The theoretical and applied aspects of aggressive and nonaggressive erotica are discussed. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Activity valence as a function of mood change.

Investigated variation of activity evaluations as a function of affective change. 32 depressed and 36 nondepressed college students were exposed to 1 of 3 mood induction conditions, including depressive, elated, or neutral statements. Additionally, each S rated several activities for degree of pleasantness before and after mood manipulations. Affect-induction procedures were successful in changing or intensifying characteristic mood. For both groups, the induction of negative affect significantly decreased the enjoyableness attributed to activities, the induction of positive affect significantly elevated activity evaluations, and a neutral induction did not significantly change activity ratings. Contrary to predictions, depressed and nondepressed Ss did not differ in their initial evaluations of activities, indicating that they may approach activities with similar expectations of reinforcement. Implication for P. M. Lewinsohn's (1974, 1975) model of depression are discussed. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of anxiety level and psychological stress on verbal learning.

"It was predicted that under neutral conditions high anxiety (high drive) Ss would exhibit a performance superior to that of low anxiety (low drive) Ss on a paired-associate learning task with minimal intratask interference but that under conditions of psychological stress (report of inadequate prior performance) high anxiety Ss, due to the greater arousal of interfering extratask responses, would no longer exhibit the superiority found under neutral conditions. Results indicated that while the high anxiety Ss under neutral instructions were significantly superior to the low anxious, as predicted, and the Ss operating under stress were inferior to their neutral controls, the predicted interaction between anxiety level and stress was not found." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Decoding emotional messages: Influence of ethnicity, sex, message type, and channel.

Studied whether sex of sender and receiver, ethnic group of sender, positivity of affect, and communication channel would influence decoding of emotional messages. 34 male and 47 female Anglo-Australian Ss viewed videotapes of male or female Australian, British, or Italian speakers, who each presented 18 content-ambiguous messages with positive, negative, or neutral affect. Ss guessed the intended affect in each message. Analyses revealed that female encoders were better decoded than male encoders for positive and negative messages on all channels, but female decoders were more accurate than males only in the audiovisual (picture and sound) condition. Positive messages were decoded least accurately, especially when the speakers were Australian men. Although Italian men in the audiovisual condition were decoded worse than other men on neutral and negative messages, in the visual (picture only) condition, Italian men were decoded as well as other men. Italian women were decoded as accurately as other women for positive and neutral messages in both the audiovisual and visual conditions. In the audio (sound only) condition, Italian speakers of both sexes were decoded less accurately than other speakers of their sex. It is suggested that Italian accents were a distractor of decoding and that Anglo-Australian Ss paid less attention because of more negative attitudes toward male Southern European immigrants. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)