Impressions of people created by age-related qualities of their gaits.

Drawing on the ecological theory of social perception, we investigated the impact of age-related gait qualities on trait impressions. In Study 1, Ss observed 5- to 70-year-old walkers depicted in point–light displays, and rated the walkers' traits, gaits, and ages. Younger walkers were perceived as more powerful and happier than older walkers. A composite of youthful gait qualities predicted trait impressions regardless of the walkers' masculine gait qualities, sex, and perceived age. In Study 2, Ss observed young adult walkers depicted in point–light displays and rated their traits, gaits, and ages. Consistent with the effects of real age found in Study 1, young adults with youthful gaits were perceived as more powerful and happier than peers with older gaits, irrespective of their masculine gait qualities, sex, and perceived age. Study 3 replicated Study 2 using displays showing walkers' full bodies and faces. A youthful gait predicted trait impressions even when Ss could discern the walkers' age and sex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of facial expression variations on ratings of infants' physical attractiveness.

A potentially important influence on how an adult responds to an infant is the infant's physical attractiveness. To assess whether an infant's physical attractiveness can reliably be judged despite variations in an infant's facial expression, 115 college students rated the "cuteness" of a set of photographs of infants. The set contained 3 photographs varying in facial expression of each of 24 infants. Results indicate that although photographs depicting more positive facial expressions received higher cuteness ratings, cuteness ratings varied less within individual infants than across infants. General facial configuration was more important than facial expression in determining adults' perceptions of infants' cuteness. It is concluded that physical attractiveness appears to be a reliably measurable variable of individual difference as early as infancy. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional Devaluation of Distracting Patterns and Faces: A Consequence of Attentional Inhibition During Visual Search?

Visual search has been studied extensively, yet little is known about how its constituent processes affect subsequent emotional evaluation of searched-for and searched-through items. In 3 experiments, the authors asked observers to locate a colored pattern or tinted face in an array of other patterns or faces. Shortly thereafter, either the target or a distractor was rated on an emotional scale (patterns, cheerfulness; faces, trustworthiness). In general, distractors were rated more negatively than targets. Moreover, distractors presented near the target during search were rated significantly more negatively than those presented far from the target. Target-distractor proximity affected distractor ratings following both simple-feature and difficult-conjunction search, even when items appeared at different locations during evaluation than during search and when faces previously tinted during search were presented in grayscale at evaluation. An attentional inhibition account is offered to explain these effects of attention on emotional evaluation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of the "mentally retarded" label on adult judgments about child failure.

Retarded children show marked susceptibility to learned helplessness. Three experiments illustrate how adults may foster this helplessness. In Exp I, 152 college students reported causal attributions for failure and expectancies of future success for either "a 6-yr-old child" or "a 9-yr-old mentally retarded child with a mental age of 6 yrs." In Exp II, 58 Ss reported attributions and expectancies for both children. In both experiments, insufficient ability was rated a more important cause of failure for the retarded than for the unlabeled child, insufficient effort was rated more important for the unlabeled child, and the retarded child was rated less likely to succeed in the future. In Exp III, 54 Ss' responses indicated that either a low expectancy of success, an insufficient-ability attribution, or the retarded label alone would reduce the likelihood of their urging a child to persist after a failure. Results suggest a proposed attributional bias (overextension), a familiar attributional bias in a new context (discounting), and resultant helplessness-condoning behavior by adults. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patterns of children's coping with an aversive dental treatment.

Children's disposition to monitor for threat-relevant cues predicted their coping strategies and levels of distress when dealing with invasive dental work. High monitors reported that they had engaged in greater sensory vigilance and avoidance strategies during treatment. Neither the tendency to monitor nor children's sensory vigilance was related to videotape observations of their attention deployment. High monitors reported increased anxiety and were rated as more anxious, particularly when they also engaged in high avoidance. Children's reports of question asking were related to videotape observations of question asking. In addition, children who asked more questions were rated as more anxious and disruptive during treatment. Individual differences in how children deal with a familiar but largely uncontrollable stressor are discussed, particularly with respect to the encounter phase of coping. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional state and the use of stimulus dimensions in judgment.

Previous studies have demonstrated that, when they are emotional, individuals are more likely to attend to emotional stimuli. However, such work has not established that individuals attend to the emotional dimensions of complex stimuli or that such changes in focus of attention affect judgments. In the present experiments a multidimensional scaling analysis was used to assess the weights that happy, sad, and neutral-emotion participants gave to emotional and nonemotional dimensions of face stimuli in judgments of similarity. Compared to neutral-emotion participants, those in emotional states gave more weight to the emotional dimension of the faces, less weight to other face dimensions, and rated pairs of faces that expressed the same emotion as more similar. Emotion-congruent dimension use was also observed in one experiment. Results are discussed with respect to emotional response categories (P. M. Niedenthal & J. B. Halberstadt, 1995), the tendency for stimuli to cohere as categories on the basis of the emotional response they elicit in the perceiver. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived control and learned helplessness among retarded and nonretarded children: A developmental analysis.

Learned helplessness is produced by successive failures and by feedback attributing failure to uncontrollable causes. Retarded children appear to encounter both causal factors frequently and may thus be susceptible to helplessness. To test this possibility, children of low (70), average (100), and high (130) IQ at 3 MA levels (5?, 7?, and 9? yrs) were administered a response-initiation measure, a puzzle-repetition measure of perseverance after failure, and a questionnaire designed to gauge attributions for failure. Teachers also rated Ss on a helplessness scale. Helplessness, as measured by the 2 questionnaires, declined with MA. On the 3 helplessness measures derived from Ss themselves, there was an IQ by MA interaction: The low-IQ group showed more helplessness relative to nonretarded children at the upper MA level than to nonretarded children at the 2 lower levels. Results, although qualified in some respects, are consistent with the view that helplessness can be learned over time by children who repeatedly fail to effect the outcomes that they desire and who learn to attribute failure to factors beyond their control. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Local and relational aspects of face distinctiveness

Distinctiveness contributes strongly to the recognition and rejection of faces in memory tasks. In four experiments we examine the role played by local and relational information in the distinctiveness of upright and inverted faces. In all experiments subjects saw one of three versions of a face: original faces, which had been rated as average in distinctiveness in a previous study (Hancock, Burton, & Bruce, 1996), a more distinctive version in which local features had been changed (D-local), and a more distinctive version in which relational features had been changed (D-rel). An increase in distinctiveness was found for D-local and D-rel faces in Experiment 1 (complete faces) and 3 and 4 (face internals only) when the faces had to be rated in upright presentation, but the distinctiveness of the D-rel faces was reduced much more than that of the D-local versions when the ratings were given to the faces presented upside-down (Experiments 1 and 3). Recognition performance showed a similar pattern: presented upright, both D-local and D-rel revealed higher performance compared to the originals, but in upside-down presentation the D-local versions showed a much stronger distinctiveness advantage. When only internal features of faces were used (Experiments 3 and 4), the D-rel faces lost their advantage over the Original versions in inverted presentation. The results suggest that at least two dimensions of facial information contribute to a face's apparent distinctiveness, but that these sources of information are differentially affected by turning the face upside-down. These findings are in accordance with a face processing model in which face inversion effects occur because a specific type of information processing is disrupted, rather than because of a general disruption of performance.     

The face of aging: Sensitivity to facial feature relations changes with age.

Fundamental to face processing is the ability to encode information about the spatial relations among facial features (configural information). Using a bizarreness rating paradigm, we found older adults differed from young adults in rating configurally distorted faces (eyes, mouth inverted) as less bizarre across all tested orientations (0° to 180°), and were more vulnerable to orientation effects when faces were rotated beyond 90°. No age-related differences in perception of either unaltered faces or featurally distorted faces (eyes whitened, teeth blackened) occurred. These findings identify changes in sensitivity to configural information as an important factor in age-related differences in face perception. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learned helplessness in Black and White children identified by their schools as retarded and nonretarded: Performance deterioration in response to failure.

20 Black and 20 White children who had been identified as retarded and nonretarded but were similar in MA (110.2–214.3 mo) were administered concept formation problems designed to reveal use of strategies. When feedback was veridical the groups did not differ in their use of effective strategies, but when feedback became consistently negative the groups diverged markedly. Under negative feedback, retarded Ss showed striking deterioration in strategy usage, but nonretarded Ss showed no deterioration. Consistent with these findings, teachers rated retarded Ss as significantly more helpless than their nonretarded peers on a checklist of relevant school behavior. Additional findings suggest that Black retarded Ss may be more susceptible to helplessness than are their White counterparts. Finally, group differences in verbalizations during problem solving bore little relation to group differences in actual performance. Findings point to helplessness deficits in retarded children that may interfere significantly with expression of their actual abilities. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pain assessment in children with cognitive impairment. An exploration of self-report skills

Prior to surgery, 47 children (ages 8 to 17) with borderline to profound cognitive impairment were administered tasks to evaluate their understanding of the concepts of magnitude and ordinal position and their abilities to use a 0 to 5 numerical scale to rate pain levels in schematic faces. Of the 111 children (ages 4 to 14) without cognitive impairment, were administered the same tasks. Nurses conducting preoperative evaluations predicted whether children would understand the numerical scale. Fifty percent (n = 3) of children with borderline and 35% (n = 7) of children with mild cognitive impairment (and all children 8 years and older nonimpaired) correctly used the scale. Half of the children with cognitive impairment demonstrated skills (magnitude and ordinal position) that may allow them to use simpler pain rating methods. Nurses overestimated the abilities of cognitively impaired children (and younger children without cognitive impairment) to use the rating scale.     

Effects of age and gender on perceived facial attractiveness.

Examined 2 alternative predictions: (1) that Ss would find others similar to themselves as most attractive or (2) that men would prefer younger women and women more mature men. 22 men and 25 women (aged 17–29 yrs), 16 men and 18 women (aged 30–49 yrs) and 18 men and 32 women (aged 50+ yrs) rated the physical attractiveness of 72 photographs of faces from similar age/gender categories. For all groups of Ss, perceived attractiveness declined with age of face, particularly for women's faces. In addition, most groups rated women's faces as more attractive than those of men, the exception being men under 30 yrs, who rated men higher. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

An experimental test of schema interaction.

"In an attempt to test propositions about the interaction of schemata, three stimuli, incidental to the stimulus to be rated, were paired with three supraliminal faces in a partly balanced design. Twenty-three subjects rated the stimuli and faces initially on an Osgood Semantic Differential. In a second session, several months later, they rated each face again, preceded by one of the objects below the level of focal awareness. It was predicted that the object and face schemata aroused by the first rating would be reactivated, and would interact in a predictable way to produce a new rating of the face. For two of the three types of objects, ratings of the face following the negative and control incidental stimuli moved in the direction of the object rating, in support of the hypothesis. The findings were discussed in terms of a theory of incidental schemata that influence ongoing cognition." From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4CM11S. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex effects on performance ratings on manager–subordinate dyads: A field study.

Tested the hypothesis of N. Schmitt et al (see record 1980-33528-001) that people rate those similar to themselves with more confidence, which is reflected in larger variances in performance ratings. 286 manager–subordinate dyads in all 4 sex combinations comprised the sample. Subordinates rated managers on the Behavioral Observation Scales (BOS), and managers rated subordinates using the Minnesota Satisfactoriness Scales (MSS). Bartlett's test for homogeneity of variance revealed that female subordinates produced significantly more variability when rating their male managers than when rating their female managers on total BOS rating. Female managers produced more variable ratings of male subordinates than for female subordinates on total MSS rating. Male subordinates and managers did not produce more variable BOS or MSS ratings when appraising other males than when rating females. Results are discussed in terms of role expectations. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of real and recalled success on learned helplessness and depression.

The effects of recalling past successes on the deficits in learned helplessness and depression were examined and, for learned helplessness, compared with those of real success. Ss were 84 female, English university students who had been rated on the Beck Depression Inventory. Depressed Ss and nondepressed Ss receiving unsolvable problems showed deficits in anagram performance and some evidence of lowered mood compared with nondepressed Ss receiving no unsolvable problems. Experience with solvable letter substitution problems reversed anagram deficits and low mood associated with learned helplessness, replicating previous findings. Recalling successes on letter substitution problems had no effect on the anagram deficits in learned helplessness and depression and had an effect in improving mood only in learned helplessness. Real and recalled success both significantly modified attributions for failure in the learned helplessness condition. Results suggest real success does not have its therapeutic effects by modifying attributions for failure toward external factors. Some evidence of a facilitatory effect of depression on initial anagram performance was obtained. It is concluded that recall of past successes, while easier to arrange than real success experiences, may not be a powerful clinical procedure. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inversion and processing of component and spatial–relational information in faces.

This study compared effects of inversion on perceptual processing of faces with distorted components (eyes and mouths) and faces distorted by altering spatial relations between components. In a rating task, participants inversion reduced the rated grotesqueness of spatially distorted faces but not that of faces with altered components. In a comparison task, pairs of faces were shown side by side; participants judged whether they were identical or different. Inversion greatly reduced the rate at which participants responded within 3 s to pairs that differed spatially, but not pairs that differed componentially. Also, latencies for detecting spatial differences were lengthened by inversion more than latencies for detecting componential differences. Results support the hypothesis that inversion impairs encoding of spatial-relational information more than, or instead of, componential information, depending on the task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral and emotional problems of students with learning disabilities, serious emotional disturbance, or both conditions

This study investigates the behavioral and emotional problems of children with learning disabilities (LD), serious emotional disturbance (SED), and LD/SED, using the Teacher Report Form (TRF) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The sample consisted of 217 students with LD, 72 with SED, and 68 with SED/LD, ages 6 to 18 (mean age = 11.5). The students with SED were rated more impaired than the students with LD on all TRF scales except Attention Problems, and on three of the eight CBCL syndrome scales. The children with LD differed from those with SED mainly in terms of severity of problems, not with respect to type of problem. It is concluded that students with co-morbid LD and SED are underidentified and underserved in special education systems.     

Academic consequences and longitudinal stability of behavioral subtypes of learning disabled children.

47 school-identified learning disabled (LD) students (aged 6 and 7 yrs at the beginning of the study) who had been classified into 6 behavioral subtypes by a technique of hierarchical cluster analysis were followed longitudinally for 3 yrs to determine their educational outcomes and examine the stability of subtype membership. Classroom and special-education teachers rated children each year on measures of independence–dependence, task orientation–distractibility, extraversion–introversion, and considerateness–hostility. Measures of reading and mathematics achievement were taken each year. Ss with attention problems and those who presented problem behaviors in the classroom during the 1st and 2nd grades showed poorer achievement outcomes in later grades, compared with those who did not present atypical behaviors and those who presented a withdrawn pattern of behavior. Although children tended to switch subtype membership over 3 yrs, the proportion of LD children in adaptive and maladaptive subtypes was similar at Years 1 and 3, as determined by classroom teachers' ratings in subsequent years. Developmental changes in subtype membership are discussed with respect to the effects of special-education services and the social-emotional sequelae that have been associated with school failure. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anxiety and sensitivity to gaze direction in emotionally expressive faces.

This study investigated the role of neutral, happy, fearful, and angry facial expressions in enhancing orienting to the direction of eye gaze. Photographs of faces with either direct or averted gaze were presented. A target letter (T or L) appeared unpredictably to the left or the right of the face, either 300 ms or 700 ms after gaze direction changed. Response times were faster in congruent conditions (i.e., when the eyes gazed toward the target) relative to incongruent conditions (when the eyes gazed away from the target letter). Facial expression did influence reaction times, but these effects were qualified by individual differences in self-reported anxiety. High trait-anxious participants showed an enhanced orienting to the eye gaze of faces with fearful expressions relative to all other expressions. In contrast, when the eyes stared straight ahead, trait anxiety was associated with slower responding when the facial expressions depicted anger. Thus, in anxiety-prone people attention is more likely to be held by an expression of anger, whereas attention is guided more potently by fearful facial expressions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and conduct disorder in native and non-native children

OBJECTIVE: To compare depression and conduct disorder symptoms between North American Native and non-Native children as rated by teacher, parent, and self-reports. METHOD: The sample included 1,251 Native children in grades 2 and 4 in four different settings across North America and comparison samples of 457 non-Native children. Parents, teachers, and children rated children's mental health using culturally sensitive measures of depression and conduct disorder symptoms. RESULTS: According to parent ratings and child self-reports, there were no Native/non-Native differences in levels of conduct disorder symptoms. However, non-Native teachers rated higher levels of conduct disorder symptoms among Native children compared with non-Native students. Children reported higher levels of depression than the adults rating them. CONCLUSIONS: Results challenge assertions about high levels of psychopathology among Native youngsters. Cultural distance may introduce a negative bias in teacher evaluations of Native children's mental health.