Passive avoidance learning in psychopathic and nonpsychopathic offenders.

Research on passive avoidance learning has demonstrated reliable differences between psychopaths and controls when avoidance errors result in electric shock but not in loss of money. Using monetary punishments, J. P. Newman et al (see record 1985-22847-001) found that psychopathic delinquents performed more poorly than controls in an experimental paradigm employing monetary reward as well as the avoidance contingency. The present study was conducted to replicate and extend these findings using adult psychopaths and a computer controlled task. 60 White male prisoners (mean age approximately 25 yrs) were assigned to psychopathic or nonpsychopathic groups using R. D. Hare's psychopathy checklist and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III). Ss were administered a "go/no-go" discrimination task involving monetary incentives. One condition entailed competing reward and punishment contingencies; the other, 2 punishment contingencies. As predicted, psychopaths made significantly more passive avoidance errors than nonpsychopaths when the task contained competing goals but performed as well as controls when the Ss' only goal was avoiding punishment. Results corroborate earlier findings that psychopaths are relatively poor at learning to inhibit reward-seeking behavior that results in monetary punishment. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interviewer use of positive and negative self-disclosure and interviewer-subject sex pairing.

Investigated the effect of interviewer use of positive or negative self-disclosure and interviewer-S sex pairing on Ss' perceptions of the interviewer and of their own behavior. 36 male and 36 female undergraduates served as Ss; 3 male and 3 female doctoral students served as interviewers. Results indicate that (a) interviewers who disclosed negative information about themselves were perceived as significantly more empathic, warm, and credible than interviewers who disclosed positive information about themselves; (b) Ss interviewed by a negatively disclosing interviewer perceived that they procrastinated significantly less after the interview than before, while the opposite was true for subjects in the positive disclosure condition; (c) Ss in both disclosure conditions were significantly more confident of their procrastination estimates after the interview; and (d) none of the effects due to interviewer-S sex pairing reached significance. The need for further studies investigating interviewer self-disclosure as both a means of generating a facilitative atmosphere and a counseling intervention to effect perceived or behavioral client change is noted. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotion in the criminal psychopath: Startle reflex modulation.

Measured startle-elicited blinks during presentation of affective slides to test hypotheses concerning emotional responding in psychopaths. Ss were 54 incarcerated sexual offenders divided into nonpsychopathic, psychopathic, and mixed groups based on file and interview data. Consistent with findings for normal college students, nonpsychopaths and mixed Ss showed a significant linear relationship between slide valence and startle magnitude, with startle responses largest during unpleasant slides and smallest during pleasant slides. This effect was absent in psychopaths. Group differences in startle modulation were related to affective features of psychopathy, but not to antisocial behavior per se. Psychopathy had no effect on autonomic or self-report responses to slides. These results suggest an abnormality in the processing of emotional stimuli by psychopaths that manifests itself independently of affective report. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Referencing and bias in social interaction.

Examined the consequences of schematic referencing for social behavior. In Exp I, 23 female and 21 male undergraduates worked in pairs on a word association task. In the self-referencing condition, Ss were told that their partner would judge their personality; in the other-referencing condition, Ss were asked to judge their partner's personality. Results show biased recall of Ss' own behavior over another person's behavior in a dyadic interaction. Exp II employed an alternative, more realistic manipulation of self-referencing using situational cues. 16 pairs of undergraduate Ss performed the same word association task either in front of judges or by themselves. The biased recall effect was replicated. Moreover, corresponding biases in Ss' attributions about the quality of their performance were found. Results confirm that self-referencing cues can cause the sort of egocentric reactions that have been observed in previous studies in which members of an interaction remember more of their own contributions and attribute more responsibility for joint tasks to themselves. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in students' perceptions of routine classroom events.

144 Ss (72 males and 72 females) in Grades 1–5, who differed in classroom adjustment (according to teachers' judgments), were presented with 3 written vignettes portraying inappropriate student behavior. Interviews probed Ss' predictions of their teacher's motivation and response to the 3 vignette characters. Results show that Ss' reports varied across vignettes and differed primarily by grade level. Older Ss' responses were more elaborated and differentiating. Younger Ss' constructs tended to be more global, emotional, and value-laden. Females evidenced a more elaborate understanding of their teacher's motivation and behavior than males. Nonproblem Ss' working knowledge of the classroom, including discussion of their teacher, the vignette characters, and their reaction to them, did not differ from that of Ss who had a range of difficulties in the classroom. Of the troublesome Ss, only those diagnosed as hyperactive were notable for their differential responses. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in interaction style as a product of perceived sex differences in competence.

Observed the interaction styles of 72 male and 72 female university students while they worked in 4-person, mixed-sex groups on a discussion task. In some groups, Ss were only given information about each other's names and gender. In this circumstance, males were perceived by themselves and other group members to be higher in competence than females. Males also engaged in a greater amount of active task behavior than females, who exhibited a greater amount of positive social behavior than males. In other groups, Ss' competency-based status was manipulated by providing false feedback that they were high or low relative to their group in intellectual and moral aptitude. High-status Ss were then perceived to be more competent and engaged in more active task and less positive social behavior than low status ones. In this condition, no sex differences were obtained on perceived competence or on active task or positive social behavior. Findings support the idea that the gender differences obtained in interaction when status was not specified were partially a function of Ss' belief that the sexes differ in competence. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in moral reasoning.

Explored the possibility that socialization into different sex roles for men and women may contribute to the observed sex difference in moral development. 40 undergraduates were classified as either masculine, feminine, or androgynous according to the Bem Sex-Role Inventory and were administered the Moral Judgment Interview (MJI). For half the Ss, the central character in the MJI dilemmas was a male and for the remaining half, a female. Results reveal that males, when judging from the perspective of a female character, provided reasons for her actions congruent with the Stage 3 level of moral reasoning. However, for the same action portrayed by a male character, reasons for his behavior were in accord with Stage 4. No difference for the female judges was found between the characters of either sex. Regardless of the protagonist's sex, Ss scored at Stage 3. Ss' moral reasoning did not differ according to their sex-role classification. Males, however, held more strongly than females the belief that male decisions on morality are based on law-and-order reasoning, and female decisions are made from an emotional perspective. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual monitoring performance in three subgroups of male delinquents.

Administered a questionnaire measuring psychopathic, neurotic, and subcultural delinquency to 268 male delinquents. 3 groups of 15 Ss each were formed from Ss who scored above the mean on 1 scale and below the mean on the other 2. It was predicted that the more psychopathic Ss would show a greater performance decrement on a vigilance task. A significant effect was found between groups and a significant decrement over trials for signals detected and RTs; psychopathic Ss performed consistently poorer than the other 2 groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Helplessness and resourcefulness in coping with epilepsy.

Examined the hypothesis that emotional sequelae of epilepsy are a joint function of the epilepsy severity level and Ss' perceived repertoire of self-control skills (i.e., their learned resourcefulness). 50 19–50 yr old epileptic patients were divided into 3 groups according to the occurrence frequency of generalized tonic-clonic seizures: high, medium, and low frequencies. Ss were further divided into high-resourceful (HR) and low-resourceful (LR) groups according to their scores on the Self-Control Schedule. Ss were administered a battery of tests that included the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory. In a structured interview Ss' emotional adjustment level was evaluated as well as their beliefs in their ability to control their health and seizures. In the medium and low categories of seizure frequency, HR Ss were significantly less depressed and anxious and coped better with their disability than LR Ss. However, in the high-frequency range of seizures, HR and LR Ss equally showed low levels of emotional adjustment. Regardless of the severity level of the epilepsy, HR Ss maintained a stronger belief in their control over their health and their seizures. Seizure frequency had no effect on these beliefs. Data support the notion that individual differences in learned resourcefulness influence the coping level of epileptics, in particular in the less severe cases of epilepsy. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Postural and gestural communication of A and B "therapist types" during dyadic interviews.

Administered a 20-item version of the A-B therapist-type scale to 225 male undergraduate and graduate students. 20 Ss were chosen from each of the scale extremes, and were randomly placed in interviewer or interviewee roles such that there were 5 pairs in each of the 4 possible dyad combinations. Each interviewer conducted a 12-min interview, with instructions to learn as much as possible about the interviewee. The interviews were observed through a 1-way screen by 4 Os trained to record postural and gestural behavior and 2 raters who judged the emotional climate of the interview. Following the interviews, Ss completed a subjective reaction questionnaire consisting of items paralleling those completed by the raters. Results suggest that As were more variable in their postural and gestural behavior than were Bs. Bs also reflected greater interpersonal approach and affiliation in their postural and gestural behavior than did As. (30 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interviewer disclosure modeling, information revealed, and interviewee verbal behavior.

Investigated the effectiveness of the interviewer as a model of and recipient for interviewee self-disclosure when modeled content revealed favorable or unfavorable personal information. Of 24 undergraduate males who served as Ss, 8 were in a control condition and received only minimal interview structuring. During a 30-min interview, Ss talked about their relationship with 4 target persons. Contrary to a "model status loss" hypothesis suggested by previous research, the disclosure of unfavorable information did not decrease the effectiveness of the interviewer's interventions. Although Ss' perceptions of their disclosing interviewer were in the expected direction on 9 of 10 interpersonal rating dimensions, between-group differences did not reach significance. Ss talked longer and achieved higher levels of self-exploration in both modeling conditions than in the no-model control situation. Frequency and patterning of Ss' positive and negative self-references also were related to treatment conditions. Implications for psychotherapy interventions and continued interview behavior research are discussed. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploring minors' reluctance and dissatisfaction with psychotherapy.

Among 42 10–19 yr olds with learning and associated behavioral or emotional problems who had been referred for counseling, 79% manifested some form of reluctance or dissatisfaction, as demonstrated by refusal to participate, expressions of ambivalence, avoidance, or premature termination. The most frequent reasons for negative attitudes toward psychotherapy were perceived negative attributes of therapy, Ss' feeling that they did not need therapy, and lack of choice in the decision. Ss' mothers and therapists tended to attribute their resistance to therapy to defensiveness, rebellion, or other negative attributes of the Ss. Ss who were reluctant to enter therapy rated it as less important and were rated by their therapists as less committed than Ss who were not reluctant to begin therapy. A 1-yr follow-up of 25 Ss showed a high degree of consistency in Ss' attitudes toward and decisions regarding psychotherapy. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychopathy and autonomic conditioning.

Utilized a delayed, differential paradigm to investigate electrodermal, cardiac, and vasomotor conditioning in 18 psychopathic, 18 nonpsychopathic, and 18 "mixed" inmates. 3 tones, each 10 sec. long, were presented 16 times each in random order, alone, or followed by a shock or slide of a nude female. The psychopaths gave very little evidence of differential electrodermal conditioning. However, they acquired differential cardiac and digital vasomotor responses just as readily as did the nonpsychopaths to the CS followed by shock or by slides. Neither group gave any evidence of differential cephalic vasomotor conditioning. The psychopaths exhibited a lower level of tonic electrodermal activity and were less electrodermally responsive than were the other Ss. There were no differences between groups in tonic heart rate or in cardiac or digital vasomotor responsivity. However, the psychopaths responded to shock with cephalic vasodilation while the nonpsychopaths responded with vasoconstriction. (34 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nonverbal cues in the employment interview: Links between applicant qualities and interviewer judgments.

Investigated the role of nonverbal behavior in the employment interview inference process, using a modified Brunswik lens model. Job interviews for an actual research assistant position were conducted and videotaped with 34 candidates (aged 18–67 yrs). Job applicants' self-appraised motivation to work and social skill were assessed, and their nonverbal behaviors during the interview were scored. 18 judges with training and experience in employment interviewing watched the videotaped interviews and rated the Ss on their motivation, social skill, and hirability. Social skill was more accurately inferred by the judges as a group than was motivation to work. Ss' social skill was apparently transmitted to the judges via 3 nonverbal cues: rate of gesturing, time spent talking, and formality of dress. In contrast, there was a lack of correspondence between cues correlated with Ss' self-appraised motivation to work and those used by judges in making their attributions. Implications for employment interview training are discussed. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual Experiences Survey: Reliability and validity.

Explored the veracity of self-reported sexual experiences as relayed by university students (242 females and 144 males) on a sexual experience survey that was completed once privately and a 2nd time in the presence of an interviewer. The Ss were selected from a group of 4,000 students to represent all degrees of exposure to sexual aggression and sexual victimization. Of the female Ss (mean age 21.3 yrs), 86% were single, 92% were White, and 25% were in each year of college study. Of the male Ss (mean age 21.7 yrs), 89% were single, 87% were White, and 25% were in each year of college study. Female Ss were classified as nonvictimized, sexually coerced, sexually abused, or sexually assaulted. Male Ss were classified as nonsexually aggressive, sexually aggressive, sexually abusive, or sexually assaultive. The Pearson correlation between female Ss' level of victimization (LOV) based on self-report and her LOV based on responses as related to the interviewer was .73. Among the 62 females whose self-reports suggested that they were rape victims, only 2 changed their responses. The LOV correlation between male Ss' responses was .61. Results reveal a tendency for males to deny behaviors during interviews that had been revealed on self-reports. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of paradoxical and self-control directives in counseling.

32 students who reported having a serious and recurring procrastination problem were randomly assigned to either of 2 directive interview conditions (paradoxical or self-control) or to a no-interview control condition. Dependent measures included weekly S ratings of problem frequency, perceptions of problem controllability, expectation to change, and satisfaction with behavior, as well as a measure of Ss' perceptions of the interviewer. Results after 4 wks indicate that both directive groups exhibited generally greater improvement over time than controls and that the opposing forms of direction promoted different change patterns on self-report measures of problem frequency and controllability. Specifically, Ss exposed to paradoxical directives reported a sharper rate of change in their procrastination without viewing their problem behavior as significantly more controllable. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Probability of punishment and suppression of behavior in psychopathic and nonpsychopathic offenders.

To investigate the hypothesis that psychopathic offenders would show less suppression of behavior as a function of punishment at varying levels of probability, 3 groups of Ss were selected. 50 criminal offenders were divided into 2 groups of psychopathic (mean age 31.5 yrs) and nonpsychopathic (mean age 30.7 yrs) offenders based on clinical ratings. A 3rd group of 25 nonoffenders (mean age 28.9 yrs) was also used. A probability-learning card game was developed that consisted of 10 different levels of punishment probability, with the punishment based on the response-cost technique of removing reinforcers (i.e., chips redeemable for money). A measure of suppression was obtained from the reduction of Ss' response rates. Results show psychopathic offenders to produce the least suppression and the lowest winnings, with these findings attributed to the psychopaths being least responsive when the probability of punishment was most uncertain. Results are best explained in terms of cognitive factors, with the element of magical or superstitious logic proposed as a major pathognomic characteristic of psychopathy. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in interaction style and influence.

Observed 128 Ss in mixed- and same-sex dyads to examine effect of interaction on sex differences in influence. Ss discussed 2 topics on which they disagreed. During the 2nd discussion, 1 S in each pair was told to influence the other. Ss showed more agreement and positive social behavior when paired with a woman and more disagreement and task behavior when paired with a man. Although women were more easily influenced, this effect was mediated by the partners' behavior. Ss were influenced more by a partner who agreed with them and less by one who disagreed. Path analyses and ANCOVAS revealed that Ss' sex predicted the partners' behavior toward them, which in turn predicted the sex difference in influence. When instructed to be influential, Ss increased disagreements, but only with male partners. Results indicate that the masculine interaction style used when interacting with men is less effective than the feminine style used when interacting with women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)