Dynamics of social interactive behavior: A computerized procedure for analyzing trends, patterns, and sequences.

Describes procedures that use detailed and sequential observations of monkey mother-infant interactive behavior to make a coordinated analysis of development. Computer programs provide for (1) organizing the behavioral data into frequency tables and developmental curves, (2) making analyses of variance and trends comparing groups of Ss, and (3) determining statistically the patterns of simultaneous behavior and the sequences of patterns that characterize individual Ss and groups. This treatment of a large volume of data is economically feasible. The computer programs have been generalized for application in various kinds of behavioral research. Analyses provide bases in concrete behavioral terms for deriving hypotheses about the dynamics of social behavior and development. This approach promises a more complete and developmental view of complex interactive processes. Greater sophistication in the use of computer capabilities and in the application of mathematical models and treatments can increase its effectiveness. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Situational determinants of social anxiety in clinic and nonclinic samples: Physiological and cognitive correlates.

Compared the level of physiological reactivity and frequency of negative cognitions in 26 nonclinic, socially anxious (SA) Ss (mean age 20.8 yrs), 17 clinic SA patients (mean age 40.8 yrs), and 26 nonsocially anxious (NSA) Ss (mean age 22.0 yrs) to investigate the consistency of cognitive and physiological reactivity in the assessment of social anxiety. A social interaction self-statement test served as the cognitive measure. Physiological reactivity was monitored continuously throughout Ss' completion of the following behavioral tasks: an unstructured interpersonal interaction with an opposite-sex confederate, a similar interaction with a same-sex confederate, and an impromptu talk on a topic selected by the S. The clinic and nonclinic samples of SA Ss differed significantly from the NSA Ss in level of physiological reactivity and type of cognition. There were no significant differences between the 2 anxious groups. The results indicate that both thoughts and physiological reactivity were influenced by situational parameters. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral training of social skills in shy males.

31 college males who had reported themselves unable to interact with women in specific social situations were asked to record every interaction for 1 wk. Following this, a series of behavioral tests was given. When compared to a group of confident Ss, shy Ss interacted with fewer women, in fewer situations, and for less time outside of the laboratory. In laboratory test situations shy Ss rated themselves and were rated by Os as being more anxious. Pulse rate was monitored during the behavioral testing. Confident Ss had significantly less pulse rate change during the test situations. After pretesting, shy Ss were randomly assigned to either an assessment control group or an analogue treatment group, with treatment consisting of 3 sessions of behavior rehearsal, modeling, and coaching. On posttesting, Ss who had received treatment showed less physiological responsivity to the testing stimuli, reported less anxiety, and were rated as being more skillful in the test situations. Behavioral diaries revealed that following treatment Ss who received training changed more than control Ss on several measures of frequency and duration of interactions with women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inferring interpersonal traits from behavior: Act prototypicality versus conceptual similarity of trait concepts.

Investigates 2 models of the cognitive process underlying trait ratings; the trait-to-trait process states that trait inferences are guided by the conceptual similarity among traits. Ss were presented with 6 fictitious persons. Each was described by acts referring to 1 of 6 traits. Ss rated the targets on interpersonal trait terms. If trait ratings are gathered immediately after the presentation of behavioral information about a single target (Study 1), these ratings correspond closely to the prototypicality ratings of the acts on the trait concepts (behavior-to-trait process). However, if Ss have to keep the behavioral information about several targets in memory (Study 2), the trait ratings are guided by the conceptual relations among the concepts under study (trait-to-trait process). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hiring the disabled: An attempt to influence behavioral intentions through a media presentation.

Tested whether a media presentation could influence the stated willingness of 199 health professionals (average age 28.1 yrs) to hire wheelchair-confined workers for jobs in hospital settings. Beliefs of these health professionals regarding the consequences of hiring such workers were identified during interviews with a small pilot sample (e.g., disabled workers cannot physically perform the work). The slide/tape presentation focused on these beliefs, marshaling evidence to refute them, and showing wheelchair-confined hospital workers competently doing their jobs. The results of scores of attitudinal, behavioral intention, and behavioral measures show that those Ss who saw the slide/tape presentation indicated more favorable behavioral intentions to hire both wheelchair-confined workers and workers with double amputations than did Ss who saw no presentation. The groups did not differ in their stated intentions to hire persons with cerebral palsy. A companion study conducted with 99 vocational rehabilitation counselors (average age 28.9 yrs), using a similar slide/tape presentation, yielded similar results. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of actor depression on observer attributions: Existence and impact of negative attributions toward the depressed.

This experiment examined whether others explain the successes and failures of depressed versus nondepressed people differently and how these attributions are related to affective and behavioral reactions to a request for psychological help. Ss reported attributions about the success and failure experiences of hypothetical depressed and nondepressed people. Ss also responded to a hypothetical request for psychological help by indicating their attributions, affective reactions, willingness to help, and desire for future social contact. As hypothesized, Ss displayed more negative attributions toward depressed people. Replicating prior research (W. P. Sacco et al; see record 1986-12000-001), Ss responded to the depressive's request for help with mixed emotional and behavioral reactions. Path analyses revealed that attributions influenced affective reactions, which influenced willingness to help; but a more complex pattern emerged from the analysis of desire for future social contact. Results are discussed in terms of the interpersonal impact and possible causes of negative attributions about the experiences of depressed people. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hypothesis-testing processes in social interaction.

In 4 separate investigations, female undergraduates were provided with hypotheses about the personal attributes of other individuals (targets). Ss then prepared to test these hypotheses (i.e., that their targets were extraverts or that their targets were introverts) by choosing a series of questions to ask their targets in a forthcoming interview. In each investigation, Ss planned to test these hypotheses by preferentially searching for behavioral evidence that would confirm the hypotheses. Moveover, these search procedures channeled social interaction between Ss and targets in ways that caused the targets to provide actual behavioral confirmation for Ss' hypotheses. A theoretical analysis of the psychological processes believed to underlie and generate both the preferential search for hypothesis-confirming behavioral evidence and the interpersonal consequences of hypothesis-testing activities is presented. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling influences in social drinking: An experimental analogue.

48 male college students classified as heavy social drinkers were assigned to 1 of 6 groups in a 3 * 2 factorial design. The 1st factor consisted of 3 modeling conditions: exposure to a model who was a heavy consumer of alcohol; a light drinking model; and a no-model control condition. For the 2nd factor, Ss engaged in a brief prior social interaction with the model who played a role that was either warm or cold in emotional quality. Modeling effects were then assessed in a laboratory wine-tasting task in which the S and the model participated together. Ss exposed to the heavy drinking model drank significantly more alcohol than Ss in the low-consumption model and no-model conditions, which did not differ from each other. The prior interaction conditions did not affect drinking behavior. Results are discussed within a theoretical framework that emphasizes the social learning determinants of drinking behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relative efficacy of modeling, shaping, and the combined procedures for modification of social withdrawal.

Selected 31 social isolates from 4 nursery school populations according to teacher and behavioral samples obtained by trained Os. In a 2 * 2 factorial design, 16 Ss viewed a 23-min modeling film depicting appropriate social behavior, while the others viewed a control film. Half the Ss in each film condition then received social reinforcement contingent upon the performance of peer interaction behaviors. Modeling was a more rapid modification procedure than was shaping, and the interaction levels produced through modeling, with or without the addition of shaping, were more stable over time. In follow-up assessments, modeling Ss remained at the level of nonisolates, while shaping and control Ss returned to isolate level. (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teaching personal safety skills for potential prevention of sexual abuse: A comparison of treatments.

71 children from 2 grade groups (kindergarten and 1st grade and 5th and 6th grades) participated in either (a) a filmed program ("Touch"; Illusion Theater Co. & Media Ventures, Inc., 1984); (b) a behavioral skills training (BST) program in which modeling, behavioral rehearsal, and social reinforcement were used to teach safety skills; (c) a combination of the two; or (d) a no-treatment control presentation. In comparison with the control presentation, the BST program, alone or in combination with the film, was more effective than the film alone in enhancing knowledge about sexual abuse. Posttreatment group comparisons suggested the superiority of the BST program for enhancing personal safety skills. The treatments were not differentially effective across gender or age, but older Ss performed significantly better than did younger Ss. The knowledge and skill gains made directly after treatment were maintained for the 3 mo between posttest and follow-up assessments. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive sets, attribution, and social interaction.

Examined relationships among cognitive set variables, attribution, and behavior using 135 female undergraduates. Ss were given either positive-, negative-, or no-set information about the emotional health of a stimulus person prior to observing a videotaped social encounter. After viewing the tape, Ss were administered a free-response attribution measure or a distraction task. All Ss then engaged in actual social interaction with the stimulus person. Results indicate that (a) Ss receiving positive-set information wrote more positively valenced attributions and displayed more positive behavioral responses than did Ss receiving negative- and no-set information. (b) Ss who made attributions exhibited more pronounced behavioral responses as a function of the set manipulation than did those who did not make attributions. It is argued that the latter data reveal the important role of attribution in mediating the effects of set on behavior. Overall data are discussed as reflecting a control motivation in the production of attribution and behavior. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characteristics predicting social functioning and treatment response in clients impaired by extreme shyness: Age of onset and the public/private shyness distinction.

52 adults that were functionally impaired by extreme shyness participated in an interview that assessed factors surrounding shyness onset, social functioning, strategies for coping with shyness, and behavioral skill in social interactions. 34 Ss then participated in an 8-wk behavioral treatment program that provided training in social skills. Ss reporting early onset also described their parents as shy, while Ss reporting later onset had a childhood history of emotional or physical abuse. Ss with observable behavioral deficits were more likely to benefit from the behavioral treatment program than were shy Ss with few overt symptoms. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ontogeny of thermoregulatory mechanisms in the rat.

The ability of rats to select a warm environment was studied as a function of postnatal age (birth to 13 days), using 100 Long-Evans hooded rats as Ss. Ss younger than 5 days demonstrated no choice response (movement to a warm compartment, 36-37 .C); however, they did demonstrate movement within the start compartment (23 .C). Increasing the motor capabilities of the pups, by injection of levodopa (50 mg/kg), elicited a choice response in 4-5 day-old Ss. Younger Ss demonstrated no choice of a warm environment even though they moved considerably. Also there was no difference between levodopa-treated and control Ss in the magnitude of temperature change in pups isolated from their mother for 1 hr. The evidence suggests development of behavioral thermoregulatory mechanisms prior to abilities for internal regulation. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributional complexity: An individual differences measure.

Describes the development of a scale that measures the complexity of attributional schemata for human behavior—the Attributional Complexity Scale (ACS). In Study 1, the ACS was administered to 289 undergraduates. The results show that the ACS had adequate internal reliability and test–retest reliability, and a factor analysis yielded 1 major factor. Study 2 tested the discriminant and convergent validity of the ACS by administering it to 81 undergraduates. As predicted, attributional complexity was not related to social desirability, academic ability, or internal–external locus of control, but it was positively related to the need for cognition. Study 3 confirmed the prediction that psychology majors (n?=?59) would have more complex attributional schemata than natural science majors (n?=?35). Studies 4 and 5, with 174 Ss, provided evidence for the external validity of the scale: Attributionally complex Ss compared with attributionally simple Ss spontaneously produced more causes for personality dispositions and selected more complex causal attributions for simple behavioral events. Implications for various issues in social cognition are discussed. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social support as a moderator of the aftereffects of stress in female psychiatric inpatients.

Assessed the impact of social support on poststressor cognitive impairment to provide a laboratory test of the buffering hypothesis of social support. High or low support was operationalized as the warm or the neutral behavior of an experimenter in an interview that preceded the experimental stressor, high or low task load (TL). Ss were 32 nonpsychotic female psychiatric inpatients (mean age 28 yrs). The predicted interaction was found on a poststressor anagram task. The performance of low-TL Ss was not markedly affected by the interview condition, whereas high-TL Ss performed significantly better in the warm interview condition. Heart rate data also supported the hypothesized buffering role of support. It is concluded that training in interpersonal skills required to mobilize social support might provide patients with some protection against the effects of stressful events. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On specificity in the impact of social participation on physical and psychological health.

Distinguished specific components of social interaction and health and examined differential relationships among them in an experiment with 43 male and 53 female undergraduates. Three distinct categories of social participation variables were posited: quality, quantity, and social traits. It was hypothesized that health problems would be more frequent among Ss with poor quality interaction and that socially communicated illnesses (e.g., urinary-sexual disorders) would be more prevalent among Ss with a greater quantity of social participation, regardless of quality. Ss completed instruments to assess self-esteem, loneliness, self-consciousness, Machiavellianism, sex-role orientation, trust and social skills. Ss were rated for physical attractiveness, and their visits to the health service were recorded. Results confirm the hypotheses for females. For males, the pattern of results was more complex, in that masculinity and femininity influenced the manner in which symptoms were expressed. Findings support the notion that social relations have a specific impact on health. (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Procedural variation in behavioral avoidance tests.

Varied level of demand for approach to a live snake in a behavioral avoidance test by presenting the test either as a measure of degree of avoidance (low demand) or as a measure of physiological components of anxiety which required that Ss handle the target object (high demand). Mode of presentation of instructions was also manipulated; 1/2 of the 50 female undergraduates in each condition heard "1-shot" tape-recorded instructions and were alone in the test room (impersonal mode), while the other 1/2 heard the instructions presented by a "live" E who accompanied the S to the test room and provided sequential instructions for each step in the behavioral avoidance test (personal mode). The main effect of context was significant on latency to touch and overt fear measures (with low-demand Ss displaying more fear), while the main effect of mode was significant for behavior approach score as well as overt fear (the personal mode was associated with less avoidance). Implications for psychotherapy outcome research employing behavioral avoidance tests are discussed. (61 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of social competence in borderline essestial hypertension.

Examined the social competence of 22 male borderline hypertensives (aged 19–45 yrs) in relation to cardiovascular responsivity to a behavioral role-play test (RPT) of assertiveness. Ss were divided into 2 groups: one group experienced large increases in pulse pressure (PP) in response to social challenge (Group 1), while the other group showed small changes in PP (relatively equal rises in systolic and diastolic blood pressure) under the same stimulus condition (Group 2). These differential group patterns of cardiovascular response were specific to interpersonal stressors because the groups did not differ in reactivity to cognitive challenges. Group 2 Ss evidenced unassertive responding on a role-play test of negative assertion and were rated by significant others as the least socially competent as compared to normotensive controls (who received the highest social competence ratings) and Ss in Group 1. Group 1 Ss responded in an inappropriately assertive fashion on the RPT and had shorter response latencies during the RPT than Ss in Group 2, suggesting that Ss in Group 2 had greater levels of interpersonal anxiety. Findings indicate that hostile inappropriate assertiveness and inappropriate submissiveness may be associated with hypertension. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of environmental complexity and space on social interactions of mice (Mus musculus and Peromyscus leucopus).

Examined the effects of environmental space and complexity on social behavior in albino laboratory and wild house mice (M. musculus) and wild white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus). Pairs of males or females of each type were introduced into circular arenas of 0.5-, 1-, or 2-m diameter containing 0, 8, or 16 internal barriers. Behavioral characteristics were assessed by multivariate cluster and principal components analyses. Differences between laboratory Ss and the 2 wild groups of Ss reflected the better sensory capabilities and greater reactivity of the wild Ss. M. musculus and P. leucopus were reactive at greater distances, they spent more time freezing and/or grooming, and their behavior was influenced by environmental complexity. The laboratory Ss exhibited reactions only at short distances. M. musculus were more aggressive than P. leucopus, and M. Musculus males were more aggressive than females. Although the amount of space available influenced all 3 types of Ss, effects differed. Laboratory Ss simply encountered each other less often in larger areas, whereas both groups of wild Ss actively used the space to avoid other individuals. Male M. musculus were more aggressive as space decreased; female M. musculus and P. leucopus showed no such change. Behaviors related to orienting toward other mice and moving away from them were more frequent in more open areas. Vision appeared to be the sensory modality used, although audition may have played a role. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)