Exposure to a model and task ambiguity as determinants of verbal behavior in an interview.

16 undergraduates listened to a tape-recorded model discuss personal problems within each of 5 topic areas, while the 16 control Ss did not receive a model. 1/2 the Ss were then told they could talk about anything they wished to in the interview. The remaining Ss were told they could talk about the same 5 topic areas discussed by the model. It was found that significantly more problems in the interview were given by the group receiving the model followed by the ambiguous task instructions. Ss exposed to the same model but who received topic-oriented instructions tended to give fewer problems in the interview. Theoretical similarities between the presentation of a model and the administration of instructions are discussed in the interpretation of the results. (23 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Instructions, modeling, and rehearsal: Implications for training.

Studied the effects of instructions, modeling, and rehearsal in training 48 college students in empathic communication. Ss were assigned to 1 of 8 groups representing all possible factorial combinations of the variables which included instructions vs no instructions, modeling vs no modeling, and rehearsal vs no rehearsal. Training gains were assessed using written responses to the pre- and posttest administration of the Carkhuff Communication Index. Generalization effects were assessed using empathy ratings of a critical-incident interview. Analysis of written responses indicated that improvement in empathic communication occurred for all training groups. Specific instructions appeared to be a criticial factor in facilitating written performance. The interviews showed that a combination of training variables facilitated empathic responses during an interview more than each variable alone. Modeling seemed to be an effective procedure for the interview task. The instructional effect did not generalize very well. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internal-external control as a determinant of the effectiveness of modeling and instructions.

Explored the relationship between locus of control and the issue of modeling and instructional effectiveness. From 132 male and female undergraduates, 24 were designated internals and 21 externals according to scores on Rotter's Internal-External Control Scale which accorded with H. L. Mirels's (1970) factor of personal internality. Ss were randomly assigned to 1 of the following conditions: (a) instructional (Ss instructed to be highly concrete in talking about their school, social, and family life experiences); (b) modeling (Ss exposed to a model who discussed each of the above topics in a highly concrete fashion); and (c) control (Ss received only general instructions to talk on the same 3 topics). All Ss then participated in a brief monologue which was scored for concreteness. Results indicate that modeling was an effective procedure. Also, as predicted, internal-modeling Ss were more concrete than the internal-instructions Ss. Findings are discussed in relation to instructional efficacy and response class. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of situational variables on affective self-disclosure with acquaintances.

Situational variables influencing affective self-disclosure within the acquaintance intimacy level were examined in simulated dyadic interactions with 40 female and 36 male undergraduates. Females expressed more feelings than males, while across sexes, Ss disclosed more positive feelings as respondents than as initiators. Significant interactions revealed that affective self-disclosure is situation specific, with Ss responding with positive feelings being the most facilitative context for disclosure. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling, sensitivity training, and instruction: Implications for the training of college student volunteers and for outcome research.

Assigned 59 male undergraduate volunteers to 1 of 3 social skills training conditions-videotaped modeling, sensitivity training, or no training-and later placed them in a small group situation wherein each member presented a personal problem and attempted to understand the problem of another. Half of the groups received general instructions; 1/2 received specific instructions. Under general instructions, modeling- and sensitivity-trained Ss performed better than Ss with no training on both specific behavioral and global qualitative measures. However, under specific instructions, all Ss performed equally well. Results are discussed in terms of implications for the selection and training of nonprofessional mental health workers, and for outcome research on sensitivity training and modeling. (23 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of experimental manipulation of self-disclosure on group cohesiveness.

Self-disclosure in 8-hr experiential groups was systematically controlled by providing detailed audiotaped instructions and illustrations through a series of structured exercises. Two levels of self-disclosure (level of intimacy) were established. Four 8-person, heterosexually balanced groups were exposed to encounter group tapes that instructed them to share intimate feelings and experiences. Examples of high self-disclosure and openness were presented to clarify the instructions. In contrast, 4 comparable groups were conducted by encounter group tapes that furnished only moderate levels of personal disclosure and interpersonal sharing. Groups in both the high and low intimacy conditions received the same set of exercises and differed only in the instructions and accompanying behavioral examples. All Ss were undergraduates. Results indicate that higher levels of disclosure produced greater group cohesiveness as hypothesized, on 4 separate measures of the dependent variable. Findings on 3 different types of self-report instruments were corroborated by an unobtrusive behavioral measure of cohesiveness (the group hug). (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Drugs and placebos: The effects of instructions upon performance and mood under amphetamine sulfate and chloral hydrate.

The experiment reports the effects of appropriate and inappropriate instructions and 2 drugs (.5 g chloral hydrate and 10 mg racemic amphetamine sulphate) on motor performance and mood measures. The Ss were 90 older men randomly assigned to 9 experimental groups. The design used was expansion of a model design involving Drug Disguised groups, Placebo groups (300 mg lactose), an Untreated group, and Amphetamine, Chloral Hydrate, and Neutral instructions. The drugs and placebos were given to the Ss in capsules, and all Ss received orange juice, which was also the vehicle for the disguise. The Untreated group received orange juice only. Instructions alone affected performance, but had little or no effect on mood. Instructions appropriate to the presumed drug effects produced performance deterioration on the simple motor tasks used. Instructions inappropriate to the presumed drug effects counteracted much of the drug produced decrement. A slight decrement in performance was found in the Placebo group which received Amphetamine instruction. Amphetamine treated Ss produced reports of greater comfort on the mood index than did chloral hydrate. On the other hand, the chloral hydrate instructions resulted in greater comfort than the Amphetamine instructions. There was no interaction between drug effects and instructional effects. The 2 Placebo groups did not differ significantly on the mood index. The effects of instructions on mood were found only when the drug was present. Several suggestions are offered for further research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of social modeling, cognitive structuring, and self-management strategies on affective self-disclosure.

Assessed immediate and delayed effects of social modeling, cognitive structuring, and 2 self-management strategies for increasing affective self-disclosure in 48 undergraduate males. Ss were randomly assigned to (a) social modeling, (b) cognitive structuring, (c) attention placebo, or (d) no-training control groups. Following training, Ss took a performance test and 2 pencil-and-paper measures. With this treatment used as a blocking variable, Ss were then randomly assigned to (a) goal-directed behavior, (b) self-reinforcement, or (c) no-training control groups. A delayed posttest was administered 3 wks later. Results indicate that social modeling and cognitive structuring had immediate effects on affective self-disclosure. Also, a combination of social learning and self-management strategies was more effective over time than any single treatment or no treatment at all. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of confidentiality conditions on self-disclosure of early adolescents.

A self-disclosure questionnaire was administered to 45 male and 45 female 7th–8th graders under 1 of 3 conditions: confidentiality explicitly assured, no instructions regarding confidentiality, and confidentiality explicitly not assured. A self-disclosure score was derived by summing the number of "true" responses to a 74-item questionnaire. Results do not support the hypothesis that Ss would more frequently disclose personal and possibly stigmatizing information when confidentiality was assured. Across conditions, males disclosed significantly more frequently than females, suggesting that females were more cautious and had a higher level of self-protective needs. Responses to a posttest questionnaire revealed significant overreporting of confidentiality instructions among males and females. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal self-disclosure: Expectancy and situational effects.

96 male undergraduates, selected from a pool of 169 because of their high or low scores on the Jourard Self-Disclosure Questionnaire (JSDQ), were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 conditions of specific expectancy, in which they were told that they would find it either easy or difficult to self-disclose to a stranger interviewer, and 1 of 3 conditions of interviewers' behavior (personal, impersonal, or no disclosure). The JSDQ, scored for anticipated self-disclosure but not for recalled self-disclosure, predicted observed performance. The specific expectancy manipulation and the intimacy level of topics also had significant effects on self-disclosure. A 3-way interaction between generalized and specific expectancy and topic intimacy was also found. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapy set: Its effects on subjects' involvement in systematic desensitization and treatment outcome.

Hypothesized that therapy instructions significantly augment desensitization treatment effects by influencing Ss' involvement in the conditioning procedure. 45 female undergraduate snake phobics were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment groups or a no-treatment control. Therapy set and involvement instructions were manipulated within a 2 * 2 factorial design to create therapeutically and experimentally oriented Ss who were either unencouraged or encouraged to work hard at the experimental procedure. Analyses revealed therapy instructional effects on both behavioral and self-report measures of fear change which could not be attributed to experimenters' awareness of instructional manipulations. Therapy oriented Ss' performance scores were not, however, significantly greater than those obtained by Ss with an experimental orientation. Alternative hypotheses and future research strategies for testing therapy instructional effects are discussed. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling and instructions in training for counselor empathy.

Assessed the relative contributions of modeling and instructions to training of counselor empathy in a factorial design incorporating 2 instruction conditions (instructions or no instructions) and 3 modeling conditions (high-empathy model, low-empathy model, or no model). Ss were 68 clergymen from various religious denominations. Ss wrote responses to a taped client in Phase 1, a training phase, and conducted an interview with a client (actor) in Phase 2, a generalization phase. Instructions had no effect on empathy offered by Ss, but Ss hearing a high-empathy model showed significantly higher empathy in Phase 1 responses than all other Ss. Findings were not significant in Phase 2. Reasons for lack of generalization and implications for further research and training are noted. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Retention of sequences of responses by very young children as a function of instructional condition.

Eight males and 8 females in each of 3 age-groups (28-31, 34-37, and 42-54 mo) were tested for their ability to process verbal and nonverbal instructional sequences. Each S was presented 3 different lengths of instruction in each of 4 different conditions: In the static condition each test item was prearranged in a receptacle so that during the trial the E told the S where to place the item while pointing to each item in each container; in the verbal instructions condition the S was simply told how to place the items in the containers; in the modeling condition, the S watched the E perform the task first; in the final condition, both modeling and verbal instructions were combined to determine whether adding modeling cues to the verbal instructions improved performance. Statistical analysis showed that performance in the static condition was significantly poorer than the performance in all other conditions. When instructions only indicated the prearranged location of items in containers, completion of the task was impaired relative to performance when modeling cues were added. Very young Ss did as well in the verbal conditioning as in the modeling condition. This experiment fails to support the superiority of visual over verbal information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Instigation to aggression as a function of self-disclosure and threat to self-esteem.

Examined whether self-disclosure would make a person more vulnerable to personal threat and thus increase instigation to angry aggression. 72 female undergraduates exchanged communications with 4 female confederates showing low or high self-disclosure or a control communication. Ss then commented on the communications, the confederates giving commentaries of neutral, critical, or derogatory tone. Subsequently, Ss had the opportunity to punish the confederate with what they thought were varying degrees of shock. As predicted, after high self-disclosure, Ss used significantly greater levels of shock than Ss in the control and low-self-disclosure groups. Criticism was more clearly effective than derogation in producing aggression. Findings indicate that high self-disclosure, followed by personal threat, is a potent antecedent of angry aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling of self-disclosure in laboratory and nonlaboratory interview settings.

The effect of a model on Ss' willingness to engage in self-disclosure was examined in both laboratory and nonlaboratory settings. In each of the settings, 15 male and 15 female undergraduates were used as Ss. Results show that Ss exposed to a high-disclosing model were significantly more willing to engage in self-disclosure than were those exposed to a low-disclosing model. While disclosure levels did not differ in the 2 settings for Ss exposed to a model, Ss not exposed to a model were more willing to engage in disclosure in the laboratory than in a nonlaboratory setting. Results are discussed in terms of social exchange and modeling theories. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation of the A-B distinction and trust-distrust sets to addict patients' self-disclosures in brief interviews.

In a study of interpersonal and situational determinants of self-disclosure in "resistive" patients, psychiatric aides conducted brief interviews with hospitalized narcotics addicts. Participants' A-B status and patients' preinterview sets to "trust" (TFH) or "distrust" (DHH) the aide comprised the manipulated factors in a 2 * 2 * 2 design (N = 40 male dyads). As expected, A-type aides with DHH Ss and B-type aides with TFH Ss obtained better patient self-disclosure in "personal" vs. neutral topical areas than oppositely paired dyads (p     

Disclosing of verbal material as a function of information requested, information about the interviewer, and interviewee differences.

Describes an experiment with 64 undergraduate males, differing in reported histories of self-disclosure and assessed level of need approval as measured by the self-disclosure questionnaire and the marlowe-crowne social desirability scale. Ss were given personal vs. Impersonal information by and about e at the outset of an interview, and were subsequently requested to disclose their attitudes, feelings, and experiences about public and private topics. Approval-dependent ss for the most part were not more defensive than low-need-approval ss, either in response to interviewer information models or types of topics. As expected, public topics elicited less guardedness and greater self-disclosure than private aspects of self. Contrary to expectations, low self-disclosers were most disclosing when presented with personal information about the interviewer, and more so than ss reporting high disclosure histories. Results are discussed in terms of viewing dyadic informational exchange from an interpersonal risk framework. (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)