Consequences of superfluous social constraints: Effects on young children's social inferences and subsequent intrinsic interest.

Investigated the effects of the imposition of a nominal contingency—the presentation of engagement in one activity as a means for earning the chance to engage in a second activity of equivalent initial interest—on 132 preschoolers' subsequent intrinsic interest in and social inferences about the 2 activities. Across experiments analogous contingency manipulations were presented in a highly familiar context in which Ss had previously encountered such contingencies and a more novel context in which Ss had not previously encountered the use of such social constraints. Ss in the 3 studies showed some tendency to discount interest in the activity presented as a means relative to the activity presented as an end. Further evidence suggests that findings did not result from any reflective reliance on an abstract discounting principle. Implications for understanding the development of self- and social perception processes and interpreting previous over-justification research are discussed. (57 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of problem behavior in the early grades.

Administered a 62-variable behavior problem checklist to the teachers of 362 6-8 yr. Olds. 8 factors were extracted and rotated to the promax criterion at the 1st order: (a) hyperactivity, (b) disciplinary problems, (c) sluggishness, (d) paranoiac tendencies, (e) social withdrawal, (f) acting out, (g) speech problems, and (h) antisocial tendencies. 3 2nd-order factors emerged, 2 of which resembled those found in earlier studies: neuroticism, sociopathic behavior, and autism. Methodological issues are briefly considered. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children and computers: Approaching the twenty-first century.

The "effects" that various forms of "computer" use are likely to have on different children's learning, motivation, and social behavior have been a source of heated debate and continuing controversy. In this article, various aspects of this controversy are characterized, and sources of disagreement concerning educational computing are examined. Difficulties in the current state of empirical research in this area are then considered, and recommendations regarding directions for future research are proposed. (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)     

Activation of exemplars in the process of assessing social category attitudes.

Three experiments used process measures of concept activation to provide evidence—consistent with previous research, which had used only outcome and self-report measures—that people use category exemplars to assess their social category attitudes. The studies were based on the well-established principle that individuals selectively activate different aspects of their knowledge about a topic, depending on which aspect is relevant for a specific judgment. Exemplar activation was measured through ambiguous anagrams (Experiment 1), word fragment completions (Experiment 2), and response latencies (Experiment 3). In each case, exemplar activation was greater when participants had recently judged their attitudes toward a social category than when they had recently judged a definition of the category. Implications for theories of attitude change and attitude-behavior consistency are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optically stimulated luminescence signals of polymineral fine grains in the JSC Mars-1 soil simulant sample

The results of various experiments which characterise the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) signals from polymineral fine grains of a Martian soil simulant sample (JSC Mars-1) are presented. The blue-green stimulated luminescence signal has greater thermal stability than the infrared stimulated luminescence signal for pre-heat temperatures between 250 degrees C and 400 degrees C. Fading tests over a 2 month storage period at 20 degrees C indicate that in some aliquots of JSC Mars-1 both the blue-green stimulated luminescence and the infrared stimulated luminescence signals fade by as much as 50%, whereas in others there is no evidence of significant fading. Dose recovery experiments demonstrate that equivalent dose (measured/given) ratio varies from aliquot to aliquot, and the underestimation in dose is less than 5% for at least one aliquot, for both the infrared and blue-green stimulated luminescence signals.     

Optical dating of palaeochannel deposits in the Riverine Plain,southeastern Australia: testing the reliability of existing thermoluminescence dates

We present the first quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages for palaeochannel sediments from the Riverine Plain in southeastern Australia. For young fluvial sediments, we agree with the notion that analysis of the leading edge of a dose distribution curve provides an objective method for determining the OSL age. For a modern flood deposit (less than 200 years old), the OSL ages estimated using the leading edge method (250 +/- 50 years) and by using the lowest 5% of the measured dose in single aliquots (230 +/- 50 years) agree within experimental errors. For older sediments, we suggest that the mean estimate of the dose distribution is likely to provide a reliable estimate of the OSL age. The luminescence ages suggest that the Coleambally and Kerarbury palaeochannel systems were active between 105 and 80 ky and 55 and 35 thousand years ago; the Yanco palaeochannel system could have been active as recently as 9000 years ago.     

Persistence of inaccurate beliefs about the self: Perseverance effects in the classroom.

52 high school students were first exposed to either highly effective or thoroughly useless filmed instruction, leading, respectively, to their consequent success or failure. No-discounting (ND) Ss received no assistance in recognizing the relative superiority or inferiority of their instruction. Discounting (DS) Ss, by contrast, were subsequently shown the other instructional film, highlighting the obvious differences in instructional quality. Subsequent measures revealed that all Ss recognized the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of their instruction, although this contrast was clearer for DS Ss. Nevertheless, both DS and ND Ss continued to draw unwarranted inferences—in line with their initial outcomes—about their personal capacities. Dissociated and disguised measures of academic preferences and perceptions completed weeks later showed that the continuing impact of initial outcomes was generally greater for DS than for ND Ss. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accentuating the positive: Eliciting generalized compliance from children through activity-oriented requests.

Investigated the effectiveness of activity-oriented requests as a technique for enhancing children's generalized subsequent compliance with other adult requests; 54 nursery school children, 3.7–5.9 yrs old, were studied. In Session 1, experimental Ss were asked to perform a chore and encouraged to make this task more enjoyable by either (a) generating a series of subgoals against which their own performance could be measured or (b) imagining the task to be part of a larger fantasy of inherent interest. Some Ss were offered a choice of particular goal-setting or fantasy-transformation strategies; others were assigned specific strategies. Two weeks later, Ss were asked to perform another task by a 2nd experimenter who was blind to the results of Session 1. Compared to appropriate controls, Ss who had been assigned either a goal-setting or a fantasy-transformation strategy showed increased compliance to the later adult request. Ss who chose their own strategies did not show enhanced compliance. Further analyses suggested that these effects on generalized compliance during Session 2 did not depend on differences in prior behavior during Session 1. Implications for enhancing children's compliance in home and school settings are discussed. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biased assimilation and attitude polarization: The effects of prior theories on subsequently considered evidence.

People who hold strong opinions on complex social issues are likely to examine relevant empirical evidence in a biased manner. They are apt to accept "confirming" evidence at face value while subjecting "disconfirming" evidence to critical evaluation, and, as a result, draw undue support for their initial positions from mixed or random empirical findings. Thus, the result of exposing contending factions in a social dispute to an identical body of relevant empirical evidence may be not a narrowing of disagreement but rather an increase in polarization. To test these assumptions, 48 undergraduates supporting and opposing capital punishment were exposed to 2 purported studies, one seemingly confirming and one seemingly disconfirming their existing beliefs about the deterrent efficacy of the death penalty. As predicted, both proponents and opponents of capital punishment rated those results and procedures that confirmed their own beliefs to be the more convincing and probative ones, and they reported corresponding shifts in their beliefs as the various results and procedures were presented. The net effect of such evaluations and opinion shifts was the postulated increase in attitude polarization. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)