The joint and differential perceived contribution of parents to adolescents' cognitive functioning.

Administered the Personality Research Form (PRF) and the Parent Behavior Form (PBF) to 301 female and 101 male undergraduates; American College Testing Program (ACT) scores were also obtained. Analyses revealed that PRF scales indicative of intellectual orientation and approach to tasks (Understanding, Achievement, and Endurance), as well as ACT scores, were related principally to parental cognitive behaviors (the parents' encouragement of intellectual independence, competence, and curiosity) for both males and females. In addition, differential and joint effects of parents were obtained depending upon the sex of the child. Findings suggest that parental cognitive behaviors, which have received little experimental attention, are saliently related to child intellectual characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality conflict, originality of response, and recall.

The general hypothesis states that variability in response to the same repeated stimulus is a function of intraindividual conflict. Applying this formulation to personality conflict, it is expected that the conflicted individual will show greater variability as a function of competing responses which appear alternately in subsequent similar situations. A measure of approach-avoidance personality conflict is described. High and low scorers on this conflict scale were exposed to a word-association task and were then required to recall their own responses. On the basis of the competing-tendency hypothesis, it was predicted that the conflicted subjects would show a higher frequency of original responses and reduced efficiency of recall. Both predictions were confirmed. Four instructional conditions preceding the word-association task failed to affect the conflict groups differentially, but personality and achievement instructions resulted in higher recall for both conflict groups. Some suggestions are offered for an improved measure of personality conflict. The results are discussed in terms of the conflict-variability hypothesis, and some implications are drawn for research on creativity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The ring of punishment: A theoretical and experimental analogue of repression-suppression.

This paper considers how some punished behaviors become less accessible than other equally punished behaviors. A theory viewing repression and suppression as lying on a continuum with respect to the accessibility of punished behavior is developed around the construct of a "ring of punishment." This ring consists of continuing and related punishments for a series of behaviors; punished behaviors preceded and followed ("ringed") by other punished behaviors are comparatively inaccessible (repressed) while punished behaviors not so ringed are less inaccessible (suppressed). Experimental data supported the theory for associative learning that fell within the ring of punishment, but some discrepant results appeared for learning falling just outside the ring. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of goal value upon expectancy.

Within the framework of Rotter's social learning theory, this study investigated the effect of different goal (reinforcement) values upon expectancy. 94 boys, ranging in age from 9 to 11, were selected from the fifth and sixth grades of a public school system to serve as Ss. The tasks, representing three different levels of goal value, were the Rotter level-of-aspiration board, a rotary pursuit test, and a six-block tapping test. 71 Ss performed the tasks without a penalty for inaccuracy of estimates, and 23 performed the same tasks with a penalty imposed for inaccuracy of estimates. The most consistent finding was that the value of an event has some effect upon stated expectancy. It was also found that expectancies were significantly lower in highly valued situations; that with continued experience expectancies remained significantly lower in high value conditions; and that the association of a goal value for accuracy (penalty) to expectancy statements leads to more realistic expectancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response to conflict as determined by prior exposure to conflict.

Clinical observations indicate that individuals who have been exposed to strong conflicts, as in their early life, tend to react in a conflictual way not only to the original stimulus situations, but to most situations, e.g., the obsessive-compulsive one, reflecting indecisiveness. To test the validity of this observation in human behavior sui generis, a laboratory situation was constructed wherein Ss were required to discriminate between 2 levels of illumination. This obligation to make a difficult discrimination (strong conflict) affected reaction to a subsequent relatively easier discrimination. Moreover, the greater the similarity regarding the relative difficulty of the discrimination tasks, the greater was the influence of the one on the other task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intraindividual instability and conflict.

Concern here is with the prediction of the instability or apparent unpredictability of an individual's behavior when faced with the same situation on repeated occasions. A theory is presented that depicts the variable individual in any specific set of situations as a comparatively conflicted one in those situations. 3 corollaries of the theory are tested. These are: (a) that strong conflict produces greater intraindividual instability than weak conflict, (b) that the more variable persons as contrasted to the less variable ones in any given situation will behave as though that situation contained greater conflict, and (c) that the intraindividually unstable person brings into a new situation the instability that was developed in previously experienced similar situations. 4 experiments are reported which provide supportive evidence for the foregoing propositions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reduction of human avoidant behavior: A comparison of counterconditioning, expectancy, and cognitive information approaches.

Compared the fear-reducing efficacy of procedures based on 3 major theories that have been proposed to account for the success of systematic desensitization therapy. 33 female and 14 male undergraduates, chosen on the basis of their fear of snakes, were assigned to 1 of 5 groups, and were given 4 individual treatment sessions. Predictions were confirmed in that the outcome measures of the high-expectancy placebo group and the 2 cognitive-coping groups were significantly superior to those of the counterconditioning and no-treatment groups. Thus, the supposition is supported that changes in human avoidant behavior may be attributed to demand and expectancy variables rather than the conditioning of antagonistic responses as has been previously suggested. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Achievement motivation and learning.

The hypothesis was offered that Ss with high n Achievement would learn more in directed and incidental learning situations than those with low n Achievement. Using extreme groups on a n Achievement continuum, the 12 highest and 14 lowest high school freshmen, it was found that the expected superiority of high n Achievement Ss in a directed learning situation did not obtain, although they did demonstrate more efficient incidental learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

New formulations of sex roles and androgyny: A critical review.

Reviews new measures of sex role orientation that do not assume a unidimensional continuum model of masculinity and femininity, particularly with respect to androgyny [e.g., Bem Sex-Role Inventory, 1974; the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (J. T. Spence, et al, 1975); the Personality Research Form ANDRO Scale (D. N. Jackson, 1967); and masculinity and femininity scales from the Adjective Check List [A. B. Heilbrun, 1976]). Studies intended to validate the constructs are also discussed. Although based on similar conceptualizations of sex-role characteristics, the scales differ psychometrically, and measurement questions are discussed. Negatively valued sex-correlated characteristics, differences in the relative social utility of masculine- and feminine-typed behaviors, differential performance of sex-role categories in more complex social situations, and parental practices related to the new formulations appear to be important areas for future sex-role research. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex roles and psychological well-being: Perspectives on methodology.

Discusses some sources of problematic methodology in recent research designed to relate current measures of sex-role orientation to indices of psychological well-being. Practices and procedures in sex-role research are examined in relation to orthogonal scales of sex-role orientation that provide independent measures of masculinity, femininity, and a newer assessment of androgyny. Directions for increased conceptual and methodological clarity include theoretical and psychometric definitions of androgyny, the relationship of sex-role typing to other aspects of interpersonal functioning, and varying procedures in sex-role and gender distinction, population sampling, and construct validation. Issues are raised concerning the generality of sex-role measures and the desirability of direct behavioral validation criteria. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)