Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Ebbesen, Ebbe B.; Allen, Robert B.

doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.37.4.471pmid: N/A

The cognitive processes by which people infer whether individuals who possess one trait also possess another were examined in 2 reaction time experiments with a total of 66 undergraduates. Ss took less time to affirm and more time to deny that 2 traits co-occurred, the greater the semantic similarity of the traits. As the amount of recalled evidence required to affirm that 2 traits co-occurred was increased by altering the nature of the co-occurrence statements, true response times increased and false response times decreased. Although it was not possible to determine whether the stored semantic "features" of a trait are locations on meaning dimensions, specific behaviors, known people characterized by the trait, or something else, results strongly suggest that implicit personality inferences result from a 2-stage process in which the 2nd and more detailed memory search stage is entered only if the similarity of the semantic features of the traits falls between 2 task-established decision criteria. (28 ref)

Cacioppo, John T.

doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.37.4.489pmid: N/A

Conducted 2 experiments to examine the effects of accelerated heart rate (HR) on information processing and resistance to persuasion. Exp I addressed the effects on cognitive performance of manipulating HR exogenously for brief periods. 14 healthy outpatient volunteers wearing implanted demand-type cardiac pacemakers performed reading comprehension and sentence generation tasks while HR was either accelerated or not. Results show that performance was better when HR was accelerated than when it was not. Exp II addressed the effects on counterargumentation and resistance to persuasion of manipulating HR using the cardiac-pacing technique employed in Exp I. 22 Ss read highly involving counterattitudinal communications while their HR was either ostensibly or actually accelerated. Accelerated HR resulted in the generation of more total thoughts and counterarguments than did basal HR; resistance to persuasion was related significantly to the number of counterarguments generated. The methodology provides a means by which social psychologists can study the effects on social processes of actual but unperceived changes in physiological processes. (40 ref)

Kuiper, N. A.; Rogers, T. B.

doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.37.4.499pmid: N/A

Self–other differences in processing personal information were investigated in 5 experiments with a total of 53 undergraduates by having Ss make self-referent (describes you?) or other-referent (describes experimenter?) ratings of personal adjectives. Results indicate that self-ratings were consistently judged as easier to make, and Ss always placed more confidence in these judgments. An analysis of rating times showed that only adjectives with long rating times were recalled for the unknown-other-referent task (Exps II and III). In contrast, the recalled words for the self-referent task had very short rating times. This difference is explained via a "2-process" interpretation. Unknown-other-referent processing involves a relatively inefficient rehearsal or effort strategy, whereas self-referent processing involves the self as a highly organized and efficient schema. The effects of familiarity on other-referent processing were examined in Exps IV and V. A model of other processing is formulated to account for the observed changes in processing information about a familiar other. (34 ref)

Brickman, Philip; Becker, Lawrence J.; Castle, Sidney

doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.37.4.515pmid: N/A

If people in a trust dilemma take turns choosing first and second (alternating interaction), there is no longer a dilemma for the people choosing second. Their motives are revealed by their choices. In most real-world situations, however, although choices are sequential, each choice is both a response to another person's past move and a stimulus for the other person's next move (continuing interaction). It was hypothesized that cooperation would be harder to achieve in continuing than in alternating interaction, since in continuing interaction, like simultaneous interaction, people's motives are ambiguous. Since males have been shown to be more concerned with communication in trust dilemmas, it was also hypothesized that alternating interaction would benefit males more than females. Data from 2 studies with a total of 42 male and 42 female undergraduate dyads supported this reasoning. It is concluded that one of the most artificial constraints of the formal trust dilemma––simultaneous choice––can be relaxed while still retaining its important psychological properties. (19 ref)

Shanteau, James; Nagy, Geraldine F.

doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.37.4.522pmid: N/A

Examined the influence of probability of acceptance and physical attractiveness on dating choice in 3 experiments. In Exp I, 15 female undergraduates made preferential choices between 2 male dates, each described by a photograph and a statement of the probability of acceptance. Both probability and attractiveness of the date were found to be important in Ss' judgments. Further, a multiplying rule for the combination of probability of acceptance and attractiveness was supported, in agreement with the subjective expected utility theory of risky decision making. In Exp II, the same Ss made preferential choices between pairs of dates described by photographs alone. The preferences for 11 of the 15 Ss could be accounted for only by using both probability and attractiveness. A multiplicative combination of probability and attractiveness was also found to be predictive of dating choices made by these Ss. Exp III replicated the results of Exp II with a new group of 14 Ss. Results suggest that (a) females are influenced by both probability of acceptance and physical attractiveness in dating choice, and (b) they tend to combine probability with attractiveness in a multiplicative fashion. (20 ref)

Davis, Deborah; Perkowitz, William T.

doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.37.4.534pmid: N/A

"Responsiveness" is defined in terms of 2 sequential response contingencies: (a) the probability with which each person in an interaction responds to the communicative behaviors of the other and (b) the proportion of responses that are related in content to the preceding behaviors of the other. Two experiments examined the effects of responsiveness in a verbal exchange on attraction. Under the guise of a study of the "acquaintanceship process," 176 male and female undergraduates exchanged information about themselves with another S (actually a same-sex confederate) by taking turns choosing and answering 1 of either 2 or 3 questions about themselves on each trial. For Exp I, Ss were required to answer on all trials, whereas the probability and frequency with which the confederate responded to the S were orthogonally manipulated. For Exp II, the proportion of content-related responses was varied. The confederate answered the same question as the S on either 80 or 20% of the trials. Both the probability of response and the proportion of content-related responses were positively related to (a) attraction to the confederate, (b) Ss' perceptions of the confederate's attraction to themselves, and (c) the degree to which Ss felt that they and the confederate had become acquainted with one another. (57 ref)

Kuhl, Julius; Blankenship, Virginia

doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.37.4.551pmid: N/A

Tested hypotheses derived from J. Atkinson and D. Birch's (1970, 1974) dynamic theory of action, which proposes a theoretical reorientation from an episodic to a dynamic view of motivation. Traditional episodic theories of achievement motivation predict constant risk preference over a series of free choices from various difficulty levels when the assumed situation-specific determinant (probability of success) remains constant. In contrast to this, dynamic theory predicts a shift to more and more difficult tasks for success-oriented and failure-oriented Ss. Dynamic theory predicts that the initial ambivalence between very easy and very difficult tasks predicted by traditional theory of achievement motivation for failure-oriented Ss, is quickly replaced by a consistent preference for very easy tasks in that motive group. 77 undergraduates were administered a TAT using sex-specific verbal cues, and a short form of the Test Anxiety Questionnaire. 32 males and 32 females were randomly chosen and assigned to experimental or free-choice groups. Results support the predictions. (24 ref)

McCaul, Kevin D.; Solomon, Sheldon; Holmes, David S.

doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.37.4.564pmid: N/A

While waiting to receive electric shocks, 105 male undergraduates either (a) regulated their breathing at half the normal rate, (b) regulated their breathing at the normal rate, or (c) did not regulate their breathing rate. Half of the Ss in each breathing condition were told that their breathing task would aid them in relaxing, whereas the other half were not given that expectation. Ss in a no-threat condition were not threatened with shocks, did not regulate their breathing, and were not provided with expectations. Results indicate that slowing respiration rate reduced physiological arousal as measured by skin resistance and finger pulse volume (but not heart rate) and reduced self-reports of anxiety. Expectations did not influence arousal. These data provide evidence for the effectiveness of paced respiration as a coping strategy, and they resolve the conflicting findings of previous investigations (i.e., those of V. A. Harris et al, see PA, Vol 57:5205; and those of D. S. Holmes et al, see PA, Vol 61:453). (15 ref)

Kenrick, Douglas T.; Johnson, Gregory A.

doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.37.4.572pmid: N/A

Several studies have found decreased attraction for a stranger rated under aversive conditions, and these studies have been used to support a model that views attraction as a function of generalization of affect. A number of studies, however, have failed to support such a model, not only failing to show decreases in attraction as a function of negative circumstances but often showing the reverse, that is, enhanced attraction under aversive conditions. It is suggested that studies that have supported the affective generalization model may be limited in ecological validity as a function of their use of a "simulated stranger" paradigm and that results from studies in which "real" strangers are rated can be understood within a negative reinforcement model. Original data from a study in which 60 undergraduate females rated both a fellow S and a bogus stranger under conditions of either aversive noise or low-level noise are presented to support such a resolution. (41 ref)

Foss, Robert D.; Dempsey, Carolyn B.

doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.37.4.580pmid: N/A

Three experiments with a total of 211 undergraduates tested the effectiveness of the foot-in-the-door technique for recruiting blood donors. Exp I attempted to demonstrate that an earlier failure of this technique was due to poor operationalization rather than to the magnitude of the critical request or to the invalidity of the phenomenon, but it failed to do so. Exp II, designed to more closely resemble other foot-in-the-door studies by using telephone contacts and an initial request for persons to answer questions, was conducted to examine other possible explanations for the 2 previous failures. This experiment also failed to show any foot-in-the-door effect. Exp III was a conceptual replication of Exp II, but used personal contacts. One apparent foot-in-the-door effect emerged in this case, but it was more likely due to a factor other than the experimental treatment. It is concluded that although the foot-in-the-door procedure may influence verbal compliance with requests for minimal forms of aid, it probably will not significantly affect people's willingness to comply with more substantial requests involving behaviors that are psychologically costly. (20 ref)