British Journal of Clinical Psychology

doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1972.tb00788.xpmid: N/A

HOWITT, DENNIS; CUMBERBATCH, GUY

doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1972.tb00789.xpmid: 5051316

The hypothesis that liking for a film‐mediated character results in a more favourable evaluation of that character's actions was tested. A group of adolescent boys and girls was shown the film Chick's Day and their affective feeling for the central character, Chick, was measured by self‐report. The subjects were then randomly assigned to either the experimental group which was led to believe that Chick had performed a violent act, or to the control group which was led to believe that another character, John Davies, had performed the act. The results were analysed by analysis of variance and by comparing the sizes of correlation between affect and evaluation for both groups. It is concluded that positive affect for a mass‐media character does not influence a child to be more favourably disposed towards the violent behaviour of that character.

MYERS, DAVID G.; MURDOCH, PETER J.

doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1972.tb00790.xpmid: N/A

The extremity‐influence explanation of risky and cautious shifts is examined in two ways. First, mathematical models based on the assumption that extreme initial responders have more influence than moderates are derived from congruity theory. Their success at predicting group decisions is compared with the simple averaging of initial responses. Second, influence is defined in terms of talking time and correlated with initial extremity. Both analyses fail to support the hypothesis that extreme responders to an item exert greater influence than less extreme responders.

GEEN, RUSSELL G.; RAKOSKY, JOHN J.; PIGG, ROGER

doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1972.tb00791.xpmid: 5051317

A confederate arbitrarily gave electric shocks to each of 30 male subjects as they read a sexually exciting story. One‐third of the subjects were informed that they were aroused by the shocks, and one‐third that they were aroused by the story. The remaining subjects were not led to attribute arousal to either the shocks or the effects of the story. Subjects who attributed arousal to the shocks subsequently attacked the confederate more intensely than subjects who believed themselves sexually aroused. Self‐ratings of anger were highest among subjects who considered themselves aroused by the shocks. The results indicated that behaviour following an attack is consistent with the victim's cognition of his response to that attack.

EPTING, FRANZ R.

doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1972.tb00792.xpmid: N/A

The stability of the amount of cognitive differentiation involved in construing social issues was investigated. Using a common set of construct dimensions, three cognitive complexity instruments were built, each containing a different set of social issues. The three instruments were readministered one week later. The stability indices obtained here, on social issues, were comparable in magnitude to those reported in studies of interpersonal construing. During the second administration of the complexity instruments, there was an increase in the correlations across social issues and a decrease in complexity level.

OGSTON, KAREN M.; DAVIDSON, PARK O.

doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1972.tb00793.xpmid: 5051318

The effects of altering cognitive expectancies through administration to the subject of high shock, low shock or no shock prior to vicarious classical conditioning were investigated using a model who apparently received high shocks following presentation of a light as a CS. GSRs to test trials of light alone during 45 acquisition and 10 extinction trials were recorded. Results indicated that pre‐exposure to high shock produced better conditioning than low shock or no shock. The low and no shock groups did not differ except in the first nine trials. All three groups showed habituation effects but at differential rates. These findings are discussed in terms of avoidance procedures and cognitive dissonance theory.

BREED, GEORGE

doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1972.tb00794.xpmid: 5051319

Three conditions of intimacy were created through varying a confederate's body posture and search for eye contact. Forty‐eight male and 48 female undergraduates each interacted with a confederate (either male or female) for one of the three conditions. Predictions derived from the ‘intimacy equilibrium’ hypothesis were not supported. Increased intimacy resulted in an increase in eye contact (P < 0·01), an increase in number of forward leans by the subject (P < 0·05), and an increase in positive attitude towards the confederate (P < 0·005). Rosenfeld's notion of non‐verbal reciprocity and Homan's exchange theory are used to explain the results. Some of the variables that may set limits upon the equilibrium hypothesis are discussed.

WEARING, A. J.; BROWN, L. B.

doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1972.tb00795.xpmid: N/A

A persistent question in the psychological analysis of religion has been the number of dimensions necessary to describe religious belief and behaviour. The responses of 420 university students to a questionnaire containing a number of religious measures were subjected to factor analysis. It was found that the various religious measures in general fell on a single dimension, and that a person's religion can be summarized by a single score. Some apparent differences between these results and those of other investigators are discussed, and some possible reasons for these differences advanced.

RYLE, A.; LUNGHI, M.

doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1972.tb00796.xpmid: 5051320

A sample of students completed a repertory grid test in which supplied constructs relating to instrumental and expressive qualities were applied to a range of elements made up of self, ideal self, parents and other role‐defined people known to the subject. The distances between elements were used as measures of perceived similarity, and loadings of elements on the class foci of Instrumental and Expressive constructs provided measures of the relative instrumentality and expressiveness of each element. The relationship of the sex‐role attributes of subjects to those of their parents and factors associated with the identification of subjects with their parents were investigated and the results are related to previous research findings. The advantages and limitations of the method are discussed.

HOWARTH, EDGAR; BROWNE, JAMES A.

doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1972.tb00797.xpmid: 5051321

Considering the wide usage of the Eysenck Personality Inventory, it was deemed desirable to critically examine the factorial nature of its Extraversion and Neuroticism scales. Of prime concern were the questions: (1) is the inventory a univocal measure of extraversion and neuroticism, for which it was designed, (2) are primary personality factors replicable ? An item factor analysis (60 variables, 1319 subjects) extracted 15 interpretable, orthogonal (Varimax) factors: Sociability I, Adjustment‐emotionality, Inferiority, Impulsivity, Mood‐swings‐readjustment, Sleep, Superego I, Jocularity, Sociability II, Dominance, Social conversation, Hypochondriac‐medical, Superego II, and two Lie factors. Obliquity of the primaries was determined by a Promax solution. It was concluded that the Extra version and Neuroticism scales are not univocal and that primary personality factors are replicable, as has been shown by a number of researchers including Eysenck. It is suggested that, until a more comprehensive and accurate inventory, to assess primary factors, is available, the EPI be scored for primary factor scales in order to present a more detailed picture of extraversion and neuroticism for the clinician and the researcher.