Perspective taking and self-awareness: Drawing an E on your forehead.

Self-awareness theory assumes that individuals direct their attention outward or back on themselves as a function of characteristics of the situation. Taking this theory literally, it was hypothesized that Ss taking a self-focused perspective would draw a capital letter E on their forehead such that the E would be oriented for the external perspective of an observer. Ss' whose attention was directed outward would draw an E that would appear backward to another person. As hypothesized, in 3 experiments with 175 female undergraduates, Ss in high self-focus conditions significantly more often than low self-focus Ss drew an E on their forehead oriented toward the perspective of an outside observer, even though they believed they could not be observed by anyone else. Self-focus was induced using a video camera placed either to the side of the S (Exp I) or behind the S (Exp II), where it could not record how the E was drawn. In Exp III, an audiotape recorder was used to induce self-focused attention. The results demonstrate that an external, reflexive visual perspective could be induced by an auditory self-focusing manipulation. Furthermore, in Exp III, when situationally induced self-focus was low, Ss who were high in public self-consciousness (as measured by the Self-Consciousness Scale) were more likely to draw the E from an external perspective than were Ss low in public self-consciousness. Degree of private self-consciousness was unrelated to perspective taking. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-consciousness and the overperception of self as a target.

Three studies, with 233 undergraduates, examined an egocentric bias toward overperceiving the self as the target of an action or event and the relation of this bias to dispositional self-consciousness. The 1st study found that, immediately prior to the return of their test results, Ss were more likely to believe that an especially good or an especially bad exam singled out by the teacher was theirs rather than a classmate's. In the 2nd study, Ss in a group experiment overestimated the likelihood that they, rather than another person in the group, had been chosen to participate in an experimental demonstration, regardless of whether the demonstration was described as enjoyable or unenjoyable. This study also found that the self-as-target bias was enhanced by public self-consciousness, as assessed by the Self-Consciousness Scale. The 3rd study showed that Ss high in public self-consciousness were more likely than those low in public self-consciousness to perceive hypothetical social situations as being relevant to or targeted toward themselves. Discussion focuses on the cognitive and motivational bases of the tendency to perceive the self as a target and the relation between self-consciousness and egocentric attributions. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of group consensus and social support on stimulus meaning: Mediation of conformity by cognitive restructuring.

Three experiments with a total of 163 undergraduates tested the hypothesis that a person reinterprets the meaning of the stimulus object when facing unpopular responses from a unanimous group and that this change in meaning leads to a shift in response toward the group's position. In Exp I, several opinion items were presented, and either Ss observed unpopular responses, supposedly made earlier by a unanimous group (UG) or by a group having 1 dissenter (social support), or they observed no response at all (control). Ss merely gave their interpretation of the meaning of a key word or phrase in each opinion statement—they did not give their own opinions. Results show that UG Ss gave more uncommon meanings to the stimuli than did Ss in the other 2 conditions. Exp II ruled out the possibility that the shift in meaning was due to Ss' adhering to the interpretation they assumed to be held by the majority. In Exp III, Ss were exposed to scores representing the meanings that were produced by the unanimous group and control conditions in Exp I. Results show that after observing the consensually produced meanings for these items, the Ss shifted their own opinions toward the position held by the UG in Exp I. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Private and public self-attention, resistance to change, and dissonance reduction.

Three experiments with 257 undergraduates investigated the effects of self-directed attention on dissonance reduction. Ss were induced to write counterattitudinal essays. In Exp I, mirror presence during either an attitude premeasure or the counterattitudinal behavior led to reduced attitude change. Exp II explored whether the discrepancy between present and prior research was due to the manner in which self-attention was manipulated. Ss were exposed either to a mirror or to a TV camera and were asked to report both their post-behavioral attitudes and their perceptions of their counterattitudinal behavior. Consistent with the results of the 1st study, Ss in the mirror condition again showed the least amount of attitude change. They did, however, reduce dissonance by altering their perceptions of their behavior. Consistent with prior findings, Ss in the camera condition tended to reduce dissonance by changing their attitudes, but did not distort their behavior. Exp III conceptually replicated these results by selecting Ss on the basis of their chronic levels of private and public self-consciousness. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-image versus impressional management in adherence to distributive justice standards: The influence of self-awareness and self-consciousness.

In Exp I (88 undergraduates), a paradigm was developed to examine how Ss responded to conflicts arising from attempts to make favorable impressions on themselves and others by making decisions about the division of a reward. It was found that divergent self-presentational concerns conflicted when Ss who were made self-aware allocated reward to competing workers while anticipating interaction with the low-input recipient. Exp II, with 112 high and low self-conscious Ss (determined by the Self-Consciousness Scale), found that resolution of conflict was influenced by the combined impact of manipulations of self-awareness and dispositional differences in self-consciousness. High private-self-conscious Ss who were made self-aware distributed reward in accordance with the personally salient equity standard; high public-self-conscious Ss who were not made self-aware attempted to make a favorable impression on the low-input recipient by dividing the pay equally. The salience of intrapersonal and social standards as vehicles of self-presentation is discussed with respect to their implications for distributive justice. (49 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Between- and within-group cooperation and competition among kibbutz and nonkibbutz children.

Compared 320 Israeli kibbutz and 320 Israeli city children (ages 8-11 yrs) in 3 experiments assessing cooperative-competitive behavior. 128 8-11 yr old urban US children were included in Exp III. In Exp I and II, groups of 4 Ss played a cooperation board game in which they represented only themselves in 1 condition and represented a group in another. Kibbutz groups were more cooperative and more influenced by the group representation conditions than were the city groups. In Exp III, groups were compared in their selection of a group vs individual goal. Kibbutz Ss gave more often to the group than did Israeli or US city Ss, even under a condition in which the group-oriented response was economically nonadaptive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Person memory and causal attributions.

Three experiments with 273 college students were conducted to reconcile the apparent contradiction between the well-established finding that initial impressions are resistant to incongruent (ICG) information and the finding that information ICG with an impression is particularly likely to be recalled. Using a procedure similar to that of R. Hastie and P. A. Kumar (1979), a situational or dispositional attribution was provided for a target item, which was either congruent (CG) or ICG with an initial impression. The ICG item was more likely than the CG item to be recalled only when attributed to dispositional causes (Exp I). The congruence of the target had greater impact on impressions when attributed to dispositional causes, particularly when Ss were given little other information about the target (Exps I and II). Exp III revealed that Ss preferred situational attributions for ICG items and dispositional attributions for CG. The authors conclude that Hastie and Kumar's findings may be limited to conditions in which situational attributions for TCG information are not provided. Possible mediators of the effects of causal attributions on recall, and the relation between recall and impressions are discussed. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Latent inhibition experiments with goldfish (Carassius auratus).

Examined evidence of latent inhibition in a series of experiments with goldfish. In Exp I, 12 Ss were given nonreinforced preexposure to a color that subsequently predicted shock in an activity conditioning situation; their performance did not differ from that of 12 control Ss preexposed to a markedly different color. In Exp II, 12 Ss given nonreinforced preexposure to a tone and an unstimulated control group of 12 Ss were trained in an appetitive situation, with the tone serving either as a conditioned excitor or as a conditioned inhibitor. Preexposure had significant effect in the conditioned excitation training, but it reduced the level of responding both to the positive stimulus and to the negative compound in the conditioned inhibition training. In Exps III and IV, classical aversive conditioning was studied in the shuttle box. In Exp III, excitatory conditioning to a color was found to be impaired (relative to the performance of nonpreexposed control Ss) as much by nonreinforced preexposure to the training color as by nonreinforced preexposure to a markedly different color; substantial variation in amount of preexposure was without significant effect. In the conditioned inhibition training of Exp IV, 12 Ss with nonreinforced preexposure responded less than did 12 unstimulated control Ss, both to the positive stimulus and to the negative compound. Results demonstrate that the effect of preexposure on goldfish is their reduction of general responsiveness or level of arousal. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-persuasion and self-presentation as mediators of anticipatory attitude change.

Three experiments with 197 undergraduates determined when anticipatory attitude change occurs via self-persuasion or self-presentation and identified the implications for attitude persistence of a shift by either process. In Exp I, Ss' thoughts and attitudes were assessed while they expected either a counterattitudinal or a proattitudinal message. Ss generated thoughts and reported attitudes consistent with the direction of the anticipated message, even though their responses were anonymous. In the final 2 experiments, the publicness of Ss' attitudes was varied to examine the impact of self-presentational concerns on thoughts and attitudes. In Exp II, Ss in the private condition spontaneously generated more thoughts relevant to the anticipated counterattitudinal message than did Ss in the public condition. In Exp III, some Ss were told that the anticipated counterattitudinal message was not forthcoming. When the message was canceled in the public condition, Ss failed to show an anticipatory shift in attitude; in the private condition, however, anticipatory attitude change was obtained. It is concluded that when self-presentation concerns are manifest, temporary changes in attitude occur in response to these concerns. In contrast, when pressures to self-present are low, anticipatory changes reflect genuine shifts in attitude resulting from an active consideration of the merits of the counterattitudinal position. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-directed attention, awareness of bodily states, and suggestibility.

Two studies tested the hypothesis that self-directed attention would cause increased awareness of internal states and would thus reduce suggestibility effects. Exp I applied this reasoning to the experience of an emotion. 55 male undergraduates viewed moderately arousing slides of female nudes after being led to expect the slides to be either highly arousing or nonarousing. As predicted, ratings of the slides corresponded less with these experimentally manipulated anticipations when self-focus was heightened by the presence of a mirror than when it was not. Exp II examined a different internal experience: the perception of taste. Ss were 41 male and 31 female undergraduates. Some Ss were led to expect a strong flavor as part of a test series, and other Ss were led to expect a weak flavor. Ss high in private self-consciousness (assessed by the A. Fenigstein et al 1975 scale) were less affected by this expectancy manipulation and more accurate in reporting their actual internal state than Ss low in private self-consciousness. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mind over matter: Perceived success at psychokinesis.

Four experiments with 212 undergraduates showed that Ss' estimates of success on a psychokinetic (PK) task were independent of actual performance. In Exp I, Ss given a positive introductory set or no set about PK evidenced more illusory control than Ss given a negative set. In Exp II, both degree of general belief in psychic phenomena and the number of practice trials that Ss received influenced performance estimates, with high believers who received 10 practice trials providing the highest estimates and low believers who received 1 practice trial the lowest. In Exp III, Ss actively involved with the PK task judged their performance more positively than passively involved Ss. Exp IV showed that when they were actively involved in the task, Ss with an internal locus of control (Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale) gave higher estimates of their success than Ss with an external locus of control. When passively involved, internals and externals did not reliably differ in their estimates, but their estimates were lower in those of active/internals. Results support E. J. Langer's illusion-of-control theory and highlight the importance of general psychic belief and locus-of-control orientation in affecting perceived success at a psychic task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response–reinforcer associations after caudate-putamen lesions in the rat: Spatial discrimination and overshadowing–potentiation effects in instrumental learning.

Exp I, with 12 male hooded rats, demonstrated that Ss with caudate-putamen lesions exhibited an impairment in the acquisition and reversal of a spatial maze task when compared with unoperated control Ss. Exp II, with 24 Ss, investigated leverpress responding supported by a VI schedule in 3 groups of Ss: a group with caudate-putamen lesions, a group with lesions of the posterior cortex, and an unoperated control group. The presentation of a 0.5-sec, response-contingent light correlated with reinforcement generated an elevated response rate in the 2 operated groups but tended to suppress responding in the control group, perhaps by overshadowing the response–reinforcer relation. Only the group with cortical lesions maintained the elevated rate when the light was uncorrelated with food delivery. Exp III confirmed for these same Ss that caudate-putamen lesions produced a spatial learning deficit. No deficit was observed in the posterior cortex group. It is suggested that caudate-putamen lesions disrupt the mechanism underlying the response–reinforcer association on which spatial maze learning and free operant responding in part depend. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of group identity on resource use in a simulated commons dilemma.

Used 172 undergraduates in 3 experiments to assess the effects of making salient either a superordinate (collective) or subordinate (differentiating) group identity in heterogeneous groups. In Exp I, 22 male and 36 female Ss were assigned to either a superordinate-group identity (small community resident behavior vs other areas) or a subordinate-group identity (behavior of young people vs elderly people) condition and were asked to perform a computer task individually; Ss were led to believe they were interacting with 5 other persons (2 real and 3 bogus Ss) in their group in accumulating as many points as possible while making the resource last as long as possible. Bogus feedback about group behavior was given. In Exp II, 29 male and 19 female Ss were told that the bogus Ss were economics majors and were asked to perform as in Exp I. In Exp III, the level of social-group identity for 40 male and 26 female Ss was manipulated by varying the common fate of the group members. Results of all 3 experiments show support for the hypothesis that individual restraint would be most likely when a superordinate group identity was made salient and under conditions in which feedback indicated that the common resource was being depleted. A sex-response difference found in Exp I was not sustained in subsequent experiments. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impulsivity and perception: Individual differences in the processing of the local and global dimensions of stimuli.

In Exp I, 48 undergraduates differing in impulsivity (as measured by a self-report inventory) performed 2 versions of filtering, interference, and invariant control tasks. In one version, Ss sorted according to the value of the local dimension; in the other, the global dimension was the relevant one. In addition, Ss performed a task in which the 2 dimensions were perfectly correlated. Results show that Ss sorted more quickly when the global dimension was relevant than when the local dimension was relevant. In Exp II, 43 of the Ss from Exp I were used to determine whether failure to find a relationship between impulsivity and filtering performance was due to correlations of local and global dimensions; results were negative. In Exp III, the same 43 Ss used in Exp II were used to test the information-integration hypothesis. Results support the hypothesis—high impulsives were more impaired than other Ss when the task required that they integrate information from the global dimension with information from the local dimension. Findings can be explained in terms of individual differences in the value placed on speed, relative to accuracy, in information processing. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of context manipulation on memory and reversal learning in rats with hippocampal lesions.

Conducted 3 experiments with 83 male Long-Evans rats to investigate (a) the memory of hippocampus-damaged Ss, and (b) their ability to modify response strategies in relation to the influence of familiar contextual cues. In Exp I, groups of hippocampal and control Ss learned a simultaneous discrimination habit and were subsequently tested for its retention under variable contextual conditions. All groups recalled the discrimination response to an equally high level when testing conditions were constant throughout, but the hippocampal group showed impaired memory when contextual stimuli at recall testing did not conform to those of original learning. Results of Exp II indicate that the hippocampal impairment was not simply the result of introducing novel stimuli. In Exp III, Ss were administered a reversal learning task with contextual stimuli varied between the 2 tests. The typically observed impairment of hippocampal Ss on this task was reduced by contrasting contextual conditions. Results are seen to support a context-retrieval interpretation of hippocampal function. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Abstraction of temporal attributes.

Four experiments demonstrated cross-modal transfer (CMT) of classification rules for temporal intervals. In Exp I, 20 male albino Norway rats learned a temporal discrimination between a 2- and an 8-sec signal in one modality (vision or audition). Results show positive transfer to a temporal discrimination between a 2- and an 8-sec signal in the other modality when the response rule was maintained, and negative transfer when the response rule was reversed. Exp II with 20 Ss demonstrated positive CMT in a temporal generalization procedure. Exp III demonstrated CMT of both duration and temporal location in a procedure in which 20 Ss were exposed to 3 successive signal durations. Exp IV demonstrated CMT of both duration and temporal order in a procedure in which 5 Ss were exposed to simultaneously presented signal durations, one auditory and one visual. It is concluded that rats can abstract temporal attributes from modality-specific aspects of a signal. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deindividuation: Effects of group size, density, number of observers, and group member similarity on self-consciousness and disinhibited behavior.

Predictions about the social causes of self-consciousness in groups were derived from the theory of deindividuation and tested in 3 experiments with 618 university students and adults. In Exp I, it was found that increasing group size was related to a decrease in self-consciousness. Group density did not influence self-consciousness. In Exp II, it was found that increases in the number of observers increased self-consciousness. In Exps I and II, self-reports of self-consciousness were independent of one's group, whereas the degree of behavioral disinhibition was highly correlated within groups. In Exp III, it was found that gender similarity within a group was related to lower self-consciousness. Findings support a perceptual/attentional model of self-consciousness within groups. Contrary to deindividuation theory predictions, however, behavior intensity did not vary across conditions in Exps I and II, even though self-consciousness did differ. This finding suggests that deindividuation theory is incomplete in its present form. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Of thoughts unspoken: Social inference and the self-regulation of behavior.

Suggests that perceivers draw dispositional inferences about targets (characterization) and then adjust those inferences with information about the constraints on the targets' behaviors (correction). Because correction is more effortful than characterization, perceivers who devote cognitive resources to the regulation of their own behavior should be able to characterize targets but unable to correct those characterizations. In Exp 1, unregulated Ss incidentally ignored an irrelevant stimulus while they observed a target's behavior, whereas self-regulated Ss purposefully ignored the same irrelevant stimulus. In Exp 2, unregulated Ss expressed their sincere affection toward a target, whereas self-regulated Ss expressed false affection. In both experiments, self-regulated Ss were less likely than unregulated Ss to correct their characterizations of the target. The results suggest that social interaction (which generally requires the self-regulation of ongoing behavior) may profoundly affect the way in which active perceivers process information about others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)