The relationships between overt and fantasy aggression.

The interrelationships among aggressive needs, anticipation of punishment, and overt aggressive behavior in 29 lower-class boys were investigated in this study. Three hypotheses were tested: 1) among lower class boys, those having a relatively great amount of fantasy aggressive needs indulge in more overt aggressive behavior than those who have relatively few aggressive fantasy needs; 2) Ss whose TAT stories included a great deal of punishment press relative to the number of their aggressive needs demonstrate less overt aggression than Ss whose ratios of punishment press to aggressive needs are low; and 3) Those with low punishment press/aggressive fantasy ratio show more aggression in their behavior than those with high P/A ratio. All three hypotheses were supported by the data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence and leadership as a function of group structure.

"In a group decision situation, influence and perceived leadership were studied as a function of an individual's position in the communication network of his group. The hypotheses were advanced that, regardless of the network he is in, a group member (a) will be influenced less as his group reaches a decision, and (b) will be perceived as the group leader more often when his position in the communication network is more central… . On an overall basis, both hypotheses were confirmed… . The hypothesis concerning influence was tenable only in the case of one kind of network." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selective monitoring of physical sensations.

Two experiments demonstrated that the experience of physical sensations is the result of hypothesis-guided selective search and encoding. In Exp I with 38 undergraduates, Ss listened to a stimulus that was said to increase, decrease, or have no effect on skin temperature. Results indicate that Ss selectively monitored only those changes in skin temperature congruent with the experimentally induced hypotheses, thus resulting in self-reports of change in skin temperature in the suggested directions. Two replications using heart rate (HR) and nasal congestion, which imposed search strategies, produced comparable results. In Exp II with 31 Ss, Ss viewed a heartbeat chart and assessed the degree to which a hypothetical drug influenced a target person's HR. Perceptions of change in HR were influenced by both experimentally induced hypotheses as well as Ss' perceptions of their own HR. That is, if prior to the experiment Ss believed their own pulse was accelerated, they were more likely to perceive the graphed heartbeat accelerating as well. Findings point to parallels between perception of internal state and the external environment. Finally, the roles of hypothesis-guided selective search are extended to placebo effectiveness. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does aggression cause a preference for viewing media violence?

Two experiments tested the hypotheses that physical aggression and fantasy aggression would lead to a preference for viewing violence. In Exp I, 45 female and 42 male undergraduates were induced to express aggressive, nonaggressive, or no fantasies and were then given an opportunity to select film clips for viewing. The films chosen by men contained more violence than those chosen by women. In addition, aggressive fantasies in males, compared to nonaggressive fantasies, increased the preference for viewing violence. Exp II, with 64 males, replicated the results of Exp I and also found that men who were given an opportunity to aggress physically, compared to those who had no such opportunity, were more likely to choose to view films containing violent content. Results suggest that just as the viewing of violence may increase aggression, so, too, aggressive behavior may increase the preference for viewing violence. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of client abuse with locus of control and gender: A longitudinal study in mental retardation facilities.

Direct-care workers (158 women and 154 men) participated in a study of aggressive work behavior. Employees completed J. B. Rotter's (1966) Locus of Control Scale. Client abuse data were collected over a 2-yr period. Individuals reporting higher levels of external locus of control and men were more likely to emit aggressive behavior than were people reporting lower levels of external locus of control and women. Results supported the hypotheses and suggested that individual and group differences may be useful in understanding maladaptive, aggressive work behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal involvement as a determinant of argument-based persuasion.

Hypothesized that when a persuasive communication was on a topic of (a) high personal relevance, attitude change was governed by issue-relevant arguments, and (b) low personal relevance, peripheral features were more important. 145 undergraduates expressed their attitudes on the issue of comprehensive senior exams after exposure to a counterattitudinal advocacy that was of high or low personal relevance containing either strong or weak arguments that emanated from a source of either high or low expertise. Another 18 Ss were controls who were surveyed but not exposed to a counterattitudinal advocacy. Interactions of the personal relevance manipulation with the argument quality and expertise manipulations revealed that under high relevance (the exams were to be instituted the following year), attitudes were influenced primarily by the quality of the arguments in the message, whereas under low relevance (the exams were to be instituted in 10 years), attitudes were influenced primarily by the expertise of the source. It is suggested that an increase in involvement is associated with an increase in the importance of message arguments because people are motivated to hold "correct" and defensible opinions, and they have a better framework for things that are relevant to the self. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reduction of cognitive dissonance by seeking consonant information.

"An experiment was conducted to test two hypotheses about the reduction of cognitive dissonance by seeking information. The hypotheses were: (a) a person in whom dissonance has been produced by exposure to a communication advocating an opinion contrary to the person's is more likely to seek information than a person exposed to a compatible communication, and (b) a person in whom dissonance has been produced by a contrary communication tends to seek information from a source agreeing with his opinion. The opinions of 100 mothers on the importance of hereditary and environmental factors in child rearing were ascertained by personal interview; they were then exposed to a tape recorded, authoritative communication espousing a hereditary or an environmental point of view… . The results supported the first hypothesis." From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3GG74A. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychotherapist and one-way intimacy.

Several prominent psychotherapists have asserted that many therapists use their relationships with clients to gratify desires for controlled, "one-way" intimacy in which they are less vulnerable than the clients. The present experiment tested the hypotheses that (1) therapists have higher needs for control and intimacy than the normative population; (2) need for control is negatively related to quantity and quality of family involvement; and (3) therapists categorized as pseudo-intimate have higher need for control than those categorized as intimate. The FIRO-B and assessments of structured interviews by blind raters provided data on 26 male practicing psychotherapists (aged 29–61 yrs) and 28 male doctoral students (aged 24–48 yrs). None of the hypotheses were supported. Therapist and trainee need scores were similar, and both groups had lower needs for inclusion and needs to be influenced by others than are the norm. Roughly two-thirds of the therapists were categorized as intimate and one-third as pseudo-intimate. Results do not support the idea that therapists gratify their neurotic needs through working with clients. Implications for future research and for therapist selection and training are discussed. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive complexity and assimilative projection in attitude change.

"Students in two undergraduate psychology courses were administered the same attitude scales on two occasions. The second administration was accompanied by information concerning the expressed opinions of either generals or peers. As hypothesized, those students showing little change in their attitude scale scores were found to be high on a measure of cognitive simplicity. Those students who were influenced by peers perceived themselves as more similar to peers than students who were negative to peer influence." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intrafamilial interactive behavior, parental communication deviance, and risk for schizophrenia.

Examined the empirical question of whether families high in communication deviance (CD) assessed from parental projective test data show direct interaction patterns similar to those found in families with offspring diagnosed as schizophrenic. Three parameters of interactive functioning were examined—focus of communication, role structure, and nonverbal affective attitude. The data base was a 5-min, face-to-face videotaped interaction between parents and their disturbed, nonpsychotic adolescent in 47 families. Only families with high CD parents failed to focus communication on the discussion topic and to share topic-related feelings. High CD families were more likely to exhibit role structures in which the mother was active, either alone or in combination with the father. Low CD families were characterized by father activity. High CD parents showed avoidance and rigidity in their nonverbal affective attitude to the child; low CD parents were nonavoidant and relaxed. The relationships among the measures of communication deviance, type of adolescent symptomatology, interactive measures, and risk for schizophrenia are discussed. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genetic Associations of Alcohol Dehydrogenase With Alcohol Use Disorders and Endophenotypes in White College Students.

Associations of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) gene polymorphisms (ADH1B*2 and ADH1C*1) with a lifetime alcohol use disorder (AUD) were examined in White college students. Alcohol-related endophenotypes likely to be influenced by elevations in acetaldehyde were also assessed. Individuals with an ADH1B*2 allele had lower rates of AUDs, consumed a lower maximum number of drinks in a 24-hr period, reported a greater level of response to alcohol, were more likely to have experienced alcohol-induced headaches following 1 or 2 drinks, and reported more severe hangovers than those lacking this allele. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that enhanced sensitivity to alcohol and lower levels of alcohol use reflect the mechanism by which ADH1B*2 protects against developing an AUD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Direct and indirect persuasive effects of dissonance-producing messages.

"Several hypotheses regarding the effectiveness of persuasive messages were derived from Festinger's 'Theory of Cognitive Dissonance.' It was predicted that messages would be effective in changing opinions on the explicit issues to the extent that they argued in dissonance-reducing directions; and on related, unmentioned issues, to the extent that they argued in a dissonance-increasing direction. It was further predicted that the dissonance-reducing changes would show a slower rate of temporal decay after the communication… . Both predictions… were confirmed." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negotiation in triads: Communication constraints and tradeoff structure.

Researchers examined the impact of communication constraints and tradeoff structures on negotiations within 3-member groups in a simulated architectural firm. Groups were faced with the task of designing a house to meet a client's needs and budget constraints. Groups restricted to dyadic-only communication (between 2 members at any given time) perceived other group members and themselves to be more competitive than groups that engaged in full-group communication (3 members present). When groups were allowed to communicate in full, they were more likely to discover circular tradeoffs than reciprocal tradeoffs; however, when communication was restricted to dyadic interactions, reciprocal tradeoffs were more likely than circular tradeoffs. Joint profit was greater for tasks requiring reciprocal rather than circular tradeoffs. Furthermore, reciprocal tradeoff structures led to a more equal division of profits among group members than did circular tradeoffs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The interpretation of opinion statements as a function of recipient attitude and source prestige.

The effect on attitudes was assessed when communication was supposed to be from individuals with positions of either low or high prestige. As hypothesized, messages from high prestige. As hypothesized, messages from high prestige sources had greater influence on the formation of opinions and the perception of the attitudes as expressed than from low prestige sources. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4GD82M. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Superior efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy for urban crack cocaine abusers: main and matching effects

This study evaluated the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and 12-step facilitation (12SF) in treating cocaine abuse. Participants (N = 128) were randomly assigned to treatment conditions and assessed at baseline and at Weeks 4, 8, 12, and 26. Treatment lasted for 12 weeks. It was hypothesized that participants treated with CBT would be significantly more likely to achieve abstinence from cocaine than participants treated with 12SF. A series of patient-treatment matching hypotheses was also proposed. Across 2 different outcome variables, it was found that participants in CBT were significantly more likely to achieve abstinence than participants in 12SF. In addition, some support for matching hypotheses was found, suggesting that both psychotherapies may be differentially effective for identified subgroups of persons that abuse cocaine.     

Personality and aggressive behavior under provoking and neutral conditions: A meta-analytic review.

The authors conducted a comprehensive review to understand the relation between personality and aggressive behavior, under provoking and nonprovoking conditions. The qualitative review revealed that some personality variables influenced aggressive behavior under both neutral and provocation conditions, whereas others influenced aggressive behavior only under provocation. Studies that assessed personality variables and that directly measured aggressive behavior were included in the quantitative review. Analyses revealed that trait aggressiveness and trait irritability influenced aggressive behavior under both provoking and neutral conditions but that other personality variables (e.g., trait anger, Type A personality, dissipation-rumination) influenced aggressive behavior only under provoking conditions. The authors discuss possible relations between these patterns of aggressive behavior and the personality dimensions of Agreeableness and Neuroticism and consider implications for theories of aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of appraisal and physiological response in emotion.

Appraisal theorists propose physiological activity in emotion to be systematically organized around appraisal of the adaptational significance of the environment in ways that promote two functions commonly ascribed to emotion: communication and preparation for coping. However, relations between appraisal and physiological activity remain largely untested. This article reviews existing evidence to generate specific hypotheses linking appraisal to physiological activity and presents an imagery-based experimental test of a subset of these hypotheses. No evidence was found for a relation between other-agency and the eyebrow frown, but brow activity and heart rate were affected by effort-related appraisals: Anticipated effort influenced heart rate, and perceived goal-obstacles influenced the eyebrow frown. Implications of the findings and theoretical approach are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of psychological distress among southeast Asian refugees

This paper analyzed data from one of the first needs assessment projects on a representative non-clinical population of Southeast Asian refugees in the United States in order to test two hypotheses: (1) whether or not premigration experiences still have an effect on psychological distress beyond the initial resettlement period and (2) whether or not interethnic group differences existed in the predictors of psychological distress between three Southeast Asian refugee groups, the Vietnamese, Cambodians and Lao. The results of the analysis of 2180 subjects supported both hypotheses. Regardless of ethnicity and the number of years in the U.S., premigration trauma events and refugee camp experiences were significant predictors of psychological distress even 5 years or more after migration and significant group differences in the types of postmigration distress predictors were also found. Acculturation concerns for the Vietnamese and Lao were influenced by both premigration and postmigration variables. In contrast, the primary concerns of the Cambodians were still related to premigration issues. The results also indicated that Vietnamese and Lao women were more likely to experience distress than their male counterparts, but no gender differences emerged for the Cambodians. Age predicted distress for Vietnamese and Cambodians, but not Lao. Similar to previous findings in the literature, Cambodians reported the highest levels of distress, followed by Lao and then Vietnamese. Interpretations of these results for this community sample are proposed.