Donald Elman

Effects of Facial Expression and Stare Duration on Walking Speed: Two Field Experiments

Two field experiments investigated the generality of the stare-escape phenomenon for pedestrians. Experiment 1, conducted at a traffic intersection, failed to replicate a previous finding that being stared at leads to faster walking speed. One hypothesis that could explain this failure is that the relatively short staring times used in Experiment 1 were insufficient for subjects to attribute a threatening meaning to the stare. In Experiment 2, conducted at a library elevator, duration of staring was systematically varied—either 2 seconds or more than 15 seconds. Consistent with the attribution time hypothesis, subjects increased walking speed after a long stare but decreased it after a short stare. In both experiments a smile coupled with a stare appeared to neutralize the effects of a stare alone.

Why Is Tipping "Cheaper by the Bunch": Diffusion or Just Deserts?

It was concluded in a recently-published study that the percentage amount of a restaurant tip decreases as the number of persons at a table increases,because of diffusion of responsibility. The validity of this explanation is questioned. Theoretical and methodological alternatives are suggested.

Comment: Rejection Rates, Objective Criteria, and the Adversarial Process

Three items in the Summer 1977 issue of PSPB--the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Publications, Judson Mills’ comment on publication criteria, and Harold Sigall’s transitional editorial--all touch upon important, but seldom publicly discussed, issues about the editorial process. In a way, the balance among a journal’s rejection rate, submission rate, and acceptance criteria can be thought of as a Lewinian