John Mahoney

The effect of waitresses' touch on alcohol consumption in dyads.

A total of 96 men and 48 women participated in a study on the effect of touch in the natural setting of public taverns in the United States. Participants in the same-gender (men-men) or mixed-gender dyads were either touched or not touched by waitress confederates. Regardless of dyad type, participants who were touched consumed more alcohol than participants who were not touched. Men in the mixed-gender dyads consumed more alcohol when the women was touched. Same-gender (men-men) dyads aggregately consumed more alcohol than mixed-gender dyads. The results are interpreted in terms of the environmental cues and the dynamics of the group.

Values and Volunteers: Axiology of Altruism in a Crisis Center

The present study examined the values of volunteers for a crisis center “hotline” telephone service. The volunteers (19 males, 23 females) were compared to an aggregately sex-matched control group of 42 evening college students at a major urban regional university. Both groups completed a Rokeach Value Survey. A total of 12 values discriminated between the volunteer and control groups. Results suggest that, in contrast to control subjects, volunteers for crisis-intervention centers are demonstrably more altruistic, with more highly developed interests in social activity and an increased need for inner-direction. A subsequent value comparison of the 23 volunteers who remained for at least 2 mo. beyond the training period with 19 who dropped out disclosed only 2 minor differences. Value differences appear to be critical in volunteer selection but are generally unrelated to retention.

Faith and Locus of Control

A total of four dimensions emerged from a factor analytic study of faith. They were titled Faith in God, Faith in People, Faith in Self, and Faith in Technology. Comparisons of religious and secular groups and of liberal and conservative religious groups strongly supported the construct validity of the Faith in God subscale. A moderately low correlation obtained between the Faith in Self subscale and internal locus of control suggested conceptual similarity. Inspection of the item content on the two scales indicates that the internal subscale assesses ones perception that an individual can affect what happens to him, whereas items on the Faith in Self subscale concern more the perception that the individual will control his life in a positive direction.

The Serial Murderer's Motivations: An Interdisciplinary Review

A serial killer is defined as an individual who murders two or more victims over an extended period of time, ranging from days to years, with the crimes often being sexually motivated. Although there is a growing popular emphasis on the phenomenon, there is a paucity of rigorous research in the area. The present article reviews existing motivational theories of serial murder and proposes additional explications from a range of disciplines. Suggestions for future research are presented and integrational approaches are encouraged.

An Analysis of the Axiological Structures of Traditional and Proliberation Men and Women

Summary This study investigated the relation between attitudes toward the womens liberation movement and personal values. It was hypothesized that proliberation respondents would differ from traditional respondents in overall axiological structure. The Sex-Role Standards Measure and the Rokeach Value Survey were completed by 53 male and 77 female college students. Median splits yielded two orientations for each sex, designated as proliberation and traditional. Median tests disclosed numerous significant differences in value rankings between the groups, suggesting that proliberation males favored changes in social goals while proliberation females favored alteration of the female role. It was concluded that womens liberation was not viewed as a purely political issue. Differences between groups were attributed to the proliberation ideological emphasis on self-actualization. Implications of the gender-specific perception of womens liberation were discussed.

VALUES IN PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL ADDRESSES: A TEST OF ROKEACH'S TWO-FACTOR THEORY OF POLITICAL IDEOLOGY

Values expressed in the inaugural addresses of the presidents of the United States were hypothesized to reflect an underlying factor structure characterized by historical value citations of “Freedom” and “Equality,” identified by Rokeach in 1973 as relevant to major political ideologies. A positive emphasis on both values yields a socialistic perspective, while rejection of both values generates fascism. Capitalism endorses “freedom” but rejects “equality,” while an emphasis on “equality” to the exclusion of “freedom” reflects Communism. Blind raters (with interrater reliabilities of .88 to .92) content analyzed the 50 inaugural addresses of 40 presidents, from Washington through Reagan, with reference to eight values (economy, equality, freedom, justice, morality, peace, power, and religion) identified as historically consistent themes in inaugural addresses. Factor analysis yielded two basic dimensions clearly identifiable as “Freedom” and “Equality,” lending substantial support to Rokeachs findings.

Factor Structure of Ellis' Irrational Beliefs in a Nonclinical College Population

In a study of irrational beliefs among nonclinical populations, 54 male and 75 female college students completed the Irrational Beliefs Survey. Analysis suggests that the survey measures a coherent construct and that a simple summary score is adequate for most uses. Factor analysis disclosed a unidimensional monotonic dimension of irrationality in beliefs among nonclinical respondents. The findings contrast with the appearance of ambiguous clusters of irrational beliefs reported with an inpatient population. The existence of a single dimension of irrational belief is substantially supported.

DEVELOPMENT OF A SCALE FOR ASSESSMENT OF JEALOUSY

Based on a review of the literature on jealousy and depth interviews with 25 adults, a pool of items was developed for a preliminary study of the measurement of jealousy. A total of 141 college students completed the 92-item inventory. The data were factor analyzed, yielding 5 dimensions; need for loyalty, need for intimacy, moodiness, self-confidence, and envy. An intensified 31-item inventory was administered to 94 additional students. Factor analysis of the data yielded essentially identical factors.

16 PF CORRELATES OF PERCEPTUAL REACTANCE

College students (n = 24 males, 36 females) volunteered to take the kinesthetic figural aftereffect task and the 16 PF in a survey of state versus trait personality correlates of perceptual reactance. A reliable emergence of the trait component of perceptual reactance over trials was noted. Perceptual reducers were outgoing, affected by feelings, happy-go-lucky, practical, and undisciplined, while augmenters were reserved, stable, sober, imaginative, and controlled. Findings tend to support the trait model of perceptual reactance, with interference from a state component.

Is the Vando Scale a Valid Measure of Perceptual Reactance

A test of the validity of the Vando Scale of perceptual reactance was made by correlating Vando Scale scores with objective pain tolerance, subjective discomfort, distortion in estimation of duration of discomfort, and assertiveness. 84 college women participated in an ice water-tolerance task. Higher scores associated with less subjective discomfort, greater time distortion and reduced submissiveness. Objective tolerance was not correlated with scale scores. It was concluded that the Vando Scale has relatively low construct validity and may be very sensitive to the demand characteristics of the research situation.