Karen D. Kirkland

MMPI traits of incestuous fathers

Compared MMPI scores of a group of 10 documented incestuous fathers and stepfathers to those of a matched control group of nonincestuous fathers. Analyses of variance and covariance reflected more pathological scores for incest fathers than control fathers on the psychopathic deviate scale, the psychasthenia scale and the schizophrenia scale of the MMPI. Results were discussed in terms of a character disordered personality type among incestuous fathers.

Being imitated, conformity, and social influence: An integrative review

Abstract The recently developed literature on the effects of being imitated and the social influence function of imitation are reviewed, as is related literature on conformity from social psychology. Then, this research is considered within a number of theoretical contexts, but especially within the conceptual framework of Byrnes elaboration of effectance motivation. Finally, questions are raised which need to be addressed in future research.

Imitation and Response Uncertainty

Summary It is proposed that a potentially important factor in imitation is the response uncertainty of the observer. An attempt was made to clarify the concept, response uncertainty, and to review imitation research which might bear on the formulation. Suggestions are offered for future research and Byrnes elaboration of effectance motivation is offered as a conceptual framework.

Uses of Modeling in Child Treatment

Learning by observation and imitation of other people’s behavior is an everyday affair for most children and a central process in the acquisition of a wide variety of new behaviors. Extensive research has shown that modeling is an effective way for children to acquire, strengthen, and weaken behaviors. Given frequent naturalistic observation of imitation among children and the voluminous experimental literature on the topic, it is not surprising that modeling is a common term in developmental psychology. The next step that occurred in the evolution of the field was the application of modeling techniques to the treatment of clinical problems with children. A number of practitioners and researchers have begun to bridge the gap between the experimental and the applied realms by demonstrating that modeling is an effective strategy for the treatment of a variety of childhood disorders.

Imitation in the Interest of Social Influence.

This study appraises the possibility that imitation may be used as a means of social influence among fifth- and sixth-grade boys and girls. One member of each pair served as the model and the other as the subject. Subjects who were given an induction designed to motivate them to influence the model imitated the model significantly more than subjects who received no induction. Looking and smiling at the model was positively correlated with imitation for the social influence subjects, but not for the control subjects. Based on a small but coherent body of literature, it appears that the effects of imitation on a naive model are often positive (e.g., Thelen, Dollinger, & Roberts, 1975) and the kinds of interpersonal reactions that people often seek. The present study was designed to determine if children imitate when motivated to attain a desired positive reaction from the model. Forty fifth- and sixth-grade children were randomly paired with a classmate of the same sex and sociometric status. One child of each pair was randomly designated as the subject and the second as the model. Each pair was randomly assigned to either a social influence or control condition, with the constraints that conditions be equated for sex, grade level, and sociometric status. The experimenter and three scorers were female. Three tasks were used in the procedure. The faces task consisted of 15 pictures of human faces with four nonsense syllables under each picture. The experimenter instructed the model and the subject to point, in turn, to the name each wanted to go with the face. The marbles task consisted of four similar marbles from which the model and subject selected a marble that each liked most. Different marbles were used for each of the three preliminary and 12 test trials. The marbles task and faces task have been described elsewhere (Thelen & Kirkland, 1976). The four-hole marble drop task involved a rectangular box. The subject was instructed to point to the hole in which he or she wanted the model to drop the marble. The model, in turn, was instructed to drop the marble into any hole that he or she wanted.

On being imitated: Effects on models and observers

Abstract Forty first- and second-grade children were imitated by an adult confederate and not imitated by a second adult confederate. For each child exposed to the above treatment, another child observed the imitation and nonimitation. It was found that children tended to be attracted to the confederate who imitated them. More importantly, although the observers were not imitated, they also were attracted to the imitating confederate. The two groups did not differ significantly in subsequent imitation of the two confederates. The results, which were conceptualized within the framework of vicarious reinforcement, have methodological implications for research on the effects of being imitated.

UNOBTRUSIVE ASSESSMENT OF INTERPERSONAL AFFECT THROUGH EXPRESSIVE LINE DRAWINGS

Lott and Lott (1970) provide a rationale as well as empirical support for the contention that nonverbal, indirect measures of social affect are highly economical and unobtrusive means of obtaining important information about childrens interpersonal attitudes. The present investigation examined the sensitivity of expressive line drawings as an indirect measure of social affect in a school setting. 20 boys and girls ranging in age from 11 to 13 yr. were asked to select classmates representing four points on a scale of liking and were instructed to produce expressive line drawings of any shape or form in response to each of the identified peers. Two raters assessed 80 drawings on the following content categories: curvedness-angularity, simplicity-complexity, repetitive-nonrepetitive, warmth-coldness, and friendliness-aggressiveness. The structural features of the drawings differed as a function of liking, with male subjects evidencing a tendency toward finer discriminations than females across levels of liking. Expressive line drawings for disliked classmates were rated more angular, complex, nonrepetitive, cold and aggressive. The results of the present study suggest that various indirect measures may well reveal a more complex and refined set of social affective responses than have been previously noted.