Mary B. Harris

A comparison of a self-control and a contract procedure for weight control

Abstract A self-control procedure involving the use of behavior modification techniques was compared with a contract system and an attention-placebo control group. One study revealed significant losses for both treatments after 12 weeks with the contract group losing more; however, a ten month follow-up revealed that the weight loss was not permanent. A second study found no differences between a self-control group and a control group after 16 weeks. Reasons for the poor long-term results of these and other weight-control programs were discussed.

The Purposes of a Syllabus

Abstract The purposes of a syllabus are almost as varied as the possible contents but can be grouped into several categories. The article proposes that syllabi serve three major roles: the syllabus as a contract, the syllabus as a permanent record, and the syllabus as a learning tool. Each function has implications for what a syllabus should contain. General observations about constructing syllabi conclude the article.

Gender and Perceptions of Danger

This study examined how gender affects evaluations of potentially dangerous situations, perceptions of risk, and advice given to a potential victim. Responses of 660 university students (68% female; 52% Anglo, 34% Hispanic) to a multipart questionnaire indicated that gender of the respondent, the potential aggressor, and the potential victim can all influence evaluations of danger, willingness to use a gun, beliefs about risk, and advice concerning how to behave in a dangerous situation. As hypothesized, responses reflected stereotypes of greater male aggressiveness, greater female fearfulness, and greater perceived danger for women than for men. Also as predicted, respondents perceived greater danger to others than to themselves and from strangers rather than from intimates.

Mediators between frustration and aggression in a field experiment.

Abstract To assess some of the mediators between a frustrating incident and subsequent aggressive behavior in a field situation, 320 male and female subjects were assigned to one of 32 experimental conditions in a 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design. Either a male or female experimenter, saying “Excuse me” or not, dressed in high or low status clothing, cut in line in front of the subject, who was standing near the front or back of the line. Verbal and nonverbal aggressiveness were coded and summed to measure total aggression. Subjects near the front of the line or interacting with a low status experimenter were more aggressive than those at the back of the line or seeing a high status experimenter. Less aggression was directed against the female experimenter or one who said “Excuse me,” and there was a strong tendency for subjects to be more aggressive to a same-sex experimenter. It was suggested that further research on instigators to aggression be carried out in such field situations.

Disordered eating in South-western Pueblo Indians and Hispanics

The present study investigated the incidence of eating disorders in two samples representing populations seldom reported upon in the eating disorder literature: Pueblo Indians and Hispanics. Subjects were 95 students from a rural, public high school serving primarily low income families. Although no ethnic differences were found, the majority of girls in both samples reported wanting to lose weight, being worried about their weight, and indulging in binge eating. Nine of the girls (11 per cent) reported eating habits consistent with the DMS III (APA, 1980) criteria for bulimia. In contrast, few boys indicated concerns about their weight or eating habits. The results suggest that eating disorders and concern about obesity are found in a variety of ethnic groups in the United States today.

Teaching self-control of study behavior

Abstract A self-control procedure to improve study habits was taught to 38 volunteer students at the University of New Mexico summer school. The program involved the utilization of stimulus control procedures, self-reinforcement and punishment, and the SQ3R method (Robinson, 1946) of studying. S s receiving the lessons showed a significant gain in grade point average (G.P.A.) for the three semesters following the study over the two preceding semesters, when compared with those not receiving the lessons. This gain was not due to any change in University grading standards. No difference in G.P.A. gains was found between S s who received and discussed the lessons in group meetings and those who simply received them individually in written form.

FEELING FAT: MOTIVATIONS, KNOWLEDGE, AND ATTITUDES OF OVERWEIGHT WOMEN AND MEN

This study concerned obesity from the perspective of 47 women and 8 men who considered themselves overweight. They responded to a questionnaire about various aspects of motivation to lose weight, knowledge about obesity, and personal and societal attitudes toward the obese. Although they reduced calorie intake and increased exercise when trying to lose weight, they reported various reasons why their exercise levels were less than optimal. Verbal motivation to lose was only partially reflected in willingness to change lifestyle, even though respondents had spent substantial sums of money on weight-loss attempts. Knowledge about obesity was imperfect, with women and thinner subjects somewhat more knowledgeable. Subjects were aware of and shared some of the negative social stereotypes of the obese, blaming themselves for their oveweight. However, most would not trade their obesity for other handicaps found less stigmatizing in other research. As expected, women expressed a greater desire for thinness than men. Implications for health care professionals are discussed.

Some Factors Affecting the Complexity of Children's Sentences: The Effects of Modeling, Age, Sex, and Bilingualism.

Abstract The effects of the complexity of the sentences spoken by a model upon the length and complexity of sentences spoken by monolingual children hearing Englishssentences, bilingual children hearing Spanish and bilingual children hearing English, were assessed. Second and fourth grade boys and girls served as Ss. A clear modeling effect was found, as well as an effect of grade level on sentence length. No significant effects of sex or language were found. The results suggest that modeling can indeed affect the complexity of childrens sentences even in the absence of reinforcement or instructions to imitate.

Gender and aggression II: Personal aggressiveness

To investigate how gender, ethnicity, age and education influence aggressiveness, we surveyed 115 male and female college students (56% male; 50% Anglo and 26% Hispanic) and 79 persons (72% male; 92% Anglo) working on a military base. Participants were administered the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire and asked about their own aggressive behaviors. In both samples, men scored significantly higher than women on the Physical Aggression scale of the Aggression Questionnaire but not on the other scales. In the military sample, men indicated that they expected to behave more aggressively than women. Positive correlations among different aspects of aggressiveness were found for both men and women. Increasing age and education were associated with lower aggressiveness in both genders, suggesting that aggressiveness may be susceptible to modification over the course of ones life.

Conformity in Chinese and Americans A Field Experiment

A cross-cultural field experiment to determine the effects of a models social status and specific task competence on imitation or conformity was conducted in Taiwan, Republic of China, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. The results indicated that Chinese were more conforming than Americans and that, in both countries, the models status had a significant effect and competence a negligible effect on conformity. A status-by-competence interaction for Americans and for both groups combined indicated that a high-status model was imitated slightly more if low in competence, but a low-status model was imitated only if he was highly competent.