Richard A. Maier

LYING BEHAVIOR AND EVALUATION OF LIES

Five studies investigated lying and evaluation of lies. Study 1 concerned questionnaire data which indicated that educational background, personal morality, and religiousness are related to the evaluation of lies. In Study 2, ratings of reprehensibility of lies were related to the sex, friendship, status, and occupation of the liar, and the presumed effect of the lie on the listener. Study 3 indicated that a polygraph (GSR) could not consistently differentiate persons who were acting a dishonest role from persons acting an honest role. The fourth study investigated the ability of subjects to detect lying while listening to tape recordings of honest/dishonest role-players. Their accuracy was then compared to the accuracy of the polygraph on the same role-players. Study 5 found that subjects, as a group, made a more suspicious judgment of a role-player than they did as individual judges.

Similarity and attraction in homosexual males: The effects of age and masculinity–femininity.

Recent research on homosexual partner preferences has focused on sexual attraction, but little attention has been paid to stable, long-term relationships in this population. The present research is concerned with the roles of similarity and complementarity in relatively durable relationships. One-hundred and eleven homosexual males completed a questionnaire describing themselves, including their masculinity and femininity (Bem, 1974), and characteristics of their ideal partner. Results indicated a desire for a partner who was logical and expressive, similar in age, and similar in masculinity—femininity. No special features of homosexuality nor sex roles seem necessary to explain these results.

Attitudes toward women, personality rigidity, and idealized physique preferences in males

The idealized physique preferences of a group of 94 male college students were measured and correlated with scales measuring attitudes toward women and personality rigidity. Three hypotheses, derived from sex-role research, were tested and confirmed: (1) Males who have negative attitudes toward women would like most to have a tapering V physique. (2) Males who have a rigid personality structure have stronger preference for an idealized muscular physique than males with more flexible personalities. (3) Males have a generally greater preference for a tapering V physique than women. It was concluded, from the results of this and other studies, that body preference is related to certain aspects of sex-role attitudes.

Differences in human ability to judge veracity from the audio medium

Abstract The few past studies in this topic area have consistently found that human subjects, as a group, are able to judge veracity better than chance; but no findings have been published relating individual differences to judgmental accuracy. Thus the present study was designed as a first step in filling this knowledge gap. To create a stimulus set of lies and truths, which listeners would later judge for veracity, a method was employed that generated 10 audio-tape recorded lies and 10 audio-tape recorded truths. Each of 100 subject-listeners judged each audio-tape for veracity, and also provided information on a set of personological variables. Listener, as a group, were significantly better than chance in accurately judging veracity ( p p

Sex differences in the perception of touching.

Sex differences in the perception of touching were investigated by having 25 male and 25 female college students rate how likeable a touch would be under different conditions. The women produced a more favorable affect than the men when they touched, and women were perceived as liking to be touched mote than men. Perception of touching in general was correlated positively with Self-esteem for men, negatively with Machiavellianism for women, and positively with Trust for women. Results were discussed in terms of traditional sex-typing of touching behavior.

A self-fulfilling prophecy in a competitive psychomotor task ☆

Abstract Fifty-six pairs of male college students competed in games of electronic table tennis. The participants were led to expect a bias in the game equipment, such that one player would have an advantage and the other a disadvantage. All participants recorded levels of aspiration both before and after being informed of the alleged bias. Upon completion of the game, the subjects made ratings of causal attribution to five factors: ability, task difficulty, effort, luck, and equipment bias. The results showed that the students with the putative disadvantage set significantly lower aspiration levels and performed at a significantly lower level than those students with the supposed advantage. Thus the putative bias became a real bias, although a psychological rather than a physical one. It is suggested that the source of the bias and the performance differences was a self-fulfilling prophecy. In contrast to the results of earlier studies, there were no meaningful differences in ratings of causal attribution.

Role of Method of Stimulus Presentation in Research on Recognition of Facial Affect

Previous research regarding recognition of facial affect and personality variables has produced apparently contradictory findings. One reason for these inconsistencies may be varieties of experimental methods employed by different researchers. To investigate this possibility, the relation between three personality variables, Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Psychoticism, and accuracy in recognition of facial affect was examined with three methods of stimulus presentation: slide presentation, photographic display, and tachistoscopic administration. The nontachistoscopic methods correlated moderately and positively. Extraversion correlated positively with the ability to recognize facial expression with the nontachistoscopic methods. Psychoticism correlated negatively with correct affect recognition, although only for tachistoscopic presentation. Neuroticism did not correlate with recognition of facial affect using any of the methods. Possible explanations and limitations are discussed.

Effects of stress upon social distance in dolphins.

There are several reports of dolphins swimming in tight schools after some type of stress (McBride & Hebb, 1948; Brown, 1962; Caldwell & Caldwell, 1966). However, this tight schooling or swimming in close proximity to one another has not been investigated or quantitatively analyzed under controlled conditions. Furthermore, the nature of the stressful agent is not always apparent. The purpose of the present investigation was to study the effect of two apparent stressors, recent capture and the presence of humans in the tank with the dolphins, upon the distance maintained between the dolphins. Ss were four adult Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) captured off the coast of Point Mugu, California. The procedure involved estimating the number of seconds per 4-min. interval that two dolphins spent within 5 ft, of one another: (1) immediately after capture, ( 2 ) after 3 wk. in captivity, ( 3 ) when a person was standing quietly in the pool with the dolphins, and ( 4 ) when the dolphins were alone in the tank. Comparisons were made between Conditions 1 and 2 and between Conditions 3 and 4. Under all conditions, E observed two dolphins swimming in a 55-ft. diameter circular tank at random 4-min. intervals throughout the day. Six observation periods were included under each condition and the average number of seconds that dolphins remained within 5 ft. of one another was determined. A comparison of Conditions 1 and 2 indicated that the dolphins spent more time close to one another immediately following the stress of capture ( M = 210 sec.) and placement in an unfamiliar environment than 3 wk. after capture (M = 165 sec.; t = 4.83, d f = 10, p < ,001). Similarly, the dolphins spent more time ( M = 186 sec.) in close proximity when a person (presumably a stressing agent) was present in the pool ( M = 103 sec. with no person). The difference between Conditions 3 and 4 was also statistically significant ( t = 7.51, d f = 10, p < .001). The reduced social distance, similar to the tight schooling observed in dolphins in the open ocean, is apparently a general reaction to stress. This reaction may function to increase protection afforded to young or feeble members of the school when the group is attacked or stressed in some fashion.

Role of sex identification in perception of a social blunder.

4 groups of subjects observed an interaction between a male and a female on videotape: in one interaction the male blundered, in another the female blundered, and there were two control conditions in which the interaction was not followed by a blunder. Results indicated an effect of sex identification; the male blunderer was derogated most by male subjects (n = 34) and the female most by female subjects (n = 34).

Serial Discrimination Reversal in a Slow Loris (Nycticebus)

A Slow Loris was tested on a serial discrimination reversal problem, reaching an optimal level of performance after 9 reversals. Thus, the ability of the Prosimian Primate was roughly comparable to that of the more highly evolved Squirrel and Capuchin monkey.