Warner Wilson

Cooperation and the cooperativeness of the other player

The strategy choices, the number of cooperative versus competitive choices, constituted one dependent variable. The amount of winnings constituted a second response measure. A third response measure consisted of ratings of the confederate made by the subject. The subject responded to 18 traits divided into four categories: (1) motive traits-traits indicative of motives likely to be aroused by the game situation (for example: generous, cooperative, stubborn, greedy, accommodating, and willing to compromise); (2) sociometric traits-traits indicative of social attractiveness (for example: likable, desirable as a friend, roommate, or date, and favorable personality); (3) ability traits (for example: capable, orderly, efficient, intelligent, and effective); and (4) personality traits-traits indicative of some degree of personality disorder (for example: neurotic, anxious, emotionally unstable, and nervous). The subject rated the confederate on a nine-point scale on each trait.

Social Psychology and Mental Retardation

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses social psychology aspects of mental retardation. The chapter offers an interpretation of retardation that stresses three variables: the genetic endowment of the population; the ability level of the population; and the demands of the society. Mental retardation is seen as a social problem that is destined to increase, as the accelerating demands of society outdistance the ability of an ever-increasing percentage of the population. The recommended solution is the institution of one or more of the several possible “eugenics” programs. In recommending such programs, it is emphasized that retardation (and genius) does run in families and that a phenotypically based program of birth control would, therefore, work irrespective of whether the familial nature of the conditions is based on genetic or cultural factors or both. The first section of this chapter discusses the extent to which a social psychology of mental retardation does or does not exist. The second section treats retardation as a social problem that may be alleviated by a eugenics program. The third section discusses the retardates social success, his vocational success, his self-concept, his image in the eyes of the layman, and his relation with his family.

Relation of sexual behaviors, values, and conflict to avowed happiness and personal adjustment.

A questionnaire study of 68 male and 64 female college students inquired about sexual behaviors (a) experienced, (b) deemed acceptable on a date, (c) deemed acceptable if experienced previously by a fiance(e), (d) revealed to peers, and (e) revealed to parents. High scores on these measures were viewed as indicative of liberality and differences among them as indicative of conflict. These measures of sexual liberality and conflict did not correlate with measures of adjustment, avowed happiness, or religiousness. Tables indicate the per cent of Ss endorsing each item under each set. Ss reported far more sexual experiences than they had ever revealed to a peer or a parent.

Recency effects in opinion formation.

160 undergraduates read excerpts from a jury trial in either a defense-prosecution or a prosecution-defense order. A significant recency effect appeared on both opinion (p < .05) and retention (p < .01) measures. An attempt to manipulate the order effect, by interpolating materials from another jury trial, either between the parts of the first trial or after the first trial and the opinion rating, proved unsuccessful, possibly because the interpolated materials were not of sufficient length to allow for significant forgetting This study agrees with several others in showing mostly recency effects in decisions concerning jury trials.

SOURCE CREDIBILITY AND ORDER EFFECTS

288 undergraduates formed an opinion about a jury trial, and also formed impressions of the personalities of 10 hypothetical persons. A recency effect occurred for the jury trial, but order effects were inconsistent in the personality impressions. Source credibility also failed to have any consistent effect. Accordingly the study was replicated without intentional modification. Again, the recency effect in the jury trial was significant. This time the personality impression data yielded only recency trends, 4 significant.

RELIABLE RECENCY EFFECTS

400 undergraduates read excerpts from a jury trial in either a defense-prosecution or a prosecution-defense order. 10 replications of this order effect paradigm showed recency effects.

Attractiveness as a result of having certain personality traits

One hundred forty-four undergraduates ranked five persons described by four adjectives, some persons being described by more favorable and some by less favorable adjectives. Half of the questionnaires merely presented the adjectives in an impersonal way; the other half presented the adjectives as personal self-references made by the individuals in question. Favorable vs unfavorable adjectives produced a large effect (F = 788.83, df = 4/568, p >.001). Personal vs impersonal presentation had no apparent effect (F =.94, df = 4/258, n.s.). The results suggest a simple technique for increasing popularity and, possibly, self-esteem.

Primacy or Recency of Communications as a Function of Forcefulness of Presentation

In the present study of order of communications, 292 introductory psychology students listened to a tape containing contradictory descriptions of 8 hypothetical persons and then indicated their impressions. The materials used came from 3 earlier studies all of which had reported strong primacy effects. The present study showed 4 primacy effects, 2 significant, and 4 recency effects, 2 significant. Primacy versus recency effects proved to be highly predictable from ratings of loudness, forcefulness, and clarity, even though such differences were not large. The study illustrates the vulnerability of order effects to minor variables.

Selective Intergroup Bias in Both Authoritarians and Non-Authoritarians after Playing a Modified Prisoner's Dilemma Game

56 male and 56 female undergraduates played a modified Prisoners Dilemma game, two teams playing on each occasion. Ss chose a competitive or cooperative strategy toward both their opponents and partners on 20 trials. Partners received more cooperative choices (p < .01). Ratings on ability, sociometric, and motive traits improved for both ingroup and outgroup, however, ingroup ratings tended to improve more. The ingroup-outgroup differential was significantly stronger for game-relevant motive traits than for any other type of trait. The results support a “selective bias” hypothesis, which implies that bias in intergroup perceptions is especially great in the case of motives aroused by intergroup contact. A projective mechanism which defends against the perception of reprehensible motives in the ingroup might account for this selective bias.

RELATIVELY LOW PREJUDICE IN A RACIALLY ISOLATED GROUP

This study compared the social distance scores of 84 rural high school students attending all-white high schools in an all-white section of Alabama with the scores of 214 students attending an integrated school in a small city. The students from the all-white schools expressed more favorable attitudes toward Negroes (t = 5.27, df = 1/385, p < .001). It was not possible to arrange a re-test at the integrated school, but a re-test at the all-white schools about 6 mo. later involving 91 students showed that attitudes at these schools had improved significantly (t = 3.68, df = 1/385, p < .001).