Psych Conference Abstracts (sec.2)

Twelfth Annual Psych Conference Abstracts

Interracial Dating: Differences in Attitudes and Behavior among College-Aged Caucasian and African-American Females

Dornise Dowe, Jason Clark, Larry Force, & Paul Schwartz
Mount Saint Mary College

Race has always been a topic of controversy, even more so, the issue of interracial dating. Has there been any progress in the direction of integration? One example of integration in today's society is interracial relationships. Attitudes and behavior among Caucasian and African-American females between the ages of 18-25 on a small college campus were investigated in this study.

It was found that both Caucasian females and African-American females viewed interracial dating as a personal choice, that has nothing to do with the color of someone's skin. Both women had positive attitudes about the issue, however, the Caucasian female engaged in the behavior more frequently than the African-American woman. Caucasian females may engage in interracial relationships more often than African-American females due to their different way of upbringing. Although this may not be the only factor, we do feel it is the most significant.

Relationship Between Alcohol Consumption and Athletic Performance in Intercollegiate Athletes

Ellen Faynberg & Robert L. Hale
Shippensburg University

Alcohol consumption and especially binge drinking is a prevalent problem on college campuses among athletes and non-athletes alike. Intercollegiate athletes strive to achieve peak levels of performance in sports. A crucial aspect of peak performance in sports is the ability to enter a state of intense concentration, known as "the zone." Several characteristics identify "the zone." There is a heightened sense of physical and mental well-being, a heightened concentration on relevant stimuli and a state of emotional calm. Further, there is an altered sense of time and speed and an enhanced retrieval of motor memories. The present study provides a preliminary examination of the relationship between binge drinking in intercollegiate athletes and their ability to experience "the zone." Twenty-four Shippensburg University intercollegiate athletes were administered questionnaires about alcohol consumption and personal events of peak performance in intercollegiate sports. Results suggest that the reported number of drinking related problems are positively correlated with the reported number of drinking occasions (p < .01). However, there was no significant correlation between number of drinking related problems and the frequency of drinking in the past year. Surprisingly, results also suggest that hangover-related hyperexcitability of the nervous system may actually be associated with enhanced peak performance.

Effects of Occupational Gender Stereotype and Prestige on Perceived Attractiveness of Females

E. M. Fazio, M. L. Gruta, H. A. Smith, W. A. Tucker, & M. M. Washko
Villanova University

The effects of the gender stereotype and prestige of occupations on perceived attractiveness of female targets was investigated by asking 20 males and 20 females to rate the attractiveness of 16 photographs of women. The photographs were selected from a larger group by a panel of judges who determined that these represented "average attractiveness." Pictures were presented with occupational information, e.g., "chemical engineer," "registered nurse." The occupations were selected from 130 occupations rated for gender stereotype and prestige by Girondi et al. (1991), in order to present each picture under four conditions: masculine-high prestige, masculine-low prestige, feminine-high prestige, feminine-low prestige. Subjects were asked to rate the pictures on a scale of perceived attractiveness.

It was expected that female subjects would give higher ratings of attractiveness across all occupations. The data revealed that the mean rating for female subjects was greater than that for males. It was also expected that attributions of higher prestige occupation would lead to higher ratings of attractiveness. The data, while tending in the opposite direction from the hypothesis, did not reach statistical significance. These results suggest that a larger sample of occupations may be needed to provide an adequate test of the second hypothesis.

Can Appreciation of Jokes be Raised by Mood Elevation?

Vanessa Fazio, Carla Bove, Brian Falvey, Kelly Cronin, Cristian Filiberto, Jenna Levitt, Jennifer Schmitt, & Bernard C. Beins.
Ithaca College

A person's appreciation of a joke may be affected by mood. Previous research has involved creating a negative environment during a joke rating session; this manipulation lowered enjoyment of the jokes. Further, television producers use laugh tracks to enhance the humor value of their programs. In this study, we investigated the effect of personal and impersonal mood enhancers on ratings of jokes. Experimenters greeted participants either by introducing themselves and shaking the participants' hands or with a simple hello and no handshake. We hoped that this manipulation would capitalize on earlier research that revealed the importance of simple touch in affecting mood changes. Further, during the testing session, half the participants saw part of an episode of the cartoon comedy, The Simpsons. We selected The Simpsons because of its high level of popularity among college students. We used this manipulation as an impersonal mood elevator.

During the testing session, participants first completed an adjective checklist designed to assess their mood. They then rated the humor value of a group of 21 jokes.

The results revealed that the presence of The Simpsons was associated with higher ratings of jokes for men, compared to ratings of jokes without the cartoon. Female subjects responded the opposite, with lower ratings when The Simpsons was in the background.

The effect of the handshake was uncertain. One testing session involved a group of male subjects who received a handshake but who showed the lowest mood level and the lowest ratings of the jokes. Without this group, the handshake manipulation seemed to be associated with higher ratings of the jokes.

We tentatively conclude that both personal and impersonal mood elevators can affect the ratings of jokes. We are currently replicating the study to assess the reliability of these findings. Our results imply that environmental conditions may significantly influence the outcome of studies of humor.

Effects of a Gluten-Free Diet on Rate of Achievement in Autistic Children in an Applied Behavioral Analysis Program

Melissa Gemmell
Ursinus College

Many parents of autistic children have noticed that their children have reactions to certain foods, particularly those containing wheat and milk. The reactions include hyperactivity, rashes, and diarrhea (Shattock, 1991). Theoretically, these reactions occur, because of an inability to break down certain proteins. Gluten, which is a protein principally found in wheat contains certain sequences of amino acids that have the same opioid activity as endorphins. Since, other research has implicated abnormal endorphin activity in autism, some postulate that gluten intolerance may contribute to its symptoms.

The present study used both a between subjects and within subjects analysis to examine the effects of a gluten-free diet on the academic achievement of autistic children. The between subjects analysis included data from 8 autistic children participating in an applied behavioral analysis program; 4 were on a gluten- free diet, and 4 served as controls. Control group subjects were matched for age and length of time in treatment. The number of attempts needed before mastering an assigned goal was used as the measure of achievement. For all subjects, the five most recently mastered targets were included. A one way t-test showed no significant achievement difference between the two groups.

The within subjects analysis compared rates of achievement from 15 trials of 3 male participants before and 1 month after the gluten-free diet. The last five targets mastered before the diet was administered were included in the data set, as well as the first five targets mastered prior to one month on the gluten- free diet. A within-subjects t-test revealed a significant improvement in the rate of achievement following initiation of the diet (p < .05, t = 2.31, df = 14).

Priming and Training Affect "Bubble" Voice Word Identification

Tracie Gilpin, Rebekah Kesler, Brock Ford, Harry Hunt, & Steven Specht
Lebanon Valley College

Various experiments have demonstrated priming and training effects on different tasks. The present experiment used a 2 (Priming) x 2 (Training) design to evaluate the effects of these factors on word identification in distorted, unfamiliar synthetic speech. Priming was accomplished by presenting a category title while training was achieved by exposing subjects to the sample of the distorted language. The results indicated that both factors increased word identification performance while the two factors combined yielded the highest level of performance. These findings have implications in the field of education concerning teachers for whom English is a second language and in the field of computer- generated speech and speech recognition. We are currently examining the effects of training and priming on comprehension of prose delivered in distorted synthetic speech.

The Rise, Fall, and Re-Emergence of Introspection in Psychology

Zachary Greenfield
Ithaca College

The status of the method of psychological investigation known as introspection has changed as a function of the dominant paradigm during any given period. The rise, fall, and subsequent re-emergence of this method are discussed. As the general questions asked by psychologists changed, so did the techniques used to answer them. At the turn of the century, psychologists' questions dealt with consciousness. Wundt, Titchener, James, Dewey and others sought to describe the contents and functions of one's conscious experience. Therefore, introspection was the logical method of psychological inquisition. However, with the behaviorist movement, psychology disregarded the concept of consciousness. In fact, most behaviorists, including Watson, contended that consciousness was a topic better suited for philosophy. As the questions of psychology turned to the prediction and control of behavior, introspection as a method of investigation eventually became obsolete. Presently, however, with the growing interest in cognitive psychology (the study of mental processes), introspection has found its way back into the realm of psychology. I contend that introspective techniques are again being employed, although in slightly different forms, in the study of cognitive topics such as memory, attention, and mental schemata.

See No Evil-Do No Evil?; The Effects of Gender, Age, and Location on Purchasing Condoms

Ryan Grier, Eileen Astor-Stetson, & Brett Beck
Bloomsburg University

This study attempted to extend research on attitudes toward condoms. The assessment instrument used was developed with the goal of removing the responder bias inherent in many self-report questionnaires (e.g., Catania, 1995). College students responded to four scenes which presented male and female, sixteen and twenty year old characters in the position to purchase condoms in either a drugstore or from a machine. Participants rated on a 10 point Likert Scale the likelihood that the character would buy condoms and how embarrassed the character would feel buying condoms. Analysis of variance comparing gender of the participant, gender of the character, age of the character and location of purchase was performed on each scale. Results for likelihood of buying the condoms indicated a significant interaction for gender of participant, gender of character, and location of purchase. Male students rated male characters as more likely to purchase condoms in drugstores while they rated female characters as more likely to make purchases from a machine. Female students showed fewer differences based on gender or location. The analysis on embarrassment revealed significant effects for location, age and a significant interaction for age and gender of character. Sixteen year olds were rated as more embarrassed (M = 7.93) than 20 year olds (M = 6.66), with 16 year old males rated as most embarrassed and 20 year old males rated as least embarrassed. Purchases from drugstores were rated as producing more embarrassment (M = 7.81) than purchases from machines (M = 6.90). These data suggest that although purchasing condoms is highly embarrassing for adolescents, embarrassment may be mitigated if the condoms are available in discrete locations. Students' responses to surveys about condom attitudes did not predict their views about buying condoms in scenarios.

The Effect of Mitigating Circumstances on Judgments of Responsibility, Blame, and Affect

Craig Henehan, Sam Newell, Nat Politis, Michael Hensle, David Nelson, Allyson Oswald, Jocelyn Schwartz, Carolyn Strauss, Tom Almy, Kris Fleming, Debra Shephard, Brian Vasile, & Mary Turner DePalma
Ithaca College

The cognitive process of assigning responsibility takes place after some event and usually before a behavioral reaction (Weiner, 1995). Essentially, an event occurs and a causal belief of personal causality and controllability is required for a judgment of responsibility to be rendered. Weiner contends that in the presence of these two factors, and in the absence of mitigating circumstances, the person will be judged responsible for the event. In the presence of mitigating circumstances, responsibility will be softened, alleviated, or totally eliminated. We hypothesized, however, that the presence of mitigating circumstances would not lessen responsibility, but would lessen subsequent measures of blame. In the present study, 209 undergraduates read one of two car accident scenarios that manipulated the presence or absence or mitigating circumstances. Dependent measures assessed the responsibility, blame, and affect directed toward the driver who caused the accident. The results indicated that the presence of mitigating circumstances did not lessen judgments of responsibility as Weiner contends. Although ratings of responsibility did not change, blame and anger rating did decrease significantly in the presence of mitigating circumstances. Further research in this area should work to clarify the effect of mitigating circumstances on blame, affect, and judgments of responsibility.

Slips and Falls: A Naturalistic Study of Lapses and Relapses in Self-Initiated Behavior Change

Mireika Kobayashi, Marci S. Mrykalo, & John C. Norcross
University of Scranton

Previous studies have examined the natural history of lapses and relapses in both self-initiated and treatment-facilitated behavior change. For example, Norcross and Vangarelli (1989) found that 58% of New Year resolvers experianced at least one slip, 59% reported precipitating situations surrounding their slip, and 71% noted their first slip had actually strengthened their resolution attempt. Shiffman and collegues (1996) found that smokers attributed most lapses to negative mood and environmental cues.

This study investigated the falls (relapses) and slips (lapses) of New Year resolvers (N = 159) at 1 and 3 months. At 1 month, 11% had relapsed but 53% had lapsed without relapsing. The average number of slips was 6; common precipitants were physical cravings and positive emotions. At 3 months, 62% had lapsed with excessive stress and feeling dyscontrol as leading precipitants. Immediate reinitiation of the resolution and willpower were cited most frequently as methods to prevent a slip from becoming a fall.

Perception of Gender and Ethnicity Through Gait

D. Krch & D. Helfand
Ursinus College

This study investigates the motions of human gait and its possible reflection of a person's gender and/or ethnicity. It also looks into the possibility of androgyny playing a role in the perception of gait. Twelve models were used; half of which were male, half of which were female. Of the 12 models, one third were Caucasian, one third were African-American, and one third were Hispanic/Spanish. Lights were mounted on the major joints of each of the models' bodies. Models were video recorded walking against a dark background with the lights out, so that the camera would only pick up the movements of the lights and not body shape. Models were instructed to walk from left to right and back again. They were told to repeat this process one more time. Two trials were necessary in order for the subject/rater to be able to individually assess the model's gender and ethnicity, without confounding the two variables. This video was then presented along with a questionnaire (which included basic demographic questions, questions regarding the video, and the BEM androgyny scale) to 85 students of an introductory psychology class at a small liberal arts college. As was expected, subjects were able to determine the model's gender at a statistically significant level. However, ethnicity was found to be an indiscernible trait through gait perception. Furthermore, the BEM androgyny scale did not seem to play a significant role in the perception of gait.

High School Students' Perceptions of Adolescent Problems

Orie Kristel IV, Jen Young, & Catherine Chambliss
Ursinus College

Present adult society places an onus on the evils of adolescence, and the problems from which they suffer. There is widespread media coverage of such teenage problems as pregnancy, drug use, and rebellion against parents. However, there are few quantitative studies that have evaluated the prevalence of these "common" teenage problems. To address this lack of hard data concerning perceived high school/adolescent problems, a study was commissioned to determine (quantitatively) student perceived problems in high schools. It was hypothesized that major problems in the high school would be drug abuse, physical abuse, and peer/social problems. To test the hypothesis, a study was designed to evaluate the self-report variables of perceived problems through a school wide questionnaire administration. Results partially supported the hypothesis. The top five reported problems of high school students were achievement, stress, drug use, friends, and family, respectively. Problems of physical abuse were not as significantly related to sex and high school class. Significant interactions were found with the perceived problems of drug use and friendships (by levels of sex and high school class).

The Effect of Informal Support Networks on Perceived Child Behavior, Discipline Tactics, and Parenting Satisfaction

Lori Lennon, Joanna Miller, Jessica Walker, & Cara Wright
Ursinus College

The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the effects of informal parental support networks upon the perception of child behavior, styles of discipline, and satisfaction in parenting. The informal groups consisted of parents who met on a regular basis, had an opportunity to discuss parenting concerns and compare experiences with their children; however, the primary purpose of these gatherings was not explicit provision of parental support. The control group was made up of parents who were not participating in any formal parent education program and who were not affiliated with one another.

It was hypothesized that regular informal supportive contact among parents of similarly aged children had a positive effect upon perception of children's problems, style of disciplining, and parenting satisfaction. All participants anonymously completed a packet of self-report measures including The Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory, The Cleminshaw-Guidubaldi Parent Satisfaction Scale, the Parenting Self Appraisal Scale, and Daily Behavioral Responses. The comparison of responses from informal support network participants and controls revealed few differences in perception of childrens' problems, perception of parenting, and disciplinary strategies. Informal support network members perceived their parenting as significantly more permissive than their counterparts (t = 1.99 df = 25 p < .05). The majority of parents sampled (96.8%) were at least moderately confident in their parenting abilities. All respondents recognized the value of firm limit setting. The majority (80.6%) did not believe that a parent's admitting mistakes scares and confuses children. Roughly a fifth of the overall sample (22.6%) felt that spanking can increase children's respect for their parents.

Hostility or Good-Natured Humor: Can We Laugh at Ourselves?

Jenna Levitt & Bernard C. Beins
Ithaca College

Much of the research involving humor with identifiable female and male victims has revealed that women do not appreciate humor with female victims and that men do not like humor with male victims. Earlier work in our laboratory resulted in the opposite pattern; however, women gave higher ratings to jokes with female victims and men gave higher ratings to jokes with male victims. We saw the need to reconcile the inconsistencies in results.

We investigated the kind of humor used in other studies and found that much of it was quite derogatory toward the victim of the joke. On the other hand, our jokes were much milder; further, the victimization in our research did not occur specifically because of the victims' sex. The butt of the joke simply happened to be a man or a woman. This difference in types of jokes may have led to conflicting results across different studies.

We replicated our earlier design in which we investigated the effect of the participant's gender and the joke victim's gender on humor ratings. In our present study, however, we used pointed, more derogatory jokes. The results revealed the classic pattern of dislike for jokes in which the victim was of one's own sex, regardless of whether one is a man or a woman. The outcome suggests that the sex of the joke victim is less relevant than the nature of the victimization. It is easier to laugh at jokes with a same-sex victim if the humor is milder or more good-natured.

Gender Differences in Stress Coping Strategies of Young Adults, Aged 18-25

Derry McErlean, Michael Lombardi, Lawrence T. Force, & Paul Schwartz
Mount Saint Mary College

Stress, or how the body responds to changes, can be harmful to an individual if this stress constantly interferes with his or her daily routine, or effects that person's mental and/or physical well being. It is important to learn about stress in order to use healthy methods of coping with stressors and allowing the body to return to its more relaxed state.

Just as every person is prone to stress, (in varying degrees according to that individual's view of stress) every person has his or her own way of handling, or coping with particular stressful situations and/or stressors, ranging from a productive and healthy means, like exercise, for example, to the very dangerous, like drug and/or alcohol abuse, and other such self-defeating behavior including the extremity of suicide.

The goal of this study is to investigate the impact of social implications, or "social norms," on gender differences within stress coping strategies; just how much a role does socially acceptable behavior play with regard to how differently a male would cope with a stressor in comparison to how a female would cope with that same stressor? In addition, are negative and/or unhealthy means of coping with stress tolerated more by males than females in Western civilization?

The target group in this particular study included a sample of both male and female college students, aged 18-25, to discover not only the different coping strategies (both healthy as well as self-defeating) but to deeper examine gender differences in coping with stress as well. In conducting the following research, a quasi-experiment including 50 subjects (25 male college students and 25 female college students) was utilized.

There have been few studies on gender differences in coping with stress and even fewer dealing with the effects on those in young adulthood. Limited information and very few sources about previous studies were found. This study attempted to discover the differences between types of stress and reactions to stress as perceived by males in comparison to females.

College Drug Use and Abuse

Brian McIntyre
Mount Saint Mary College

Drug use and abuse are one of the most widespread problems in American society today. There are many reasons why drug use and abuse is such a highly debated issue: violence, crime, and drug exposed children to name a few. Since the 1960's drug use has escalated at an alarming rate. Some questions that arise in this topic include: Have you ever been offered illicit drugs by a close friend? Have you ever used illicit drugs? Do you feel you know the difference between drug use and abuse? This paper set out to explore these questions as well as many more.

This study examined the differences in attitudes and behaviors of college level students from urban and rural areas with regard to drug use and abuse. To get an understanding on the differences in attitudes and behaviors between these two samples, a case study was conducted. The subject who resides in an urban area attends a private college in upstate New York. The subject who resides from a rural area attends the same college.

The case study included a questionnaire that would give better insight into attitudes and behaviors that these two subjects had with regard to drug use and abuse. The results from the questionnaire indicated in many ways that the urban background student was affected more severely than the rural background student was, with regard to drugs.

A survey of twenty-six questions was given out to fifty college level students who attend a private college in upstate New York. The survey was similar to the questionnaire given to the case study students. The results revealed that many attitudes and behaviors between urban and rural students were similar. However, the survey also found some differences between the two groups.

Self-Reported Anxiety Appears to be Unrelated to Human Taste Contrast

Terry J. Motter, Jason Tesche, Ben Goodhart, & Steven M. Specht
Lebanon Valley College

There were two groups involved in this study. Participants in the first group rated a 7% sucrose solution followed by a second 7% sucrose solution. A second group tasted a 28% sucrose solution followed by a 7% sucrose solution. All the subjects were randomly assigned to each group prior to entering the lab. The solutions used were cherry-flavored to provide a more realistic taste stimulus than simply sucrose and water. Before rating the solutions, participants completed Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. After tasting the first solution, subjects were asked to rate the solution by placing an "X" on a visual analog indicating how sweet it was and another "X" on another scale indicating how pleasant the solution was. This procedure was used for both groups for both solutions. Results showed that the participants that tasted the 28% solution first rated the 7% solution as less "sweet" and less "pleasant" than the group that tasted the 7% solution both times. The self-reported anxiety measures were not correlated with the perceptual ratings of the sucrose solutions but were correlated with one another.

Differences in Measures on the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test

Heather M. Hulse (1), Brooke J. Cannon (1), Mary Elizabeth D'Amico (2), &
J. Timothy Cannon (2)
Marywood College (1)
University of Scranton (2)

The Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) is often used as a measure of information processing ability and attention. PASAT scores are traditionally interpreted by calculating the total number of correct responses per trial. Some have suggested, however, that clinicians also evaluate the proportion of errors per trial (Spreen, O. & Strauss, E., 1991). The current study looked for indications that the preceding methods of scoring may provide relatively independent measure of cognitive functioning.

Seventy undergraduates (34 male, 36 female) participated in the study. Ages ranged from 18 to 48 with a mean age of 20.8 years. The following tests were administered to all participants: Controlled Oral Word Association Test (Word Fluency); Digit Span (forward and backward); Rey/Osterreith Complex Figure Test (copy and 3' recall); Stroop Color-Word Test; Direction-Word Test (similar to the Color-Word Test, but using directional words); Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test; Trail Making Test; and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test.

An initial factor analysis focusing only on the PASAT led to the creation of two surrogate variables: the sum of the number of correct responses across all trials (approximating traditional scoring), and the proportion of errors for trials three and four. These two variables were then included in a factor analysis with the other test data. The six factors derived from this analysis suggest that proportions of errors on the third and fourth trials do indeed measure something other than the traditional scoring method. The results point to a strong relationship between interference scores on the Stroop Color-Word Test and proportion of errors on trials three and four. This observation suggests that the proportion of errors on trials 3 and 4 are related to response interference and ability to self-inhibit. Traditional scoring, by contrast, appears to be more related to attentional factors.