Showing papers in "Advances in Experimental Social Psychology in 1981"

Direct Experience And Attitude-Behavior Consistency

Abstract: Publisher Summary The chapter discusses the role of the manner of attitude formation. It focuses on the development of an attitude through direct behavioral experience with the attitude object and examines whether such attitudes better predict subsequent behavior than attitudes formed without behavioral experience. The chapter provides an overview of the attitude-behavior consistency problem and describes the effect of the manner of attitude formation through the “housing” study, the “puzzle” experiment, and the “subject pool” study. The prior-to-later behavior relation is also discussed in the chapter, wherein it has described the self-perception of past religious behaviors, attitudes and self-reports of subsequent behavior, an individual difference perspective, and a partial correlation analysis. The chapter discusses attitudinal qualities—namely, confidence and clarity, the persistence of the attitude, and resistance to attack. The reasons for the differential strength are also explored in the chapter—namely, the amount of information available, information processing, and attitude accessibility. The chapter briefly describes the attitude-behavior relationship, personality traits, and behavior.

Verbal and Nonverbal Communication of Deception

Abstract: Publisher Summary Lying and lie detection are the two components that, together, make up the exchange called as the “communication of deception.” Deception is an act that is intended to foster in another person a belief or understanding that the deceiver considers false. This chapter presents a primarily psychological point of view and a relatively microanalysis of the verbal and nonverbal exchange between the deceiver and the lie detector. The chapter discusses the definition of deception. It describes the deceiver's perspective in lie-detection, including the strategies of deception and behaviors associated with lie-telling. The lie-detector's perspective is also discussed in the chapter, and it has described behaviors associated with the judgments of deception and strategies of lie detection. The chapter discusses the outcomes of the deceptive communication process—that is, the accuracy of lie detection—and explores methodological issues, channel effects in the detection of deception, and other factors affecting the accuracy of lie detection.

Dialectic Conceptions In Social Psychology: An Application To Social Penetration And Privacy Regulation

Abstract: Publisher Summary The long-term development of social bonds, including their growth and deterioration, their interaction processes that occur over the history of social relationships, and their holistic systems like qualities, are examined in the chapter. The chapter integrates and extends the social penetration theory and the privacy regulation theory. It introduces the study of interpersonal relationships. The chapter compares social penetration and privacy regulation frameworks in terms of their similarities and differences and their strengths and weaknesses. It examines the concept of dialectics from a historical and philosophical perspective and describes a particular dialectic approach. The idea of opposition, the unity of opposites, and the concept of change are discussed under the concept of dialectics. Then the chapter explores assumptions about social relationships, wherein it discusses about general philosophical assumptions, homeostasis and the maintenance of stability, and specific assumptions about openness-closeness and stability-change. The chapter discusses research conducted on openness-closeness and stability-change processes in reference to (1) relationship development, (2) crises in social relationships, (3) intimacy of exchange, (4) personal characteristics of interaction style, and (5) the interpersonal unit-matching and timing of interaction.

Predictability And Human Stress: Toward A Clarification Of Evidence And Theory

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter introduces predictability and human stress and the notion of predictability. Two nonoverlapping classes of predictability are defined in the chapter: knowing the conditions under which the event will occur (contingency predictability) and knowing what the event will be like (what-kind-of-event predictability). The interaction of the two classes of predictability and their controllability is discussed in the chapter. The chapter describes the five major existing theories of predictability and human stress—namely, information seeking, preparatory response, preparatory set, uncontrollability, and safety signal. To specify the conditions under which predictability has stress-reducing effects and when it does not, four new hypotheses (the blunting hypothesis, the analytic hypothesis, the script hypothesis, and the arousal hypothesis) that attempt to organize the sweep of data are considered in the chapter. Humans generally prefer predictable over unpredictable aversive events. There is one exception, however—that is, when individuals can distract themselves from danger-related information, they prefer unpredictable aversive events.

Cognitive, Social, and Personality Processes in the Physiological Detection of Deception

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses a research that examines the underlying cognitive, social, and personality processes involved in the physiological response accompanying deception. By understanding the way underlying processes contribute to the physiological response associated with deception, the reciprocal effects of social psychological and physiological processes in general can be clarified. The chapter discusses the origin and nature of lie detection or field polygraph testing. The accuracy of physiological indicators and alternative test procedures in current field polygraph tests are also discussed in the chapter, wherein guilty person polygraph test and guilty knowledge polygraph test are described and conclusion given. Process underlying the physiological response to deception and its detection are discussed in the chapter. The chapter discusses cognitive and behavioral components—namely, deceptive acts versus deceptive intentions, intent to deceive versus stimulus content, nature of questions, awareness, knowledge of results, attention, and habituation. The chapter has focuses on ways to cope with the polygraph test and its countermeasures—namely, tranquilizers and self-hypnosis. The detection of deception based on personality and individual differences because of the level of socialization and autonomic lability is also discussed in the chapter.

Jury Trials: Psychology And Law1

Abstract: Publisher Summary In this chapter, the concentration is on trial by jury. It discusses the difficult interface between psychology and law and describes the numerous empirical studies related to individual differences in conviction proneness and/or punitiveness, extra-evidentiary factors in individual decision-making, and the dynamics of juror interaction that culminate in the verdict. The chapter provides an overview of the psychology and the law in the institution of trial by jury. It outlines the antecedents and historical developments in trial by jury. The jury in America, their competence, representativeness, and qualifications are discussed in the chapter; it also describes the determiners of fact versus interpreters of the law and court decisions and discrimination. The chapter explores demographics and jury verdicts, wherein it has described sex and race of juror or defendant; age, politics, and education of jurors; the characteristics of the defendant; the attitudes and personalities of jurors; jury selection—efficacy and ethics; and attitudes toward capital punishment. Influence and persuasion within the jury in two situations that is the person being the foreperson and the person being in the majority and minority is discussed in the chapter. The chapter reviews evidence related to recent changes in the operation of juries, for example, in the size of jury, the requirements of unanimity, as well as various proposed reforms.

Perceptual And Judgmental Processes In Social Contexts

Abstract: Publisher Summary The social judgment should be considered a two-step process. The first step consists of the perception, storage, and internal representation of some stimulus or stimuli. The second step consists of a response that may be thought of as the external presentation of the internal representation. In the field of psychophysics, this idea forms a central part of the theory of signal detection and of the input–output transformation model. A person is said to perform a differentiation task if there exist two sets of stimuli having different attributes and the individual must decide to which of the two sets a given stimulus belongs. Differentiation is discussed in the chapter, wherein it describes differentiation task and stimulus definition, the differentiation process, the differentiation response, factors affecting differentiation ability, factors affecting response tendency, and the independence of differentiation ability and response tendency. This chapter also discusses about magnitude estimation, the perceptual process in magnitude estimation, and the response process in magnitude estimation. The chapter discusses various applications detailing social influence, social accentuation, attitude and memory, and other applications—ethnic identification, interpersonal attraction, stress, etc.