An extension of inoculation theory, controverted belief, was investigated by manipulating previous attack as part of a group discussion situation in which actual defense of an issue was considered essential for having an inoculating effect. The experimental groups were equally immunized against verbal attacks. (Author)

Hypothesized that dogmatism and attitude discrepancy-congruency would be interactively related to attitude change. Results suggest that supportive information may be more effective in polarizing opinions or attitudes of nondogmatic persons than dogmatic persons. (Author)

Examined friendship formation as developing a common understanding of social reality. Individuals engaged in weekly discussions completed repertory grids and attraction ratings after the 4th and 18th weeks of acquaintance. Deteriorating partnerships were significantly less similar in their assessment of other group members than were developing…

Investigated the relationship between self-esteem and performance outcome as related to causal attribution. Results indicated that: (1) success was attributed more to ability and effort; (2) performance outcomes consistent with self-esteem were attributed more to ability and task difficulty; and (3) performance outcomes inconsistent with…

Review of the literature suggests that hair color influences the quality of interpersonal interactions. Results of a factorially designed study show that while women helped confederates equally regardless of their gender, men helped women more than they helped men. Hair color of confederates was not shown to affect helping behavior. (Author/ABB)

Mother-son dyads interacted with the Interpersonal Game Test. Various patterns of interacting were identified and some differences in mother-son interactions seemed related to aggression/withdrawal in children. Potential advantages of this procedure over more conventional procedures for assessing family interactions were discussed. (Author/BEF)

Married couples rated their marital satisfaction and played interpersonal competitive games which revealed the success with which they interacted. Younger husbands who scored more maturely on the Stewart measure of psychosocial maturity belonged to more successful marriages, as did college-educated wives who showed less immaturity and more phallic…

Clinically depressed persons and dysphoric normals have a negative impact on others. This study attempted to identify what about the dysphoric paralinguistic style creates the aversive impact experienced by others. Results suggest that soft, flat tones, with long pauses and variable loudness and pitch were significant. (Author/KS)