The Journal of Scientific Psychology is a quarterly peer reviewed free-access electronic journal.
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Self-Esteem and the Flexibility of Romantic Standards
Virgil Zeigler-Hill Mary C. Celer Teddi B. Sisemore
University of Southern Mississippi
The present study examined the association between self-esteem and the flexibility of romantic standards. Previous research has shown that individuals who view themselves positively on specific domains tend to be less flexible in their standards for potential romantic partners. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether the flexibility of romantic standards was associated with self-esteem and ideal romantic standards. Participants (N = 189) were asked to complete a measure of self-esteem and consider their minimum, ideal, and maximum standards for potential romantic partners across various levels of relational involvement ranging from a single date to marriage. The results of the present study found that higher levels of self-esteem were associated with more flexible standards for potential relationship partners but only for those with relatively low ideal standards.
relationships faster than semantic relationships. Interestingly, word relationship scores from database norms also predicted the RT for both semantic and associative judgments. Experiment 2 tested associative and semantic priming in a traditional lexical decision task, which also showed that associative word relationships were judged faster than semantic relationships. These findings are discussed as to how associative and semantic information is processed in memory.
Click here for full text "Self-Esteem and the Flexibility of Romantic Standards" by Zeigler-Hill,Celer, & Sisemore.
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Access into Memory: Differences in Judgments and Priming for Semantic and Associative Memory
Erin M. Buchanan
University of Mississippi
Two experiments measuring the response times (RTs) of semantic and associative information processing are presented here. Experiment 1 tested the speed of judgments of associative and semantic word pairs (Maki, 2007a), and participants were able to judge associative relationships faster than semantic relationships. Interestingly, word relationship scores from database norms also predicted the RT for both semantic and associative judgments. Experiment 2 tested associative and semantic priming in a traditional lexical decision task, which also showed that associative word relationships were judged faster than semantic relationships. These findings are discussed as to how associative and semantic information is processed in memory.
Click here for full text "Access into Memory Differences in Judgments and Priming for Semantic and Associative Memory" by Buchanan.
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How Accessibility Might Influence the Take the Best Heuristic
J. Adam Randell
Texas Tech University
The Take the Best heuristic is used when making dual-choice decisions
and estimations. This heuristic is an efficient decision-making strategy
producing relatively accurate decisions based on limited information. However,
decision-making processes are susceptible to bias caused by differential
accessibility of information in memory. This article highlights how
accessibility might bias decisions made using the Take the Best heuristic.
Click here for full text of "How Accessibility Might Influence the Take the Best Heuristic" by Randell.
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Cheat and Hope for the Best: The Unspoken Undergraduate Mantra?
Cari Fellers, Collin L. Davidson, Christina M. Almstrom Jennifer L. Callahan
Oklahoma State University University of North Texas
Hope is a
cognitive motivational construct that relates to people perceiving probable
future outcomes because they have strategies to attain their goals and the
motivation to undertake those strategies (Snyder, Harris, Anderson, & Holleran, 1991). Over the past decade, empirical research has repeatedly demonstrated
that high hope is related to success, as measured by a variety of academic
indicators. There have been no studies to date though that have examined
whether hope might be also be related to academic cheating. The results of this
study revealed an extremely high rate of cheating (92%) in the undergraduate
population at a midwestern university and hope was found to be related to cheating
behavior. Research issues and
instructional implications are discussed.
Click here for full text of "Cheat and Hope for the Best: The Unspoken Undergraduate Mantra?" by Fellers, Davidson, Almstrom, & Callahan.
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Adult Romantic Attachment and Types of Perfectionism
Susannah Lowell Alicia Limke
Southern Nazerene University University of Central Oklahoma
Previous
studies examining the relationship between attachment and perfectionism have
not included a comprehensive measure of perfectionism that determines subtypes
of perfectionism and have not studied the relationship between attachment and
perfectionism in adults outside of undergraduate students. Thus, the current
study examined the relationship between attachment and types of perfectionism
in a sample of nontraditional undergraduate and graduate students. Multiple
regression analyses revealed that anxious attachment predicted scores on the
self-evaluative perfectionism scales but not on the conscientious perfectionism
scales. Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are
discussed.
Click here for full text of "Adult Romantic Attachment and Types of Perfectionism" by Lowell and Limke.
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Happiness Comes of Age: A review of The Science of Subjective Well-Being
J. Ian Norris
Murray State University
The study of subjective well-being in psychology can be traced to the publication of Diener's 1984 Psychological Bulletin article Subjective Well-Being. Since that time, well-being has become a popular and influential field of study in psychology, culminating in the birth of the Positive Psychology movement. The Science of Subjective Well-Being is both a tribute to Diener's contributions to the study of well-being and a well-researched and informative guide to the major research developments that have occurred in the field since the publication of Diener's article. This review highlights those major developments in the context of subjective well-being research over the past 25 years, and also addresses a few other developments that are not reviewed directly in the volume.
Click here for full text "Happiness Comes of Age: A review of The Science of Subjective Well-Being" by Norris.
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Discovering Lightner Witmer: A Forgotten Hero of Psychology
Hannah Thomas
University of Central Oklahoma
Lightner Witmer is considered to be the father of clinical psychology founded the first clinical psychology laboratory, and assisted in the development of special education, school psychology, and applied psychology. However, Witmer has been somewhat erased from psychology textbooks. The author examines the life and work of Lightner Witmer so as to find a reason for his erasure. Whether it be his argumentative means of communication, his comparison of chimpanzees to children, or the lack of appreciation for his ideas and theories, it seems clear that Lightner Witmer is a forgotten hero of psychology.
Click here for full text "Discovering Lightner Witmer: A Forgotten Hero of Psychology" by Thomas.
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Norming the Outliers: A review of Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
Doug Preddy
University of Central Oklahoma
The great American dream is that people can rise from obscurity to greatness with hard work and talent. Outliers is about the people who rose from rags to riches, the people who supposedly exemplify the American dream. According to Malcolm Gladwell's newest book, the American dream is more of a myth. Louis Pasteur said, "Chance favors the prepared mind." Gladwell depicts a more complicated theory in Outliers. Gladwell defines achievement as a mix preparation and talent.
Click here for full text "Norming_the_Outliers_Review_of_Gladwell.pdf" by Preddy.
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Gibson"s "Affordances": Evolution of a Pivotal Concept
Harold S. Jenkins
University of Central Oklahoma
Ecological psychology applies insights of Darwinian theory and Gestalt principles to the understanding of perceptual processes. James J. Gibson developed a perceptual theory of "affordances", a neologism he adopted for the pivotal concept in a radical view of how interactive organism-environment features index the behaviors an organism may perform (perceived action possibilities). Gibson asserted "a niche is a set of affordances" (Gibson, 1986, p. 128) and affordances "are properties of the environment relative to an animal" (Gibson, 1966, p. 285). In the ecological view, understanding the constraints and opportunities offered by an environs (its affordances) requires recognition of a dynamic reciprocity between an organism's perception and specific environmental features (their demand characteristics, or "invariances") that together form the background (situation or context) of an organism-environment event. Affordances theory seeks both to objectify perceptual processes and to operationalize the foundational Gestalt principle of complementarity between 'figure' and 'ground'. Rationales for Gibson's hybrid approach are examined, and a chronology of theory development is accompanied by review of recent refinements, criticisms, and their implications.
Click here for full text "Gibson"s "Affordances": Evolution of a Pivotal Concept" by Jenkins.
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Editorial: Skeptical Optimism: An Open Letter to New Practitioners of Scientific Psychology
Robert D. Mather
Editor
Science requires skepticism. A scientist lives in a "show me the data" world in which theories are never proven, only supported. Science requires a certain level of pessimism, or the negative expectancies that lead the scientist to question everything. There is no question that the systematic methods of science are important, efficient, and necessary to acquiring knowledge. However, once a person is trained as a skeptical inquirer, optimism is necessary for creativity. Armed with the tools of science, I challenge you to become a skeptical optimist.
Click here for full text "Editorial: Skeptical Optimism: An Open Letter to New Practitioners of Scientific Psychology" by Mather.
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Social Connectivity: How the Brain Helps to Shape Interactions
A review of Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships by Daniel Goleman
Melissa J. Moore Mario P. Casa de Calvo
Boise State University Texas A&M University - Kingsville
Author Daniel Goleman explores the manner in which the brain is designed to engage in brain-to-brain "hook-ups" with others, and how these interactions affect both our social interactions and physical/mental well being. Based upon conceptualizations pioneered by Edward Thorndike, Goleman analyzes a traditional concept of social intelligence for the purpose of developing a revised model that consists of two categories: Social awareness (e.g., assessing the feelings of others) and social facility (e.g., awareness of how people present themselves). Goleman also explores advances in neuroscience that have made it possible for scientists and psychologists to study the ways in which emotions and biology work together.
Click here for full text "Social Connectivity: How the Brain Helps to Shape Interactions" by Moore & Casa de Calvo.
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An Entropy Estimator of Population Variability in Nominal Data
Mickie Vanhoy
University of Central Oklahoma
Entropy is an established measure of variability in nominal data. The present paper addresses the problem of directly estimating population entropy from an empirical sample. Thirty artificial, nominal, population distributions were subjected to Monte Carlo analysis. Comparison of sample entropy values to the known population entropy values showed that entropy is a consistent measure of nominal variability. Raw sample entropy is a biased estimator that underestimates the population value. This bias was virtually eliminated through bootstrap resampling from the samples. Bootstrap corrected sample entropy is a sufficient, consistent, minimally biased, population estimator of nominal variability that can be used in further statistical analyses.
Click here for full text "An Entropy Estimator of Population Variability in Nominal Data" by Vanhoy.
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Extended Family Support: Making a Difference in the Attachment Styles of Adult Children of Divorce
Msichana McDole Alicia Limke
Southern Nazarene University University of Central Oklahoma
Previous research has found that divorce negatively predicts college students' romantic relationships and intimacy (Ensign, Scherman, & Clark, 2006). However, previous studies on adult children of divorce have not included extended family support as an influence on attachment styles. To address this void, the current study examined differences in attachment styles of children of divorced and intact parents and investigated whether extended family social support predicted attachment avoidance and anxiety among adult children of divorce. Simple linear regressions revealed that perceived extended family support did not significantly predict attachment avoidance among adult children of divorce. However, perceived extended family support did predict attachment anxiety, such that the greater the perceived extended family support, the lower the anxiety reported.
Click here for full text "Extended Family Support: Making a Difference in the Attachment Styles of Adult Children of Divorce" by McDole & Limke.
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Editorial: How to Cite a Journal of Scientific Psychology Article
Robert D. Mather
Editor
The Journal of Scientific Psychology (JSP) has a future as exciting as the journal's relatively short history. JSP was created to facilitate professional discourse in scientific psychology across the world and is an online, peer-reviewed, open access journal that has grown quickly. In fact, the founders of this venue could be considered pioneers of the online, open access, peer-reviewed academic journal. Indeed, Society for Personality and Social Psychology President Harry Reis (2007) recently wrote about the impact of open access science publications on the traditional academic community and publishers. He suggested that, "It's no longer a question of whether we should have Open Access in one form or another-rather, the key question is, how do we move in all good speed toward Open Access while at the same time protecting the integrity of our science and the viability of our journals" (p. 21). Many journals such as Psychological Science are moving toward electronic publication ("Help Shape," 2007) and many journals publish online versions of articles in advance of the print versions, with the online versions featuring more interactive features. Nature (see Nature's supplementary information policy) and Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour are just two examples of scientific journals with such features.
Click here for printable version of "Editorial: How to Cite a Journal of Scientific Psychology Article" by Mather.
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Beyond Full Scale IQ: A New WAIS-III Indicator of Mental Retardation
Christina M. Almstrom Nick M. Wisdom Jennifer L. Callahan
Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University University of North Texas
It is paradoxical that individuals with mental retardation are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system, suggesting a greater proportion of false positives, while at the same time there is concern regarding a potential motivation for individuals without mental retardation to simulate such a condition for the purpose of avoiding the death penalty, a concern for false negatives. To determine if the likelihood of accurate classification of impairment could be enhanced, we examined the pattern of scaled scores in the WAIS-III standardization dataset. Specifically, we compared the scores obtained by individuals obtaining a Full Scale IQ within the Borderline range with those in the Mild or Moderate range of impairment. Difference scores among the indexes were used to create a composite indicator making it possible to more than double the likelihood of correctly detecting impairment. Given the potential motivation to simulate impairment, a unique feature of the composite indicator described here is the inclusion of a regression equation to estimate missing values.
Click here for full text "Beyond Full Scale IQ: A New WAIS-III Indicator of Mental Retardation" by Almstrom, Wisdom, & Callahan.
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In Search of the Prize: Is Conscious Awareness a Good Thing? A review of The New Unconscious
Robert D. Mather Jerri C. Jones
University of Central Oklahoma University of Central Oklahoma
Editor: Kelli Vaughn-Blount served as Action Editor for this article.
Why do we do things? As humans, we are uniquely equipped to reflect upon our own existence. We constantly strive to understand why others behave as they behave as well as to understand how our own actions bring about actions of others (Heider, 1958). We commonly make decisions and do so with the widespread belief that more awareness and more thought lead to better decisions (Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006). It is intuitive among humans-if you want to make a good decision, you must think really hard. Otherwise, people would get married on first dates and never make it to a second real estate showing. If we took awareness from decisions, we'd be left with a society in which people close-mindedly evaluated each potential mate, each house, each decision as "yes/no" rather than comparing options, for how can we compare options without awareness? Humans would be like other animals—breeding and feeding without thought to the consequence. Awareness must be what separates us from other animals, which means awareness must be a "good thing," right?
Click here for full text "In Search of the Prize: Is Conscious Awareness a Good Thing?" by Mather & Jones.
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Editorial: Filling Our Niche in 2008
Robert D. Mather Editor
What is this journal? Is it any good? Should I submit my manuscript to it? Aren't many of the names on the Editorial Board familiar? The answers to these questions are: your, yes, yes, and yes. It's YOUR JOURNAL. Yes, it's good because it is YOUR JOURNAL. Yes, you should submit to it because it's YOUR JOURNAL. Yes, many of the names on the Editorial Board are familiar because they signed on to be part of YOUR JOURNAL. That means that a lot of very important people think very highly of you! The Journal of Scientific Psychology is emerging, and I expect 2008 to be important to our development. That is, important to the development of the journal that is YOURS and MINE.
Click here for printable version of "Editorial: Filling Our Niche in 2008" by Mather.
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Constellation, Uncertainty, and Incompleteness: Towards a Human(e) Science
Gabriel Rupp
University of Central Oklahoma
This paper argues there are significant "postmodern" responses to Enlightenment science's three primary characteristics of simplicity, generalizability, and verifiability. Specifically, Walter Benjamin's response to simplicity is constellation; Werner Heisenberg's response to generalizability is uncertainty, and Kurt Godel's response to verifiability is incompleteness. In each instance, three factors characterize the response: a determination of the epistemological inadequacy of the specific scientific characteristic, a reintroduction of the human into the equation for reality, and an expansion, not displacement, of the epistemological frame. By reframing each characteristic and its response as a type of Bohrian conceptual complement, this paper maintains both a humane science and science of the human is possible, a science that simultaneously invites a more exhaustive description of the human as well as provides a context for developing an ethical "techne of the self." Further, such a proposed human(e) science provides new directions for research in psychology, as well as suggests a therapeutic stance characterized by holistic understanding and client-based agency.
Click here for full text "Constellation, Uncertainty, and Incompleteness: Towards a Human(e) Science.pdf" by Rupp.
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JSP IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE 2008 EDITORIAL BOARD FOR THE JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC PSYCHOLOGY.
JSP Executive Board
NEW EDITOR
Dr. Robert Mather will take the reins as Editor of JSP, starting January 2008. Dr. Mather is a graduate of Texas Tech University with a background in social, experimental, and human factors psychology. He had served as a co-editor and consulting editor of JSP during the 2006 and 2007 academic years and looks forward to continuing the excellent job Mike Knight did during his two years as Editor. You can contact Dr. Mather at rmather@psyencelab.com.
NEW ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Dr. Gabriel Rupp will take the new position of Associate Editor of JSP, starting January 2008. Dr. Rupp is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a background in rhetoric, composition, experimental psychology, history of science with a specialization in psychology, Native American psychology, and thanatology. He had served as consulting editor for JSP since 2005. Dr. Rupp will be overseeing theoretical an historical submissions as well as book and movie reviews. You can contact Dr. Rupp at grupp@psyencelab.com.
Dr. Alicia Limke will take the new position of Associate Editor of JSP, starting January 2008. Dr. Limke is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a background in social and personality psychology. She has served as a consulting editor for JSP during 2007. Dr. Limke will be overseeing empirical submissions. You can contact Dr. Limke at alimke@psyencelab.com.
Click here for full text "2008 Editorial Board.pdf" by JSP.
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Human Mate Selection Theory: An Integrated Evolutionary and Social Approach
Elizabeth G. Shoemake
University of Central Oklahoma
Current research into mate selection processes has developed under two main theoretical approaches: evolutionary and social structural. While the evolutionary approach favors behavior mediated through evolved dispositions, the social structural
approach is guided by cultural exchange and gender role expectations. The interpretation of empirical data within these two perspectives is reflected across the various dimensions of mate selection studies; particularly in the sexual differentiation of mate selection behaviors. Both theoretical models offer valuable insight into the mechanics of mate selection criteria; however, a combined theoretical approach provides a more thorough and comprehensive examination of the issue. Future research would benefit from a unified and multidimensional evolutionary and social structural approach.
Click here for full text "Human Mate Selection Theory: An Integrated Evolutionary and Social Approach.pdf" by Shoemake.
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Human Mate Preferences: Empirical Validation of Dual Sexual Strategies Using FANOVA
Robert D. Mather Mike Knight
University of Central Oklahoma University of Central Oklahoma
Editor's Note: Kelli Vaughn-Blount served as Action Editor for this article.
Dual sexual strategies in humans were tested according to Sexual Strategies Theory (Buss & Schmitt, 1993). Sixty-nine undergraduates used a computer task to rank twenty-four items of mate desirability. The experimental designs were two WW MANOVAs analyzed by participant sex. The dependent variable was a continuous latency of participant response on each item. The independent variable was the type of relationship situation (short-term versus long-term) presented. The results of the FANOVA were significant for Sex by Long-term, Sex by Short-term, and Female by Long-term. These results were consistent with the hypothesis. Evidence of dual sexual strategies was significant for both short-term and long-term strategies.
Click here for full text "Human Mate Preferences: Empirical Validation of Dual Sexual Strategies Using FANOVA.pdf" by Mather & Knight.
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Age and Driving Behavior: Contributions from Human Factors
Robert D. Mather
University of Central Oklahoma
Human factors research regarding age differences and similarities for driving and driving related-behaviors is reviewed. Specifically, cognitive phenomena relevant to driving, such as distraction, memory, navigation, target identification, the legibility of street signs, and judgment of collision are discussed. There is also a discussion of risk assessment and training to improve the useful-field-of view of older drivers, ultimately contributing to improvements in driving skills.
Click here for full text "Age and Driving Behavior: Contributions from Human Factors" by Mather.
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Theory of Cognitive Dissonance as it Pertains to Morality
Rachel D. Graham
Oklahoma Christian University
Oklahoma Psychological Society Undergraduate Paper Winner 2007
Leon Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance has not been adequately researched in its application to morality (i.e., a person may believe one way but act another). The present experiment sought to demonstrate the presence of cognitive dissonance after making a difficult decision concerning morality. The results are congruent with the literature, which indicates that people experience significant cognitive dissonance after making a difficult decision. Different types of moral dilemmas elicit differing levels of cognitive dissonance. The theory that a person may reduce cognitive dissonance by changing their thoughts or decisions was not supported by the results.
Click here for full text "Theory of Cognitive Dissonance as it Pertains to Morality" by Graham.
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Just Noticeable Difference and Tempo Change
Kim Thomas
University of Central Oklahoma
Rapid perception of change in environmental energy is important to survival. This study applies Weber's law to perception of tempo change using sound to simulate environmental energy shifts in a response time paradigm. 2 independent variables; beginning tempo and direction of change each have 2 levels; slow (43bpm) & fast (75bpm) and increasing or decreasing tempo, respectively. Participants were exposed to 4 listening conditions; slow-up, slow-down, fast-up and fast-down; in 2 blocks of 24 trials-48 total. Participants indicated a perceived change by clicking a wireless mouse. They verbally reported whether the perceived change was an increase or decrease. The measures recorded were the change in beats per minute (bpm) before detection. Results between beginning conditions were significantly different (p<.000) while the ratios remained stable, confirming Weber's Law in the perception of tempo change.
Click here for full text "Just Noticeable Difference and Tempo Change" by Thomas.
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Toward a Unified Social Psychology: The Integrative Social Paradigm
Robert D. Mather
University of Central Oklahoma
The Integrative Social Paradigm (ISP) is
introduced as a framework for social psychology. The model has an underlying
assumption that there are four interrelated conceptual levels with which social
psychology deals: 1) intra-psychic processes (e.g., social cognition, beliefs,
attitudes), 2) interpersonal processes (e.g., ongoing interaction, behavioral
exchange, communication), 3) group processes (e.g., group decision-making,
conformity processes), and 4) personality variables (e.g., self-concept, need
to belong, extraversion/introversion). The main postulate of the ISP is that
humans are social organisms, and thus all psychological processes serve to
facilitate group interaction. Specialization within social psychology should be
tempered by an awareness of other perspectives and levels of analysis.
Researchers must strive to integrate multiple levels of explanation for each research hypothesis.
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A Q-Methodological Study of Attitudes about Women: From a Design by William Stephenson
April Phillips Mike Knight
Columbus State University University of Central Oklahoma
In this study we examine theoretical predictions about attitudes concerning women abduced by William Stephenson as an illustration of Q-Methodology (Stephenson, 1993). A Fisherian concourse consisting of 48 quotations about women was constructed and balanced across three dimensions: feelings, morality and reality. Twenty participants were asked to sort these quotations based on their attitudes about women in general. These data were then analyzed using a new procedure, called FANOVA, which combines factor analysis and the ANOVA. This analysis revealed two statistically unique factors. One of which represented a male point of view and one of which represented a female point of view. The results indicate that while males have a generally positive view of women, the female viewpoint is significantly more negative toward women in general.
Click here for full text "Q-Methodological Study of Attitudes about Women: From a Design by William Stephenson" by Phillips & Knight.
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A Three-Worldview of System Justification Theory
Christina Almstrom
Oklahoma State University
System Justification Theory (SJT) coalesced from many other foundational perspectives and must be conceptualized as a unified theory, where the pieces of the puzzle are not discarded but integrated. That is to say, while the whole is more than the sum of its parts, you can not fully appreciate why this is so without understanding the parts. In this sense, a unification theory is a theory about interactions where the combination of things brings into being a new something, a Gestalten, which, like the fluidity of water, is something very different than an oxygen-hydrogen compound; and while it must be comprehended in terms of its own uniqueness, its worth is not diminished but enhanced by knowing it is in fact a compound.
Click here for full text "A Three-Worldview of System Justification Theory" by Almstrom.
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Using Evolutionary Psychology to Account for Sex Differences and Similarities in Psychological Tendencies
Robert D. Mather
Texas Tech University
Shared evolutionary selection pressures have created many similar cognitive processes and interaction strategies in both sexes. However, evolutionary psychologists focus less on sex similarities than sex differences. In a study on mate preferences, participants rated the importance of nine items for either a long-term or a short-term relationship. Sex differences consistent with evolutionary theory were found for family background and body shape. Other findings supported the notion of sex similarities—participants rated ambition, meeting parents, and faithfulness as significantly more important in the long-term situation than in the short-term situation. Discussion focuses on the need of evolutionary psychological theories to account for both similarities and differences between the sexes.
Click here for full text "Using Evolutionary Psychology to Account for Sex Differences" Mather
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