The Effects of the Presence of Others and Loud Music on Athletic
Performance --
Kristin L. Zomermaand and Sarah B. Juhl
Whether the presence of people has a greater impact on
performance than a distraction such as noise is unknown. This experiment
attempted to show that having both noise and people present would have
a greater effect than any one distraction alone. In this study participants
shot twenty basketball free throws in one of three conditions: two people
present, loud background music, or both. The results showed that
none of the conditions had an effect on performance but did have an effect
on perceived pressure and heart rate. Gender was also shown to have
an effect on performance. It is concluded that although performance
was not affected by the distraction present, this research does have significance
for various activities within society.
The Effect of Personality Information on Attribution of Pro-social
Behavior --
Tammy Lynn Bekker and Rachel Leigh Mulder
The fundamental attribution error describes how an actor's
observed behavior is attributed to personality instead of situation; but
what happens when described pro-social behavior is inconsistent with given
personality traits? Participants read three stories about pro-social
behaviors in which personality information of the actor was manipulated
(positive, negative, or none), and answered questions about their perception
of the actor and attribution of the behavior. Results indicated no
significant difference in attribution for behavior, but significant differences
in the perception of the actor's personality. Discussion focuses
on whether altruistic situations uniquely constrain the fundamental attribution
error.
Influence of Persuasion on Litter Control -- Laura
Groen and Gwen Addink
This study tested the effect of different kinds of persuasion
(interpersonal, banner, and none) on the amount of litter picked up. The
interpersonal and banner conditions promoted the behavior of picking up
litter and the control group measured the baseline from which the other
conditions were measured. The results show that the differences of interpersonal
persuasion was more significant in the amount of litter picked up than
the written banner and the control group.
Influence of Music Information Load on Listening Comprehension
-- Rachel Kroll and Karen Langelaar
Research has shown that auditory distraction interferes
with reading and listening comprehension. However, little research has
explored the effects of different music information loads on listening
comprehension. In this study, college students (N=57) heard a speech (which
was played simultaneously with music in the low and high information load
conditions) and filled out a questionnaire that tested listening comprehension.
The highest listening comprehension scores were in the non-music and classical
music conditions, while participants in the soft rock condition had the
lowest scores. These results indicate a likelihood that the higher level
of music information made it more difficult to listen to and comprehend
the speech.
Non-Parental Adult Influence on Gender Stereotypes of Kindergartners
--
Laura Beckering, Tim Covey, and Robin Van Es
Research has demonstrated that television and parents
strongly influence children’s gender stereotypes. This study examined
whether a non-parental adult could affect the gender stereotypes of young
children. Forty- five kindergarten children saw a video in which
they heard a story about atypical behavior. In one condition, the
storyteller encouraged the atypical behavior; in the second condition the
storyteller discouraged the behavior; and in the third condition the storyteller
was neutral. Each child then sorted objects into categories based
on whether the child believed the object was appropriate for a boy or for
a girl. The storytelling condition did not significantly influence
the object sorting scores. These results suggest the strength and stability
of the gender stereotypes developed in children.
The Effects of Physical Comfort on Personal Space -- Steven
J. Runner and Cynthia M. Sneller
People like to maintain some degree of personal space
between themselves and others. This study set out to learn whether
people were willing to decrease their personal space in order to increase
their physical comfort. Participants were 32 Caucasian males who
individually entered a room where a confederate waited. In the experimental
condition, the chair closest to the confederate was a comfortable chair
while the two chairs which were farther away were uncomfortable metal stools.
Participants had to choose to break their personal space to sit in a comfortable
chair or maintain their personal space by sitting on the uncomfortable
stools. Results indicated that participants were more willing to
violate their personal space if it resulted in greater physical comfort.
The Effects of Scent on Interpersonal Attraction -- Angela
B. Kroeze Visser and Casey R. Green
Interpersonal attraction is a complex phenomenon that
involves many variables including physical appearance, personality and
situational and environmental factors. The affect-evaluation model
of attraction (Byrne, 1997) states that situational stimuli influence mood,
which in turn impacts attraction toward a stranger. It was hypothesized
in this study that participants in a pleasant scent condition would rate
videotaped confederates as more attractive than those in a no-scent condition,
while those in an unpleasant scent condition would give the lowest ratings.
Scent influenced the mood of the participants, but had no effect on attraction
ratings. This suggests that the relationship among situation, mood,
and attraction is complex and may be mediated by other factors such as
cognition.
Effects of Exercise on Reading Comprehension -- Benji
De Jong and Jason Kuiper
Research has shown that some levels of exercise may have
an effect on cognitive abilities. If exercise is beneficial, will
scores improve with physical exertion? If exercise is strenuous,
will reading comprehenion scores begin to decrease? In this study,
college students were randomly assigned to different exercise levels and
completed a standardized reading comprehension test. The levels of
exercise did not significantly influence reading comprehension scores.
