PRESENTED AS A STUDY OF PAIRED-ASSOCIATE LEARNING TO 66 FEMALE UNDERGRADUATES WHO PARTICIPATED IN PAIRS. EACH S, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THOSE IN A CONTROL CONDITION, WAS LED TO BELIEVE THAT HER PARTNER WAS TO RECEIVE A STRONG ELECTRICAL SHOCK AND THAT S WOULD BE IN A MORE DESIRABLE CONDITION (CONTROL OR MONEY). WHEN S PERCEIVED THAT THE OTHER PERSON WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR HER OWN SUFFERING, SUBSEQUENT DESCRIPTIONS OF THE OTHER PERSON WERE RELATIVELY OBJECTIVE. WHEN S PERCEIVED HERSELF AS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OTHER PERSON'S FATE, SHE TENDED TO DEVALUE HER. WHEN THE OTHER PERSON WAS PERCEIVED AS RESPONSIBLE BOTH FOR HER OWN SUFFERING AND FOR S'S DESIRABLE FATE, THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE OTHER PERSON WAS ENHANCED.
Sixty groups, each composed of six third-grade boys or girls, played a series of four Bingo games in which win-loss patterns were controlled. Each group contained three pairs of friends; one member of each pair was chosen to actively play the game and be eligible for a prize, while the other member of each pair observed and was ineligible for a prize. Following the games, measures were taken of interpersonal attraction among the play-group members, affective reactions to one's own or partner's wins and losses, and incidental learning. General support was obtained for the hypothesis that both the directly rewarded, winning players and their observers would acquire greater positive attitudes toward the other group members than would the nonrewarded players and their observers. In addition, both affective reactions to winning and losing and measures of incidental learning were found to be reliably associated with liking of group members by both players and observers.
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