Subjects differing in level of test anxiety were administered a course examination under standard classroom conditions. Approximately half of the subjects received a form of the examination containing one-third humorous test items, while the remainder of the subjects received a nonhumorous form of the examination. High-test-anxious subjects receiving the nonhumorous form performed significantly more poorly than did low-or moderate-test-anxious subjects, and at a significantly lower level than did the high-anxiety group that received the humorous form. The results lend support to the hypothesis that exposure to humor may reduce anxiety and thereby affect task performance.Recent years have witnessed a renewed interest in the experimental study of humor and the psychological functions that it serves. The most commonly utilized conceptual framework underlying such studies is the notion, derived from both psychoanalytic (Freud, 1928) and learning-based (Byrne, 19S6) approaches, that humor serves to relieve tension. There is both observational and experimental evidence to suggest that humor is capable of reducing negative affective states. In his naturalistic observations of graduate students who were preparing for their doctoral examinations, Mechanic (1962) noted that jokes were often used as a defense against anxiety engendered by the forthcoming examinations. Experimental evidence for humor-mediated tension reduction has recently been reported in studies by Dworkin and Efran (1967) and by Singer (1968). In both studies, subjects who were exposed to manipulations intended to induce emotional arousal reported significant decreases in anger and in anxiety following subsequent exposure to humor.Changes in affective state in both the Dworkin and Efran and Singer studies were denned in terms of subject responses on prehumor and posthumor mood checklists. The
An individual's estimate of his own competence relative to that of a group was hypothesized to be (a) an effect of his prior experiences of correctness in the group and of the group's agreement with him and (b) closely related to subsequent conformity to the judgments of that group on an unambiguous task. A Crutchfield-type apparatus was used to manipulate prior experiences of the subject's correctness and group agreement as well as to measure subsequent conformity. The results indicate that the subjects' perceived competence relative to the group was closely related to later conformity. Subjects who perceived themselves as more competent than the group conformed significantly less than subjects who perceived themselves as less competent (p < .05). It was concluded that relative competence is an important factor mediating the effect of prior experiences on conformity.
The present study investigated the relationship between drug use and need for social approval, as measured by the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (M-C SDS). Sixty-six undergraduates were administered the M-C SDS plus a drug data sheet which served to categorize 5s into nonusers, soft drug users, and hard drug users. Results indicated significant differences among the three groups (p < .01). Hard drug users showed the highest approval motivation while the soft users scored lowest. The data are discussed in terms of social pressures acting on individuals with high need for approval. A practical application of the research to drug therapy is also discussed.
Subjects made expectancy of success (Ps) statements in a dart throwing task under two success criterion conditions. In an absolute criterion condition. subjects estimated the probability of their gaining a fixed number of points on trials at increasing distances from the
target. Subjects in a relative success criterion condition estimated where they would rank in a group of 100 subjects on each trial. A significant difference in linear trends (p < 0.001) between the criterion groups was obtained, with Ps remaining relatively constant across difficulty
levels in the relative criterion condition while declining rapidly as a function of task difficulty in the absolute criterion condition. Implications regarding the generality of the expectancy variable in the Akinson-Feather motivational model are discussed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.