Each pair of subjects in this experiment was required to discuss a topic on which they initially disagreed. The persuasiveness of one over the other was defined as shorter latency of first statement, and larger amount of participation, and persuasibility as likelihood of opinion change. Predictions of outcome were made for t,hree groups of subjects paired in the following manner : Group I, high intelligent-extravertgd vs high intelligent-extraverted ; Group 2, high intelligent-extraverted vs high intelligent-introverted ; and Group 3, high intelligentextraverted vs low intelligent-extraverted. Results indicated that more intelligent and extraverted subjects are more persuasive and less persuasible. B
The study reported here describes an attempt to apply S-R theory to the prediction of the behavior of individuals in certain group situations. The problem investigated is the relation to behavior of three variables-• anxiety and neuroticism (personality variables), and group solidarity (social variable). These variables are operationally defined and equivalence is established and tested between them and what are believed to be the corresponding learning variables-drive, habit strength produced by stimulus generalization, and sign (±) of secondary reinforcement, respectively. Behavior is measured by response latency, degree of participation, etc. Predictions are derived from learning theory in terms of reaction potential, and experimentally tested on individual behavior in controlled social situations.1. It has been shown that the hypothetical construct of anxiety, interpreted as level of emotional responsiveness, is related to performance in conditioning ( 11), and that the difference in strength of performance between high-and low-anxious Ss is larger under an aversive stimulus 1 Research done under National Health Grant from the Government of Canada to Professor J. D. Ketchum.2 1 am indebted to Professor J. D. Ketchum for advice and cooperation in carrying out this project. Thanks are also due to M. Humphries, N. Fletcher, and R. Gibbins for assistance in carrying out the experimentation, to Dr. A. H. Shephard and R. Teghtsoonian for criticizing parts of the manuscript, and to Joan Cervin for editorial help and typing.
THIS is a report of the first of a series of experiments on personality and social correlates of the social behaviour of individuals. It outlines briefly the theoretical framework of the project and reports on the "opposition" situation, in which each subject had to debate a topic with two others, both of whom, by previous arrangement, uncompromisingly opposed his opinion.The experimental situations were designed on the basis of a provisional theory of social behaviour, which includes concepts from Eysenck (5) and the writer's previous investigation (1), translated into the generalized framework of Hullian behaviour theory (7,14). This generalization of behaviour theory is regarded as a first approximation to an eventual theory of the social behaviour of individuals, verification of which is being sought through testing of hypotheses deduced from it (4). A formal statement of the theory has been prepared in mathematical form and will be published when sufficiently matured. In this paper, only a brief outline of relevant concepts is given to indicate how situations were constructed and predictions derived. Complete derivations of hypotheses cannot be given without statement of all assumptions, which is not practicable here.
OUTLINE OF THE THEORETICAL FRAME OF REFERENCEThe performance of a person in a group situation is regarded as a function of his personality traits and of the behaviour of other group members. It is assumed that a social situation, and the behaviour of Research done under National Health Grants, Project no. 605-5-124 (to Professor J. D. Ketchum). 2 The writer is indebted to Professor J. D. Ketchum for suggesting the general area of research, certain situational settings, and the use of role-playing assistants, and also for advice and help throughout the experiments. Sincere thanks are due to those who kindly read this paper in draft: Professors J. W. Lovett Doust and H. A. Shephard, Mr. M. Humphries, and particularly Dr. R. B. Bromiley, who is responsible for many crucial improvements in the text; to the students who served as assistants and observers; and -to Joan Cervin for editorial help and typing.
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