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This study explored multiple biases-the possibility that different biases would concurrently occur in a given situation, and each would exert its influence independently on people's judgments. The study focused on media bias through nonverbal (NV) behavior, where viewers judged an interviewed politician after they viewed the interview with a nonverbally friendly or hostile interviewer. In a meta-analysis of several replications, 2 independent biases were found: media bias (viewers rated the interviewee more favorably when the interviewer's NV behavior was friendlier); and halo effect (viewers rated the interviewee according to the degree that they personally liked him). Regression analyses indicated that these 2 biases operated independently and additively on viewers' judgments. Implications for the study of multiple biases are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Prior to every term, students must select courses (i.e., academic units of instruction within a degree programme) to determine their study programme. Course selection (CS) is a sequential decision-making (DM) process--students weigh various types of information available about each course. Every decision influences the weighting of considerations for the next. This study is focused on three central dimensions of CS: Learning Value (low or high in being intellectually challenging, interesting and thought-provoking), Lecturer's Style (low or high--exciting, charismatic and humorous versus dry, inflexible, unclear, etc.), and Course Difficulty (easy, moderate or hard). Aims. (1) To examine students' preferences for each dimension in five choices and in their sequential location (1[supst] to 5[supth]). (2) To trace compromises in dilemma situations after the desirable combinations had already been selected. (3) To investigate differential selection as a function of students' age, gender, and academic standing (average grades). Sample. Advanced undergraduates in various departments in an Israeli university (N = 1,007). Method. In an experimental design, respondents were presented with 12 course descriptions representing 2x2x3 combinations, and asked to select five courses in a sequential order. Results. The 12 courses were found to be empirically divided into: ideal courses (2), first-degree (4) and second-degree (4) compromises, and rejected courses (2). Students avoided selecting hard courses unless they had no choice. Learning Value was the most preferred dimension, followed closely by Lecturer Style. Correlations showed that older and higher achieving students chose more difficult and high Learning Value courses. Comments. The discussion centred on the methodological issue of the effectiveness of an experimental design for the investigation of CS, conceptual... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work deals with children's tendency to return the smile of a friendly stranger in two separate cultures, Israel and the United States. In the first study, developmental trends in that behavior are examined. In a second study, mothers' socialization philosophies and child-rearing practices are explored in an interview and in a conjoint mother-child task. This research extends previous work (Alexander & Babad 1981) which showed a stable and consistent cross-cultural difference in second- and third-grade children. American children were more likely than Israeli children to return the smile of the friendly stranger. Systematic differences between "smilers" and "non-smilers" were-observed in each culture. The developmental study was designed to assess whether the differences previously found in second and third graders were consistent from preschool through junior high school years. Smiling tendencies were determined for 997 children in the United States and Israel, following the procedure of the previous studies. The results, highly consistent with the earlier findings, showed a systematic difference between the United States and Israel which appeared before the first grade and was stable throughout the investigated age range. In both cultures, the developmental curves for the smiling response were rather flat. Only in the preschool ages were lower smiling rates observed in both cultures. Despite the cross-cultural differences, the developmental data by sex and birth order showed remarkable similarity in both cultures. A second question addressed in the developmental study was whether teachers were aware of the smiling propensities of students and what they "made" of this behavior. Teachers in both countries successfully identified smilers and nonsmilers beyond chance. American teachers consistently judged smilers to be more socially competent than nonsmilers, Israeli teachers also judged smilers more socially competent in preschool and in junior high school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wishful thinking (WT)—defined as predicting a more favorable outcome for a preferred team—was investigated in soccer stadia and betting stations in Israel. High levels of WT were found in all contexts investigated. As hypothesized, the intensity of WT varied between contexts as a function of the "legitimacy" of emotionalism and subjectivity, and within each context as a function of self-defined levels of fanhood and preference. An explicit instruction to be objective did not reduce WT in predicting game outcomes. Paid betting forms represented an ecologically valid voluntary behavior most contradictory of wishful thinking, since bettors are strongly motivated to be objective and impartial. The results showed that fans could not overcome their wishful thinking, betting emotionally and against their financial interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most empirical studies sense of humor was measured in a testing situation, and was in fact operationally defined as passive appreciation only. Humor is generated and used in socially relaxed contexts, and is fundamentally foreign to the testing Iaboratory. To obtain a valid measure of humor, researcher must penetrate the social context and measure directly how the person behaves in his daily interactions with others. This can be done by natural observations, by self report, and by sociometric measurement. Natural observations are quite laborious, and there is always the suspicion that subjects' behavior is influenced by the mere fact that they are being observed. Self report might possibly constitute a valid measure although the question of conformity to social deferability will always be raised. Sociometric data seem to be the most valid, particularly when humor is studied as a social, interactive phenomenon, and not as a cognitive phenomenon. A person's humor behavior in his natural environment, its effects on others, and the way that person is perceived by his acquaintances can best be captured by obtaining the sociometric ratings of peers.