ONLINESTATBOOK Cases:

Smiles and Leniency:

Overview

Dale Carnegie stated that smiling helps win friends and influence people. Research on the
effects of smiling has backed this up and shown that a smiling person is judged to be more
pleasant, attractive, sincere, sociable, and competent than a non-smiling person.

There is evidence that smiling can attenuate judgments of possible wrongdoing. This
phenomenon termed the "smile-leniency effect" was the focus of a study by Marianne
LaFrance & Marvin Hecht in 1995.

Questions to Answer

Does smiling increase leniency? Are different types of smiles differentially effective?

Bias Against Associates of the Obese:

Overview

Obesity is a major stigma in our society. People who are obese face a great deal of prejudice
and discrimination. For example, Roehling (1999) showed that obese people experience a lot
of discrimination in the workplace (e.g., they are less likely to be hired and get lower wages).
We know that people who are obese are stigmatized, but what about people who are
somehow associated with an obese person? Neuberg et al. (1994) found that friends of gay
men and lesbians suffer from "stigma by association". Perhaps the negative effects of the
obesity stigma can also spread to other people. This study seeks to examine how the stigma
of obesity can spread to a job applicant of average weight.

As part of a larger study, participants had to rate how qualified a particular job applicant was.
This applicant was sitting by a woman. The researchers manipulated the following two
variables: the weight of the woman and the relationship between the woman and the
applicant. The woman was either obese or of average weight. This woman was also portrayed
as being the applicant's girlfriend or a woman simply waiting to participate in a different
experiment.

Questions to Answer

Are male applicants who are seated next to an obese woman rated as less qualified for a job?
Are applicants who are seated next to their girlfriend rated differently from applicants seated
next to a woman with whom they do not have an intimate relationship? Finally, does the
effect of the type of relationship differ depending on the weight of the woman?

1
Treatment Effects of a Drug on Cognitive Functioning in Children with Mental
Retardation and ADHD

Overview

This study investigated the cognitive effects of stimulant medication in children with mental
retardation and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. This case study shows the data for
the Delay of Gratification (DOG) task. Children were given various dosages of a drug,
methylphenidate (MPH) and then completed this task as part of a larger battery of tests. The
order of doses was counterbalanced so that each dose appeared equally often in each position.
For example, six children received the lowest dose first, six received it second, etc. The
children were on each dose one week before testing.

This task, adapted from the preschool delay task of the Gordon Diagnostic System (Gordon,
1983), measures the ability to suppress or delay impulsive behavioral responses. Children
were told that a star would appear on the computer screen if they waited “long enough” to
press a response key. If a child responded sooner in less than four seconds after their previous
response, they did not earn a star, and the 4-second counter restarted. The DOG differentiates
children with and without ADHD of normal intelligence (e.g., Mayes et al., 2001), and is
sensitive to MPH treatment in these children (Hall & Kataria, 1992).

Questions to Answer

Does higher dosage lead to higher cognitive performance (measured by the number of correct
responses to the DOG task)?

2
Gender Difference in Attitudes Toward the Use of Animals in Research

Overview

The use of animals in research is a controversial and emotionally charged issue. Personal
feelings regarding the use of animals in research vary widely. While many believe that the
use of animals in research has been and continues to be essential, others want the practice
stopped by cutting off funding or the passing of legislative restrictions. Research on human
attitudes toward the use of animals in research has consistently shown systematic differences
of opinion with gender differences among the largest.

In this study, a convenience sample of 34 University of Houston - Downtown students

completed a simple survey that asked their gender and how much they agreed with the
following two statements: "The use of animals in research is wrong," and "The use of animals
in research is necessary". They rated their agreement with each of these statements on a 7-
point scale from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7).

Questions to Answer

Is there a gender difference with respect to the belief that animal research is wrong? Is there a
gender difference with respect to the belief that animal research is necessary?

Design Issues

This is self-report data. It is possible that the willingness to admit to thinking animal research
is wrong or necessary is what differs by gender, not how the participants actually feel.