Behavior In Various Situations Research Articles

Worldviews in Foreign Policy: Realism, Liberalism, and External Conflict

International relations studies have been unable to determine whether realist or liberal theories better fit state behavior in various situations, possibly because these studies have attributed motive and action to the states rather than to the decision‐makers within them. This article develops a new, more direct approach to resolving this problem. Hypotheses were tested regarding conditions under which decision‐makers are likely to articulate a problem representation consistent with liberal or realist elements of a worldview. This was done by content analysis of statements about 36 foreign conflicts by the governments of three “bystander” nations—the United States, Canada, and India—over a 16‐year period. The findings indicate that systemic and situational factors are far more important than domestic factors. States tend to represent wars in congruence with liberalism primarily when their security is already assured by another power or when the conflict does not involve allies, rivals, or fellow democracies. Thus, most of the expectations of realism are supported at the psychological level.

Elastic interaction between defects in thin and 2D films

Elastic interactions between defects is investigated at the surface of thin layers, a question on which we have given a brief account [P. Peyla et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 787 (1999)]. Two isotropic defects do not interact in an unlimited medium, regardless of the spatial dimension, a result which can be shown on the basis of the Gauss theorem in electrostatics. Within isotropic elasticity theory, defects interact only (i) if they are, for example, at a surface (or at least if they feel a boundary), or if their action on the material is anisotropic (e.g. they create a non central force distribution, though the material elasticity is isotropic). It is known that two identical isotropic defects on the surface of a semi-infinite material repel each other. The repulsion law behaves as 1/r 3(r = defects separation). We first revisit the Lau-Kohn theory and extend it to anisotropic defects. Anisotropy is found to lead to attraction. We show that in thin films defects may either attract or repel each other depending on the local geometric force distribution caused by the defect. It is shown that the force distribution (or more precisely the forces configuration symmetry) fixes the exponent in the power law 1/r n (e.g. for a four-fold symmetry n = 4). We discuss the implication of this behaviour in various situations. We treat the interactions in terms of the symmetries associated with the defect. We argue that if the defects are isotropic, then their effective interaction in an unlimited 2D (or a thin film) medium arises from the induced interaction, which behaves as 1/r 4 for any defect symmetry. We shall also comment on the contribution to the interaction which arises from flexion of thin films.

A new covariance inequality and applications

We compare three dependence coefficients expressed in terms of conditional expectations, and we study their behaviour in various situations. Next, we give a new covariance inequality involving the weakest of those coefficients, and we compare this bound to that obtained by Rio (Ann. Inst. H. Poincaré Probab. Statist. 29 (1993) 587–597) in the strongly mixing case. This new inequality is used to derive sharp limit theorems, such as Donsker's invariance principle and Marcinkiewicz's strong law. As a consequence of a Burkhölder-type inequality, we obtain a deviation inequality for partial sums.

Elastic Interaction between Surface Defects in Thin Layers

Elastic interactions between defects are investigated in thin layers. Unlike the classical repulsive law $1/{r}^{3}$ ( $r\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}\mathrm{defect}\mathrm{separation}$), we discover that defects in thin layers may either attract or repel each other depending on the direction (though elastic deformation is isotropic) with respect to the local geometric force distribution caused by the defect. Moreover, the force distribution fixes the exponent in the power law $1/{r}^{n}$ (e.g., in a square lattice $n\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}4$). We discuss the implication of this new behavior in various situations.

Comment on ‘‘Fluid wetting on molecularly rough surfaces’’ [J. Chem. Phys. 103, 8201 (1995)

In molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of drying and wetting by a fluid on both molecular rough and smooth substrates, Tang and Harris calculate the surface tension of the substrate-fluid interface incorrectly. Their microscopic expresesion for the surface tension contains a contribution which, as has been shown previously, should not be there. We carried out MD simulations to estimate the magnitude of this contribution and find that it is non-negligible. However, even with this contribution taken into account, we do not manage to reproduce the results of Tang and Harris, that show suspect behavior in various situations.

Conditioned reinforcement: Neglected or outmoded explanatory construct?

The construct of conditioned reinforcement has been challenged over the past two decades, both as an adequate explanation of behavior in various situations (e.g., behavioral chains) in which it was previously regarded as crucial and in terms of the validity of the concept of conditioned value on which it is based. Recent research is reviewed that answers these criticisms and vindicates the importance of the construct. Also discussed are unanswered empirical issues regarding the concept and its implications for behavioral phenomena of major importance for general-process learning theory, such as autoshaping and imprinting.

Role expectations of parents of intellectually handicapped children.

The study described in this article explored the attitudes of parents of intellectually handicapped children toward parent-child interaction variables as measured on the Parent As A Teacher Inventory (PAAT) (Strom, 1976). The PAAT instrument was developed for measuring childrearing expectations related to the intellectual and creative development of preschool and kindergarten children ofaverage or above average intelligence. A complete description of the measure, including reliability and validity studies, has been reported earlier (Strom & Hill, 1979; Strom & Johnson, 1978; Strom & Slaughter, 1978). The PAAT had not previously been used with parents of handicapped children. The purpose of this study was to test the assump tion that many of the' attitudes about appropriate parental response to child behavior related to learning in normal populations would be relevant to effective parent education for this group. Although the parent training accompanying educational programs for iritellectually handicapped children often centers on highly specific skill teaching and its reinforcement, the long range goal is for the child to develop appropriate behavior in various situations arising in the natural environment.

Anomie, social class and drinking behavior of high-school students.

Late in the 19th century, Durkheim (1) suggested that individual and social problems can often be attributed to a relative absence of common rules concerning expected behavior in various situations. Durkheim felt that unstructured conditions result in anomie, a state of uncertainty, normlessness or deregulation. Anomie was viewed as a condition producing stress, tension and anxiety leading to various forms of deviant behavior, including suicide, mental illness, alcoholism and delinquency (1-3). Durkheim's theoretical conception of anomie was later extended and incorporated by Merton (4) into a strain theory of deviance. Merton postulated that traditional norms are often ineffective guides for lowerclass persons xvho have limited (or virtually no) access to legitimate means of attaining their goals. For the lower classes, then, norms lose their morally binding power, a strain is created, and there is a tendency toward anomie and dcviancc.

A Systems Survey Research Feedback for Management and Organizational Development

A questionnaire completed by a manager and his immediate subordinates generates scores on organizational, group, task, personal and interpersonal factors; management styles; and outputs of effectiveness and satisfaction. After the raw data from a particular workgroup or system are analyzed, the manager obtains a computerized printout called a PROFILE of the discrepancies between his subordinates and himself as well as normative data to help him plan change. This constitutes the feedback phase of the OD intervention. Initial follow-up suggests that the PROFILE procedure is seen to promote change particularly in situations where subordinates had no decision-making input and perceived conditions as disorderly and poorly managed. Correlational analyses of the data suggest that authoritative managerial direction is more frequent when situations are regular, clear, and structured; but such direction is perceived to be more effective under reverse conditions. Manipulative bosses are downgraded, while consultative superiors are favored under most conditions. Ultimately this paper represents an approach to research in social psychology where subjects gain practical on-the-job self-knowledge directed toward change, and the researcher gains new understanding leading to model building and theory development of the factors that describe supervisory behavior in various situations.