The effect of individual differences in act prototypicality judgments on trait-behaviour correlations and cross-situational consistency

Individuals differ in their perceptions of actprototypicality. This study examined whether incorporating such individual differences enhances trait-behaviour correlations and provides stronger evidence for cross-situational consistency. Three hundred and fifty-three subjects rated the dominance prototypicality of 100 acts, indicated how often they performed each of these acts, and provided trait ratings of how dominant they were in general. There were substantial and reliable individual differences in prototypicality judgements over a 4–5 month period. A variety of weighting schemes were used to incorporate these individual differences, but none dramatically increased the trait-behaviour correlation. Similarly, incorporating individual differences did not increase the magnitude of cross-situational consistency correlations. However, incorporating individual differences did enhance the pattern of trait-behaviour and consistency correlations from less prototypical to highly prototypical acts. Differences in perceptions of act prototypicality thus do not affect the magnitude of the correlations that can be obtained, but they are useful in revealing theoretically meaningful patterns of relationships.     

The effectiveness and generalization of a cognitive-behavioral group treatment to reduce impulsive/aggressive behavior for boys in a residential setting

Twenty of 150 boys living in a residential setting who were emitting high levels of impulsive/aggressive behavior participated in a study of the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral group treatment procedure designed to equip them with skills conducive to alternate and more socially appropriate behavior. Treatment involved 13 meetings of 55 minutes duration over a six-week period. The results indicated significant behavioral changes in school regarding: (1) the intensity of physical fighting, (2) the frequency and intensity of verbal fighting, (3) noncompliance, and (4) being in an inappropriate location. These behavioral changes did not generalize beyond the school setting. Significant increases in the number of identified logical consequences of aggressive behavior and in the number of alternative responses to aggressive behavior were observed compared to control boys. The behavioral changes observed in school largely extinguished during the five weeks between the last treatment session and the follow-up observations.     

The resurrection of a magical reality: treatment of functional migraine in a child

A magical world view and logic were used in the treatment of a 10-year-old girl who was referred because of suicidal threats due to migrainous pain. The treatment consisted of a one-session intervention with three-week, six-month, and one-year follow-up indicating elimination of migraine. Within a strategic family therapy, a magical ritual was prescribed that derived from the preoperational logic explicated by Piaget and from the healing practices described in anthropological studies. Such a ritual casts the symptom in a different context, alters the meaning of migraine to the family system, and leads to different interactional patterns. Piaget's theory and anthropological data are discussed as sources of a magical world view to help families and children disengage from a symptomatic system of interactions.     

“Put a Little Love in Your Heart”: Acceptance of Paternalistic and Ally Political Discourses Both Predict Pro-Roma Solidarity Intentions Through Moral Inclusion

The way politicians talk about minorities institutes the normative context of intergroup relations. We investigated how endorsement of different political discourses predicts donation and collective action intentions by majority members toward the Roma in five European countries. The survey was conducted online using samples demographically similar to the populations of Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, France, and Ireland (N = 5,054). First, results showed that accepting paternalistic discourse versus discourse promoting allyship were not distinguishable; both promoted higher moral inclusion which in turn predicted higher prosocial intentions. Second, donations (i.e., immediate relief) and collective action (i.e., social change action) were driven by identical factors. Third, acceptance of openly hostile political discourse neither predicted moral exclusion, nor lower prosocial intentions. In summary, our research provides important evidence that when it comes to Roma—non-Roma relations, the previously established distinction between solidarity intentions that aim to solidify status relations versus bring about social change is completely blurred, presumably because of the social context in which any positive message communicates moral inclusion challenging the hostile status quo.     

Standards for Organizational Consultation Assessment and Evaluation Instruments

Although consultation researchers and practitioners have called attention to the need for more psychometrically sound instruments, little advancement has occurred in this area. The authors outline key quantitative and qualitative psychometric standards for organizational consultation assessment and evaluation instruments. In addition, a framework and review of several existing questionnaires are presented. Implications for instrument use by practitioners and suggestions for further research are discussed.     

Influences of Destructive Personality Information on Decision Making1

This study examined the effects of information about a landlord's personality on juror judgments for a landlord-tenant civil trial. The personality information manipulated was specifically relevant to destructive acts. Alternative versions of witness testimony were used to describe a landlord either high or low on need for power. treating people as objects, and negative life themes. This information strongly influenced aspects of the schema for this case constructed by the individual mock jurors. Destructive personality information caused dislike of the landlord and lowered the credibility of his story. If the landlord treated people as objects, the credibility of the tenant's story and positive evaluations of the tenant increased. Juror judgments about relative fault were strongly shifted by destructive personality information. An empirical model for juror decisions indicated a dynamic interplay of story components and fault judgments.