Former Latchkey Children: Personality and Academic Correlates

The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and correlates (demographic, personality, and academic) of former latchkey status (children unsupervised by an adult after school during their elementary or middle school years) in a college student sample (N = 188). A clear operational definition of latchkey status was provided. Students were surveyed and administered a personality questionnaire, and their academic aptitude test scores were verified through university records. Twenty-five percent of the male and 14% of the female participants were identified as former latchkey children, resulting in an 18% latchkey prevalence rate. The mean age of onset of latchkey status was 8.7 years for the male and 10.0 years for the female subjects. Having been a latchkey child was positively associated with being male and Caucasian, coming from a one-parent family, and having had a mother who worked outside the home. Multivariate analyses of the personality and academic measures revealed no significant between-group differences.     

A Tribute to Two Masters

Two of Betty MacDonald's children's stories provide a focus for viewing change. The viewpoint used is that of a clinical hypnotist with a family-systems orientation. Two treatment situations are considered: one is an outpatient setting; the other involves a residential program.     

A Tribute to James Gordon Kelly

During the June 2001, eighth biennial meeting of the Society for Community Research and Action in Atlanta, a wide variety of community psychologists across generations attended a tribute in honor of James Gordon Kelly. What follows is an attempt to capture the spirit of the afternoon tribute as expressed through remarks made by colleagues and readings of letters sent by those unable to attend. The wide range of individuals represented here attests to the many additive ways in which Jim has cared about the field of community psychology and has contributed to its essence. Three additional invited contributions are included wherein Dick Reppucci, Rhona Weinstein, and Julian Rappaport reflect on the influence of Jim on their own career and on the development of the field.     

A Personal Tribute to Ninian Smart

The assertion of Hindu identity in contemporary India takes two characteristic forms: organized movements notable for their effective action; and uncontrolled mob violence. Understanding this apparent paradox entails both general religio-historical explanation and culturally specific interpretation. From a general perspective, organized movements and mob violence each offers a means of identifying with the same religious object—in this case, the Hindu nation, newly valorized in urban India. But the specific relationship between the two can be interpreted through themes of control and violence in Shaivite myth.     

Tribute to Zygmunt A. Piotrowski

Psychometric characteristics of the Social Introversion (Si) scale, the Social Discomfort (SOD) scale, and the Si subscales of the MMPI-2 were examined in clinical samples of 122 psychiatric patients and 399 patients with substance-use disorders, The combined Si[sub 1] (Shyness/Self-Consciousness) and Si[sub 2] Social Avoidance) subscales correlated highly with SOD and are apparent measures of the social introversion construct. Si[sub 3] (Self/Other Alienation) was found to be a measure of the general maladjustment factor of the MMPI-2. Content not included on the Si subscales was divided into a group of items that measures general maladjustment and 2 other item groups that may assess minor constructs related to social introversion. As in previous research, the 3 Si subscales accounted well for variance in Si scores.     

Notes on a Journey From Symbols to Multifractals: A Tribute to Guy Van Orden

Rejecting traditional cognitive science put us in a bind. On the one hand, traditional cognitive science is our heritage; our curiosity about the big questions of cognition led us initially to invest in the conventional approaches. On the other hand, we eventually became dissatisfied with the fundamentals of traditional cognitive science. Rather than criticize from the sidelines, we struggled for a new way to address the same problems with a new explanatory framework. Guy Van Orden spurred us forward on 2 counts. First, his work inspired us to consider fractal scaling as a new framework for exploring change in cognitive structure. Second, his provocative contrast between pink and white noises as diagnostic of interactions and components, respectively, intrigued us. Our struggle for a new direction became a struggle to understand what Guy meant and how his ideas might translate within our research domains. Guy helped us to forge a perspective that would have surprised us before, namely, the perspective that cognitive and, more generally, biological structure reflects turbulent flows structured over many different scales with multifractal fluctuations.     

A Judicious Frame of Mind: A Tribute to Donald Capps

The following is a tribute to Donald Capps presented by the author on May 8, 2009, at a reception in honor of retiring faculty at Princeton Theological Seminary. It emphasizes Capps’s scholarly productivity and versatility and the way he personally embodies the same “judicious frame of mind” that he encourages in ministers who give counsel to others.     

Larry Kohlberg: A Personal Tribute

Mosher's collaboration with Kohlberg in the Danforth Project in secondary public schools in Brookline is discussed, as are perspectives on future work.