Associations between climate and IQ in the United States of America

Relations between average temperature of each of the 48 contiguous states and estimates of state IQ were inspected. Additional state variables were controlled in the correlational analyses, namely gross state product, percent Hispanic, Black, and Asian in the state population, and the pupil-to-teacher ratio for each state. A significant correlation between average temperature and state IQ was found (r = -.70, p < .001). Possible explanations are discussed.     

Clinician attitudes toward stuttering in the United States and Great Britain: A cross-cultural study

The attitudes toward stutterers and stuttering of 702 speech-language clinicians in the United States and Great Britain were studied. Three hundred seventy-one clinicians from six states in the U.S. and 331 clinicians from England and Wales completed the Clinician Attitudes Toward Stuttering (CATS) Inventory. Results of the study were analyzed in terms of differences and similarities in attitudes between the two groups with respect to the etiology of stuttering, early intervention, the effectiveness of stuttering therapies, various therapy techniques, stutterers and their personality, parents of stutterers, clinicians, and reactions of others to stutterers.     

Evidence-Based Parental Involvement Programs in the United States of America and Korea

Offering a family involvement program is a typical approach for helping students with or at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders and other behaviors of concern. The present paper examines evidence-based parental involvement programs in the United States and Korea. Several differences exist between programs in the two countries including evaluation, collaboration, the support of the government and related institutions, differences in perception of administrators, and the professional staff. The authors suggested several recommendations including considering the requirements of guidance for developing effective programs, designing ways to evaluate programs, encouraging collaboration, preparing qualified professional staff, and developing culturally appropriate programs for children and youth with special needs.     

Parallel lives: Community psychology in Latin America and the United States

Comparing the history of community psychology as it developed in the U.S. during the 1960s with the community psychology that developed 10 years later in Latin America, one is reminded of the title of Plutarch’s masterpice,Parallel Lives. Although there was very little contact or communication between the first community psychologists in these regions, very similar principles and orientations evolved. These similarities are particularly striking given the many ways in which the U.S. and Latin American contexts and histories differ. Since most readers are expected to be familiar with the history of community psychology as it developed in the U.S., this paper focuses primarily on the development of community psychology in Latin America in order to highlight areas of convergence as well as divergence from the U.S. experience. This paper is based on an address presented at the Fourth Biennial Conference, Society for Community Research and Action, Division 27 of the American Psychological Association, William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Virginia, 1993. The author acknowledges the valuable help received from J. R. Newbrough and from the referees in the revision of this paper.     

A Review of North American Selection Procedures: Canada and the United States of America

This article reviews North American selection procedures used to make employment decisions (hiring, promotion, training, layoff and demotion) within public and private organizations in Canada and the United States of America. We present the conclusions of several surveys of selection practices including those conducted by the International Personnel Management Association and the American Management Association. We summarize the literature on assessment centers, biodata, computerized assessment, education and experience criteria, individual assessment, education and experience criteria, individual assessment, integrity testing, interviews, job knowledge tests, physical and psychomotor tests and written tests. We also describe selection procedures being used for a variety of occupations from Air Traffic Controller to Telephone Operator. We conclude by describing future trends in personnel assessment in North America and predict greater collaborative research efforts between our two countries.     

Practices and Effects of Home Education in the United States of America A Synthesis of Recent Research

The home-education phenomenon within the United States has increased in popularity within recent years. The research literature on home education also has expanded beyond the few, isolated studies of a generation ago. Profiles emerging from the recent research suggest that home-education families vary considerably in ideology and are more affluent and better educated than average. The growing body of literature continues to confirm that the cognitive and affective effects of home education compare favorably with conventional schooling.     

Working Hours and Life Satisfaction: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Latin America and the United States

This paper compares the life satisfaction and working hours of Latin Americans and U.S. Americans using the AmericasBarometer and General Social Survey. While there are many common determinants of happiness, hours worked is not among them. Differences in cultural values, especially the distinction between collectivism (familism) and individualism that has long been a foundation of social development theory, may be why married Latin American males are less happy than married U.S. American males when working longer hours. The distinction is not apparent among females or the unmarried.     

The religious life and happiness of Protestants involved with the charismatic movement

This research compared the religious lives and happiness of American Protestants involved in the charismatic movement and those not involved in it. Data from the General Social Survey were used to answer the research questions. After controlling for basic demographic variables, the results of multivariate analysis indicated that Protestants involved in the charismatic movement attend religious services and pray more frequently; however, they are not significantly happier than those not involved in the movement. The results of this research suggest that happiness can be enhanced when people participate in religious services frequently; however, the ecstatic worship style and theological perspective of the charismatic movement do not make its participants happier than those who do not participate in the movement.     

Integration and identity in Muslim schools: Britain,United States and Montreal

Despite discrimination in mainstream Canadian society, local Muslim communities are a significant resource for immigrants. Recruited by friendship and kin networks, some families choose to educate their children in private full‐time Muslim schools which provide academic/economic credentials and social support. This research depicts a Muslim school in Montreal which both reflects Quebec society and nurtures minority ethnic/religious identity. For many parents, Arabic language classes, academic standards and behavioral norms were as important as the school's religious affiliation. Rejecting the hypothesis that emphasizing religious and cultural identities distanced children from mainstream society, some felt that the psychological and social effects of affirming a child's background were vital to integration and participation in mainstream society. In addition, the school also provided entry into social networks which offered parents an important support system.     

The impact of the charismatic movement on the Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic charismatic movement (renewal) may not have fulfilled all the hopes of its adherents, but it has had more impact on the Catholic Church than many realise. The signs are that this influence will increase as the effects sink deeper into church life.     

A cross-cultural study of infant temperament: Predicting preschool effortful control in the United States of America and Russia

Effortful control (EC) has been conceptualized as a dimension of temperament related to self-regulation and associated with the development of executive attention skills. Research has focused on documenting the development of EC, but there has been little systematic study of its precursors. The present study was designed to examine infant temperament characteristics as potential predictors of EC in the toddler/preschool period across two countries: Russia and the USA. Specifically, contributions of negative emotionality (NE), positive affectivity/surgency (PAS), and regulatory capacity/orienting (RCO) measured in the first year of life were expected to explain EC in the preschool period. For the US sample, toddler NE, infant PAS and RCO explained significant amounts of EC variance, whereas infant RCO was the single significant predictor of later EC in the Russian sample. Analyses with the combined sample provided an opportunity to evaluate temperament-by-culture interactions, one of which (PAS×Culture) reached statistical significance. Follow-up analyses indicated that higher levels of infant PAS were related to higher EC scores for US children only, whereas for the Russian youth preschool EC did not vary as a function of infant PAS. Results of this study support the importance of early appearing regulation in contributing to the development of EC and illustrate the value of cross-cultural longitudinal research.