Attending and processing broadened within children's concept learning

In a reviewed series of spontaneous and learning-set studies of adults and children, we have monitored active-touch overt attending during concept learning. Adults solved the problems even if they attended to four dimensions in the same trial; however, young children failed when attending so broadly but solved when attending to a single dimension. In the present training study, 18 6-year-olds solved all problems when restricted to attend to anly one dimension. After a special pretraining program proceeding through the subprocesses of stimulus familiarization, discrimination, labeling, “attentional broadening,” and memorization, 13 of the children managed to attend to all four dimensions in one trial and solve faster than adults. Findings suggest a developmental hypothesis that learning grows with spontaneous “tailoring” of attention to memory capacity.     

Environments,individual characteristics,and worry of young adults

Relations were examined among distal and proximal learning contexts, individual characteristics, and the worry of young adults. Data were collected from 20-yr.-old Australians (3,325 women and 3,070 men). Analysis suggested that learning environment and individual characteristic measures have significant associations with the worry of young adults and that the intensity of worry varies for young adults from different ethnic groups.     

Close relationships between Asian American and European American college students

The authors examined attitudes and behaviors regarding close relationships between European and Asian Americans, with a particular emphasis on 5 major subgroups of Asian Americans (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino Americans). Participants were 218 Asian American college students and 171 European American college students attending a culturally diverse university. The European Americans did not differentiate among the various subgroups of Asian Americans. Their attitudes regarding close relationships were less positive toward Asian Americans than toward Mexican and African Americans, a finding contrary to the prediction of social exchange theory (H. Tajfel, 1975). In contrast to the European Americans' view of homogeneity among Asian Americans, the 5 major subgroups of Asian Americans expressed a distinctive hierarchy of social preference among themselves. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for future research on interethnic relations involving Asian Americans.     

Close Relationships Between Asian American and European American College Students

Abstract

The authors examined attitudes and behaviors regarding close relationships between European and Asian Americans, with a particular emphasis on 5 major subgroups of Asian Americans (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino Americans). Participants were 218 Asian American college students and 171 European American college students attending a culturally diverse university. The European Americans did not differentiate among the various subgroups of Asian Americans. Their attitudes regarding close relationships were less positive toward Asian Americans than toward Mexican and African Americans, a finding contrary to the prediction of social exchange theory (H. Tajfel, 1975). In contrast to the European Americans' view of homogeneity among Asian Americans, the 5 major subgroups of Asian Americans expressed a distinctive hierarchy of social preference among themselves. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for future research on interethnic relations involving Asian Americans.     

SEXUAL SOCIALIZATION DIFFERENCES BY GENDER, GREEK MEMBERSHIP, ETHNICITY, AND RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND

Socialization theories have included parents and peers as important determinants of the initial sexual standards and sexual behavior of teenagers and young adults. The purpose of the research reported here was to examine how parental and peer sexual socialization influences are related to gender, ethnicity, religious background, and college membership in a fraternity or sorority. A sample that included a majority of Caucasian university students and about 13% Asian and 7% Black students completed questionnaires both as entering first-year students and as seniors. Results indicated that compared to women, men continue to experience a more permissive sexual socialization from both parents and peers. Greek membership was associated with a more permissive socialization from peers but not parents. Asian students reported a more restrictive socialization than Blacks or Caucasians. Findings are discussed with respect to concerns of social scientists regarding the influence of fraternities and differential gender socialization.     

Effects of cultural background on WAIS‐III and WMS‐III performances after moderate‐severe traumatic brain injury

The assessment of cognitive function in individuals of culturally and linguistically diverse background poses considerable challenges for the psychologist, particularly when English proficiency is limited. This study explored the effects of diverse cultural background and non‐Western educational background on Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale‐Third edition (WAIS‐III) and Wechsler Memory Scale‐Third Edition (WMS‐III) performances in moderate‐severe traumatic brain injury within an outpatient rehabilitation setting. Participants were aged 16–65 years and met careful selection criteria. IQ, index and age‐scaled subtest scores were compared across three groups: (a) English‐speaking background (n = 130), (b) culturally and linguistically diverse background and education completed in English (n = 33), and (c) culturally and linguistically diverse background and non‐English education (n = 33). Cultural backgrounds included people of Asian, European, Middle Eastern, African and Oceania origin. Results were that the English‐educated culturally and linguistically diverse group performed lower than the English‐speaking background group on some verbal WAIS‐III measures; effect sizes were small‐moderate. The non‐English‐educated culturally and linguistically diverse group performed lower than both groups on several WAIS‐III and one WMS‐III measure, with large effect sizes. Clinical implications included the need for caution in interpreting test scores to avoid diagnostic errors and the need for further development of valid assessment tools.     

ETHNICITY,ABILITY, ASPIRATIONS AND SOCIAL STATUS ATTAINMENT

In this study longitudinal data were used to examine relationships among children's intellectual ability, adolescents' aspirations and young adults' social-status attainment. The sample included 21-year-old Australians from Anglo-Australian, Greek and Southern Italian families. Regression surfaces were constructed from hierarchical models that examined possible linear, interaction and curvilinear associations among the variables. Typically, the findings indicated that in each ethnic group adolescents' aspirations had moderate to strong associations with status attainment. For Anglo-Australian and Greek young adults the relationships between ability and attainment were, in general, mediated by adolescents' aspirations. In contrast, for Southern Italians, ability continued to be associated with the educational and occupational attainment of the young adults.     

Classifying by dimensions and reading: a comparison of the auditory and visual modalities

Children have difficulty learning to read alphabetic writing systems, in part, because they have difficulty segmenting spoken language into phonemes. Young children also have difficulty attending to the individual dimensions of visual objects. Thus, children's early difficulty in reading may be one sign of a general inability to selectively attend to the parts of any perceptual wholes. To explore this notion, children in kindergarten through fourth grade (Experiments 1, 3, and 4) and adults (Experiment 2) classified triads of spoken syllables and triads of visual objects. Classifying speech by common parts was positively related to reading and spelling ability (Experiments 1 and 4), but usually not to classifying visual stimuli by common parts under free classification instructions (Experiments 1 through 3). However, classification was more consistent across the visual and auditory modalities when the children were told to classify based on a shared constituent (Experiment 4). Regardless of instructions, performance on the visual tasks did not usually relate to reading and spelling skill. The ability to attend selectively to phonemes seems to be a "special" skill--one which may require specific experiences with language, such as those involved in learning to read an alphabetic writing system.     

Assessing peer and parental influence on the religious attitudes and attendance of young churchgoers: exploring the Australian National Church Life Survey

Drawing on data from the 2011 Australian National Church Life Survey (NCLS), this study was designed to assess peer and parental influence on frequency of church attendance, attitude toward church, and attitude toward Christianity among a sample of 6256 young churchgoers between the ages of eight and 14 years, attending a range of denominations, including Catholic, Anglican, Uniting, Pentecostal, and other Protestant Churches. The data indicated the power of parental example on frequency of church attendance. Frequent attendance among young churchgoers occurred when both parents attend as well. Parental influence worked differently on shaping attitude toward church. The most positive attitude was found among young churchgoers who had the opportunity to talk about God with their parents and who did not feel that their parents made them go to church. Young churchgoers responded to parental encouragement better than to parental pressure. Although peer influence within the church did not make much contribution to frequency of attendance, it made a contribution to shaping positive attitude toward church.     

Environmental and individual influences on Australian students' likelihood of staying in school

In this longitudinal study, the author examined environmental and individual influences on the likelihood of Australian adolescents staying in school. Participants were 6,778 Anglo Australian, 350 Asian, and 472 European students (mean age = 14.7 years) who were in Year 9 when the study began. The analyses indicated that adolescents from middle social status backgrounds and Asian families were more likely to stay in school than were those from lower social status backgrounds and Anglo Australian families; academic self-concept, achievement, perceptions of environments, and aspirations had a large independent association with staying in school; and there were significant differences in relationships among the aforementioned variables for adolescents from different ethnic groups and among those who decided to stay in or drop out of school.     

Environmental and Individual Influences on Australian Students' Likelihood of Staying in School

In this longitudinal study, the author examined environmental and individual influences on the likelihood of Australian adolescents staying in school. Participants were 6,778 Anglo Australian, 350 Asian, and 472 European students (mean age = 14.7 years) who were in Year 9 when the study began. The analyses indicated that adolescents from middle social status backgrounds and Asian families were more likely to stay in school than were those from lower social status backgrounds and Anglo Australian families; academic self-concept, achievement, perceptions of environments, and aspirations had a large independent association with staying in school; and there were significant differences in relationships among the aforementioned variables for adolescents from different ethnic groups and among those who decided to stay in or drop out of school.     

Whose Decision is it? Organ Donation Attitudes Among Young UK South Asians

A questionnaire study examined organ donor card holding rates and attitudes to organ donation among young adult British South Asians and Whites attending institutions of higher education in the UK. There were 382 respondents (166 male, 216 female, average age 21.8 years): 107 Indian (Hindu or Sikh), 104 Pakistani/Bangladeshi (Muslim) and 171 White (Christian or of no religion). Overall, 33% of White but only 9% of South Asian respondents had a donor card. Among Whites, only 6% thought their parents would find it emotionally very upsetting to discuss organ donation, and of the White card holders 70% had told their parents that they had a card. In contrast 18% of Indians and 52% of Pakistanis/Bangladeshis thought that their parents would find it emotionally very upsetting to discuss organ donation, and only 39% of South Asian card holders had told their parents that they had a card. Finally, 41% of White, 54% of Indian and 91% of Pakistanis/Bangladeshi respondents doubted that they would take steps to obtain an organ donor card. White respondents proffered inertia as the main explanation for their not being likely to get a card. The factors underlying South Asian respondents not planning to obtain a card were more varied and included disinterest, emotional distaste, family opposition and religion. These reasons can be interpreted as relating to an interdependent conception of self and donor decisions being a family as well as an individual matter.     

Is Religious Attendance Bottoming Out? An Examination of Current Trends Across Europe

The purpose of this research note is to summarize the available data on trends in religious attendance across 24 European countries to determine whether a base level has been reached in some countries. We focus on the changes observed in the period 1990–2012. After critically assessing the data quality of the recent European Social Survey (ESS) and European Values Study (EVS), we present four different methods of assessing current trends. First, we assess intercohort differentials, an indicator previously used extensively. We then look at trends in young people's rates of attendance, followed by trends of the postwar cohorts born in 1950–1981. We proceed to an appraisal of individual life‐course variations by looking at attendance as a child and young adult. A compilation of these indicators shows that they often do not fully agree on whether there is growth, decline, or stability. To generalize, the high‐attending Catholic countries are more likely to exhibit religious decline, whilst a few ex‐communist countries are seeing sustained growth. The most secular countries seem to be generally stabilizing in the 5–20 percent range for attendance rates of the postwar generations.     

Reasons to attend college among ethnically diverse college students

A survey of 713 ethnically diverse university freshmen (463 Latino, 167 Asian American, 54 African American, 29 European American) assessed reasons for attending college, ethnic identity, family interdependence, and college adjustment. Results revealed three reasons for attending college not reported in previous research: to help one's family, to prove one's self-worth, and because of encouragement. Attending college to help the family was stronger among students from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds. Ethnic identity and family interdependence contributed positively to some reasons for attending college, but did not mediate ethnic differences; with cultural factors and socioeconomic status included as predictors, ethnic minority students still gave greater importance to family oriented motives than did European Americans. Career/personal and humanitarian motives contributed positively to college adjustment.     

Effects of Pinyin and First Language Words in Learning of Chinese Characters as a Second Language

This study examined the roles of pinyin and English words as stimulus prompts in the learning of Chinese characters. Recall for naming of English words and pronunciation was enhanced under conditions in which each character was presented first and its prompts were given as feedback, in contrast to simultaneous presentation conditions. Pronunciation was also recalled more in the written pinyin conditions than the verbal pronunciation conditions. These data were interpreted in terms of (a) interference which can occur when learners attend to multiple inputs simultaneously, and (b) the beneficial effects of attending to character prior to their prompts. It was concluded that the presentation of a character first and the provision of its associated prompts as a feedback improves learning.     

Is intrinsic religious orientation a culturally specific American Protestant concept? The fusion of intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientation among non‐Protestants

The relationship between intrinsic and personal extrinsic religious orientation as suggested by Gorsuch and McPherson is studied within four denominational samples of university students in four different cultural environments. Results show that intrinsic and extrinsic personal religious orientation form two separate dimensions only within the American Protestant sample. In three different European religious environments (one Eastern Orthodox, one Islamic, and one Roman Catholic), all extrinsic personal and intrinsic items can be combined into a single dimension. It is speculated that the intrinsic orientation may be culturally tied to Protestantism. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Up-regulation of exploratory tendencies does not enhance general learning abilities in juvenile or young-adult outbred mice

"General cognitive ability" describes a trait that transcends specific learning domains and impacts a wide range of cognitive skills. Individual animals (including humans) exhibit wide variations in their expression of this trait. We have previously determined that the propensity for exploration is highly correlated with the general cognitive abilities of individual outbred mice. Here, we asked if inducing an increase in exploratory behaviors would causally promote an increase in animals' general learning abilities. In three experiments, juvenile and young-adult male CD-1 outbred mice were exposed to 12 novel environments starting at post-natal days 39 (juvenile) and 61 (young adult), after which they underwent a series of cognitive and exploratory tests as adults (beginning at post-natal day 79). Exposure to novel environments promoted increases in exploration (across multiple measures) on two different tasks, including an elevated plus maze. However, a subsequent test of general learning abilities (aggregate performance across five distinct learning tasks) determined that exposure to novel environments as juveniles or young-adults had no effect on general learning abilities in adulthood. Therefore, while exposure to novel environments promotes long-lasting increases in mice's exploratory tendencies, these increases in exploration do not appear to causally impact general learning abilities.     

Identification With Mainstream Culture and Preference for Alternative Alcohol Treatment Approaches in a Community Sample

Although various treatment approaches are available for alcohol problems, less than 25% of individuals with alcohol use disorders obtain treatment. The purpose of this study is to evaluate interest in attending alternative alcohol treatments, such as meditation and acupuncture, compared to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). A community sample of 156 adult participants concerned about their drinking were recruited through flyers and newspaper advertisements to complete a Web-based survey assessing identification with mainstream culture, sexual identity, and likelihood to attend alternative alcohol treatments. Participants reported higher likelihood of attending alternative treatments as compared to AA, and lesbian, gay, and bisexual participants (28.2% of the sample) were more likely to attend alternative treatments than heterosexual participants. A series of regression analyses were conducted to test whether the relationship between sexual identity and likelihood to attend alternative treatments was mediated by identification with mainstream culture. Participants who were less strongly identified with mainstream culture, regardless of sexual identity, reported higher likelihood of attending alternative treatments. These findings highlight that, for certain subgroups of the population, alternative treatments for alcohol misuse are appealing and suggest the need for future research testing the efficacy of alternative treatments for alcohol problems.     

Beauty, Ethnicity, and Age: Does Internalization of Mainstream Media Ideals Influence Attitudes Towards Older Adults?

Mainstream North American media promotes the message that attaining a thin, youthful appearance is central to a woman’s value and social role while appearing older is highly undesirable. However, appearance ideals and attitudes toward aging differ substantially across cultural and ethnic groups, which may influence the degree to which one internalizes media ideals and holds anti-aging attitudes. Consequently, this study examined the relationships between internalization of the youthful, thin-ideal appearance perpetuated by mainstream North American media and attitudes toward the elderly in a sample of 281 undergraduate females under the age of 30 attending a university in the Western United States. Specifically, European American (n?=?115), Asian American/Pacific Islander (n?=?74), Hispanic/Latina (n?=?52), and African American (n?=?42) women voluntarily completed self-report measures of internalization of media ideals and attitudes towards older adults. Attitudes towards the elderly were significantly more negative at higher levels of internalization of North American appearance ideals, independent of ethnicity. These data suggest that internalization of North American appearance ideals perpetuated by media are related to negative attitudes towards older adults. Future research should investigate the influence of negative attitudes about aging on behaviors toward older adults or one’s own aging process.     

Romantic relationships and sexuality in adolescence and young adulthood: The role of parents,peers, and partners

The formation of romantic relationships and the engagement in sexual behaviours are considered normative and salient developmental tasks for adolescents and young adults. These developmental tasks are increasingly viewed from an ecological perspective, thus not only as individual processes, but also as strongly embedded in different social contexts, including the proximal social domains of parents, peers, and partners. This special issue brings together seven recent empirical studies on adolescents' and young adults' romantic relationships and sexuality in the context of relationships and interactions with parents, peers, and partners. In this editorial introduction, we describe two important recent changes in the theoretical perspectives on emerging romantic relationships and sexual activity: from risky behaviours to normative tasks, and from individual to contextualized processes. We then discuss recent advances in empirical research on romantic relationships and sexuality of adolescents and young adults. After that, we review the seven studies in this special issue, and discuss the contributions of these studies to the existing literature. Finally, we discuss directions for future research regarding how the interrelational perspective can be further incorporated into empirical research, and how the gap between the research fields on romantic relationships and sexuality may be bridged.