Self-generated attitude change: A person by situation analysis of attitude polarization and attenuation

The potential moderating effects of differences in the need for cognition on the attitude polarization process were explored. Based on putative schematabased differences in information processing, it was predicted that an increased opportunity for thought would result in (a) more attitude polarization for low need for cognition persons than for high need for cognition persons and (b) more attitude attenuation for high need for cognition persons than for low need for cognition persons. Participants completed the Need for Cognition scale and were given either little or ample time to think about issues toward which they previously held moderate attitudes. Attitudes were reassessed following thought about the issues. The results were consistent with the predicted moderating effects of individual differences in the need for cognition on thought-induced attitude polarization. Implications of and alternative explanations for the findings are discussed.     

The mortality of psychoanalysts

The mortality rate for male psychoanalysts was compared to that for the general white male population; for male physicians; and for male psychiatrists and neurologists. For psychoanalysts the rate was found to be significantly lower than for any of the other three groups. Several possible explanations for this low mortality rate are considered. Two major factors may be the careful screening of candidates for psychoanalytic training and their personal analysis. Possible methods of controlling for these factors are suggested.     

A test of inclusion which allows for errors of measurement

A test which allows for errors of measurement is derived for the hypothesis that all the members of a population who possess a certain skill are a sub-set of the members who possess another skill. Formulae are given for one particular case when two questions are used for each skill, and for when three questions are used for each skill. An illustrative example is given for the two-question case. The authors are indebted to M. L. Turner for his assistance in the initial stages of development of the test.     

Sex difference trends in completed suicide

The recent suicide literature increasingly has contained statements suggesting that the differences in completed suicide between the sexes are lessening. A compilation of official suicide data for 1933-1980 verifies such a trend from the 1950s through 1971. However, increased differences (as measured by the ratio of male to female rates) were consistently observed from 1971 to 1980. These trends were found for data for the nation, for whites and nonwhites, for numbers of suicides, for crude rates, and for age-adjusted rates. Decreased sex differences were obtained for those 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, and for 65+ years of age, but increased sex differences were observed for those aged 15-24 and 25-34. Possible explanations for these findings are presented.     

观点采择因素对3～4岁儿童延迟满足决策的影响

通过采用延迟满足决策任务,要求儿童分别为自己和他人做出决策,本研究考察了观点采择因素对儿童情感决策发展的影响。实验一选取3岁和4岁儿童各40名,结果发现3岁儿童和4岁儿童在为自己选和为他人选两种条件下的表现均无显著差异,都倾向于做出延迟选择。实验二选取3岁和4岁儿童各60名,在为他人的选择中进一步区分了不同的观点提示条件,并增加了观点采择测验任务。结果发现,4岁儿童的观点采择能力得到了初步的发展,在不同的观点提示条件下为他人选择时分别表现出了与为自己选择不同的决策趋势;3岁儿童尚未获得观点采择能力,在各种不同观点提示条件下为自己和为他人做选择时差异均不显著。本研究结果表明,观点采择能力对儿童情感决策的影响是发展性的。随着观点采择能力的发展,儿童逐渐能够确立正确的延迟动机,为他人做出有效的决策。     

Developmental trends in utilizing perceptual closure for grouping of shape: effects of spatial proximity and collinearity

In two experiments, visual search was used to study the grouping of shape on the basis of perceptual closure among participants 5-23 years of age. We first showed that young children, like adults, demonstrate an efficient search for a concave target among convex distractors for closed connected stimuli but an inefficient search for open stimuli. Reliable developmental differences, however, were observed in search for fragmented stimuli as a function of spatial proximity and collinearity between the closure-inducing fragments. When only closure was available, search for all the age groups was equally efficient for spatially close fragments and equally inefficient for spatially distant fragments. When closure and collinearity were available, search for spatially close fragments was equally efficient for all the age groups, but search for spatially distant fragments was inefficient for younger children and improved significantly between ages 5 and 10. These findings suggest that young children can utilize closure as efficiently as can adults for the grouping of shape for closed or nearly closed stimuli. When the closure-inducing fragments are spatially distant, only older children and adults, but not 5-year-olds, can utilize collinearity to enhance closure for the perceptual grouping of shape.     

Visual pattern memory requires foraging function in the central complex of Drosophila

The role of the foraging (for) gene, which encodes a cyclic guanosine-3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent protein kinase (PKG), in food-search behavior in Drosophila has been intensively studied. However, its functions in other complex behaviors have not been well-characterized. Here, we show experimentally in Drosophila that the for gene is required in the operant visual learning paradigm. Visual pattern memory was normal in a natural variant rover (for(R)) but was impaired in another natural variant sitter (for(S)), which has a lower PKG level. Memory defects in for(S) flies could be rescued by either constitutive or adult-limited expression of for in the fan-shaped body. Interestingly, we showed that such rescue also occurred when for was expressed in the ellipsoid body. Additionally, expression of for in the fifth layer of the fan-shaped body restored sufficient memory for the pattern parameter "elevation" but not for "contour orientation," whereas expression of for in the ellipsoid body restored sufficient memory for both parameters. Our study defines a Drosophila model for further understanding the role of cGMP-PKG signaling in associative learning/memory and the neural circuit underlying this for-dependent visual pattern memory.     

The Impact of Need for Achievement Components on Goal Commitment and Performance

A laboratory study examined the effects of components of need for achievement on goal commitment and performance. It was predicted that need for mastery and need for work are related to goal commitment. It was also predicted that need for mastery and need for work are more highly related to goal commitment than competitiveness, given the characteristics of the task environment. Finally, goal commitment was expected to mediate the effects of need for mastery and need for work on performance. Fifty-four undergraduate students performed nine trials of a complex task and completed a need for achievement scale composed of four subscales. Support was obtained for the first two predictions, and evidence of a sequential model partially supported the third prediction.     

英语词汇记忆中关键字母法效应的条件研究——基于初一学生的干预研究

通过干预范式和中介刺激法, 随机选取112名初中一年级学生为被试, 采用一系列自编的材料和工具, 考察了关键字母法效应的三个条件:识别关键字母、提取同分异构词和提取同分异构词释义。结果表明:(1)如果要求准确的回忆, 从短期和长期看, 识别关键字母和提取同分异构词都是关键字母法效应的必要条件, 提取同分异构词释义是关键字母法效应的充分条件。(2)如果只要求大致的回忆, 从长期看, 识别关键字母是关键字母法效应的必要条件, 提取同分异构词是关键字母法效应潜在的充分条件, 而提取同分异构词释义则是关键字母法效应的充分条件。     

诚信内在结构解析

对诚信的内在结构可有多种解析。从所属领域角度,诚信可以被分为心诚、言诚、行诚三个层面。这三个层面相互依赖、相互作用：心诚是言诚和行诚的内在依据,言诚和行诚是心诚的必要外化,而言诚和行诚则相互促进。从所涉对象角度,诚信可以被分为诚己、诚人、诚群三个维度。这三个维度彼此相关、层层推进：诚己是诚人和诚群的必要前提,诚人是诚己的必然延伸和必要确证,而诚群则是诚人的合乎逻辑的扩展。     

Locus of Control as a Stress Moderator and Mediator in Children of Divorce

This paper examined the stress moderator and mediator effects of four dimensions of perceived control in children of divorce. The dimensions of locus of control included internal control for positive events, internal control for negative events, unknown control for positive events, and unknown control for negative events. The sample consisted of 222 children between the ages of 8 and 12 whose parents had divorced in the previous 2 years. Moderational analyses showed that unknown control for positive events interacted with negative events to predict total symptoms. Plots of the simple slopes indicated a stress buffering effect whereby the slope of negative events on symptoms was higher for high than for low levels of unknown control for positive events. Mediational analysis showed that the relations between negative events and symptoms were mediated by both unknown control for positive events and unknown control for negative events. In contrast, evidence was not found for either a stress mediational or a moderational model for perceived internal control for positive or negative events. These results suggest that unknown control beliefs may be a particularly important dimension of control for children of divorce.     

How should “acceptance of responsibility” be addressed in sexual offending treatment programs?

Sexual offenders in treatment programs are usually expected to take responsibility for their offending—which we define, on the basis of a literature review, as giving a detailed and precise disclosure of events which avoids external attributions of cause and matches the official/victim's account of the offense. However, research has not established that a failure to take responsibility for offending is a risk factor for future recidivism. In this paper, we critically review and evaluate the literature on taking responsibility for offending, to determine the rationale for the popularity of this treatment target. We consider the reasons why sex offenders fail to take responsibility for their offending and examine some potential problems with focusing on this goal in treatment programs. We also describe alternative treatment strategies for taking responsibility and conclude that there is less need for offenders to take responsibility for their past offending than there is for them to take responsibility for their future actions.     

Evaluating a modified exercise self-efficacy scale for college-age women

This pilot study examined test-retest and internal consistency reliabilities of original and modified formats of the Exercise Self-efficacy Scale in college-age women. 30 completed original and modified versions of the scale. Data from both tests, administered 1 wk. apart, were analyzed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) to assess test-retest reliability and Cronbach coefficient alpha for internal consistency. Scores for both versions correlated .96. Cronbach coefficients alpha for the original scale were .96 for Time 1 and .98 for Time 2. Cronbach coefficients alpha for the revised scale were .95 for Time 1 and .98 for Time 2. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency remained consistently high for both versions of the scales within this sample. Implications for use of this scale and recommendations for research are given.     

Gender differs: Modelling knowledge sharing from a perspective of social network ties

The present paper proposes a model of knowledge sharing, in which coworker congruence, outcome interdependence, perceived organizational support, and procedural justice influence knowledge sharing indirectly through the mediation of instrumental ties and expressive ties, and examined gender differences in causal connections within the model. In a sample of employees in Taiwan, it was shown that the influence of instrumental ties on knowledge sharing is stronger for females than for males; the influence of expressive ties on knowledge sharing is stronger for males than for females; the influence of coworker congruence on expressive ties is stronger for females than for males; the influence of outcome interdependence on instrumental ties is stronger for females than for males; and the influence of perceived organizational support on instrumental ties is stronger for males than for females.     

阅读材料类型和难度对五年级儿童阅读策略的影响

以34名五年级儿童为被试,采用出声思维法考查了阅读材料类型和难度对儿童阅读策略使用情况的影响。结果发现,被试在记叙文阅读过程中使用的阅读策略种类数和总次数均多于说明文。阅读材料难度对于阅读策略种类数和使用次数没有影响。阅读材料类型和难度都对多个阅读策略的使用次数有影响,但是阅读材料类型和难度对于各阅读策略使用次数的影响并不一致。     

Predictive testing for HD: maximizing patient autonomy

In "The Ethical Justification for Minimal Paternalism in the Use of the Predictive Test for Huntington's Disease," David DeGrazia attempts to provide a rational analysis of the exclusion criteria and counseling requirements for predictive testing proposed by the Huntington's Disease Society of America (HDSA). The need for analysis is clear. These protocols and procedures for predictive testing for Huntington's disease (HD) are being used as models for testing programs for any number of genetic conditions. DeGrazia concludes that the HDSA guidelines are reasonable, a conclusion with which I agree. However, I believe that DeGrazia, by placing his analysis within the framework of autonomy versus paternalism, overlooks both the fundamental rationale for the testing procedures and the true barriers to testing....The difficulties encountered during the testing process clearly demonstrated the failure of abstract principles to deal with real life.     

"Let me count the ways:" fostering reasons for living among low-income, suicidal, African American women

Protective factors for fostering reasons for living were examined among low-income, suicidal, African American women. Bivariate logistic regressions revealed that higher levels of optimism, spiritual well-being, and family social support predicted reasons for living. Multivariate logistic regressions indicated that spiritual well-being showed unique predictive value for reasons for living. Further, the multivariate model accurately predicted reasons for living 72% of the time. Partial support was found for a cumulative protective model hypothesizing a linear relationship between the number of protective factors endorsed and increased reasons for living. Implications for community-based preventive and recovery-oriented intervention efforts and future research are discussed.     

A research note on occupational changes for Louisiana urban females, 1960–1970

Occupational distributions for sex and race comparisons for areas of Louisiana are examined through an index of dissimilarity, D, a measure of the percentage of workers who must change occupational categories for the two compared percentage occupational distributions to be the same. In 1960 the more urban the area, the lower the index; indices are higher for blacks for male-female comparisons and higher for females than for males in cross-race comparisons. These patterns hold for 1970, but D decreased for all comparisons, indicating a trend toward similarity in compared occupational distributions, but the ultimate limit is unknown.