The Need for a Code of Conduct for Research Funders

Science and Engineering Ethics - In addition to a code of conduct for researchers, it is desirable to implement a code of conduct for funders of research. This is because researchers often behave...     

Effects of Parenting and Deviant Peers on Early to Mid-Adolescent Conduct Problems

We investigated the influence of effective parenting behaviors (father and mother reports) and deviant peer association (adolescent reports) on subsequent young adolescent conduct problems (teacher reports) during grades 7–9, using structural equation modeling. Data were from a sample of 226 rural adolescents (n?=?112 boys; n?=?107 girls; n?=?7 gender unknown), their parents, and teachers. Both effective parenting and association with deviant peers influenced later conduct problems; however, the pattern of influence varied across time and between fathers and mothers, with complex patterns of interactions between effective parenting and peer deviance. From seventh to eighth grade, effective parenting by both mothers and fathers buffered the effect of higher levels of peer deviance on conduct problems across adolescent gender. From eighth to ninth grade (i.e., transition into high school), fathers’ effective parenting buffered the effects of deviant peer association on their daughters’ conduct problems, whereas both fathers’ and mothers’ influence was stronger for sons when deviant peer associations were lower. Analyses also evaluated bi-directional longitudinal effects among adolescents, parents, and peers. Although varying by parent and adolescent gender or adolescent age, results generally supported the protective effects of parenting on their children’s conduct problems during early to mid adolescence.     

Deviant Heroes: Nonconformists as Agents of Justice and Social Change

Sociologists usually define deviance as a fluid construct, relative to given social circumstances, and something that is neither negative nor positive in and of itself. Despite the rejection of absolutist approaches, the vast majority of texts and studies concerning deviant behavior implicitly or explicitly present deviance as either a morally bad or morally neutral behavior. Such literatures wrongly conflate deviant behavior with villainous actions. We argue that some of the most important deviants have been at the leading forefront of positive social change and the creation of a more just, fair, and humane society. Deviant heroes are those individuals who violate unjust norms and laws, facing the repercussions of social control, while simultaneously effecting positive social change. This article considers the theoretical role of the deviant hero within classical and contemporary sociological traditions and identifies new directions for social research.     

Judging Up the Corporate Ladder: Understanding the Social Conduct of Workers

The purpose of this research was to examine the social conduct of workers toward managers following a negative work event involving their managers. Three studies were conducted to examine the relationships among attributions, judgments of responsibility, anger and sympathy, and antisocial and prosocial behaviors. In Study 1, we manipulated ability and effort attributions with scenarios in order to examine the cognitive, affective, and behavioral outcomes of hypothetical workplace events. In Studies 2 and 3, we replicated these results using a retrospective, critical-incidents methodology and further explored the mediational relationships between cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses. Findings from the 3 studies supported hypotheses derived from Weiner's (1995) theory of social conduct.     

Spousal Social Control During a Weight Loss Attempt: A Daily Diary Study

We investigated perceptions of spousal social control and the partners' behavior, affect, and relationship satisfaction at the start of a weight loss attempt. Gender and body mass index (BMI) were explored as moderators. In order to examine the short-term effects of social control, participants completed daily assessments reporting spouses' influence and their own behavior and well-being. Instrumental and reinforcing social control were associated with better health behavior, well-being, and relationship satisfaction, but showed no impact over time. Monitoring control was inconsistently associated with health behavior and well-being. BMI moderated some of the relations between social control strategies, health behavior, and well-being. Findings suggest spouses can contribute to partners' weight loss attempts with influence strategies, but considering weight status may determine which strategies are the most beneficial.     

Conduct Disorder in Girls: A Review of the Literature

The study of Conduct Disorder (CD) has primarily been limited to boys. The lack of research resulted from a premise that CD in girls was rare. However, CD in girls is a relatively common psychiatric diagnosis, and appears to be associated with several serious outcomes, such as Antisocial Personality Disorder and early pregnancy. Understanding gender differences in the course and severity of CD may lead to important information about etiology. Empirical studies on precursors, developmental course, risk factors and treatment for CD in girls are reviewed, while highlighting similarities and differences between girls and boys. Generally, CD symptoms in girls are stable. Precursors to CD in girls probably include Oppositional Defiant Disorder and temperamental factors, but also may include certain negative cognitions. What distinguishes CD in girls is the high risk they have to develop comorbid conditions, especially internalizing disorders. Risk factors for CD in girls partly overlap with those known for boys, but some factors appear to be highly salient for girls. Finally, there may be some significant effects of gender on treatment efficacy. Implications of these findings for future etiologic research are discussed.     

Deviant Causal Chains and Hallucinations: A Problem for the Anti-causalist

The causal theory of perception is opposed by anti-causalists, who claim that the notion of causality is not part of our ordinary concept of perception, and sometimes raise the possibility of deviant causal chain counter-examples in an attempt to undermine the causal theory. I argue that such examples in fact cause more difficulties for anti-causalist accounts of perception. Anti-causalists are unable to explain how the examples can be recognized as deviant, and why such cases are incompatible with perception. They have a general problem in providing a satisfactory account of hallucination. A comparison with certain complex cases of illusion suggests that our grasp of the concept of perception does indeed involve some kind of understanding of the kinds of causal chains appropriate to genuine perception.     

A Model of Friendship Similarity in Mildly Deviant Behaviors1

Kandel's research on the relationship between friendship similarity and deviant behavior in adolescents is extended by a consideration of more mildly deviant behaviors, controlling for the possible spurious effects of sex, race, and grade. Tversky's theory of elimination by aspect is used to model the individual level decision-making process involved in friendship selection, and a contingency table model is used as an analytic framework. Results indicate that in females, even controlling for obvious friendship selection factors, mildly deviant behaviors like smoking, drinking, and particularly sexual intercourse affect the observed friendship structure. No such relationship is found in males, however. Tentative theories to explain this difference are proposed.     

Altruism Toward a Deviant in City and Small Town

A field experiment using the "Lost Letter Technique" tested the hypothesis that altruism would be higher in small towns than in cities, unless the person needing help was a social deviant. The hypothesis was derived from Milgram's (1970) overload theory, in which city dwellers are expected to become generally indifferent to, and make fewer differentiations between, unimportant others. A total of 216 letters to one of three addressees (control, somewhat deviant, highly deviant) were "lost", one-half in Tulsa, Oklahoma (population: 347,600) and one-half among 51 small, Oklahoma towns (× population: 2,002). Return rates supported the hypothesis. The data also suggest that a greater intolerance in small towns for social deviance might systematically overwhelm their generally higher levels of social responsibility. Implications are drawn regarding the danger of overgeneralizing negative attributions to urban centers.     

A Survey of Ethical Conduct in Risk Management: Environmental Economists

A sample survey of members of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE) found relatively low rates of obvious ethical misconduct, such as data fabrication and falsification, and higher rates of dubious behaviors, such as deliberate overstatement of positive and understatement of negative results. AERE members reported that job-related pressures-including competition with peers, pressure due to professional implication and on-the-job pressure-were the most important causes. The most effective preventive measures, according to respondents, were discussion of ethics in existing classes, codes of ethics, and short courses at professional meetings. The vast majority of AERE members were against government audits and regulations.     

Comorbidity of Hyperactivity-Impulsivity-Inattention and Conduct Problems: Risk Factors in Social, Affective, and Academic Domains

Children showing a comorbid behavior pattern of hyperactivity-impulsivity-inattention and conduct problems (HIA + CP) were contrasted to children having only an internalizing and externalizing behavior pattern (I + E) and matched controls. Children displaying the HIA + CP behavior pattern were at greater risk on a number of outcome measures in social and academic domains beginning in Grade 3 and continuing into Grade 4. The most marked differences among the three groups were found on peer measures of rejection and friendship and teacher ratings of social skills. On average, almost two-thirds of the HIA + CP group were rejected by their peers compared to one-third of the I + E group and only 12.5% controls. Over 70% of the HIA + CP group had no reciprocated friendships from Grade 3 to Grade 4 compared to less than half of the I + E group and approximately one-fourth of controls. Contrary to much theorizing in the literature, the HIA + CP and I + E groups showed average levels of academic self-concept and did not differ from controls in on measures of social self-concept and academic self-concept and general self-esteem. These findings were interpreted in light of positive illusory biases and the established link between aggressive behavior and egotism. The current article offers partial support for Lynam's (1996) notion of the fledgling psychopath.     

Adult Outcomes of Child Conduct Problems: A Cohort Study

The present study assessed the mental health and criminal records of 6,449 males and 6,268 females who presented conduct problems as children by examining an unselected birth cohort followed up to age 30. Conduct problems were defined by teacher ratings of behavior problems and/or antisocial behavior in the community. There was little overlap in the children identified by teachers and by the community. These two groups of children were at differential risk for adult mental disorder. Seventy-six percent of the males and 30% of females with childhood conduct problems had either a criminal record, a mental disorder, or both by age 30. Risk ratios for adult criminality and/or mental disorders, however, were greater for females than for males with a history of childhood conduct problems. Almost all of the mental disorders were severe substance abuse. Mental disorders and crime were strongly associated among males with a history of childhood conduct problems.     

A Comprehensive Investigation of Youth Deviance: Theoretical Distinction by Deviant Behavior Sub-Types

Scholars have critiqued the field of criminology as focusing too heavily on positioning theories against one another in competition to reveal a “general theory of crime.” Such an approach assumes that the same factors influence all forms deviance, which is a problematic assumption, given that different forms of deviance can be influenced by different sets of factors. This study draws on two prominent criminological theories to specify the individual mechanisms driving several different forms of juvenile delinquency. Findings demonstrate the need for different theories of crime and deviance, and have implications for the way scholars approach and study theories in criminology.     

Promoting Responsible Research Conduct: A South African Perspective

A great deal of effort has gone into developing capacity in the sphere of human research protection programmes in South Africa and Africa over the last decade or more, by several international organisations. However the promotion of the broader agenda of research integrity or ‘RCR’ (Responsible Conduct of Research) has lagged behind. From a global perspective South Africa and other African countries are actively involved in research endeavours and collaborations across a very broad spectrum of scientific fields. For this research to fulfil its potential social value it must be reliable and trustworthy and hence it is essential that research institutions and universities take the promotion of research integrity seriously. The purpose of this paper is to consider the role of an institutional office of research integrity within the context of academic research particularly in South Africa but also in Africa. I will reflect on my own experience over a period of five years as a research integrity officer at a South African academic institution to highlight concerns in five domains; the promotion of an ethic of responsibility in opposition to compliance and bureaucracy, collaboration ethics and collegiality especially in the context of North-South collaborations, authorship and publication ethics, the problem of plagiarism and the utility of policy and procedure. I will suggest that the establishment of such an office can be of great value in the promotion of a broad culture of research ethics and responsible research conduct. The possible role and scope of function of an institutional office of research integrity will be briefly outlined.     

A New Method for a Virtue-Based Responsible Conduct of Research Curriculum: Pilot Test Results

Science and Engineering Ethics - Drawing on Pennock’s theory of scientific virtues, we are developing an alternative curriculum for training scientists in the responsible conduct of research...     

The Bank Job: A Field Study of Sexually Discriminatory Performance on a Neutral-Role Task

Sixty-four checks were cashed in a field examination of sex role discrimination using a non-sex-role stereotyped (neutral role) task. Experimenter (customer) sex, subject (teller) sex, amount of the check, and bank branch were varied to produce a 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 design. Transaction times were longer for female customers than for male customers, and were longer with male tellers than with female tellers. Results were interpreted as supporting the hypothesis of greater sex role salience in cross-sex, as compared with same-sex dyads. Suggestions are made for further research using neutral-role tasks to better define certain role concepts.