FUTURE ORIENTATION AND SOCIALIZATION*

The present paper deals with the question of what kind of relationship may exist between future orientation and socialization. First, the nature of future orientation and related person variables are discussed. It is shown that a functional theory of personality and social behavior is needed in order to specify the relations between these variables. On the basis of such a theory the next question on the development of future orientation may be dealt with more fruitfully. Besides cognitive maturation, social experiences determine which kind of future orientation develops and can be adapted in different social situations. Finally, the question is dealt with to what extent future orientation (not only of parents and teachers, but also of the person to be socialized) may influence the process and result of socialization. Some preliminary data indicate the usefulness of an interactionist theory for the study on the relation between socialization and future orientation.     

THE FUNCTION OF FUTURE ORIENTATION AS A DETERMINANT OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN STEP-PATH THEORY OF ACTION

Step-path theory of action is used to conceptualize future orientation (FO) as anticipated path characteristics and to derive its function. Study 1 finds that stories written to FO sentences are significantly higher on n Achievement when referring to a young person, while stories written to past orientation sentences tend toward higher scores when referring to an old person. Study 2 finds that extremes on chronological age tend to accentuate these trends. Study 3 supports the “multiplicative rule” for the combination of subjective probabilities of success (Ps) along a contingent path for group data. Individual data show that the predicted accentuation of achievement motivation is mediated by a decrease in path length for nonmultipliers of Ps (time FO), and by an increase in path length for multipliers of Ps (task FO). Path Ps also influences the effects of time and task FO.     

DEVELOPMENT OF ORIENTATION TO THE FUTURE DURING EARLY ADOLESCENCE: A FOUR-YEAR LONGITUDINAL STUDY AND TWO CROSS-SECTIONAL COMPARISONS

In 1982, fifty-seven 11-year-old and forty-eight 15-year-old adolescents were interviewed about their hopes and fears for the future. Similarly, in 1987, fifty-seven 11-year-old and fifty-six 15-year-old adolescents were interviewed. The content and extension of each hope and fear as well as the levels of planning, realization, internality, probability estimation and overall emotional evaluation were estimated from the answers. As expected, adolescents' hopes concerned major developmental tasks, i.e. occupation, education, family and property related topics. Both 11- and 15-year-olds extended their thinking to the same stage of their future life, about the age of twenty. A comparison of extension according to hope content showed that adolescents' orientation to the future reflected the ‘cultural prototype’ of expected life-span development. Levels of planning, realization and knowledge concerning hopes increased with age as did internality and optimism concerning the future, especially among boys.     

EVIDENTIARY STANDARDS IN EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION: A VIEW TOWARD THE FUTURE

This article reviews recent changes in evidentiary standards in employment discrimination litigation as they relate to disparate impact theory. Precedents established in Watson v. Fort Worth Bank and Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio , altering the employee's and the employer's responsibilities in discrimination cases are analyzed. In reaction to these and other Supreme Court rulings, Congress introduced a civil rights bill which was eventually signed into law after numerous compromises. The debate surrounding the development of the 1991 Civil Rights Act and the legislation itself are reviewed. With respect to disparate impact, the Act addresses the criteria for establishing a prima facie case (causation), burden of proof standards, and a definition of business necessity. However, a close reading of the Act and a review of recent disparate impact cases suggest the causation and business necessity issues are not fully resolved. Potential implications for managing personnel decision systems in this new environment are discussed.     

ON THE CONCEPT OF FUTURE TIME ORIENTATION: CONSIDERATIONS OF SOME FUNCTIONs' AND MEASUREMENTs' IMPLICATIONS*

Empirical studies have revealed contradictory results concerning future time orientation and various other factors. The lack of consensus between the concept and measurements is postulated to be the main reason for the diversity in results. It is necessary to differentiate between (a) experimentally induced future (time) orientation and future time orientation (FTO) considered as a personality trait, and (b) between dimensions of FTO and the manifestation and functional significance of these dimensions in behavior. It is suggested that measurements of FTO should be related to nonspecific situations in order to avoid that certain valences, and thereby different degrees of arousal of FTO, are induced in the FTO measure itself.     

BEYOND RELATIVISM AND FOUNDATIONALISM: A PROLEGOMENON TO FUTURE RESEARCH IN ETHICS

Abstract. This article examines the similarities between notions about the nature of reality held by some Christian mystics (Thomas Merton and the author of The Cloud of Unknowing) and those proposed by physicists David Bohm and Henry Margenau. My aim is to consider how the implications of certain metaphysical interpretations of modern physics may: (1) hold similarities with Christian mystical notions about reality, and (2) be important for guiding future research in ethics. I further look into the traditional approaches to ethical theory that come out of the foundationalist, relativist, and skeptical realist camps and argue that while skeptical realists such as Timothy Jackson are moving in the right direction, further consideration of what is meant by reality is necessary if we are to traverse the gap between foundationalists and relativists. It is here that Christian ethicists in particular have the opportunity to pick up the metaphysical batons carried by physicists like Margenau and Bohm and mystics like Merton and the author of The Cloud and begin investigating the possibility that ethical theory can be approached from a nondualistic perspective.     

TEMPORAL RELATIONSHIPS IN LANGUAGE1

Bref exposé d'une approche piagétienne à L'étude de L'acquisition du langage. Certains principes de base de la psychologie génétique qui s'appliquent également à ce domaine sont rappelés. La méthode d'interrogation qui en découle est présentée ainsi que les raisons qui ont amené les auteurs à envisager L'étude de L'acquisition de certaines structurations linguistiques à travers des épreuves de compréhension, de production et de répétition. La technique a pour but de saisir les changements qualitatifs dans les réponses des enfants (de 4 à 9 ans), dont on connaît le niveau de développement cognitif, déterminé par des épreuves propres à la psychologie génétique. A titre d'exemple une recherche récente est brièvement discutée. Elle porte sur la compréhension, la production et la répétition de phrases qui expriment une relation d'ordre temporel entre deux événements. L'accent est mis sur les résultats obtenus dans les épreuves de production qui sont les plus révélateurs du mode d'élaboration de cette structuration. Quelques particularités des réponses sont relevées, qui indiquent L'importance prêtée par les sujets aux valeurs aspectuelles des formes verbales. Une interprétation qui tient compte des données de la psychologie génétique est proposée.     

閃光信号的語义干扰

問題 經济編碼和減少噪音是提高信息传递效率和保証通信准确性的重要手段。信息論关于編碼問題的研究,为充分利用信道容量和抗干扰提供了理論依据,对于通信技术的发展作出了重大貢献。但是,信息諭的編碼理論仅考虑信源的統計特点,而不考虑信号的意义。这样的編碼虽然适用于机器之間的信息传递和加工,可是如果信息的接收者和加工     

NAVIGATING THE FUTURE IN A SEA OF CRISPR UNCERTAINTY

Humanity's toolkit for altering the world we live in now includes CRISPR. Through an evolutionary process, bacteria acquired a way to protect themselves from an invading virus, making their immediate future more secure. In human hands, this powerful genome-editing tool offers the potential to impact, at a breathtaking rate, not only our own evolutionary future, but the future of other life on this planet. Ethical concerns about altering genomes are not new, but the birth of two CRISPR gene-edited babies last year created a renewed urgency around navigating the future and the lack of an agreed-upon map to guide us is distressing. The goal of this article is not to provide that map but to suggest two essential questions, drawn from the context of events surrounding CRISPR to date, that should guide its drafting—“Who do we trust?” and “When is it time to act?”—and to consider what Unitarian Universalism might contribute to answering those questions.     

北京大学学生价值观倾向的初步定量研究

本研究应用价值观研究量表中文修订本施测690名北京大学学生,结果表明,大学生中价值倾向相对强弱的顺序是:政治、审美、理论、经济、社会、宗教,并表现出性别差异。因素分析发现,存在四种价值倾向组合型式。除宗教外,其余五种价值倾向测量均有足够的效度和信度。     

调节效应与中介效应的比较和应用

讨论了调节变量的概念和调节效应分析方法,并简要介绍了中介变量的概念和中介效应分析方法。从研究目的、关联概念、典型模型、变量的位置和功能、效应的估计和检验方法等角度,对调节变量和中介变量、调节效应和中介效应以及相应的模型做了系统的比较。作为应用例子,在儿童行为对同伴关系的影响研究中分析和比较了调节变量和中介变量。     

社会认知神经科学——一个很有前途的交叉学科

该文介绍了近年兴起的一门交叉学科——社会认知神经科学,着重阐述了它强调在社会、认知与脑神经等三个层面的交互作用上去理解心理现象。作者指出,东方亚洲人与西方人在知觉、注意、认知和人格上的差别都是十分成熟的,可以立即开展社会认知神经科学探索的问题。     

左右半球在语篇理解中的协同作用

通过2例一侧颞叶损伤患者研究了一侧颞叶损伤及两侧半球的协同作用对语篇理解的影响,并探讨了发生此种影响的可能机制。结果表明一侧颞叶的损伤将导致患者语篇水平的理解障碍及语言推理能力的下降;提示语篇理解需双侧半球的协同作用,而推理能力下降可能是引发语篇理解障碍的原因之一。