Prominence of girls and boys in the classroom: Schoolchildren's perceptions

Several studies have revealed teachers' asymmetric perceptions of girls and boys in their classes. The present research examines these effects on schoolchildren's own perceptions of the prominence of male and female peers in school relevant categories. A total of 147 (native born, Jewish middle class) second and sixth graders participated in the study. A questionnaire in two versions was prepared: One formulated in the masculine plural, habitually used in Hebrew as the generic plural for both sexes. The other in both masculine and feminine (optional he/she) plural, also admissible in Hebrew usage. Overall, students judged more boys as prominent, even more so in sixth grade. Subjects also pointed to same-sex peers as prominent. Surprisingly, the sex-optional formulation of the questionnaire did not decrease stereotyping perceptions. Results raise questions about the status of girls in school. Implications for girls' future as achievers in modern society are discussed. Furthermore, the effectiveness of language manipulation in Hebrew regarding sexist vs. nonsexist attitudes is put into question.     

Beliefs about condoms and accessibility of condom intentions in Hispanic and African American youth

The construct accessibility model (CAM) holds that constructs are most likely to influence behavior when they are accessible in memory. While the theory of reasoned action sees intention as an important determinant of behavior, the CAM predicts that the intention to act upon a given health behavior is not likely to be acted upon unless the intention is in an accessible state. Therefore, people who frequently talk about or think about using condoms are likely to have condom related constructs available and use them when needed. This paper reports findings from the pilot phase of a project to identify beliefs which influence condom use in Hispanic and African-American youth living in Detroit. 15 male and 15 female Hispanics and 17 male and 17 female African-Americans aged 15-21 years of mean and median age 18.5, were interviewed face-to-face in 1989 with the goal of identifying condom beliefs which may influence their condom use. 80-82% of male participants, 53% of Hispanic females, and 100% of Black females had experienced sexual intercourse, with age at first intercourse ranging between 13.1 and 16.5 years. 88% of Black women and 7% of Hispanic women were pregnant at the interview. Regarding participants' level of preventive knowledge, all but 1 recently immigrated Hispanic female knew HIV was transmitted by needles and sexual intercourse. 87% of Hispanics and 94% of African-Americans responded that condoms protect against AIDS, but only 13% of Hispanics and 47% of African-Americans knew that nonlatex condoms do not. Some participants expressed concern that condoms reduce sensitivity and/or break during intercourse. Controlling for sexual activity, 25% of Hispanic females, 83% of Hispanic males, 71% of African-American females, and 80% of African-American males had ever used a condom; no Hispanic and 14% of Blacks reported using them consistently in the 12 month period preceding the interview. With 100% of African-American males and 97% of Black females reporting thinking about using condoms compared to 80% of Hispanics, the study findings suggest that condom intentions are more accessible in African-Americans than among Hispanics.     

Hugs or shrugs: Parental and peer influence on continuity of involvement in sport by female adolescents

The study was designed to examine the influence of significant others (mothers, fathers, and male and female peers) on continuing involvement in sport by adolescent females. Survey data were collected from 376 girls using a forced-choice, self-administered questionnaire. Maintenance of involvement was measured by the proportion of possible years in which the respondents were involved in physical activity within each of three participation contexts (intramural, interschool, and community sport). Several indicators of significant other influence were used. The degree to which involvement in physical activity is maintained is positively related to the source, amount and type of influence received from significant others, and varied by the participation context. Overall, the socializing influence of significant others was able to account for 11% of the variance in intramural activity, 20% of the variance in interschool sport, and 10% of the variance in community-based activity.This study was funded by a grant from Fitness Canada.     

CO-WORKER IMPLEMENTED JOB TRAINING: THE USE OF COINCIDENTAL TRAINING AND QUALITY-CONTROL CHECKING ON THE FOOD PREPARATION SKILLS OF TRAINEES WITH MENTAL RETARDATION

In two studies, co-workers of persons with disabilities were taught to use coincidental training procedures while completing their own jobs. In Study 1, the effects of coincidental training on the salad-making skills of 3 trainees with mild and moderate mental retardation were evaluated. Coincidental training by co-workers resulted in improved accuracy of the salad-making skills of the trainees. In Study 2, trainees were also coincidentally taught to make quality-control checks of their salads. An alternating treatments and multiple baseline design indicated that the trainees more readily acquired the skills when taught to check the correctness of their work.     

A demonstration of the costs and benefits of expertise in recognition memory

In their area of expertise experts know more potentially interfering facts than nonexperts do, yet their memory IS superior to that of nonexperts. This has been termed the “paradox of interference.” We proposed that the ability of experts to go beyond the information given allows them to infer the presence of items that might not otherwise be remembered. However, such inferences can also be detrimental to accurate recognition memory in that such inferences might become confused with actual targets. We examined the benefits and costs of expertise in two recognition memory experiments In which experts and nonexperts participated. Experts in Ex-penment 1 were knowledgeable about baseball; those in Experiment 2 were knowledgeable about Ohio geography. Distractors in both studies bore a synonymous, an inferential, or no special relation to the targets. In the last instance, experts had recognition memory superior to that of the nonexperts. When the distractors were related to the targets, however, the non-experts were superior. We proposed that experts' inferential behavior is a contributor to their generally superior memory, but that task demands can convert this asset into a liability.     

The psychological refractory period as a function of performance of a first response

Proponents of a “single channel” theory of the psychological refractory period have not specified whether the single channel occupies only the decision component of the response selection, only the motor or response component, or both. In this experiment, the delay in the RT to the second of two successively presented stimuli was examined as a function of whether or not an overt motor response was made to the first stimulus, keeping the decision component constant. It was found that in both conditions RT₂ was delayed, suggesting that the decision component was a part of the single channel. However, RT₂ was delayed by a significantly greater amount if a motor response was required, indicating that the motor component is part of the single channel as well. Implications of the results for an expectancy theory of the psychological refractory period are discussed.     

Transitional phenomena as evidenced in prayer

In this paper, we demonstrate that the study of prayer facilitates understanding of the deeply personal object related nature of religious experience. Within prayer, individuals enter the transitional sphere and meet their God representation. Both conscious and unconscious aspects of prayer can be made available through the use of a projective test developed by the authors, known as STARR: Spiritual Themes and Religious Responses test. The data obtained suggest the usefulness of Winnicottian concepts of transitional phenomena, playing, communicating, and capacity to be alone as a contemporary psychoanalytic framework for interpreting religious experience.     

Types and correlates of blood/injury-related vasovagal syncope

This study investigated by interview, the initial syncopal episode of 103 blood/injury-related vasovagal fainters in order to examine two competing hypotheses concerning their origins. Graham (Circulation, 23, 901-906, 1961) postulated that the faint resulted when sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity ceased on termination of a threat, leaving parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activation unopposed. Engel [Fainting (2nd edn), 1962; Annals of Internal Medicine, 89, 901-906, 1978] proposed that when in the face of threat with SNS activation, escape is blocked, the PNS becomes activated as the conservation-withdrawal response, leading to syncope. We found cases clearly conforming to each of these formulations as well as some with characteristics of both, and some who fainted in response to blood or injury but with no perception of threat. The Graham and Engel types did not differ in terms of fear or avoidance of blood, injury, or medically-related situations nor did they differ in the frequency with which their parents reported blood/injury-related syncopal episodes. It is proposed that both may be activated by a common psychological mechanism involving cessation of a defensive posture. In contrast, the non-threat fainters showed significantly less medically-related avoidance and had a greater percentage (94%) of parents with positive faint histories.     

Multicultural Education and Feminist Ethics

Feminist ethics supports the contemporary educational trend toward increased multiculturalism and a diminished emphasis on the Western canon. First, I outline a feminist ethical justification for this development. Second, I argue that Western canon studies should not be altogether abandoned in a multicultural curriculum. Third, I suggest that multicultural education should help combat oppression in addition to simply promoting awareness of diversity. Fourth, I caution against an arrogant moralism in the teaching of multiculturalism.     

Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Client Spiritual Development: Counseling Implications

The spiritual development of sexually traumatized clients is an important area of concern for counselors. In this paper, spirituality is defined, and its relevance for counselors who work with childhood sexual abuse survivors is discussed. Impact of abuse on client spirituality is described, and several suggestions are given for assessment and intervention approaches that address spiritual issues as part of the counseling process.