Autobiographical memories of specific social events for older and younger adults: Context dependency of the Memory Characteristics Questionnaire on recollection of 1970 and 2005 Japan World Expositions1

To clarify the characteristics of autobiographical memories of personally experienced social events, we examined visitors' long‐term memories of the 1970 Japan World Exposition Osaka (Expo 1970) for 47 older adults and of Expo 2005 Aichi Japan (Expo 2005) for 42 older and 40 younger adults using the Memory Characteristics Questionnaire (MCQ). The factor structure of the MCQ was compared with that of a previous study on long‐term memories of the graduation ceremonies of junior high‐school students, which employed the MCQ and itself was used as a comparative data set (N = 1183). Thus, the long‐term memory characteristics of four independent groups were considered for comparative analysis: Expo 1970‐Older, Expo 2005‐Older, Expo 2005‐Younger, and Graduation‐Younger. The mean scores for each of eight MCQ factors were calculated in each of the four groups. Significant differences of scores between the four independent groups were found on several factors of the MCQ. Based on these data, some issues of the context dependency of MCQ including the influence of retention interval, participant age, and the nature of experience are discussed.     

Young romance in China: Effects of family,attachment, relationship confidence,and problem solving

Guided by the development of early adult romantic relationships (DEARR) model (Bryant & Conger, 2002), this study sought to examine associations between family dysfunction and relationship satisfaction via the mechanisms of anxious and avoidant attachment, relationship confidence, and problem solving in a sample of Chinese young adults (N = 189). Structural equation model results and bootstrap tests of indirect effects indicated several indirect pathways from family dysfunction to relationship satisfaction for Chinese young adults. Follow‐up moderation analyses suggest that men's relationship satisfaction is more intrapersonally driven whereas women's satisfaction is largely determined by interpersonal interaction. The present results provide additional support for the cross‐cultural applicability of DEARR model. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future exploration are discussed.     

INTERNATIONAL VALIDITY GENERALIZATION OF GMA AND COGNITIVE ABILITIES: A EUROPEAN COMMUNITY META-ANALYSIS

This article reports on a series of meta-analyses into the criterion validity of general menatl ability (GMA) and specific cognitive ability tests for predicting job performance ratings and training success in the European Community (EC). Meta-analyses were computed on a large EC database examining the operational validity of GMA and other specific cognitive abilities, including verbal, numerical, spatial-mechanical, perceptual and memory ( N ranged from 946 to 16,065) across 10 EC member countries. The results showed that tests of GMA and specific cognitive ability are very good predictors of job performance and training success across the EC. Evidence for the international validity generalization of GMA and specific cognitive abilities was presented. The results for the EC meta-analyses showed a larger operational validity than previous meta-analyses in the U.S. for predicting job performance. For training success, the European and American results are very similar. Implications for the international generalizability of GMA test validities, practical use of cognitive ability tests for personnel selection, and directions for future research are discussed.     

On the Perceived Non-Utility of Research in Counseling

Additional observations about the perceived non-utility of research are offered in terms of relevance and rigor, practicum training, practitioners' work environments, and efficiency of information exchange.