Experienced and Expected Similarity to Same-Gender Peers: Moving Toward a Comprehensive Model of Gender Segregation

Gender segregation is often explained by children being interested in interacting with other children who behave similarly to themselves. Children??s beliefs about girls and boys (i.e., their gender cognitions) may also play a role in gender segregation, but this idea has received little attention. In this study, we proposed a model of gender segregation that included similarity on gender-typed behavioral qualities (e.g., rough and tumble play) and gender cognitions concerning perceived similarity to same-gender others, and we assessed whether this more comprehensive heuristic model predicted observed peer interactions in young U.S. children (n?=?74; M age = 51 m; middle-class families). A multi-method design was employed including observations of behavior and child reports of gender cognitions. Support was found for the linkages proposed in this comprehensive model for boys; partial support was found for girls. Specifically, the inclusion of gender cognitions was supported for both genders: gender cognitions about perceived similarity related to interactional partner choices for both girls and boys, and accounted for variance in observed partner choices even after behavioral similarity was included in the model. The traditional link concerning behavioral similarity on rough-and-tumble play predicted boys?? but not girls?? interactions. The findings extend knowledge about the role of social cognitions in social behavior, and are consistent with ideas proposed by gender schema theory and other constructivist theories.     

Spouses, adult children, and children-in-law as caregivers of older adults: a meta-analytic comparison

The present meta-analysis integrates the results from 168 empirical studies on differences between caregiving spouses, adult children, and children-in-law. Spouses differ from children and children-in-law significantly with regard to sociodemographic variables; also, they provide more support but report fewer care recipient behavior problems. Spouse caregivers report more depression symptoms, greater financial and physical burden, and lower levels of psychological well-being. Higher levels of psychological distress among spouses are explained mostly--but not completely--by higher levels of care provision. Few differences emerge between children and children-in-law, but children-in-law perceive the relationship with the care recipient as less positive and they report fewer uplifts of caregiving.     

Just the facts or just for fun? Children's understanding of and sensitivity to retelling contexts

Adults appear to recognize that different memory sharing contexts, such as telling a story to a friend at a party versus providing eyewitness testimony, vary in their accuracy demands and adjust their retellings accordingly. There is less evidence that children are able to make the same distinctions. In the present two‐part experiment, we first tested 6–8‐year‐old children's beliefs about the accuracy requirements of different memory sharing contexts that varied on the listener's implicit expectation about accuracy. Children were then read a short story and were given retelling instructions that emphasized accuracy or entertainment. Results from the first task indicated that children evidence a significant truth bias, suggesting that they believe accurate retellings are preferred regardless of context. Despite this, children did appear to adjust their retellings as a function of context, with retellings in the high accuracy condition including more verbatim and less error statements. Finally, children who evidenced a stronger truth bias were less likely to employ the language of storytelling by producing lower‐quality narratives. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of communication with non‐witnesses on eyewitnesses' recall correctness and meta‐cognitive realism

In forensic contexts it is common that witnesses retell and discuss the experienced event many times. It is of forensic importance to understand how this influences memory and meta‐memory. Eighty‐nine participants viewed a short film and were assigned to one of four conditions: (1) Laboratory discussion (five discussions of the event with a confederate), (2) Family discussion (five discussions of the event with a family member), (3) Retell (five retellings of the event) and (4) Control. Three weeks later participants gave an open free recall, and then 3 days later confidence judged the recalled information. The results showed significant differences between the four conditions on number of correct items, incorrect items, accuracy, confidence and calibration. The results suggest that discussion of an experienced event may reduce some of the beneficial memory and meta‐memory effects caused by mere retelling, but may have no great negative effects compared to a control condition. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social exchange styles: Measurement,validation, and application

Drawing on evolutionary psychology, social exchange styles were conceptualized in terms of two dimensions of individual differences in approaching exchange relationships: Benefit‐seeking and cost‐vigilance. In Study 1, a principal components analysis of the Social Exchange Styles Questionnaire (SESQ) in 156 undergraduates confirmed the presence of two dimensions that were very similar to the expected dimensions: Equitable alliance building (EAB) and vigilant alliance management (VAM). The SESQ scales showed good internal consistency and construct validity. Multiple regressions confirmed that social exchange styles were distinct from other personality variables. In Study 2, multilevel modelling conducted on 45 small work groups demonstrated that EAB positively predicted members' subjective performance, while VAM positively predicted objective performance. Theoretical questions and future research directions are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of event valence on long-term memory for two baseball championship games

We investigated how event valence affected accuracy and vividness of long-term memory for two comparable public events. In 2008, 1,563 fans answered questions about objective details concerning two decisive baseball championship games between the Yankees (2003 winners) and the Red Sox (2004 winners). Both between- and within-groups analyses indicated that fans remembered the game their team won significantly more accurately than the game their team lost. Fans also reported more vividness and more rehearsal for the game their team won. We conclude that individuals rehearse positive events more than comparable negative events, and that this additional rehearsal increases both vividness and accuracy of memories about positive events. Our results differ from those of prior studies involving memories for negative events that may have been unavoidably rehearsed; such rehearsal may have kept those memories from fading. Long-term memory for an event is determined not only by the valence of the event, but also by experiences after the event.     

Examining the Psychometric Properties of the Family Accommodation Scale-Parent-Report (FAS-PR)

Growing research has examined parental accommodation among the families of children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, these studies have utilized a parent-report (PR) version of a measure, the Family Accommodation Scale (FAS) that has never received proper psychometric validation. In turn, previously derived subscales have been developed via clinical rather than empirical evidence. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive psychometric analysis of the FAS-PR utilizing data collected from 96 youths with OCD. Exploratory factors analysis was conducted and revealed a 12-item scale yielding two separate, yet related subscales, Avoidance of Triggers (AT) and Involvement in Compulsions (IC). Subsequent analyses revealed good internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity. These findings suggest that future research should seek to examine factors that may impact various facets to accommodation as well as the role these facets plays in predicting treatment outcome. Limitations are discussed.     

Publishing Action Research in Counseling Journals

The increased use of action research in counseling training and professional publications provides an opportunity to bridge the research‐practitioner gap that has plagued the profession for decades. In this article, action research is defined, and special considerations that counselor researchers need to address when designing, conducting, and reporting action research are presented. Suggestions are included throughout the article to assist counseling action researchers in publishing their studies in American Counseling Association journals.     

Using SenseCam with an amnesic patient: accessing inaccessible everyday memories

Forgetting is a normal and everyday occurrence that may sometimes reflect a complete loss of the mnemonic record or a failure to encode it in the first place. However, on many occasions with the help of cues we can eventually or suddenly recall a memory that seemed to be lost, thus highlighting the probability that many instances of "forgetting" may in fact reflect inaccessibility rather than true loss. We report here on our amnesic patient CR who presents an extreme example of this normal everyday forgetting. For 4 weeks, CR recorded regular personal autobiographical events both on a SenseCam (henceforth SC) and in a written diary form. Subjective and objective aspects of recall were measured each weekend both without any cues and then with either a SC or diary cue. We show that the SC enabled CR to recall significantly more detailed episodic memories than reading the diary and importantly we observed that the qualitative nature of these memories was different. We comment on the considerable potential of SC for therapeutic purposes.