Pre- and Postintervention Factor Analysis of the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale

The effects of a bystander education intervention program on the factor structure underlying a rape myth acceptance scale were examined using exploratory factor analyses on secondary data. The Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale was administered to college students at a northwestern university both before (n = 363) and after (n = 352) receiving a bystander education program. Results from exploratory factor analyses showed changes in the factor structure from pretest to posttest. This suggests some instability in the factor structure of the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale. These pre–post intervention differences in the rape myth acceptance factor structure suggest researchers use caution in using and interpreting scores based on the IRMA without regard to participants’ prevention program status.     

Differential relations of narcissism and self‐esteem to romantic relationships: The mediating role of perception discrepancy

Recent research has suggested that narcissism and self‐esteem, though correlated, are qualitatively different. Little research, however, has examined narcissism and self‐esteem simultaneously to test their unique contributions. The aims of this study are twofold: to examine the unique contributions of narcissism and self‐esteem to romantic relationships, and to test the mediating role of perception discrepancy (PD) in these relationships. One hundred and three pairs of dating couples in Hong Kong were recruited to complete measures of narcissism, self‐esteem, relationship satisfaction and PD. Results from actor–partner interdependence modeling (APIM) indicate that narcissism had significant negative associations with both self‐ and partner‐reported relationship satisfaction, whereas the effects of self‐esteem were generally positive. In subsequent actor–partner interdependence mediation modeling (APIMeM), in which PD was used as the mediator, narcissism and self‐esteem continued to show differential relations to both the outcomes and the mediators. In particular, narcissism had positive actor effects on PD, which further negatively predicted both self‐ and partner‐reported relationship satisfaction. In contrast, the predictive effects of self‐esteem were reversed and weaker. Implications of the findings for research and practice are discussed.     

Multimodal reflection for creative facilitators: an approach to improving self-care

Creative and arts-based facilitators who work in the area of supporting others, such as youth workers, educators, counsellors and therapists, often do not prioritise their own well-being and self-care. This paper explores a study that focused on the utility of multimodal reflection for sustainable as well as satisfying practice for creative facilitators. Participants in the study were involved in a trial 10-week reflective programme called Stepping Outside the Circle. This programme was part of a larger research project that sought to understand the professional and reflective practices of creative facilitators, a term used within the study to encompass practitioners who use arts (both performative and visual) interventions to work within a variety of therapeutic and educational settings. During the programme, participants drew on their own personal knowledge of the disciplines in which they worked and reflected in and on this practice both professionally and personally. They also collaboratively supported each other through the process. We argue that engagement in multimodal reflection shared with others, particularly for creative facilitators, is integral for purposeful and effective self-care practice.     

Protestant Spirituality and Well-Being of People in Hong Kong: The Mediating Role of Sense of Community

While literature demonstrates that the relationship between religion and well-being is generally positive, information about the mechanisms is still far from clear. Two hundred and sixty-eight Chinese were recruited to examine how Protestant spirituality is related to well-being in Hong Kong. Path analysis demonstrated the complex relationship between various spirituality dimensions (religious belief, experience, and practice) and well-being variables, manifested in life satisfaction, social trust and sense of community. While spirituality may directly predict life satisfaction, the relationship between spirituality and social trust are fully mediated through sense of community. Furthermore, the well-being at the community level (feeling sense of community and social trust) appears to affect the well-being on the personal level (life satisfaction). These findings not only show that the influence of religion on people’s well-being can be richly diverse, but also match with the emerging literature on the positive effects of social capital on health and well-being.     

Searching for Common Ground between Supporters and Opponents of Affirmative Action

Supporters and opponents of affirmative action are often characterized as debating about a single, consensually understood type of affirmative action. However, supporters and opponents instead may have different types of policies in mind when thinking about affirmative action and may actually agree on specific manifestations of affirmative action policies more than is commonly believed. A survey conducted using a student sample and a sample from the broader Chicago-area community showed that affirmative action policies can be characterized into merit-violating versus merit-upholding manifestations. Supporters of affirmative action in general were more likely to think of affirmative action in its merit-upholding manifestations, whereas opponents were more likely to think of the merit-violating manifestations. However, both supporters and opponents showed more support for merit-upholding rather than merit-violating manifestations of affirmative action. The same pattern of results was upheld even when splitting the samples into those who endorsed negative racial attitudes versus those who did not, suggesting that even those who may be considered racist will endorse affirmative action policies that uphold merit values. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of clarifying the political discourse about what affirmative action is and what it is designed to do.     

The effects of workload history on dual task performance

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of workload history (specifically sudden workload shifts) on performance. A sample of 204 undergraduates was randomly assigned to either a sudden decrease or increase in workload condition. Participants simultaneously performed a memory search task (i.e., primary task) and an auditory vigilance task (i.e., distracter task), while percent correct was recorded. Separate Repeated Measures ANOVA’s revealed a significant treatment effect for the Medium to Low (F(l, 110) = 274.6, p < .01) and Low to Medium (F(l,92) = 148.3, p < .01) conditions. Results supported previous research suggesting that either a sudden decrease (Medium to Low) or increase (Low to Medium) in workload could be detrimental to performance (Cox-Fuenzalida, 2000). More importantly, this study extends the detrimental effects of workload history to a dual task environment. The authors express their gratitude to the research team from the Personality and Human Performance Lab at the University of Oklahoma for their invaluable assistance in data planning and collection.     

The effects of post ‐identification feedback and age on retrospective eyewitness memory

Two studies examined the effects of post‐identification feedback, age, and retention interval on participants' memories and beliefs about memories for a videotaped event, as captured by a store surveillance camera. After viewing the video, they were then asked to identify the suspect from a target‐absent photo line‐up. After making their identification, some participants were given information suggesting that their identification was correct, while others were given no information about the accuracy of their identification. In both experiments participants who received confirming feedback indicated they were more confident in their identification, paid more attention to the video, and that they were more willing to testify in court than those who received no feedback. The confidence inflation effects of post‐identification feedback did not vary with retention interval or age. These results are consistent with a position focusing on accessibility, which suggests that witnesses have little or no retrievable recollection of how sure they were at the time of their identification. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Some Consequences for Helpers Who Deliver “Cold Comfort”: Why it's Worse for Women than Men to be Inept When Providing Emotional Support

Two experiments were conducted to assess whether responses to helpers who used insensitive emotional support vary as a function of the interaction between sex of participant and helper. We hypothesized that women would evaluate an insensitive female helper and her behavior more negatively than they would an insensitive male helper. In Experiment 1, participants (N = 137) read conversations in which male or female helpers sought to comfort emotionally distressed friends. In Experiment 2, participants (N = 87) engaged in face-to-face interactions in which they were comforted by either a male or female helper who used insensitive comforting messages. Overall, the results imply that women with deficient emotional support skills may be at high risk of rejection by same-sex peers. A preliminary report of Experiment 1 was presented at the biennial meeting of the International Association for Relationship Research, Madison, WI, July, 2004.     

Asymmetry in infant hemispheric readiness after exposure to a visual stimulus

This experiment assessed whether prior exposure to one visual stimulus could result in differential hemispheric responsiveness to a subsequent visual stimulus. The latency of saccadic orientation to a star‐shaped stimulus in the left or right visual field was assessed for 24 infants (mean age 22 weeks, SD 4.5) after exposure to either an upright or inverted facial pattern in the central visual field. The response to the lateral stimulus was equivalent in either visual field after exposure to the inverted facial pattern, but was significantly slower (p = 0.043) in the LVF (RH) than the RVF (LH) following presentation of the upright facial pattern. The outcome confirms that the processing of one visual stimulus may lead to differential hemispheric readiness to engage with a subsequent visual stimulus.     

Human values,utilitarian benefits and identification: the case of meat

The present studies explored the associations among food's utilitarian benefits, the human values symbolised by meat, individuals' endorsement of those values, and individuals' meat identification, attitudes and consumption. A preliminary study revealed that participants perceived that meat, particularly red meat, symbolises the endorsement of inequality and hierarchy values more than other basic foods. Studies 1 and 2 found that the endorsement of inequality and hierarchy formed the basis to the meat attitudes and consumption of high meat identifiers. Study 2 found that the meat attitudes of high meat identifiers were also founded, though to a lesser extent, in the endorsement of Conservation and rejection of Openness values. Study 1 also showed that food's nutritional benefits did not form the basis of meat consumption among high meat identifiers. Moreover, Study 3 found that informing individuals (in the treatment group) of the nutritional deficiencies of meat did not alter the meat attitudes of high meat identifiers, meat identification per se, or the meat attitudes of individuals who have a predisposition to attend to the symbolic meanings of products. In contrast, the negative nutritional information did produce unfavourable meat attitudes among low meat identifiers and those who have a predisposition to attend to the utilitarian features of products. The formation of meat identification is discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.