Inclusion of Religious Behaviors and Attitudes in Counseling: Expectations of Conservative Christians

In this study of 118 religiously conservative Christians' expectations of counseling, participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatment conditions: a Christian counselor or a counselor whose religious beliefs were unknown. Participants rated their expectations for the counselor's attitude toward their religious beliefs and use of religious behaviors in counseling using the Behavior and Attitude Expectancies scale (C. Belaire & J. S. Young, 2002). Participants also rated their general expectations for counseling using the Expectations About Counseling: Brief Form (H. E. A. Tinsley, 1985). Results showed that participants expected both a Christian counselor and a counselor whose religious beliefs were unknown to be respectful and accepting of conservative Christian religious beliefs and values and to include multiple religious behaviors in counseling sessions. Participants had overall positive expectations of the counseling process.     

Religious Discourse and Cyberspace

This article explores the evolution and development of a typology of cyberspatial religious discourse over the course of a few years. The vast quantity of information published on the Net requires the creation of a typology in order to identify and classify the different approaches, attitudes, applications and functions of religion on and in cyberspace. The three different typologies indicate, on the one hand, the versatile character of cyberspace, and on the other hand, the ever-expanding nature of its perimeters. They show that cyberspatial discourse, religious or not, cannot be confined within restricted boundaries but must be perceived as a changeable and unforeseen structure, having the capacity to adapt itself according to the visions, fantasies, ingenuities and inventiveness of the users. They also suggest that despite the rhizomatic construction of cyberspace, the information published on the innumerable religious sites can be systematised in a ‘logical’ formation.     

Nonstandard Work Arrangements among Women and Men Scientists and Engineers

This paper draws on a sample of 48,444 scientists and engineers in the United States to analyze nonstandard work arrangements among women and men, 8,773 of whom worked in such arrangements. With few exceptions, women were overrepresented in these arrangements and particularly in those characterized by lower wages and benefits, but their overrepresentation in the worst arrangements failed to explain the gender pay gap. Unlike in the general labor force where “equality at the bottom” tends to prevail, the gender pay gap in science and engineering is greater in the worst nonstandard work arrangements than in the best, and gender equality is greater in the best arrangements than in the worst, possibly because of a selection effect.     

Personality traits of Russians from the observer's perspective

Data were collected by the members of the Russian character and personality survey from 39 samples in 33 administrative areas of the Russian Federation. Respondents (N = 7065) identified an ethnically Russian adult or college‐aged man or woman whom they knew well and rated the target using the Russian observer rating version of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, which measures neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness. Factor analyses within samples showed that the factor structure of an international sample combining data from 50 different cultures was well replicated in all 39 Russian samples. Sex differences replicated the known pattern in all samples, demonstrating that women scored higher than men on most of the neuroticism, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness facet scales. Cross‐sectional analyses demonstrated consistent age differences for four factors: Older individuals compared to younger ones were less extraverted and open but more agreeable and conscientious. The mean levels of traits were similar in all 39 samples. Although in general personality traits in Russians closely followed the universal pattern, some reliable culture‐specific effects were also found that future studies can help interpret. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Children and adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis: emotional reactions, coping mechanisms, and self-esteem

The main aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship among emotional responses of children and adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis towards their physical state, the coping mechanisms they used, and their self-esteem and the treatment condition of their disorder, i.e., the use of a brace or not. 82 children and adolescents ages 7 to 17 years who were attending an outpatient scoliosis clinic were administered two questionnaires; one evaluated emotional and behavioral factors linked to coping with stressful situations, and the second assessed self-esteem. Analysis showed that, after adjusting for emotion-focused coping, general self-esteem, and age, the effect of the use of brace as a treatment technique on the participants' emotional reactions was not significant.     

Accelerometer feedback to promote physical activity in adults with type 2 diabetes: a pilot study

This study examined whether giving activity feedback to obese, sedentary adults with Type 2 diabetes would improve their adherence to a home-based walking program. 49 subjects were recruited. Ten failed a treadmill cardiovascular test. Another 9 dropped out before the intervention, and 4 dropped out during the intervention. The remaining 26 adults (14 women, 12 men; age M = 48.1 yr., SD = 7.1) received behavioral counseling monthly for 3 mo. regarding exercise. All subjects wore a triaxial accelerometer during these 3 months. Randomly, half of the subjects were blind to the data from the accelerometers, i.e., no feedback, and had counseling based on their self-report diaries. The other half had access to the accelerometer data, got a computerized graph of their physical activity for the period between counseling sessions, and had counseling based on these objective data, i.e., feedback. The feedback group showed an increase in exercise over the 3 mo. The nonfeedback group showed an increase in activity at 1.5 mo. but reverted to their baseline exercise levels at 3 mo. However, analysis of variance showed there was at least an 8% probability that this effect was due to chance, so the hypothesis that feedback would improve exercise adherence could not be supported. Further studies with larger sample sizes and greater control of experimental conditions are needed to determine the utility of objective activity feedback.     

UK and Spanish stranger sexual offenders crime scene behaviours and previous convictions: A cross-cultural comparison

International comparisons of previous convictions (PC) and crime scene behaviours (CSB) of stranger sexual offences can inform offender profiling strategies; especially the degree to which pragmatic models cross validate across countries. The present study compared PC and CSB of 474 UK and 418 Spanish cases. CSB and PC were analysed using Chi-square. UK stranger sexual offenders displayed a higher proportion of all CSB analysed. UK offenders also had a significantly higher proportion of PC with the exception of violence offences. There were no significant differences in sexual pre-convictions. In both the UK and Spain the CSB ‘reference to the police’ was significantly association with the PC ‘Criminal damage’ no other similar significant associations were found. Explanations for these findings include differences between the countries in regards to: legislation, crime recording processes, data coding processes, with additional consideration of any cultural, environmental and contextual factors.     

On the Concept of Comparison in Mentally Retarded and Nonretarded Children

Two adjective pairs in comparative form, more-less and taller-shorter, were tested with moderately mentally retarded (MR) and nonretarded children (NR) matched on verbal mental age (MA) and socioeconomic status (SES) in a show and an act-out experimental condition. The data indicated that all the main effects, the group, the experimental condition, and the unmarked-marked relational terms were significant and so were the interactions of the Group × Experimental Conditions, Group × Unmarked Versus Marked Relational Terms, and Group × Experimental Conditions and Unmarked Versus Marked Relational Terms. A logistic regression analysis (LRA) showed that the relational term shorter in the act-out condition best predicted classification membership for the subjects in either group, suggesting that the MR children were less able to self-regulate behavior. The error types, however, mainly observed in the act-out experimental condition were the same from a semantic point of view in either group. The effect of the unmarked versus marked distinction cannot be considered independent of the experimental conditions applied.     

Interaction of irrational beliefs with goal pursuit

152 subjects reported affective and cognitive reactions at several stages of pursuing a hypothetical goal related to the taking of a classroom test, then gave Anxious Overconcern and High Self-expectations ratings from Jones' Irrational Belief Test. Subject groups differed in kinds of goals set; e.g., easy vs. difficult. Affective and attributional correlates of the irrational beliefs appeared maladaptive, but differed as a function of difficulty and phase of pursuit of the hypothetical goal. These results supported a contextual model in which irrational beliefs are general cognitive structures which interact with other internal and/or external factors to influence reactions in particular situations. Motivational variables-such as type of goal pursued and number of steps taken in pursuit of it-appear to be important among such factors. The study thus points to growing complexity in our knowledge of how B functions in the ABC paradigm.Frank W. Wicker is Professor of Educational Psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin. His research interests are focused on the cognitive bases of motivation and emotion.Gail Brown is a graduate student in the program in Cognition, Learning, and Instruction in the Department of Educational Psychology, University of Texas at Austin. Her primary research interests relate to theoretical explorations of motivation and emotion.Anastasia S. Hagen is a graduate student in the program in Cognition, Learning, and Instruction. She is especially interested in motivation as it pertains to learning and instruction.Wayne Boring is a graduate student in the program in Cognition, Learning, and Instruction. He is interested in cognitive approaches to the understanding of animal behaviors.James A. Wiehe is also a graduate student in the program in Cognition, Learning, and Instruction. He combines interests in cognitive, motivation, and the psychology of music.     

FROM COLLECTIVISM TO INDIVIDUALISM? THE ACCULTURATION OF GREEK IMMIGRANTS IN AUSTRALIA*

The present study examined whether Greek immigrants in Australia have retained traditional Greek values and behaviours or moved to an integration of these with Anglo-Australian values and behaviours. The sample consisted of Anglo- and Greek-Australian parents and young adolescents and a comparison group of Greeks, resident in Greece. Measures were obtained of values and behaviours considered to be appropriate for family members in the culture. Results showed that Greek-Australians retained the collectivistic values of their Greek culture while Anglo-Australians demonstrated a more individualistic orientation. There was evidence for convergence of Anglo- and Greek-Australian perceptions of appropriate behaviours and thus support for a view that acculturation is more likely to be manifested in behaviours than in core values. Although there were some differences in expressed values and behaviours, overall there was little evidence for a cultural gap between Greek-Australian parents and their adolescents.