A cross-cultural study of the test anxiety levels in Iranian and Indian students

This study compared the test anxiety levels of Iranian (N = 160) and Indian (N = 160) school and college students. Significant main effects of Culture, Educational Level and Sex indicated that the Iranian students had higher Test Anxiety scores than their Indian counterparts, and females reported higher test anxiety than males. A significant Culture x Educational Level x Sex interaction revealed, however, that level of education had opposite effects within the Indian culture: Indian school females reported more test anxiety than their college counterparts; Indian college males had higher test anxiety than their school counterparts. Iranian school males and females both reported higher test anxiety than their college counterparts. Tricultural differences in the test anxiety levels of comparable student groups in Iran, India and the U.S. were interpreted as reflecting East-West cultural factors that influenced reactions to objective examinations, resulting in greater test anxiety in Eastern cultures.     

Coercive uses of mandatory reporting in therapeutic relationships

Mandatory reporting legislation was enacted with little consideration of its consequences for ongoing therapeutic relationships. One consequence is the unanticipated and coercive uses of the law in mental health settings. Thirty therapists and 25 child protective service workers were interviewed about their experiences with mandatory reporting in therapy relationships. The interviews revealed unanticipated as well as coercive uses of mandatory reporting in therapeutic relationships, including prompting crisis in family systems to promote change, and using reporting or threats of it to enforce attendance and engagement in therapy. Therapists'd anger and view of reporting as a form of power or tool for social control also related to coercive uses of mandatory reporting. The special case of coercion in mandated cases resulting from mandatory reporting legislation is discussed as well.     

HUMANISTIC VERSUS SOCIAL-SCIENTIFIC APPROACHES TO RELIGION

Abstract. Whereas Robert Segal (1990) identified seven misconceptions of the social sciences that he thinks scholars in religious studies make, this response argues that each of the alleged misconceptions involves the "oversight" of key distinctions that radically alter the complexion of Segal's case.     

Interplay between Creativity,Executive Function and Working Memory in Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Studies reveal inconclusive evidence of the relationship between executive function and creativity. Further, there is a dearth of studies investigating creativity in older adults in the Indian context. Three tests—namely, Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (Figural), the Stroop Test, and Mental Balance (PGI memory scale)—were administered on a sample of 58 middle-aged and older adults (50–64 years). Analysis revealed a significant correlation between creativity and executive function (r_s = ?.35). Mann-Whitney U confirmed that individuals who were above average on creativity performed significantly better on executive function. However, there was an insignificant relationship between creativity and working memory, as well as between working memory and executive function. Further, no age decline nor gender differences were found except for speed of processing, which decreased with increase with age. These findings might aid in planning interventions and cognitive retraining exercises for individuals of the same age bracket by targeting their creative strengths. Academically, they can contribute to understanding the cognitive processes underlying creativity and can further help create norms in the Indian context.     

The variable nature of cognitive control in a university sample of young adult drinkers

The current study investigates the effect of task‐irrelevant alcohol distractors on cognitive control and its interaction with heavy/light drinking in a group of young adult drinkers. It was hypothesised that alcohol distractors would result in a reduction of proactive control (reduced conflict adaptation) especially in heavy drinkers. 60 participants took part in a face‐word version of the Stroop task preceded by an alcohol or neutral image. Light drinkers only showed a congruency effect which indicated a greater level of proactive control. Heavy drinkers showed a greater level of reactive control in which the conflict adaptation effect occurred with neutral images but not with alcohol images. Possible explanations are discussed.     

Analysing Gaze in Terms of Subjective and Objective Interpretation: Sartre and Lacan

Considering the Hegelian master–slave dichotomy over the exchange of the gaze, the paper focuses on the issue of vision and visibility, reinterpreted in Sartre’s phenomenological discussions in different ways. The Hegelian emphasis on recognition finds reflection in the treatment of vision as force expressed through visibility in Sartre and as an issue of self recognition in Lacan. Drawing the Hegelian tag with a comparative argument between Sartre and Lacan, the paper focuses on the different perspectives over the concept of gaze or look. It argues that even sharing the same Hegelian legacy regarding the notion of gaze and recognition Sartre and Lacan differs to a considerable extent in their treatment of the impact of gaze. While emphasising more on the phenomenological-existential analysis of the issue of individual recognition Sartre presents gaze as a strong alienating force released from another powerful subject affecting the intersubjective power relation, Lacan, stands on a non-reciprocal relation between seeing and seen by making a difference between the eyes of the subject that looks at and the gaze which is on the side of the object without having any capacity to become a subject. The paper concentrates on these issues over a broader argument on Sartre’s concept of intersubjective gaze.     

Revisiting an era in Germany from the perspective of adolescents in mother‐headed single‐parent families

Much of the documented work on families headed by single mothers is based on empirical evidence from North America and a few Anglo‐Saxon countries. Many researchers consider single‐mother families to be at a disadvantage because of nonsupportive family policies. This paper uses data from a social context that differed hugely in this respect—the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The GDR provided extensive state support to single‐mother families and, thus, was vastly different from other countries. Based on a literature review and using Hill's family stress theory, this paper is based on the hypothesis that adolescents living in mother‐headed single‐parent families and those living with their biological parents would have near‐similar social outcomes (display of psychosomatic symptoms, perception of stress, display of delinquent behaviour, life satisfaction, academic self‐efficacy, and academic grades) and family‐related outcomes (relationship with parents and perception of family environment). Further, it was hypothesized that adolescents from stepfather families would display more negative social and family‐related outcomes when compared with respondents from the other two family types. The sample comprised 1302 adolescents (M  =  13.82 years, SD  =  1.88) who were recruited from the city of Leipzig in the year immediately following German unification, 1991. Respondents reported on measures of psychosomatic symptoms, stress, delinquency, life satisfaction, academic achievement, and family‐related variables. ANCOVAs, with a control for income adjusted for household size, indicated adolescents from single‐mother families to have very similar experiences to respondents living with their biological parents on all measures except for their assessment of family environment. Adolescents living in stepfather families reported the least favourable experiences. Results are indicative of a social context in Germany that, despite unification and the early hardships for single‐mother families, still provided these families with more opportunities than constraints.     

Does obsessive-compulsive personality disorder belong within the obsessive-compulsive spectrum?

It has been proposed that certain Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition Axis I disorders share overlapping clinical features, genetic contributions, and treatment response and fall within an "obsessive-compulsive" spectrum. Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) resembles obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and other spectrum disorders in terms of phenomenology, comorbidity, neurocognition, and treatment response. This article critically examines the nosological profile of OCPD with special reference to OCD and related disorders. By viewing OCPD as a candidate member of the obsessive-compulsive spectrum, we gain a fresh approach to understanding its neurobiology, etiology, and potential treatments.