The color and texture of hope: some preliminary findings and implications for hope theory and counseling among diverse racial/ethnic groups

To clarify and extend Snyder's (1994, 2002) hope theory to a more diverse population, this study examined variations in agentic and pathways thinking, and their relations with social problem solving, affect, and with life satisfaction across a college student sample of 46 European Americans, 30 African Americans, 33 Latinos, and 46 Asian Americans. Although comparative results indicated variations in levels of hope components across the 4 racial/ethnic groups, correlational results indicated that the manner in which hope components related to measures of behavior and adjustment were similar across groups. Regression results indicated similarities and differences in predictors of hope components across the different racial/ethnic groups. Potential implications for promoting hope in working with diverse college students are discussed.     

Social olfaction in male brown lemmings (Lemmus sibiricus = trimucronatus) and collared lemmings (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus): I. Discrimination of species, sex, and estrous condition

When tested in a Y-maze olfactometer, sexually experienced and sexually naive brown and collared lemmings (Lemmus sibiricus = trimucronatus and Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) preferred the odor of conspecific females to the odor of females of another species. Both experienced and naive males also preferred the odor of conspecific females to that of conspecific males. Only sexually experienced males showed a significant preference for estrous over nonestrous conspecific females. Sexually experienced males also discriminated between estrous and nonestrous heterospecific females of a familiar (lemming) and unfamiliar (meadow vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus) species. In conjunction with the results of earlier studies of the development of species-specific olfactory preferences, these findings suggest that two olfactory cues mediate a male's attraction to receptive females: a species-specific odor that is learned during early development and a sexual attractant whose saliency is established as a result of adult experience with a receptive female.     

Social olfaction in male brown lemmings (Lemmus sibiricus = trimucronatus) and collared lemmings (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus): II. Discrimination of mated and unmated females

When tested in a Y-maze olfactometer, male brown and collared lemmings (Lemmus sibiricus = trimucronatus and Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) preferred the odor of unmated receptive females to the odor of females with which they had just copulated. Similarly, sexually satiated males preferred the odor of an unmated receptive female to that of a strange female that had recently copulated with another male. Sexually experienced males without recent copulatory experience also demonstrated this preference, but sexually naive males did not. Sexually satiated collared lemmings preferred the odor of bedding from a novel estrous female to bedding from the female with which they had just copulated even when the bedding was collected before mating occurred. These results suggest that discrimination between prior mates and unmated females may be based on individual recognition as well as recognition of subclasses of females (i.e., mated vs. unmated, familiar vs. unfamiliar).     

Discrimination by olfactory cues in albino rats reflecting familiarity and relatedness among conspecifics

The present investigation sought to determine whether albino rat pups could discriminate among familiar siblings, nonfamiliar siblings, familiar nonsiblings (foster littermates), and nonfamiliar nonsiblings (unrelated agemates) using only olfactory cues. Pairing all possible combinations of familiarity and kinship variables (six), the odors were presented in paired combinations to each of twelve experimental subjects. Results from dependent t tests indicated that the albino rat pups could discriminate between the following pairs of odors using only the olfactory sensory modality: (a) familial siblings and nonfamiliar siblings, (t = 3.41, p = .006); (b) familiar siblings and nonfamiliar nonsiblings, (t = 9.62, p = .001); (c) nonfamiliar siblings and nonfamiliar nonsiblings, (t = 3.15, p = .009); and (d) familiar nonsiblings and nonfamiliar nonsiblings (t = 2.58, p = .026).     

Configurational effects in visual information processing

These experiments show that the perceptual organization of a multielement display affects both the speed and accuracy with which a target letter in it is detected. The first two experiments show that a target is detected more poorly if it is arranged in good form (a perceptual Gestalt) with noise elements than if it is not. This effect is not confounded with target-noise proximity or display size, and it holds for stimuli terminated by the subject’s response as well as for stimuli of very brief duration. Increasing the number of noise elements can actually improve performance if the added noise elements increase the degree to which the noise elements form perceptual groups separately from the target. A third experiment tries out a new method for scaling the perceptual structure of an array, and it shows that the main features of the first two experiments can be predicted from the scaled perceptual structure of the arrays they used.     

THE EFFECTS OF CONSUMER CHARACTERISTICS AND TYPE OF EMPLOYMENT MODEL ON INDIVIDUAL OUTCOMES IN SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT

Although recent federal legislation has led to a proliferation of supported employment programs throughout the country, little information is available that documents the success of these programs. In the present study, we examined the effect of different consumer characteristics and alternative supported employment service delivery models on key employment outcomes including hourly wage, hours worked per week, increase in earnings after supported employment participation, and level of integration on the job. The employment outcomes of a sample of 1,550 individuals receiving supported employment services through 96 local programs in eight states were analyzed to determine the effects of the key independent variables of primary disability and type of employment model. Results indicate that all groups of individuals, regardless of their primary disability, benefited significantly from supported employment participation. Further, data indicate that the individual placement model generated employment outcomes superior to those resulting from group employment options, particularly work crews. Implications of the results for future program development activities are discussed.     

Memory load and latency in recognition of pictures

Color photographs of common scenes were used as memory and test items in two memory search experiments. Memory load varied from 2 to 24 items in one experiment and from 4 to 64 in the other. Latency of classification of test items increased with memory load. The increase is verb’ close to linear for loads up to six items, but for the full range of memory loads, it is negatively accelerated and approximately logarithmic. Sternberg’s (1966, 1969) serial theory of memory search, which predicts linear functions, holds for small memory loads of pictures. If serial search takes place for large memory loads, the speed of search must be faster than for small loads. It is also possible that items in memory loads of all sizes are accessed by a single process that generates a negatively accelerated relation between size of load and latency.