The Influence of Color and Demand Characteristics on Muscle Strength and Affective Ratings of the Environment

Demand characteristics may influence claims that the color pink inhibits muscle strength whereas blue increases muscle strength. In Experiment 1, undergraduates (N = 59; 30 women, 29 men) were told either that the experimenters thought pink would increase and blue decrease strength or that blue would increase muscle strength and pink decrease muscle strength. A hand dynamometer assessed grip strength as subjects stared at each of 8 differently colored panels. Results indicated that men viewing the pink or orange panels had higher grip strength under pink-strengthen than under pink-weaken instructions. The reverse relationship was found for men viewing a green panel. For women, the pink-weaken instructions resulted in a higher grip strength than did the pink-strengthen instructions, regardless of actual color present. In Experiment 2, women in a no-instruction control condition had lower grip strength than women given the pink-weaken instructions. For men, the control (no-instruction) condition resulted in higher grip strength than the pink-weaken condition. Results of both studies suggest that men followed overt demand characteristics but that women reacted with increased intensity to any suggestion that a stereotypically feminine pink is associated with weakness.     

Learning the Ropes: The Protective Role of Mentoring in Correctional Police Officers’ Socialization Process

Formal mentoring is an individualized and contextualized socialization tactic to enhance newcomers’ learning—acknowledged as essential in the early career stage—that can be of particular value when entering a fairly unpredictable and stressful workplace. This research aims to understand the moderating role of formal mentoring in the relationship between organizational socialization and 2 adjustment indicators, a positive 1 (commitment) and a negative 1 (turnover intention). A questionnaire was administered to 117 correctional police officer newcomers, as prisons are especially critical work contexts for newcomers. The results show a direct effect from both socialization and mentoring on commitment and turnover, and an interaction between socialization and mentoring on turnover, although not on commitment. When the socialization process progresses steadily, both socialization and mentoring contribute to good adjustment, but when traditional tactics go wrong, a different learning source (formal mentoring) exerts a protective function, limiting newcomers’ intention to quit. These findings give support to the usefulness of mentoring in a law enforcement context and provide some insight into defining formal mentoring programs.     

Peer Difficulties in Children with Epilepsy: Association with Seizure,Neuropsychological, Academic,and Behavioral Variables

Purpose/Objective: A developmental psychopathology framework was used to examine variables associated with peer problems in children with epilepsy (CWE). Variables commonly associated with peer difficulties in typically developing children, such as inattentive behavior, anxious behavior, and academic achievement were investigated. Neuropsychological functioning, age at epilepsy onset, and seizure status were also examined.

Research Method/Design: Participants were 173 CWE, ages 8–15. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to determine which variables predicted peer problems in CWE and to test hypothesized interrelations among variables.

Results: The SEM revealed that anxious behavior mediated relations between neuropsychological functioning and peer difficulties and seizure status and peer difficulties. Inattentive behavior mediated the association between neuropsychological functioning and peer difficulties. Neuropsychological functioning mediated the relation between age at epilepsy onset and inattentive behavior, anxious behavior, and academic achievement.

Conclusions/Implications: As seen with typically developing children, inattentive and anxious behaviors are related to peer difficulties in CWE. Neuropsychological functioning, age at epilepsy onset, and seizure status are indirectly associated with peer difficulties; therefore, these variables are important to examine in CWE who are experiencing peer problems.     

Functional Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Children with Anxiety Disorders

This study examined the incidence and correlates of functional gastrointestinal symptoms in children with anxiety disorders. Participants were 6–13 year old children diagnosed with one or more anxiety disorders (n?=?54) and non-clinical control children (n?=?51). Telephone diagnostic interviews were performed with parents to determine the presence and absence of anxiety disorders in children. Parents completed a questionnaire that elicited information about their child’s gastrointestinal symptoms associated with functional gastrointestinal disorders in children, as specified by the paediatric Rome criteria (Caplan et al., Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition, 41, 296–304, 2005a). Parents and children also completed a symptom severity measure of anxiety. As expected, children with anxiety disorders were significantly more likely to have symptoms of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID), compared to children without anxiety disorders. That is, 40.7 % of anxious children had symptoms of a FGID compared to 5.9 % of non-anxious control children. Children with anxiety disorders were significantly more likely to have symptoms of functional constipation, and showed a trend for a higher incidence of irritable bowel syndrome symptoms compared to non-anxious control children. Furthermore, higher anxiety symptom severity was characteristic of anxious children with symptoms of FGID, compared to anxious children without FGID symptoms and non-anxious control children. Also, children with anxiety disorders, regardless of FGID symptoms, were more likely to have a biological family member, particularly a parent or grandparent, with a gastrointestinal problem, compared to non-anxious control children. The high incidence of FGID symptoms in children with anxiety disorders warrants further research on whether gastrointestinal symptoms reduce following psychological treatments for childhood anxiety disorders, such as cognitive behavioural therapy.     

Book Reviews

K. T. Fann (ed.), Ludwig Wittgenstein: the man and his philosophy. New Jersey, Humanities Press; Sussex, Harvester Press: 1967 (reprinted 1978). 415 pp. 10.50.

Gerd Brand, The central texts of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Translated and with an introduction by Robert E. Innis. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1979. xxv + 182 pp. £ 10.00 (hardback)/£3.95 (paperback).

Joseph Warren Dauben. Georg Cantor: his mathematics and philosophy of the infinite. Cambridge, Mass., and London: Harvard University Press, 1979. xiii + 404 pp., 4 plts. $25 US.

S. Poggi, I sistemi dell'esperienza. Psicologia, logica e teoria della scienza da Kant a Wundt. Bologna: il Mulino, 1977.679 pp., Lit. 12.000.

Raymond Bradley and Norman Swartz, Possible Worlds. An introduction to logic and its philosophy. Indianapolis and New York; Hackett Publishing Company: Oxford; Blackwell: 1979. xxi + 391 pp. £15.00 (cloth)/£4.95 (paper).

S. Haack, Philosophy of logics. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1978. xiv + 276 pp. £ 13.50.

F. J. Pelletier (ed.), Mass terms: some philosophicalproblems. Dordrecht, Boston and London: Reidel, 1979. xiii + 303 pp. Dfl. 70/$34.00.

Theo A. F. Kuipers, Studies in inductive probability and rational expectation. (Synthese Library, number 123.) Dordrecht, Holland and Boston, USA.: D. Reidel Publishing Company, 1978. xii + 145 pp. Dfl. 50/$22.50.     

Changing an unfavorable employer reputation: the roles of recruitment message‐type and familiarity with employer

An unfavorable employer reputation can impair an organization's ability to recruit job seekers. The present research used a 4 week longitudinal experimental design to investigate whether recruitment messages can positively change an existing unfavorable employer reputation. Two hundred and twenty‐two job seekers rated their perceptions of an organization before and after being randomly assigned to receive a series of high‐ or low‐information recruitment messages. As expected, job seekers receiving high‐information messages changed their perceptions more than job seekers who were exposed to low‐information messages. In addition, job seekers' initial familiarity with the employer was negatively related to change in their perceptions of employer reputation. Finally, there was some evidence that job seekers' familiarity with the employer influenced the impact of different recruitment messages. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Assessment of Identity and Quality of Life in Diabetic and Renal Transplant Adolescents in Comparison to Healthy Adolescents

Identity development represents a central task of adolescence. Identity achievement is characterized by a coherent sense of who one is following a period of exploration and can help navigate the challenges of adulthood. This study examined identity within a quality of life (QOL) context in 85 adolescents with a renal transplant or with Type 1 diabetes in comparison to 90 healthy controls. Results revealed significant differences in ideological identity, with patients showing higher levels of diffusion and controls showing higher levels of foreclosure. No differences with respect to interpersonal identity, QOL, perceived control over the QOL domains, and perceived opportunities for growth and development were found. Future research should assess identity and QOL over a longer period of time to determine whether differences between chronically ill and healthy young adults can be detected.