Development of own-race biases

This review examines the emergence and development of perceptual and social biases towards own-race individuals. We first discuss evidence regarding the early emergence of an own-race bias in facial preferences and face recognition abilities demonstrated by infants with an abundance of visual experience with own-race individuals, but little to no experience with other-race individuals. We then consider perceptual categorization of face race, visual scanning, and differential processing of own- and other-race faces in relation to recognition of face identity. Finally, we review evidence regarding own-race preferences for social partners and own-race biases in social evaluations that emerge during early childhood. Implications of the existing evidence for understanding the role of experience in perceptual development and the emergence of racial preferences and stereotypes are discussed.     

A Group of Sexually Abused Adolescents' Perceptions of their Future Life-Roles: An Exploratory Study

Sexual abuse of adolescents can have detrimental effects on their perceptions of their different future life-roles. We investigated such perceptions of students with a history of sexual abuse (n=163) as well as typically developing others (n=237). Participants completed the Life-role Inventory of the then called Human Sciences Research Council (Langley, 1990). Between-group comparisons were carried out. Adolescents with a history of sexual abuse reported negative perceptions of themselves fulfilling some of their roles in the future, being committed to these roles and attaching value to them, compared to typically developing others.     

Mnemonic differences and similarities across opposing social groups: The linguistic conflict at the University of Leuven as a case study

In the 1960s, a historical event occurred at one of Europe's most prestigious universities: The Dutch-speaking students forced the French-speaking students to relocate and establish their own university. We compared the extent to which members of each social group developed elaborate memories of the events surrounding the conflict and whether they were associated with differences in rehearsal type (media, conversational, rumination) and initiating conditions (importance, political engagement, and negative/positive emotions). All participants were university students at the time of the conflict. We found that Dutch-speakers exhibited more elaborate memories compared to French-speakers and that importance was associated with elaborate memories only for the Dutch-speakers. However, positive emotions appear to be critical in the formation of elaborate memories across the social groups. We found no such associations for negative emotions. We discuss these results in terms of the social/cognitive processes transcending social group membership in understanding how individuals remember past conflicts.     

Does European citizenship breed xenophobia? European identification as a predictor of intolerance towards immigrants

The European Union is generally perceived as endorsing universalistic and multi‐cultural values. However, social identity and self‐categorization theories predict that, when certain conditions are met, a negative relation between ingroup identification and tolerance towards outgroup members should be observed. We argue that the creation of the status of ‘Citizen of the Union’ in Maastricht may contribute to meeting those conditions and therefore to increase intolerance towards resident foreigners. If that is the case, a paradoxical situation could emerge, in which people's levels of tolerance towards foreigners would contradict group values. We examined the relations between values associated with Europe, European and national identification, and tolerance towards foreigners through a survey study with a—non‐representative—sample of undergraduate French‐speaking Belgian students. Results show that Europe was generally associated with humanistic values. But they also reveal that strong European identifiers tended to express more xenophobic attitudes than weak European identifiers, whilst national identification was not related with such attitudes. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Psychological Hardiness and Adjustment to Life Events in Adulthood

Data were collected from 88 persons who had lost their jobs and 227 persons whose youngest child had left home to explore the impact of psychological hardiness on personal distress, adjustment, and coping strategies. Analyses controlling for numerous sociodemographic factors as well as NEO Neuroticism and Extroversion suggested that the interaction between overall hardiness and the experience of differential life events influenced the use of planful problem solving and positive reappraisal as coping mechanisms, as well as influencing levels of positive affect. In addition, a main effect for overall hardiness on several coping strategies, positive affect, and life satisfaction was obtained. Findings also suggested that job loss was a more stressful experience for adults in this study than was the empty nest. These data indicate that hardiness may mediate responses to life events that differ in terms of their predictability and anticipatory nature.     

The measurement of cognitive vocational maturity

This report describes an instrument that was designed to measure an individual's level of cognitive vocational maturity in six areas: Fields of Work, Job Selection, Work Conditions, Education Required, Attributes Requited, and Duties. Procedures used in developing the item analysis research form and the final form of the instrument are described. Sample items from each subtest are presented. Kuder-Richardson reliability estimates for each of the six area subtests are presented for grades 6–9. Both criterion-related and construct validity data are presented. Pupils whose vocational choices were in agreement with their field of interest and their ability level scored higher on all subtests than pupils whose choices agreed neither with their interests nor with their ability level. Mean scores on all area subtests increase across grades levels, thus providing support for the claim that vocational maturity behaviors are developmental ones.     

The orthogonal approximation of an oblique structure in factor analysis

A procedure is derived for obtaining an orthogonal transformation which most nearly transforms one given matrix into another given matrix, according to some least-squares criterion of fit. From this procedure, three analytic methods are derived for obtaining an orthogonal factor matrix which closely approximates a given oblique factor matrix. The case is considered of approximating a specified subset of oblique vectors by orthogonal vectors.Part of this research was carried out while the author was a psychometric fellow at the Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey.