Predictors of African American and European American adolescents' endorsement of race-conscious social policies

To examine the predictors of adolescents' evaluations of affirmative action and school desegregation policies, African American and European American students (ns = 94 and 116, respectively; aged 14 to 17 years) attending a racially diverse high school in the Midwestern United States completed measures of (a) implicit racial attitudes, (b) knowledge about historical racism, and (c) perceptions of and attributions for racial disparities. The following day, adolescents learned about either a proposed affirmative action policy (n = 101) or a school desegregation policy (n = 109) and completed measures of their attitudes toward the policy. Results indicated racial differences in policy support and in the factors predicting policy support. Theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Memory and learning in children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome: evidence for ventral and dorsal stream disruption?

This study examined memory functioning in children and adolescents with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (DS; velocardiofacial syndrome). An overall verbal better than nonverbal memory pattern was evident on the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL), with children with 22q11.2 DS performing significantly below their siblings and children with low average IQ but similar to children with autism on facial memory. Children with 22q11 DS also performed significantly below their siblings on tests of verbal working memory. Children with autism performed significantly poorer than the siblings of children with 22q11.2 DS only on their recall of stories. Delayed recall was significantly poorer in children with 22q11.2 DS and children with autism, compared to sibling controls. Although there were no significant group differences on tests of multiple trial verbal or visual learning, a relative weakness was noted with multiple trial visual learning in children with 22q11.2 DS and their siblings, suggesting that an alternative or interactive factor other than the deletion may account for the relatively better verbal compared to nonverbal memory abilities. Deficits in facial memory in children with both 22q11.2 DS and autism suggest disruptions in ventral temporal pathways such as between fusiform gyrus and parahippocampal/hippocampal regions whereas deficits in verbal working memory in children with 22q11.2 DS implicates dorsolateral prefrontal regions, both intimating aberrant white matter pathways.     

Reliability of the Halstead-Reitan Battery in individuals displaying acutely psychotic behavior

The purpose of the present study is to examine the test-retest reliability of the Halstead-Reitan Battery (HRB) in an acutely psychotic population. Ten acutely psychotic patients, initially tested upon admission to an inpatient unit of the Austin State Hospital, were selected for retesting on the basis of showing the most complete remission of psychotic symptoms of all patients tested over the 14-month period from June 1978 to August 1979. Only patients showing good remission were selected in order to maximize the potential for changes in test performance to occur and, thus, provide a conservative estimate of test-retest reliability. The average retest interval was 10.4 weeks (SD=6.67), with retest being completed just prior to discharge. Reliability was examined for each HRB subtest across subjects, as well as for each subject across subtest. While the patients generally showed an improved performance at retest, the reliability of the HRB was relatively high.     

Hemisphere size asymmetry predicts relative verbal and nonverbal intelligence differently in the sexes: An MRI study of structure—Function relations

Hemispheric size asymmetry differences as assessed from MRIs of 39 healthy college students were correlated with prorated WAIS-R Verbal IQ minus Performance IQ and Vocabulary minus Block Design scores within subjects. In men, a relatively larger left hemisphere predicted better verbal than nonverbal ability, whereas in women a larger left hemisphere predicted relatively better nonverbal than verbal ability. The results were interpreted as providing evidence for sex differences in brain organization.     

Teaching Children to Confront Peers’ Sexist Remarks: Implications for Theories of Gender Development and Educational Practice

Elementary-school children (81 boys, 72 girls, aged 5–10 years) in the Southwest United States were taught to challenge peers’ sexist remarks to (a) improve school climate for gender nontraditional children, (b) decrease children’s gender-typed attitudes, and (c) test hypotheses linking gender identity and peer-directed gender role behaviors. Children either practiced using retorts to peers’ sexist remarks (practice condition) or heard stories about others’ retorts (narrative condition). At pretest, children rarely challenged peers’ sexist remarks. At posttest, children’s challenges were significantly more common in the practice than narrative condition. At the 6-month posttest, data showed intervention effects had become more widespread. Behavioral changes led to decreases in gender-typing of others among girls but not boys.     

Three Dimensional Image Reconstruction of Neuroanatomical Structures: Methods for Isolation of the Cortex, Ventricular System, Hippocampus, and Fornix

Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging allows volumetric quantification of a variety of neuroanatomical structures using two dimensional (2D) images as well as three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of the brain and any of its constituent parts. Three-dimensional analysis permits integration of the neuroanatomical changes which occur in pathologic states, with the cognitive and behavioral changes elucidated through neuropsychological assessment. This paper describes uniform methods for 3D neuroanatomical isolation of the neocortex, ventricular system, and hippocampus in both normal and pathologic states. The 3D methods are described in detail using two different software programs, ANALYZE and IMAGE. Three-dimensional neuroanatomical reconstructions were carried out on a patient who sustained a very severe traumatic brain injury. The 3D image analysis in the patient with traumatic brain injury, revealed structural changes in frontal and temporal cortex, ventricular dilation, and hippocampal atropy. The neuropsychological impairments in this patient, were consistent with the observed neuroanatomical changes revealed on 3D image reconstruction. This technology permits precise determinations of the extent and severity of the neuroanatomical changes which follow neurological injury disease.     

Pink and blue collar jobs: children's judgments of job status and job aspirations in relation to sex of worker

Past work shows that even young children know that occupations are differentially linked to men and women in our society. In our research, we studied whether 6- and 11-year-old children's (a) beliefs about job status and (b) job interests would be affected by the gendered nature of jobs. When asked about familiar occupations, children gave higher status ratings to masculine jobs and expressed greater interest in jobs culturally associated with their own sex. To circumvent the extant confounds between job gender and job status in our culture, we also developed a new methodology in which novel jobs were portrayed with either male or female workers. Older children rated novel jobs portrayed with male workers as having higher status than the identical jobs portrayed with female workers. Portrayal sex had no effect on children's own interests in these novel jobs at either age. Methodological, theoretical, and educational issues are discussed in relation to sex-role development and vocational aspirations.     

Fornix and hippocampal atrophy in traumatic brain injury

This study compared a fornix cross-sectional-area measurement and hippocampal volume in 86 traumatic brain injury (TBI) subjects with 46 normal controls. The TBI group showed a significant reduction in fornix area and hippocampal volume. It was also shown that initial injury severity was related to the degree of atrophy in both structures. Although fornix size and hippocampal volume correlated, such a modest correlation between these two structures suggests differential and potentially independent mechanisms of injury. The General Memory Index score from the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised was shown to be significantly correlated with hippocampal volume following TBI.