The socialization of sex-differentiated skills and academic performance: A mediational model

Using a multifactorial model, sex differences in academic performance were examined in a sample of 347 elementary school children. As expected, girls' academic performance averaged higher than boys'. Path analysis confirmed initial hypotheses that girls' advantage is partially due to their characteristic of greater responsiveness to social cues and compliance with adult direction. This advantage was partially offset in this model by boys' greater visual-spatial skill, which also was a predictor of academic success. Access to stereotypic masculine toys and activities at home was, for both sexes, a predictor of children's visual-spatial ability. As expected, socioeconomic variables, including mothers' occupation and fathers' level of education, also influenced the environmental, social, and cognitive factors predicting academic success. These results indicate that boys' and girls' differential development of specific cognitive and social skills may play an important role in establishing sex differences in academic performance.     

Reactions to stigmatized others: Response amplification vs sympathy

Four experiments examined the conditions under which responses to handicapped persons are characterized by sympathy or response amplification. The first two experiments tested the hypothesis that contact with a handicapped person would lead to amplified positive and negative responses in comparison to contact with a nonhandicapped person. The results indicated that mere contact was not sufficient to elicit response amplification. Instead, contact led to more positive evaluations of the handicapped than of the nonhandicapped other, regardless of whether she behaved in a positive or negative manner—a “sympathy” effect. The third and fourth experiments indicated that amplified positive and negative responses to the handicapped will occur when the behavior of a handicapped person is highly relevant to the evaluator. A two-stage model of responses to stigmatized others is proposed to account for these results.     

Beyond Fairness: The Criterion Problem in Research on Dispute Intervention1

Recent research has demonstrated that parties to a dispute attend to, and make evaluations of, the procedures that are used to resolve disputes. A central focus of this research has been on procedural and distributive fairness. Two studies were conducted in an attempt to identify criteria used by parties to organizational disputes to choose and evaluate dispute resolution procedures. Sixteen criteria were identified, including fairness. In a third study, these criteria were also found to be relevant to police officers involved in crisis intervention. Discussion focuses on the implication of these findings for theories of dispute resolution, for general issues in the psychology of fairness, and for practical concerns.     

The role of primary prevention in mental health services: A review and critique

Community psychology in the West has had a growing impact on mental health service provision. One facet of this development has been the advocacy of an increased focus on the primary prevention of mental illness. This paper reviews both theoretical and practical work in this area in order to assess the current role and relevance of primary preventive interventions. There is a discussion of primary prevention's historical and theoretical contexts, of its conceptualisations and definitions, of criticisms of its relevance and efficacy, and of examples of its practice. It is argued that primary prevention is inappropriately marginalised in current service provision and that there is a need to engage in the long-term planning and evaluation of primary preventive interventions in order to facilitate their fuller incorporation into national and local policies on mental health.     

The triadic model as applied to the treatment of conduct-disordered children: A review and critique

Conduct-disordered behaviour in children has long been recognised as an area of particular concern for counsellors, clinical and educational psychologists and other professionals, especially given its widespread incidence and poor long-term prognosis. In response to this concern, one recent development in the field has been the use of an applied social learning theory approach, utilising a triadic model of intervention. Such a model, rather than working directly with the child, firmly locates the parent or other caregiver as the agent of change. This paper reviews critically the work which has been carried out under the broad rubric of the triadic model, addressing specifcally the short- and longer-term efficacy of such interventions. In addition, certain shortcomings and limitations in existing practice are identifed. It is argued that, in order to optimise the effectiveness of interventions, this will in many instances require a consideration of and work on parental well-being and self-esteem, the role of family dynamics and the influence of the social context.     

Expanding the criterion domain? A quantitative review of the OCB literature

The authors investigate the construct validity of the organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)-task performance distinction by providing a quantitative review of the OCB literature. The authors extend previous meta-analytic reviews of the OCB literature by (a) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to investigate the dimensionality of OCB, (b) using CFA to examine the distinction between OCB and task performance, and (c) examining the relationship between a latent OCB factor and task performance and attitudinal variables. Results support a single factor model of OCB that is distinct from, albeit strongly related to, task performance. In addition, results show that OCB consistently relates more strongly to attitudes than does task performance and shares a modest amount of variance with attitudinal correlates beyond task performance.     

The Theory of Planned Behavior and Ecstasy Use: Roles for Habit and Perceived Control Over Taking Versus Obtaining Substances

Despite increasing use of the illicit substance known as ecstasy , there is a paucity of research concerning psychosocial correlates of its use. A prospective study examined the ability of variables specified by the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to predict ecstasyuse intentions and behavior. Regression analyses showed that theory of reasoned action and TPB variables provided good prediction of intentions to use the substance. Moreover, support was obtained for a distinction between perceptions of behavioral control over taking ecstasy vs. control over obtaining the substance in the prediction of intentions. Habit contributed additional variance to the prediction of intentions, and reduced the effects of perceived behavioral control over taking ecstasy to nonsignificance. Ecstasy use over 2 months was directly predicted from intentions to use the substance.     

The modulating influence of category size on the classification of exception patterns

Generalization gradients to exception patterns and the category prototype were investigated in two experiments. In Experiment 1, participants first learned categories of large size that contained a single exception pattern, followed by a transfer test containing new instances that had a manipulated similarity relationship to the exception or a nonexception training pattern as well as distortions of the prototype. The results demonstrated transfer gradients tracked the prototype category rather than the feedback category of the exception category. In Experiment 2, transfer performance was investigated for categories varying in size (5, 10, 20), partially crossed with the number of exception patterns (1, 2, 4). Here, the generalization gradients tracked the feedback category of the training instance when category size was small but tracked the prototype category when category size was large. The benefits of increased category size still emerged, even with proportionality of exception patterns held constant. These, and other outcomes, were consistent with a mixed model of classification, in which exemplar influences were dominant with small-sized categories and/or high error rates, and prototype influences were dominant with larger sized categories.     

Valence specific response reversal deficits and risk for mania

Response reversal deficits are well documented in bipolar disorder (BD). Although frequently construed as an index of reward processing abnormalities, these response reversal deficits might simply result from more general cognitive inflexibility. Given that both are implicated in BD, our goal was to more carefully test whether reversal learning deficits are specific to reward processing or reflect more general cognitive inflexibility. To more carefully assess deficits, a novel variant of the response reversal task was used to separate responses to in reward versus punishment feedback. In addition, while response reversal deficits are well documented in BD, it is still unknown if these deficits are observable in people at risk for the disorder, whose performance would be unconfounded by medication use and illness course. To assess the presence of premorbid response reversal deficits, we tested students at risk for developing BD, as defined by the well-validated Hypomanic Personality Scale. Undergraduates (n?=?99) were randomly assigned to complete either a reward only or a punishment only version of a response reversal task. Mania risk was related to difficulty reversing responses following reward, but not punishment feedback. Findings suggest that a deficit in response reversal may be an index of reward dysregulation in BD, and that this deficit can be observed even in those at high risk for the development of BD.     

Compound-Schedules Approaches to Noncompliance: Teaching Children When to Ask and When to Work

Researchers have demonstrated for practitioners how to use multiple-schedules preparations to thin initially dense schedules of reinforcement during functional communication training, without sacrificing benefits associated with dense schedules of reinforcement for manding. However, special considerations may be required for practitioners to successfully apply this strategy to noncompliance. The purpose of our study was to evaluate whether multiple-schedules preparations could maintain contextually prescribed compliance and manding during interventions for noncompliance. For one participant, a multiple-schedules intervention was sufficient to establish socially valid outcomes. For the other, chained-schedules modifications were required before compliance emerged in relevant components.