Uncertainty in Clergy’s Perspectives on Homosexuality: A Research Note

This research note analyzes expressions of uncertainty in clergy??s perspectives on homosexuality. We conducted interviews with forty Christian clergy who lead congregations in the vicinity of one large southeastern US city. Seven in ten clergy interviewed expressed uncertainty in their personal opinions about homosexuality, uncertainty about how they should act pursuant to the issue, or both. We describe clergy??s experiences with these uncertainties and analyze the patterns in which it appears in their opinions and actions regarding homosexuality. The nuance evident in these patterns illustrates how a range of superseding factors influence clergy??s opinions about homosexuality and the extent to which they feel constrained in taking action with regard to the issue. We argue for the conceptual value of a framework that provides space for analysis of uncertainty in public opinion about contentious social issues such as homosexuality.     

The question shapes the answer: the neural correlates of task differences reveal dynamic semantic processing

Task effects in semantic processing were investigated by contrasting the neural activation associated with two semantic categorization tasks (SCT) using event-related fMRI. The two SCTs involved different decision categories: is it an animal? vs. is it a concrete thing? Participants completed both tasks and, across participants, the same core set of items were presented in both tasks. Results showed task differences in the neural activation associated with these items: in the animal SCT there was greater activation in a number of frontal and temporal regions, including left superior and middle temporal gyri, while in the concrete SCT there was greater activation in left medial frontal gyrus and bilaterally in the precentral gyri. These results are interpreted as evidence of top-down modulation of semantic processing; participants make adjustments to optimize performance in a given task and these adjustments have consequences for the activation observed.     

Are pictures good for learning new vocabulary in a foreign language? Only if you think they are not

The current study explored whether new words in a foreign language are learned better from pictures than from native language translations. In both between-subjects and within-subject designs, Swahili words were not learned better from pictures than from English translations (Experiments 1-3). Judgments of learning revealed that participants exhibited greater overconfidence in their ability to recall a Swahili word from a picture than from a translation (Experiments 2-3), and Swahili words were also considered easier to process when paired with pictures rather than translations (Experiment 4). When this overconfidence bias was eliminated through retrieval practice (Experiment 2) and instructions warning participants to not be overconfident (Experiment 3), Swahili words were learned better from pictures than from translations. It appears, therefore, that pictures can facilitate learning of foreign language vocabulary--as long as participants are not too overconfident in the power of a picture to help them learn a new word.     

Perceptual and cognitive characteristics of common playing cards

We examined the perceptual and cognitive characteristics of the playing cards commonly used in the Western world. Specifically, we measured their visibility, memorability, likability, and verbal and visual accessibility. Based on visibility and memorability, four groups of cards were distinguished: the Ace of Spades, other Aces, number cards, and face cards. Within each of these groups, there were few differences due to value or suit. Based on likability and accessibility, three additional groups were distinguished: the Ace of Hearts, Queen of Hearts, and King of Hearts. Several interesting relations were found between how people remember, like, and access cards; some of these were similar to effects found in studies of visual perception, while others seemed entirely new. Our results demonstrate that rigorous examination of real-world stimuli can shed light on the perception of ordinary objects, as well as help us understand why magic works in the mind.     

Intergroup dynamics of extra-legal police aggression: An integrated theory of race and place

The police are empowered to use various forms of coercion to accomplish legitimate duties, but they also may employ them gratuitously in violation of law or departmental policy. These extra-legal behaviors range in severity from verbal abuse, such as racial slurs and profanity, to unjustified physical force resulting in severe injury or death. Racial and ethnic minorities, especially those residing in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods, may be disproportionately targeted for such practices. Scholars have offered several explanations for the differential employment of extra-legal police aggression, but an integrated theory of minority disadvantage has yet to be developed. In this article, we synthesize the existing literature into a model of extra-legal police aggression that considers intergroup dynamics of race and place. We argue that ordinary social-psychological processes triggered by the characteristics of neighborhoods explain extra-legal police aggression against minority citizens.     

Effects of Fourth and Second Graders’ Cross-Age Tutoring on Students’ Spelling

A quasi-experimental study examined some effects of cross-age tutoring on fourth grade tutors' and second grade tutees' ability to spell accurately and correct errors on their own rough drafts. Half of the participating tutors were trained in tutoring skills; half were not. All participants were given pre- and post-assessments. On dictated writing assessments, second graders improved significantly, although fourth graders did not. On a free writing assessment, both second and fourth graders had significant gain scores. Observations during tutoring sessions showed benefits for both tutors and tutees.     

Institutional Productivity Ratings Based on Publications in Nine Literacy Journals: 1992–2005

This study extended the work of three previous studies that compared the scholarly productivity of faculty members in universities as represented in nine literacy journals. The top 25 universities were identified and this study shows that several institutions have remained consistent through the years as those that produce the largest amount of scholarship. As in previous studies, the University of Georgia ranked first by a substantial margin. This ranking was adjusted according to faculty size, resulting in a reordering of institutions—the University of Georgia remained first. The top 22 universities publishing in two leading literacy research journals—Reading Research Quarterly and Journal of Literacy Research—were also identified. This study also indicates an increase in scholarly work by multiple authors from collaborating institutions, including those from public schools.     

Type-specific proactive interference in patients with semantic and phonological STM deficits

Prior neuropsychological evidence suggests that semantic and phonological components of short-term memory (STM) are functionally and neurologically distinct. The current paper examines proactive interference (PI) from semantic and phonological information in two STM-impaired patients, DS (semantic STM deficit) and AK (phonological STM deficit). In Experiment 1 probe recognition tasks with open and closed sets of stimuli were used. Phonological PI was assessed using nonword items, and semantic and phonological PI was assessed using words. In Experiment 2 phonological and semantic PI was elicited by an item recognition probe test with stimuli that bore phonological and semantic relations to the probes. The data suggested heightened phonological PI for the semantic STM patient, and exaggerated effects of semantic PI in the phonological STM case. The findings are consistent with an account of extremely rapid decay of activated type-specific representations in cases of severely impaired phonological and semantic STM.     

Applied Sport Psychology Supervision Experience: A Qualitative Analysis

We examined the supervision experience of graduate trainees in applied sport psychology. Semistructured interviews conducted with sport psychology trainees were analyzed through the use of consensual qualitative research methodology. Three domains emerged from the analysis: programmatic factors, supervision process, and supervision content. The results provide insights (e.g., desired supervisor qualities) into the aspects of supervision that trainees feel address their needs, as well as instances in which the supervision experience could be improved. The findings may have implications (e.g., areas of potential growth for sport psychology supervision) for future research directions on supervision in applied sport psychology and could offer potential areas of consideration for current supervisors.     

Marking Twain

The first of the following two narratives is a personal reflection by the instructor of “Narrative Approaches to Bioethics,” an elective in the PhD program at the Albert Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics at Saint Louis University. The author argues that perhaps the primary goal of medical ethics education should be to show how to construct plausible and defensible interpretations of human experience and sensibly resolve the problems that these happenings occasion. To that end, the author engaged the sympathetic reading capacities of his students by “thwarting” their expectations for medicalized case studies to “dissect” and instead chose works that invited careful readings of morally-complex literary works. One such reading was Huckleberry Finn, which the class read on the book’s 100^th anniversary. Huckleberry Finn chronicles Huck’s search for truth, goodness and justice on the Mississippi River–a location the class explored on a field trip. The second narrative is the personal reflection of one of the students in this class and attests to the moral pedagogical power of Huck Finn. He relates the insights gleaned from a particular passage where Huck confronts moralistic dogmas.