Adaptive behavior of retarded,slow-learner,and average intelligence children

Scores on the WISC-R and the AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scale, Part I, Public School Version, were obtained for 94 elementary school children referred for psychological services in a southeastern rural area. Some of the adaptive behavior scores differentiated among children classified as EMR, slow-learners, or average intelligence. Some of the domain subscores of the ABS seem of questionable validity and reliability.     

Individualized learning environments: Intra- and interpersonal consequences

This study examines the effects of individual goal structures on the intra- and interpersonal behavior of 120 fourth-grade children. Each group of four children was introduced to one of two individualized learning programs: (a) workbook materials color-coded according to level of difficulty (allowing implicit comparisons among children as to progress), and (b) materials not coded according to difficulty (discouraging comparisons). In both learning programs, children worked individually (at story writing) and were rewarded for the work. Results indicate that boys, but not girls, who were rewarded equally for doing good work in an individualized setting but who start and end at a lower step than other more frequently took away a toy from those peers with whom they compared themselves than did boys who were rewarded equally for good work and where there were no comparisons. Boys as a group, regardles of condition, gave more prize tickets to themselves than to others and gave more prize tickets to themselves than girls gave either to themselves or others. Both boys and girls appear to adopt the evaluations of their work given by the experimenter and appear to be influenced thereby in later prized-giving to themselves and to others.     

Sex-role orientation and fear of success: Clarifying an unclear relationship

Inconsistencies in research concerning the relationship between fear of success (FOS) and sex-role orientation may be due to the use of sex-role inventories considering masculinity and femininity as endpoints of a bipolar continuum. The Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1974), which treats masculinity and femininity as separate dimensions, was administered to 218 female undergraduates in addition to measures of FOS, achievement motivation, and performance. It was predicted that women who were androgynous (high feminine and high masculine) would evidence less FOS than women who were high masculine or high feminine. It was also predicted that women who embraced masculine characteristics (androgynous or sex-reversed) would be higher in both achievement motivation and performance than low masculine women. Both predictions were confirmed. Sex-reversed women were highest in FOS.This research was conducted with the support of a David Ross Grant from the Purdue Research Foundation to Dr. Kay Deaux and the author. Thanks are extended to William A. Fisher, Dr. Kay Deaux, and Dr. Elizabeth Farris for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article. All correspondence should be addressed to Brenda Major, Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, 4230 Ridge Lea Road, Buffalo, New York 14226.     

Sex Differences in Mathematics Components of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills

The Mathematics Problem Solving (MRS) and Mathematics Concepts (MC) subtests of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills were investigated for content and psychometric item bias at grades 3, 6, and 8. A small proportion of items were identified in each subtest which significantly favored either males or females. No skill classification, item content or location trends could be found for the mathematics subtests at each grade level. Across the grade levels, items in the MC subtest favored males for grades 3 and 6, but females were favored at grade 8. The procedure used in the study is generalizable to other groups (minority or grade levels). Test consumers have the right to know whether the test they use is fair for selected groups of students. Results from empirical investigations should appear in the Test Manual that accompanies the test battery.     

EMPIRICALLY DERIVED INJURY PREVENTION RULES

This study describes a set of empirically derived safety rules that if followed, would have prevented the occurrence of minor injuries. Epidemiologists have criticized behavioral interventions as increasing “safe” behavior but failing to demonstrate a decrease in injury. The present study documents retrospectively the link between safe behavior and injury. It demonstrates that these empirically derived rules are very similar to rules for the prevention of serious injury. The study also shows that these rules are not widely accepted and implemented by parents. Suggestions for future research in this area are advanced.     

An emergency situation simulator for examining time-pressured decision making

Between deliberate planning efforts and reactionary decision making lies a realm of time-pressured decision making. A number of real-world occupations deal with this realm on a regular basis, including air traffic controllers and emergency service dispatchers. To study this type of decision making, an emergency situation simulator has been developed, which recreates the stressful environment of the emergency service dispatcher by generating realistic hypothetical emergency situations.     

The Influence of Contextual Factors on Afro-American and Euro-American Children's Performance: Effects of Movement Opportunity and Music

The present study sought to further establish that contextual factors informed by certain postulated cultural experiences could influence performance on a learning task. Towards this end, low income Afro-American and Euro-American children learned to pair pictures in an acquisition context that allowed for them to coordinate movement with music (High Movement Expressive [HME]) and in an acquisition context which allowed for little movement opportunity and no music (Low Movement Expressive [LME]). Children were subsequently tested for picture pair retention in a context where music was present or in a context where music was absent. The findings revealed that Afro-American children's tested performance was superior with the HME acquisition context, while Euro-American children's performance was superior with the LME context. In addition, music present at testing context seemed to have an independent enhancing effect only on Afro-American children's performance. The cultural and educational implications of these findings are discussed as are recommendations for future research.     

Physiological and nonverbal correlates of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism during active and passive coping

Correlations of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism with state anxiety, physiological arousal, and facial expressivity were assessed in 45 adolescents during a passive task (venipuncture) and an active coping task (speech). Task was a major determiner of the relationship between these variables. During venipuncture heart-rate increase was positively correlated with state anxiety, neuroticism, and anxiety expression and negatively correlated with extraversion. However, during the speech, HR change was negatively correlated with state anxiety and nonverbal indices of anxiety, but was positively correlated with extraversion and positive nonverbal expression. Skin conductance change findings were weaker but, when occurring, were in the same direction as the HR findings. Extraversion was highly associated with all nonverbal expressivity measures: inversely correlating with venipuncture and speech anxiety expression and positively correlating with venipuncture and speech positive expression. Neuroticism was positively correlated with nonverbal expression of anxiety during venipuncture but not speech. Psychoticism correlated positively with nonverbal positive expression during both venipuncture and speech.     

Considerations for a Psychology of Experience: Heinz Werner's Contribution

It is proposed that three themes in Heinz Werner's psychology provide directions for a contemporary psychology of experience. The first theme is the nature of developing mind. Werner's view of the mind as incorporating nonlogical modes of thought is contrasted with the hyper-rational views that dominate contemporary psychology. The second theme is Werner's model of the gradual differentiation and integration of spheres of experience. The model can be elaborated with minimal universalist assumptions, thus providing ways of conceptualizing cultural and individual differences as well as changes within a person's life. The third theme is the theory of symbolization that Werner developed in collaboration with Bernard Kaplan. Integrating the theory of symbolization with the spheres of experience model, it is seen how internal and external acts of symbolization enter into the formation and internal differentiation of spheres.     

What are the Marital Problems of Happy Couples? A Multimethod,Two-Sample Investigation

How couples handle marital conflict may depend on what issues they are facing, as some issues may be more difficult to resolve than others. What is unclear, however, is what issues happy couples face and how these issues may be different for couples depending on their developmental stage. To explore this possibility, the current study used both self-reports and observations drawn from two separate samples of happily married couples—one early in middle adulthood (N = 57 couples; average marital duration = 9 years) and one in older adulthood (N = 64 couples; average marital duration = 42 years). Results indicated that all issues were relatively minor, but early middle-aged couples reported more significant problems than did older couples. As to determining the most salient topic for happy couples, it depended on the spouses’ gender, developmental stage, and how salience was assessed (i.e., highest rated issue vs. most discussed issue). Only moderate links were found between what happy couples said was their most serious concern and what they actually tried to resolve during observations of marital problem-solving, but there were differences in how spouses behaved based on the proportion of their time discussing certain topics. Findings suggest that more attention should be devoted to understanding what marital issues happy couples discuss and why, as doing so may reveal how couples maintain their marital happiness.