Math = male,me = female,therefore math not = me

College students, especially women, demonstrated negativity toward math and science relative to arts and language on implicit measures. Group membership (being female), group identity (self = female), and gender stereotypes (math = male) were related to attitudes and identification with mathematics. Stronger implicit math = male stereotypes corresponded with more negative implicit and explicit math attitudes for women but more positive attitudes for men. Associating the self with female and math with male made it difficult for women, even women who had selected math-intensive majors, to associate math with the self. These results point to the opportunities and constraints on personal preferences that derive from membership in social groups.     

A Web of applicant attraction: person-organization fit in the context of Web-based recruitment

Applicant attraction was examined in the context of Web-based recruitment. A person-organization (P-O) fit framework was adopted to examine how the provision of feedback to individuals regarding their potential P-O fit with an organization related to attraction. Objective and subjective P-O fit, agreement with fit feedback, and self-esteem also were examined in relation to attraction. Results of an experiment that manipulated fit feedback level after a self-assessment provided by a fictitious company Web site found that both feedback level and objective P-O fit were positively related to attraction. These relationships were fully mediated by subjective P-O fit. In addition, attraction was related to the interaction of objective fit, feedback, and agreement and objective fit, feedback, and self-esteem. Implications and future Web-based recruitment research directions are discussed.     

Duration-based measures of preference for vocational tasks

We compared results from two preference assessments with data on extended performance of vocational tasks by 4 participants with developmental disabilities. All participants engaged in one task exclusively when seven tasks were available concurrently during a 5-min multiple-stimulus assessment. By contrast, all participants exhibited high levels of engagement in most tasks when the tasks were presented singly for 5 min, and these data showed a high degree of correspondence with those obtained during extended (60-min) vocational assessments.     

A further investigation of category learning by inference

Categories are learned in many ways besides by classification, for example, by making inferences about classified items. One hypothesis is that classifications lead to the learning of features that distinguish categories, whereas inferences promote the learning of the internal structure of categories, such as the typical features. Experiment 1 included single-feature and full-feature classification tests following either classification or inference learning. Consistent with predictions, inference learners did better on the single tests but worse on the full tests. Experiment 2 further showed that inference learners, unlike classification learners, were no better at classifying items that they had seen at study compared with equally typical items they had not seen at study. Experiment 3 showed that features queried about during inference learning were classified better than ones not queried about, although even the latter features showed some learning on single-feature tests. The discussion focuses on how different types of category learning lead to different category representations.     

The reliability and validity of the psychopathy checklist: youth version (PCL:YV) in nonincarcerated adolescent males

Current knowledge about the validity of the psychopathy syndrome in youth is limited largely to studies relying on parent-teacher rating scales or slight modifications of adult measures. Recently, the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) was designed for use with adolescents. However, most studies that have used this measure examined incarcerated males and addressed only validity criteria related to antisocial behavior. We investigated the generality and construct validity of the psychopathy syndrome in an adolescent sample by assessing 115 adolescent males on probation with the PCL:YV. Reliability of measurement was high. PCL:YV ratings predicted not only antisocial behaviour but also other indices of childhood psychopathology, interpersonal behaviors associated with adult psychopathy, and a lack of attachment to parents. These findings suggest that the PCL:YV identifies a syndrome in adolescence consistent with theory and research on adult males.     

Disaster mental health services following the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing: modifying approaches to address terrorism

How did the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing differ from prior disasters and what implications did it have for disaster mental health services and service delivery? The federal disaster mental health approach in this country developed largely out of experiences with natural disasters. The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing differed in several important ways, including the large number of human casualties, higher rates of psychopathology, and an extended period of concern due to the criminal investigation and trials, which suggested the need to consider modifications in the program. Outreach was extensive, but psychiatric morbidity of direct victims was greater than that of victims of natural disasters, emphasizing the need for attention to the triage and referral process. Other concerns that warrant consideration include practices related to record keeping and program evaluation.     

Sentence processing in children with early unilateral brain injury

This study examined how children use word order and animacy cues to determine the agent of the action in an on-line sentence-comprehension task. The subject group included 15 children, 5-12 years old, with brain injury incurred prior to the age of 2 months; 12 had left hemisphere (LH) damage and 3 had right hemisphere (RH) damage. The comparison group included 141 children, 5-10 years old, who were at the appropriate grade for age. The task required children to listen to sentences composed of two noun phrases (N) that varied in terms of animacy and a verb phrase (V) and then to indicate the agent of the action. Three word orders were presented: NVN, VNN, and NNV. Measures included the proportion of trials in which the first noun was selected (choice) and reaction time. Word order and animacy significantly influenced choice. The effect of subject group approached significance for choice. Word order and age influenced reaction time. The children with LH injury and two children with RH injury showed a developmental delay in choosing the appropriate N as agent; one child with RH injury had mature responses. The overlapping performance of children with LH and RH injury suggests that delays in the development of sentence comprehension strategies are more likely related to reliance on a smaller than usual neural network rather than to congenital specialization of the LH.     

The emergence of competing modules in bilingualism

How does the brain manage to store and process multiple languages without encountering massive interference and transfer? Unless we believe that bilinguals live in two totally unconnected cognitive worlds, we would expect far more transfer than actually occurs. However, imaging and lesion studies have not provided consistent evidence for the strict neuronal separation predicted by the theory of modularity. We suggest that emergentist theory offers a promising alternative. It emphasizes the competitive interplay between multiple languages during childhood and by focusing on the dual action of competition and entrenchment, avoids the need to invoke a critical period to account for age of acquisition effects in second-language learning. This view instantiates the motto formulated by Elizabeth Bates that 'modules are made, not born.'