TWO GENERATIONS OF MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS: ROLE POSITION AND INTERDEPENDENCE

Using both partners as informants and three interdependence measures (contact, aid, and attachment) as criterion variables, we address the assumption that women's orientation to and dependence on other generations differ because of unique roles. In 135 pairs of student women and their mothers and 119 pairs of middle-aged women and their mothers, we ask how a woman's role position interacts with her partner's role position in regard to interdependence. Both dyadic and individual role combinations are examined. In younger pairs, we examine the combination of daughter's marital status and both mother's launching and work statuses; in older pairs, we examine the combination of mother's marital status and both daughter's launching and marital statuses. Regression analyses demonstrate that, except for younger pairs where married daughters and their mothers are less interdependent than single daughters and their mothers, interdependence is remarkably unrelated to role positions, singly or in combination. Results suggest normative pressures toward new conjugal bonds and stability in women's family roles.     

Perceived control and health

Perceived control (PC) is defined as thebelief that one can determine one’s own internal states and behavior, influence one’s environment, and/or bring about desired outcomes. Two important dimensions of PC are delineated: (1) whether the object of control is located in the past or the future and (2) whether the object of control is over outcome, behavior, or process. A variety of constructs and measures of PC (e.g., efficacy, attribution, and locus of control) are discussed in relation to these dimensions and selected studies are reviewed. The issues, controversies, and limits of the research on perceived control and health are addressed in terms of the antecedents and consequences of perceived control. Investigations should clearly conceptualize the object of perceived control, use measures that match the conceptualization, and when attempting to manipulate control, directly measure perceived control. The relation between PC and health outcomes is complex, and different aspects of PC may interact to affect health outcomes.     

Acquisition of basic object categories

Two implications of best-example theory for category acquisition were considered. The first is that categories which people acquire based on initial exposure to good exemplars should be learned more easily and (at first) more accurately than categories based on initial exposure to poor exemplars. The second is that people should generally learn that the best exemplars are category members, before learning that the poor exemplars are category members. These implications are based on the premise that people generalize based on similarity, and that the best example has maximal within-category similarity and minimal extra-category similarity, while the poor examples have minimal within-category similarity and relatively high extra-category similarity. Both implications were strongly supported by the present research. It was also found that when pressure to communicate was removed, comprehension and production of category names were virtually identical. The predictions of best-example theory concerning the conceptual structures underlying the words used by children who are just beginning to talk were discussed briefly. This research also allowed the replication of several important categorization results which had previously been found with real-world categories, with a set of artificial concrete object categories.     

Power spectral density analysis of the standing sway of males

Application of power spectral density analysis to normal human standing sway showed that the power in sway was unevenly distributed among various frequencies below 1.0 Hz. Ss were divided, with regard to antero-posterior sway, into two types on the basis of the frequencies at which peaks of power occurred. The same Ss were divided into four types, with regard to lateral sway, using similar criteria. The different types appear to represent normal variations in the basic mechanism for standing upright.     

EXPANDING THE IMPACT OF BEHAVIORAL STAFF MANAGEMENT: A LARGE-SCALE,LONG-TERM APPLICATION IN SCHOOLS SERVING SEVERELY HANDICAPPED STUDENTS

Experimental evaluations of behavioral staff management procedures usually have been limited to relatively small-scale demonstration studies. We evaluated a large-scale, long-term application of a staff management program designed to improve the functional utility of educational services for severely handicapped persons. The intervention, involving a brief in-service program followed by supervisory prompts and feedback, was implemented by three principals in four schools involving 21 classrooms. Implementation of the management procedures was consistently accompanied by increases in student involvement in functional educational tasks in each classroom. Further, the improved services continued throughout a 2-year follow-up period. Staff responses to a questionnaire indicated a high degree of staff acceptance of the management program. Results are discussed in terms of expanding the use of behavioral supervisory procedures from experimental demonstrations to actual adoption by existing human service agencies.     

Layoffs,self-esteem,and survivor guilt: Motivational,affective, and attitudinal consequences

The present study explored the effect of layoffs on the subsequent productivity of “survivors”. All participants performed a proofreading task either after witnessing the dismissal of a co-worker (Layoff condition) or not (No-Layoff condition). Consistent with equity theory, the quantity of workers' performance was greater in the Layoff than in the No-Layoff condition. A Worker Self-Esteem × Layoff interaction effect revealed that the Layoff effect was entirely attributable to the low, rather than the medium or high, self-esteem participants. Additional analyses revealed that the layoff caused participants to (1) experience increased feelings of remorse and (2) develop more negative attitudes toward their co-worker, both of which are also consistent with equity theory. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.     

Guided Recovery: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Service Users’ Experiences of Guided Self-Help for Bulimic and Binge Eating Disorders

The efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy–based Guided Self-Help for mild to moderate bulimia and binge eating disorders has been well supported. However, limited research has explored in-depth individual experiences of this treatment approach. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 4 individuals who had completed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy–based Guided Self-Help (CBT-GSH) for bulimic or binge eating disorders. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and subsequently analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Three superordinate themes emerged: Autonomy and volition; A dynamic relationship: the guided and the guide; and The unwanted friend. The reciprocal nature of the guide/guided relationship was identified as integral to the success of the therapeutic approach. However, participants expressed initial uncertainty towards the therapeutic process, and experienced an uncomfortable dissonance between a lack of volition in therapy seeking and the need to continually self-prescribe CBT-GSH. The findings affirm the central role of the guide in promoting motivation to engage with therapy and highlight the potential benefits of in-session weighing. However, it may be necessary to provide additional support on commencing CBT-GSH to address concerns about the therapeutic approach in this group.