The Meaning of Childbearing Among IVF Service Users Assessed via Laddering Technique

The psychosocial issues related to infertility have been widely researched. However, the meaning a couple gives to childbearing remains a relatively unexplored area. This study explores the meaning making of Hong Kong Chinese couples who had received in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Eleven IVF-successful and seven IVF-unsuccessful informants were assessed using two complementary constructivist methods: laddering technique and constructivist-grounded theory analysis of in-depth interviews. Findings revealed four aspects of symbolic meaning of childbearing focused on the informant's sense of self, cultural values, existential purpose, and relations with others. The results also depicted infertility as a form of disenfranchised grief, following ambiguous loss, underscoring the need for counselors to explore the meaning of childbearing among IVF service users and the impact on their self-narratives as a function of treatment outcome.     

Does control of the environment enhance the perception of control?

It has been proposed that control over the environment increases the perception of control, thereby enhancing motivation. Revesman and Perlmuter (1981) found that when subjects were permitted to choose response terms to be learned on a paired-associate task, decision latencies were faster if the announcement of the desired option caused the screen upon which materials were printed to go blank. On the basis of the results of the present experiment, it was concluded that control of the environment does result in faster decision latencies, but that this effect occurs despite a decrease in the perception of control.     

Gerontological Counseling Trends in Adultspan Journal: 1999–2019

Using quantitative content analysis, we categorized 76 out of 154 articles (49.35%) published in Adultspan Journal from 1999 to 2019 as focused on gerontological counseling. This study explored publication trends for these articles and compared results with a larger study (Fullen et al., 2019) on publication trends for gerontological counseling across all counseling‐related journals.     

Quality of Life of the Hidden Youth in Hong Kong

Hidden youth was a phenomenon which originated in Japan and later spread to Hong Kong. The youth were described as being in a state of social isolation, marginalization, and prone to emotional disturbances. This may imply that they were suffering from a poor quality of life. However, direct contact with the hidden youth found that some of them are satisfied with their lives. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between the hidden youth’s quality of life and their period and level of social withdrawal. A total of 588 of the hidden youth took part in the study. With the use of mean plots in ANOVA, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and mediation analysis, it was found that the longer the period of social withdrawal, the better the quality of life. The positive correlation between the two variables was mediated by positive emotions derived from social support. On the other hand, as the level of social withdrawal increased, the quality of life decreased. The negative association between the two variables was mediated by negative emotions caused by low levels of social support and a high sense of loneliness. These findings suggest that being “hidden” is the preferred lifestyle of young people and it should not be regarded as a problem that undermines their quality of life.     

Exposure to national flags reduces tax evasion: Evidence from the United States,Australia, and Britain

There have been numerous theories from numerous academic fields explaining why individuals engage in tax evasion. Drawing broadly on Social Identity Theory, we predict that exposure to one's national flag can reduce tax evasion by making salient one's national identity, motivating one to sacrifice one's self-interests for one's country—which would presumably include paying one's fair share of taxes. In three experiments, we found that exposure to American, Australian, and British flags reduced Americans', Australians', and Britons' tax evasion in financially incentivized tasks (Experiments 1, 3) and increased tax-paying attitudes (Experiment 2). The effects arose because flag primes made salient participants' national identities that then motivated them to help their country. We ruled out social norms and trust in authorities as alternative explanations. As such, flag primes might reduce tax evasion and in doing so improve the economic and societal welfare of a country.     

The test taker's fallacy: How students guess answers on multiple‐choice tests

Many students and applicants take multiple‐choice tests to demonstrate their competence and achievement. When they are unsure, they guess the most likely answer to maximize their score. Despite the impact of guessing on test reliability and individual performance, studies have not examined how patterns of answer sequences in multiple‐choice tests affect guessing. This research presents the test taker's fallacy, which refers to an individual's tendency to expect a different answer to appear for the next question given a run of the same answer choices. The test taker's fallacy exhibits negative recency, similar to the gambler's fallacy. However, extending the sequential judgment literature, the test taker's fallacy shows that negative recency arises even when sequences may or may not be randomly generated. In three studies, including a survey and experiments, the test taker's fallacy is robustly observed. The test taker's fallacy is consistent with the operation of the representativeness heuristic. This research explains what and how test takers guess given a streak of answers and extends judgment under uncertainty to the test‐taking context.     

Academic entitlement: its relationship with academic behaviors and attitudes

Social Psychology of Education - The current study examined the relationship of academic entitlement with student attitudes (e.g., locus of control, motivation) and academic behavior. Participants...