Communication and type A coronary-prone behavior: preliminary studies of expressive and instrumental communication

This paper reports two studies of the expressive and instrumental characteristics of communication associated with the Type A coronary-prone behavior pattern. Using Norton's communicators' style instrument to measure expressive behavior of college students, Study 1 with 50 men and 79 women showed that Type A persons are more dominant, contentious, precise, animated, and dramatic communicators than Type B persons. Study 2 with 48 men and 80 women yielded no differences in the use of persuasive strategies by Type A and Type B college undergraduates.     

Nothing Less than Everything: Thoughts on a Sittler Legacy

Universtiy of Chicago theologian Joseph Sittler has left a most valuable legacy. He was a “preacher's theologian.” He distinguished between a literal reading of the Bible from faith in the God of the Bible. He pioneered the interaction between Christology and ecology. Sittler was a pioneer, worthy of being remembered two decades after his death.     

Levels of psychopathy and its correlates: a study of incarcerated youths in three states

We report the results of a study on psychopathy and its correlates among 203 youths incarcerated in residential commitment programs in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Delaware. Latent class analysis of the psychopathy data identified three classes of youths: low psychopathy, moderate psychopathy, and high psychopathy. Significant differences were found among the three groups in regard to their criminal thinking, delinquency, experience of stressful events, family relationships, and drug use. Conduct disordered, psychopathic youths were the most troubled among the youths studied.     

Factors influencing maternal attack on conspecific intruders by lactating female “TO” strain mice

Factors regulating maternal attack in “TO” strain mice were investigated to determine 1) optimal conditions for inducing this behaviour and 2) the likely utility of this activity. Lactating females were more likely to attack male intruders than female intruders. The mate's presence reduced maternal attack in this strain, or (putting it conversely) aggression was generated in the male's absence. Removal of the mothers from their litters for four to five hours also suppressed maternal attack. Investigation of the bite targets in the maternal attack suggested that it is a defensive, rather than an offensive, response.     

Transsexualism: Some Theological and Ethical Perspectives

Abstract : The debates in church and theological circles regarding sexuality have been dominated by the subject of homosexuality. There has been far less theological discussion and ethical reflection regarding transgendered people and transsexualism in particular. This article introduces readers to some basic facts about transsexualism and to a selection of theological and ethical responses to this phenomenon with particular attention to how the notion of “disordered sexuality” is a factor in both the debate over the ethical status of transsexualism and homosexual unions.     

Gender differences in the assessment, stability, and correlates to bullying roles in middle school children

The current study investigated bullying behaviors in 284 school children in the fourth through seventh grades at the time of the initial assessment. Peer ratings of bullying behavior were obtained at the end of the spring semester of one school year and at the end of the fall semester of the next school year. Importantly, peer ratings were obtained by assessing not only the level at which participants actually bully other students but also whether participants help bullies to hurt the victim (assister), encourage bullies (reinforce), or help the victim of bullying (defender). Our results did not support the utility of differentiating between bullies, assisters, or reinforcers. Specifically, these bullying roles were highly intercorrelated, both concurrently and across school years, and they showed similar correlations with aggression and several characteristics often associated with aggression (i.e., conduct problems, callous-unemotional traits, and positive expectancies about aggression). In contrast, ratings of defending designated a particularly prosocial group of students. Finally, whereas bullying appeared to be very similar in boys and girls, it was somewhat more stable across school years and was related to lower levels of prosocial behavior in boys, both of which could suggest that bullying may be somewhat more related to social group dynamics in girls.     

Budgets are Moral Documents: Hunger,Money, and Community

Abstract : This article seeks a path for Christian social teaching and advocacy to address concern for how the money we budget nationally truly serves the common good. The status of hunger and food security, global and local, is a good barometer for the wellbeing of the human community. The Bread for the World Institute Report and its updates on the progress of the Millennium Development Goals is an excellent resource for tracking food security and for guiding active Christian concern for connecting money and the common good, a concern grounded in eucharistic fellowship and trinitarian faith.     

Explaining the adult careers of dyslexic boys: Variations in critical skills for high-level jobs

Several hundred boys who were diagnosed as dyslexic (specifically reading disabled) in adolescence and who attended a private college preparatory school for dyslexics were followed up in adulthood. The occupations of these men, who were above average in both intelligence and socioeconomic background, were compared to those of both a control group and the general white male population. As hypothesized, the dyslexic men had higher level jobs than the average man but they were much less likely than the controls to become professionals. They rarely entered jobs such as physician, lawyer, or college teacher which require higher degrees; instead most became managers or salesmen. The occupational differences between the dyslexic and control men were related to, but not completely accounted for, by their large differences in educational attainment. Data on the competencies rated as critical to good job performance in different occupations were consistent with the hypothesis that dyslexic men would establish themselves in relatively high-level jobs emphasizing nonacademic rather than academic on-the-job skills. Nondisabled professionals rated getting information through reading among the most critical of the skills required on their jobs. In contrast, managers and salesmen rated reading as less important than nonacademic competencies such as taking initiative and responsibility or being persuasive. The results illustrate the value of knowing more about the particular competencies required in different jobs in order to help members of special groups, particularly those such as dyslexies who have specific and enduring handicaps but who are otherwise intellectually normal.     

Item response theory in personality assessment: a demonstration using the MMPI-2 depression scale

Item response theory (IRT) analyses have, over the past 3 decades, added much to our understanding of the relationships among and characteristics of test items, as revealed in examinees response patterns. Assessment instruments used outside the educational context have only infrequently been analyzed using IRT, however. This study demonstrates the relevance of IRT to personality data through analyses of Scale 2 (the Depression Scale) on the revised Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2). A rich set of hypotheses regarding the items on this scale, including contrasts among the Harris-Lingoes and Wiener-Harmon subscales and differences in the items measurement characteristics for men and women, are investigated through the IRT analyses.