Is There Such a Thing as “Ultimate” Meaning? A Review of Fluid versus Fixed Models of Different Forms of Human Striving

A growing number of social psychological theories have posited that meaning-striving can be compensated for across domains; threats in one area can simply be addressed by gains in another. Other models argue that not all forms of meaning are created equal; certain forms of striving trump other ones. This review compares the assertions made by these different models related to meaning to illustrate that (a) with few exceptions, fluidity is central to meaning, and (b) despite such consensus on the fluid nature of meaning, existing models diverge on the existence and nature of “ultimate” meanings. Future directions for the empirical study of meaning and methodological considerations are discussed.     

Taking up the slack: The duties of source state citizens in the brain drain crisis1

This paper proposes two shifts in our approach to the brain drain crisis. First, it argues for a collective view. Since the moral wrong of the brain drain is inherently collective, we can best understand our consequent duties through a collective lens. Second, the paper argues that we ought to explore explicitly the duties of citizens of source states. These citizens systematically bear the burdens of labour migration, giving us good reason to search for normative guidelines for how best to understand and distribute these burdens. Drawing on these two shifts, the paper argues that the obligations of citizens of source states are best understood as individual shares of a collective duty to uphold the functioning of their state. The content of this duty is deeply shaped by background injustice and so ought to be understood as a duty to “take up the slack”. As such, individuals’ shares are differentiated to respect the diversity of individual circumstance and, where formal policy is required, it ought to be democratically determined.     

A dyadic assessment of forgiveness in intimate relationships

This study investigated forgiveness by examining couples’ recollections and perceptions of specific incidents of transgressions in their relationships. The results replicated previous research but also produced some novel findings. Results showed that more positive attributions and relationship quality independently predicted higher internal forgiveness, whereas expressed forgiveness was related only to relationship quality. Overall, the sample was negatively biased in their perceptions of their partner's forgiveness, but those participants who tended toward a positive bias were happier with their relationships as were their partners. Results are discussed in terms of prior research and theories of forgiveness and related social judgments in intimate relationships.     

Factor Structure and Discriminative Validity of the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory With Young Children

This study examined the factor structure and discriminative validity of the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI) with community-based and clinic-referred samples of young children (2–6 years). In the community sample, confirmatory factor analysis indicated a three-factor structure with components reflecting Inattentive, Oppositional Defiant, and Conduct Problem Behavior. In the clinic sample, component scores differentiated children with specific behavior problems from children without significant externalizing symptoms. However, component scores did not differentiate within the externalizing spectrum. The data suggest that ECBI components may be useful to screen community-based and clinic-referred young children for externalizing symptoms, but may be less useful to identify children with specific behavior problems.     

The relationships between parenting stress,parenting behaviour and preschoolers' social competence and behaviour problems in the classroom

Young children develop social and emotional competence through interactions with others in the two major contexts in which they spend time: home and preschool. This study examined whether parenting stress in the home context is related to the children's behaviour while in preschool. Previous research has suggested that parenting stress negatively influences parenting behaviour, which in turn has been shown to impact children's development. This study examined the direct relationship between parenting stress and children's behaviour in two types of preschool programmes: private day care centres and Head Start. Parenting stress was significantly related to teacher ratings of social competence, internalizing behaviours, and externalizing behaviours, and the effects of parenting behaviour do not appear to mediate this relationship. Parenting stress was most strongly related to children's social competence. Parents' reports of expectations for their child's behaviour appear to weakly moderate the relationship between externalizing behaviour and parenting stress. This study suggests that examination of a parent's level of stress, in addition to parenting practices, may be important in research and interventions with preschool children's behaviour and social competence. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Loving styles: relationships with personality and attachment styles

We investigated the ability of the major personality dimensions, some of their underlying facet scales, and attachment styles to predict primary and secondary loving styles, as conceptualized by Lee. Personality was assessed using the International Personality Item Pool, and attachment styles through an inventory devised by Collins and Read. Respondents were 302 undergraduate students (212 females; 90 males) who participated in the study in exchange for course credit. Results of regression path analysis showed that N was the only personality dimension without direct predictive links to loving styles. Instead, the influence of N was through an anxious attachment style. There were no personality predictors of Agape, and similarities were also observed between these results and those obtained in Hong Kong. The results are discussed with reference to previous studies and some suggestions for further research are also noted. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Choosing How to Choose: Institutional Pressures Affecting the Adoption of Personnel Selection Procedures

The gap between science and practice in personnel selection is an ongoing concern of human resource management. This paper takes Oliver's framework of organizations' strategic responses to institutional pressures as a basis for outlining the diverse economic and social demands that facilitate or inhibit the application of scientifically recommended selection procedures. Faced with a complex network of multiple requirements, practitioners make more diverse choices in response to any of these pressures than has previously been acknowledged in the scientific literature. Implications for the science‐practitioner gap are discussed.