Personality expectations and perceptions of Roman Catholic clergy members

This study examined the expectations of Roman Catholic priests' personality characteristics. Personality measures (i.e., Symptom Check List-90-Revised, Weinberger Adjustment Inventory, Belief in Personal Control Scale, and several authordesigned measures) were administered to 102 undergraduate students. The subjects' perceptions of Roman Catholic priests' personality traits were examined by having the subjects complete the Personality Adjective Checklist (PACL) describing a typical Roman Catholic priest. These scores were compared to PACL scores from 12 successful applicants to the priesthood. Findings suggest that subjects tend to view Roman Catholic priests stereotypically as authority figures and that Catholic subjects view priests more positively than do non-Catholic subjects.     

The Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire

This article introduces the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSORF) and provides preliminary information on the instrument. The SCSORF is a quick, easy to administer and score, 10-item scale assessing strength of religious faith. The SCSORF and personality and mood measures (i.e., Symptom Check List-90-Revised, Weinberger Adjustment Inventory, Belief in Personal Control Scale, and several author-designed questions) were administered to 102 undergraduate students. Preliminary findings suggest that the SCSORF is both reliable and valid. Furthermore, significant correlations between strength of religious faith, self-esteem, interpersonal sensitivity, adaptive coping, and hope correspond with previous research, suggesting that mental health benefits are associated with strong religious faith. Implications for future research are also discussed.     

Kognitive Lernermodellierung

Different types of learner models and their usefulness for tutoring have been discussed widely since the beginning of intelligent tutoring systems. In this paper we compare pragmatic and cognitive approaches of learner modeling. Pragmatic approaches consider relevant learner features for adaptive methods in learning environments and adapt different aspects of instruction to a restricted model representing these features. Cognitive approaches aim for a psychologically adequate modeling of human problem solving. We introduce the case-based learner model ELM as an example of a cognitive approach to learner modeling. The learning environments ELM-PE and ELM-ART use ELM for adaptional methods on conceptual, plan, and episodic levels and provide individual help and learning support. Especially in the case of integrated learning environments like ELM-ART which support a variety of learning activities, a combination of pragmatic and cognitive learner models is proposed to be a necessary and useful solution.     

The importance of human needs during peacetime, retrospective peacetime, and the Persian Gulf War

Study 1 investigated the importance of human needs during peacetime in 1993 using a sample of 137 full-time workers in several industries in the United States. Study 2 examined the importance of needs in 1990 (retrospective peacetime) and in 1991 (during the Persian Gulf War)(both measured during the war) using a sample of 564 college students in the United States. In both studies, two levels of needs (higher-order and lower-order needs) were identified during peacetime. Study 2 revealed that during the war, all needs were rated as more important and only one factor was identified. During peacetime, the safety of one’s own life was significantly more important than the safety of the country which was rated as the least important need. During the war, the safety of the country was as important as the safety of one’s own life. Students who had spouse, family members, and friends in the Middle East during Desert Storm differed significantly from those who did not in war-related stress and the importance of several needs.     

AN ANALOGUE EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT: THE ROLE OF STIMULUS PREFERENCE

To evaluate the effects of environmental enrichment on stereotypic self-injurious behavior (SIB), we conducted an assessment of preference for manipulating alternative stimuli rather than engaging in SIB. First, for each of 3 participants, a functional analysis of SIB was conducted in Phase 1. Participants were selected for Phase 2 if the functional analysis showed that SIB persisted in the absence of social consequences. In Phase 2, a preference assessment was conducted in which participants were observed manipulating preferred stimuli in a free-operant format. A measure was taken of time spent manipulating each stimulus and time spent engaging in SIB. In Phase 3, environmental enrichment was evaluated using stimuli that were preferred over the target response, and alternative treatments were evaluated in the event of environmental enrichment failure. Results suggested that the free-operant preference assessment (a) predicted the efficacy or inefficacy of an environmental enrichment procedure and (b) suggested possible treatment alternatives when environmental enrichment was ineffective. Collectively, the results may provide a basis for interpreting the idiosyncratic effects of environmental enrichment and a rationale for treatment selection when behavioral function is unknown.     

Mechanisms of sentence context effects in reading: Automatic activation and conscious attention

In. Experiment I subjects named target words that were preceded by a congruous sentence context, an incongruous sentence context, or no sentence context, under stimulus conditions that were either normal or degraded by contrast reduction. Under normal stimulus conditions, a contextual facilitation effect, but no contextual inhibition effect, was observed. When the target word was degraded, both contextual facilitation and inhibition were observed. Experiment 2 replicated the increase in contextual inhibition under degraded conditions and also demonstrated that inhibition increased as the interval between contextual processing and target-word onset was lengthened. The results were interpreted within the framework of the Posner and Snyder two-process theory of expectancy. Thus, when target-word recognition is rapid, only the fast-acting automatic activation component of context effects has time to operate. When target-word processing is delayed, the conscious-attention mechanism, which is responsible for inhibition effects, becomes operative. The relevance of these results to developmental investigations of the interaction of word recognition and contextual processing is discussed.     

A microcomputer-controlled complex reaction time instrument

An inexpensive microcomputer system that measures complex reaction time to a visual stimulus is described. This system can determine the rate of gain of information by utilizing a two-, four-, or eight-choice reaction time task encompassed within the same unit. The system turns on randomly chosen lights and monitors the time required for the subject to depress a corresponding switch. Information describing the stimulus and the subject’s response are printed on a Teletype after each response.