Ethical Behavioral Intention in an Academic Setting: Models and Predictors

This study examines the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the multidimensional ethics scale (MES). Variables from both are included to determine which ones significantly correlate with student ethical behavioral intention in an academic setting. Using a survey, responses are collected from undergraduate business students from two southwestern universities in the United States using a scenario-based approach, looking at individual situations and group situations. SmartPLS was used to assess the results for four scenarios. From the theory of planned behavior, attitude was a significant predictor of behavioral intention across all four scenarios while subjective norm was significant in one scenario. From the multidimensional ethics scale, moral equity and relativism were significant in one group scenario while moral equity and utilitarianism were each significant in an individual scenario. The findings indicate support for the use of the TPB and the MES when exploring ethics in an academic setting and for the need to study both individual and group situations. A discussion of the findings and implications is given.     

Processing pronunciation variants: the role of probabilistic knowledge about lexical form and segmental co-occurrence

Two experiments investigated the contribution of lexical knowledge to processing nasal flap variants (e.g. “mental” produced as “mennle”). High and low variant production frequency nasal flap words and nonword counterparts were presented in a “t” detection task. More “t” detections were found in high than low variant frequency nasal flap words; no difference was found in control nasal flap nonwords but control nonwords with a nasal had more “t” detections than nonwords without a nasal. The findings suggest that access to lexical knowledge of an alternative NT pronunciation is modulated by variant frequency of the reduced form and pre-lexical phonotactic knowledge.     

Applying a Randomized Interdependent Group Contingency Component to Classwide Peer Tutoring for Multiplication Fact Fluency

Researchers have documented the positive effects of classwide peer tutoring on academic performance, engagement, and other social behaviors of students with and without disabilities. Commonly, in classwide peer tutoring, students are paired and the class is divided in half. Points are awarded for tutoring behavior and academic responding during the tutoring session. At the end of the session, the half of the class with the most points earns a reward. In the current study, a fifth-grade teacher implemented classwide peer tutoring for multiplication facts. Instead of the traditional reinforcement system, a randomized classwide interdependent group contingency was implemented. Applying a multiple-probe design across problem sets, students demonstrated increased multiplication fact fluency across three problem sets. Discussion focuses on applied implications for contingency management when implementing classwide peer tutoring programs.     

Contextual effects on number-time interaction

Time perception has long been known to be affected by numerical representations. Recent studies further demonstrate that when participants estimate the duration of Arabic numbers, number magnitude, though task-irrelevant, biases duration judgment to produce underestimation for smaller numbers and overestimation for larger numbers. Such effects were found in the present study to be significantly reduced when a weight unit gram was suffixed to the numbers rendering the mental magnitude differences between different numbers less distinctive. The effects were enhanced when a different unit kilogram was suffixed to the numbers enlarging the perceived magnitude differences between different numbers. The results indicate that effects of number magnitude on duration estimation should not be attributed to the mathematical differences between numbers but to how the numbers are perceived to differ from each other in magnitude in specific contexts when they denote concrete items. The results also provide new evidence for the theoretical proposal of a common generalized magnitude system and indicate that the system must be extended to include other action-oriented magnitudes, such as weight.     

Effective Assertive Behavior in the Workplace: Responding to Unfair Criticism

A social rules perspective was employed to identify the elements of socially appropriate responses to unfair criticism in the workplace. Women generally endorsed for themselves response strategies based on stronger obligation and softer rights components, while men endorsed responses based on stronger personal rights expression and weaker obligation components. In support of the utility of a social rules approach to operationalizing context-specific expectations, behavioral responses based on gender and status-specific rules were evaluated as more effective on task, relationship, and self-respect dimensions than were rights-only, rights-plus-empathy, or submissive strategies. Results are discussed in terms of the development of a context-specific model of interpersonal competence and implications for interpersonal skills and assertion training.     

The Nootropic Properties of Ginseng Saponin Rb1 are Linked to Effects on Anxiety

Previous studies have shown that crude ginseng extracts enhance performance on shock-motivated tasks. Whether such performance enhancements are due to memory-enhancing (nootropic) properties of ginseng, or to other non-specific effects such as an influence on anxiety has not been determined. In the present study, we evaluated both the nootropic and anxiolytic effects of the ginseng saponin Rb1. In the first experiment, 80 five-day-old male chicks received intraperitoneal injections of 0, 0.25, 2.5 or 5.0 mg/kg Rb1. Performance on a visual discrimination task was evaluated 15 minutes, 24 and 72 hours later. Acquisition of a visual discrimination task was unaffected by drug treatment, but the number of errors was significantly reduced in the 0.25 mg/kg group during retention trials completed 24 and 72 hours after injection. Animals receiving higher dosages showed trends towards enhancement initially, but demonstrated impaired performance when tested 72 hours later. Rb1 had no effect on response rates or body weight. In the second experiment, 64 five-day-old male chicks received similar injections of Rb1 (0, 0.25, 2.5 or 5.0 mg/kg) and separation distress was evaluated 15 minutes, 24 and 72 hours later. Rb1 produced a change in separation distress that depended on the dose and environmental condition under which distress was recorded. These data suggest that Rb1 can improve memory for a visual discrimination task and that the nootropic effect may be related to changes in anxiety.     

The development of attention and response inhibition in early childhood

The goal of this study was to examine the development of attention and response inhibition from ages 5 to 7. Forty children (20 5‐year‐olds and 20 7‐year‐olds) completed four counterbalanced phases of a continuous performance task. Phase 1 was designed to measure attention without distraction, Phase 2 was designed to measure attention with distraction, Phase 3 was designed to measure attention and response inhibition without distraction, and Phase 4 was designed to measure attention and response inhibition with distraction. With regard to attention, 7‐year‐olds performed significantly better than 5‐year‐olds. This age difference was more pronounced when distraction was present. With regard to response inhibition, there were no significant age differences. These results appear to suggest that attention improves between ages 5 and 7 but response inhibition does not. However, conclusions regarding response inhibition were limited because the distraction appeared to have had too powerful an effect on the 5‐year‐olds. Implications and future directions are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Achieving ego integrity: Personality development in late midlife

Using data from two longitudinal studies of educated white women, we explored precursors and correlates of ego integrity versus despair, which is the last developmental stage in Erikson’s theory of adult development. The women comprising Study 1 graduated from Smith College in 1964 (N = 42); the women comprising Study 2 graduated from Radcliffe College also in 1964 (N = 50). In both studies, hierarchical regressions indicated that women who had resolved their regrets at age 53 achieved higher levels of ego integrity at age 62, and those who had resolved their regrets at age 62 also had higher concurrent levels of ego integrity. Further, in study 2, generativity at age 53 was found to predict ego integrity at age 62.     

Current and Past Maternal Depression, Maternal Interaction Behaviors, and Children’s Externalizing and Internalizing Symptoms

Relations among past maternal depressive disorder, current depressive symptoms, current maternal interaction behaviors, and children's adjustment were examined in a sample of 204 women and their young adolescent offspring (mean age = 11.86, SD = 0.55). Mothers either had (n = 157) or had not (n = 57) experienced at least one depressive disorder during the child's life. Mothers and children participated in a problem-solving task, video-taped for later coding. Mothers with current depressive symptoms and those with histories of chronic/severe depressive disorders displayed fewer positive behaviors toward their children; mothers with current depressive symptoms also showed more negative behaviors with their children. The relation between mothers' depression history and their behavior during the interaction with their child was partially mediated by mothers' current mood state. Moreover, high levels of maternal negativity and low levels of positivity during the problem-solving task were related to children's externalizing problems. Maternal positivity partially mediated the relation between maternal depression and children's externalizing symptoms. These findings highlight the importance of providing parenting interventions for depressed mothers.