The emergence of homegrown stereotypes

Homegrown stereotypes are generalizations that groups develop about their own typical characteristics. They are a distinct class of in-group stereotypes in the contexts and processes that give rise to them, as well as in their consequences for individual group members. The authors develop the concept of homegrown stereotypes and locate the origins of these stereotypes in self-presentation processes. They discuss the accuracy of these stereotypes and consider their similarities to and differences from a number of related phenomena. An examination of homegrown stereotypes highlights the importance of taking into account the impact of in-group, as well as intergroup, dynamics on the production of stereotypes.     

Aspiration-Based and Reciprocity-Based Rules in Learning Dynamics for Symmetric Normal-Form Games

Psychologically based rules are important in human behavior and have the potential of explaining equilibrium selection and separatrix crossings to a payoff dominant equilibrium in coordination games. We show how a rule learning theory can easily accommodate behavioral rules such as aspiration-based experimentation and reciprocity-based cooperation and how to test for the significance of additional rules. We confront this enhanced rule learning model with experimental data on games with multiple equilibria and separatrix-crossing behavior. Maximum likelihood results do not support aspiration-based experimentation or anticipated reciprocity as significant explanatory factors, but do support a small propensity for non-aspiration-based experimentation by random belief and non-reciprocity-based cooperation.     

Patterns of impaired verbal,spatial, and object working memory after thalamic lesions

Working memory processes in six individuals with isolated thalamic lesions were assessed. Participants were given a verbal, spatial, and object n-back task, each at three levels of task load (1-back, 2-back, and 3-back). Relative to a control group, the patients were impaired on the verbal and spatial n-back tasks, and possibly on the object n-back task as well. None of the patients showed impaired short-term memory as measured by digit span. Group differences on trials measuring matching, sequencing, and inhibitory abilities were consistent with other reports suggesting that thalamic lesions may impair the operation of executive processes.     

Challenges of Being Simultaneously Gay or Lesbian and Spiritual and/or Religious: A Narrative Perspective

The purpose of this article is to describe the struggle that gays and lesbians face as they incorporate their sexual orientation and identity within the context of an existing religious or spiritual identity. An overview of the religious and spiritual context that makes individuals unique will be followed by how the narrative perspective can help individuals who identify themselves as gay or lesbian with their struggle for identity. Finally, new narrative directions will be suggested for marriage and family therapists and their work with gays and lesbians who are confronted with these issues.     

Alcoholism and the family in peru: The impact of an alcoholic on teenagers' perceptions of the family

Abstract

We studied Peruvian high school students' perceptions of their family environment when a member of their household had a significant problem with alcohol using specialized forms of both the Family Environment Scale (FES) and the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (SMAST). Of our sample of 218 high school students in Lima, Peru, 91.7% lived in a household in which a member had a significant problem with alcohol as defined by the family form of the SMAST. Also, when the alcoholic individual was a member of the nuclear family, the high school students perceived their families as less cohesive, less well organized, and with a lesser ability to express themselves. These family perceptions are similar to those found in American high school students who live with an alcoholic family member. Possible epidemiologic and family implications of these findings are discussed.     

A COMPARISON OF SEMANTIC‐ AND MNEMONIC‐BASED VOCABULARY‐LEARNING STRATEGIES

Fourth‐ and fifth‐grade students were taught the meanings of new vocabulary items according to one of three instructional strategies. Two of the strategies were semantic‐based (contextual analysis and semantic mapping), and the other strategy was mnemonic‐based (the keyword method). Consistent with recent research findings, the keyword method facilitated students’ recall of the vocabulary items’ definitions, and this was true in both higher‐ and lower‐achieving subject populations. In the higher‐achieving sample, the keyword method was also superior to the contextual analysis strategy on two vocabulary‐usage tests, one that was administered on the day immediately following instruction and one that was administered a week later. Mean performance on a one‐week delayed definition‐matching test was statistically equivalent in the three conditions, although in the higher‐achieving sample a reliably higher proportion of keyword subjects than contextual analysis subjects attained perfect scores on that test. No significant difference between the two semantic‐ based strategies was found on any of the dependent measures. Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are included in the discussion.     

Breaking Down Barriers: Museum as Broker of Home/School Collaboration

ABSTRACT

Parents have a major influence on children's learning, yet parent involvement remains weak in many communities. This article addresses the role of a museum in bringing home and school together, describing results from 2 complementary studies of a museum-designed and -implemented parent involvement program. The first study was an exploratory, mixed-methods investigation designed to understand the program's impact on parents' engagement in their children's learning. The second study used a grounded theory approach to develop theoretical hypotheses about the programmatic mechanisms that facilitated parents' engagement. In terms of impact, the program gave parents a platform through which to create new and more meaningful spaces for connecting to their children's learning, including conceptual spaces, social spaces, and physical spaces. In terms of mechanisms, the program first helped parents to build relevant capital and then to author new and relevant ways of engaging with their children's schooling. Taken together, study results broaden current thinking about the spaces in which parent engagement occurs and emphasize the important community-based role that museums can play to bring parents and schools together in support of children's development.     

Assessing bimodality to detect the presence of a dual cognitive process

Researchers have long sought to distinguish between single-process and dual-process cognitive phenomena, using responses such as reaction times and, more recently, hand movements. Analysis of a response distribution’s modality has been crucial in detecting the presence of dual processes, because they tend to introduce bimodal features. Rarely, however, have bimodality measures been systematically evaluated. We carried out tests of readily available bimodality measures that any researcher may easily employ: the bimodality coefficient (BC), Hartigan’s dip statistic (HDS), and the difference in Akaike’s information criterion between one-component and two-component distribution models (AIC_diff). We simulated distributions containing two response populations and examined the influences of (1) the distances between populations, (2) proportions of responses, (3) the amount of positive skew present, and (4) sample size. Distance always had a stronger effect than did proportion, and the effects of proportion greatly differed across the measures. Skew biased the measures by increasing bimodality detection, in some cases leading to anomalous interactive effects. BC and HDS were generally convergent, but a number of important discrepancies were found. AIC_diff was extremely sensitive to bimodality and identified nearly all distributions as bimodal. However, all measures served to detect the presence of bimodality in comparison to unimodal simulations. We provide a validation with experimental data, discuss methodological and theoretical implications, and make recommendations regarding the choice of analysis.     

Social Support and Mental Health Outcomes Among U.S. Army Special Operations Personnel

Mental health disorders continue to plague service members and veterans; thus, new approaches are required to help address such outcomes. The identification of risk and resilience factors for these disorders in specific populations can better inform both treatment and prevention strategies. This study focuses on a unique population of U.S. Army Special Operations personnel to assess how specific avenues of social support and personal morale are related to mental health outcomes. The results indicate that, whereas personal morale and friend support reduce the relationship between combat experiences and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), strong unit support exacerbates the negative effects of combat experiences in relation to PTSD. The study thus shows that although informal social support can lessen postdeployment mental health concerns, military populations with strong internal bonds may be at greater risk of PTSD because the support that they receive from fellow service members may heighten the traumatic impact of combat experiences.