Effects of format and expertise on the decision rules used to evaluate supermarket sales promotions

Heavy and light coupon users generated talk aloud protocols (Ericsson and Simon 1984) as they evaluated computerized supermarket sales promotions. Buy N get 1 Free and Buy A get B Free coupons were rapidly accepted or rejected. They led subjects to concentrate on their liking of the brand or need for the promoted product. Subjects evaluating price promotions thought of the deal rather than of the product. Heavy and light coupon users used different rules to evaluate promotions.William D. Diamond is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the School of Management, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003.The author thanks Dave Hosmer for his generous help with the analysis. Thanks also to Eric Berkowitz, Leland Campbell, Marsha Richins and Marc Weinberger for their constructive feedback on the project. This research was funded by a summer research support grant at the University of Massachusetts School of Management.     

Genetic influences on the development of spatial skills during early adolescence

The course of development of skill at face encoding is disrupted in early adolescence. Evidence is provided that the timing of this disruption is under genetic control. Regardless of their age, girls in the midst of pubertal change encode faces less efficiently than prepubescent or postpubescent controls. This maturational influence on face encoding is contrasted with a different effect of pubertal development on another visuo-spatial ability, performance on the Embedded Figures Test (EFT). Regardless of their pubertal status at time of testing, girls who mature earlier are disadvantaged on EFT compared to those who mature later. The results for EFT replicate earlier findings on the relation between individual differences in the age at which adolescence begins and certain spatial skills. Several possible explanations for each of these effects—that of maturational status on face encoding and that of maturation rate on EFT—are discussed. Consideration of the relation between physical and mental growth is advocated as a source of constraints on explanations of cognitive development.     

Transforming negative parent-adolescent interactions: from impasse to dialogue

This treatment development, process research study focuses on resolving in-session, parent-adolescent conflicts characterized by negative exchanges, emotional disengagement, and poor problem solving. These processes have been empirically linked to poor developmental outcomes, and clinically linked to poor therapeutic progress. Specifically, we examined how a shift of therapeutic focus from behavior management to interpersonal relationship failures could resolve this impasse and resuscitate therapeutic momentum. A task analysis approach was used to verify the presence of the impasse, to illuminate its core features, and to define the therapist and client behaviors associated with resolving it. In Part 1 of this two-part series, we presented the final performance map that represented that family's cognitive, emotional and behavioral interactions necessary to resolve the impasse. This article, Part II, focuses on the theoretical foundation of the intervention strategies, the phenomenology of the impasse, and the therapist's skills needed to facilitate it.     

Not quite as grown-up as we like to think: parallels between cognition in childhood and adulthood

Greater continuity in cognition between children and adults may exist than is usually appreciated. It was thought that after 3 to 4 years of age, the problem in switching on the dimensional-change card-sort task disappears. We show here, however, that if speed is used as the dependent measure, the effect of the first dimension is evident even in adults. Adults, like preschoolers, show difficulty in switching from a block of sorting by color or shape to a block of sorting by the other dimension. Notably, performance throughout the session was affected by the first dimension by which stimuli were sorted. We hypothesize that perhaps adults never fully outgrow any of the cognitive and perceptual biases of infancy and early childhood. Other examples of such biases that appear to still be present in adults are discussed. Conversely, the assumption that the optimal dependent measure for adults is the most sensitive measure for children is questioned.     

Contextual therapy: brief treatment of an addict and spouse

The clinical and theoretical applications of contextual therapy for the treatment of drug abuse are presented. A case study illustrates intervention strategies, the therapy process, and a contextual-intergenerational view of drug addiction. Contextual concepts of intergenerational processes, loyalty, fairness, accountability, and trust are defined and applied. Four stages of brief contextual therapy are presented, and the process is examined using examples from transcribed transactions of the therapy sessions. It is suggested that contextual therapy offers conceptual and methodological tools for working with complex situations often involved in drug abuse cases.     

Stability in aggression revisited

Research on the stability of aggression tends to show patterns of continuity and to a lesser extent discontinuity. In this study, we provide a review of research published in four specific journals that target the stability of aggression across distinct periods of the life course. Findings from these studies identify considerable support for both instability and stability of aggression, but with some unique findings related to aggression among females as well as adult-onset aggression. The review closes with an original empirical analysis using longitudinal data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development linking teacher-rated aggression in childhood/adolescence to official conviction records in mid-adulthood, the findings of which suggest a strong degree of continuity in aggression/antisocial behavior among the most aggressive youths/chronic offenders. Conclusions and directions for future research are also discussed.