The Traditional Explanation for Resistance Versus Attitude Accessibility

This investigation compared the traditional explanation for the way inoculation confers resistance to influence with an alternative rationale for resistance based on attitude accessibility. Four hundred forty‐three participants took part in the investigation in four phases spanning 54 days. The combined multiple regression and structural equation modeling results suggest that the traditional and alternative explanations for the way that inoculation confers resistance involve separate processes; counterarguing and accessibility appear to be distinct tracks en route to resistance, but the two explanations also are overlapping processes in which elicited threat plays an integral role.     

African and African American Graduate Students' Racial Identity and Personal Problem-Solving Strategies

This study examined differences on the Racial Identity Attitude Scale (RIAS; Helms & Parham, 1985) and the Problem Solving Inventory (PSI; Heppner, 1981, 1988) among 34 African and 48 African American graduate students. Significant differences were found on the preencounter and internalization scales of the RIAS. There were no group differences in coping ability as measured by the PSI. In addition, the African group experienced an acculturation effect as time in the United States was extended beyond 3 years. These differences in racial identity states have implications for cross-cultural counseling.     

The Therapeutic Frame: On the Need for Flexibility

A fundamental function of the therapeutic frame is protection of the therapeutic process from the intrusion of elements antithetical to the best interest of the client and detrimental to treatment outcome. It is argued that dogmatic interpretation of the frame promotes conformity rather than growth in the client, blinds the therapist to legitimate issues of client diversity, and constricts the therapist's ability to be appropriately responsive to the client. It is suggested that while the frame is essential to maintain the focus of treatment on the welfare of the client, inflexible adherence undermines this purpose.     

Exploring self-forgiveness

This article presents the results of a phenomenological study of the experience of self-forgiveness. On the basis of in-depth interviews with seven subjects, self-forgiveness is described not as an achievement but rather as a gift where one moves from estrangement and brokenness to a sense of at-homeness.This article is based in part on a paper presented at the Eighth International Human Science Research Conference at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, in August 1989. The authors thank their colleagues Carolyn Grissom and Jodi Kelly for their helpful suggestions.     

A self-reinforcement questionnaire

The hypothesis that the tendency to engage in self-reinforcement behavior is measurable by a 30-item true-false questionnaire is supported using self-monitoring as the validity criterion. The use of the self-reinforcement questionnaire has been supported previously by correlating questionnaire scores with frequency of self-reinforcement during simple experimental tasks. In the present study, 53 undergraduates monitored self-reinforcement behavior for 28 days and frequency of self-reinforcement correlated significantly with questionnaire scores as well as experimenter ratings of the tendency to engage in self-reinforcement. The results suggest that the questionnaire is a promising tool for the measurement of self-reinforcement in meaningful settings. The need for further validational evidence is noted and the potential usefulness of the questionnaire in testing hypotheses regarding the relation between self-reinforcement and depression is discussed.     

Two developmental transitions in selective remembering strategies

Two experiments were reported investigating developmental changes in the use of strategies to eliminate interference from irrelevant information in memory. The participants in the first were 7-, 9-, and 11-year-old children and those in the second were adults. In both experiments a directed forgetting paradigm was used in which the person was presented two sets of pictures but only recalled one set on a trial. On some trials there was a cue to forget the first set and to remember only the second set. There were two developmental transitions. The first was from ineffective to effective selective remembering which occurred between 7 and 11 years of age. The second, which occurred between 11 years of age and adulthood, was from the use of selective retrieval strategy to a more sophisticated rehearsal strategy. The implications of these two developmental transitions were discussed.     

Effects of sex-linked situations and sex composition on cooperation and style of interaction

One hundred and sixteen undergraduates were randomly assigned to same-sex and mixed-sex dyads. They interacted face-to-face in four different role-playing situations, half of which were female linked and half male linked. These situations were structured to give the participants mixed motives toward each other. Results indicate that sex composition and sex appropriateness of the situations affected the style of interaction more than cooperation. In both the same- and mixed-sex dyads, division of task and maintenance between group members occurred. In mixed-sex dyads, males were task oriented, and females maintenance oriented; presumably, sexual identity was used to make this division. In the same-sex dyads, the distribution of task and maintenance behaviors was worked out in the interaction. Participants rated themselves more knowledgable and were more competitive in female-linked situations than in male-linked ones. Under the conditions of the experiment, sex of the participant and sex composition of the dyad were not found to affect cooperation.     

Counter-stereotypical impulsivity and violence among African American college men

The study examined the relationship between impulse control and violence in terms of past feelings and acts among African American males enrolled in Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Data were gathered from a sample of 1,874 male undergraduates in eleven colleges and universities with predominantly African-American students. Less than six percent were classified as impulsive, and even less than half of the impulsive males had past feelings and acts of violence. The study offers strategies for impulse control which may help to further minimize incidents of violence on the college campus.     

The Church of England Head: the responsibility for spiritual development and transmission of tradition in a multi‐cultural setting[1]

The Anglican Church has a long involvement in the education of children, being originally concerned with the education of the poor. A key feature of early schooling was its religious nature. But what of the role of such an education in today's multi‐faith society? In particular how does the Anglican school see its role in providing for the spiritual development of its pupils? This paper represents an initial enquiry into the role of the Anglican school in providing for pupil's spiritual development in a multi‐faith, yet some would say largely secular society. In particular it begins to examine the role of the head teacher in promoting this area of school life.