Students' ratings of occupational dimensions of traditionally male and traditionally female occupations

The purpose of the present study was to investigate four traditionally male occupations and four traditionally female occupations on a number of dimensions which people use to judge the prestige or importance of a job. Workers were pictured on one form in their traditional roles and on a second form in nontraditional roles. Results indicated a tendency for subjects to give lower ratings to workers in nontraditional jobs. More importantly, for the two “objective” dimensions, money and education, boys and girls agreed on job ratings; however, on the two more “subjective” dimensions, respect and importance to the community, boys gave higher ratings to the male jobs, while girls gave higher ratings to the female jobs.     

A study of repetition in aphasic patients

The ability of the aphasic patient to repeat a message is a capacity of considerable diagnostic value. While it is well known that certain aphasic groups (e.g., transcortical aphasics) repeat better than other groups (e.g., conduction aphasics), possible qualitative differences among the groups have not been subjected to analysis. To secure information on repetition profiles in various aphasic subgroups, a test consisting of 11 types of items, presented under conditions of both immediate and delayed recall, was administered to eight groups of aphasic patients. The results documented a significant difference across aphasic groups, one related to site of lesion but not to severity of comprehension defect. Performance proved to be a joint product of the length and the meaningfulness of the stimulus items. The delayed condition aided Broca's aphasics and impeded anomic aphasics; in addition, nonsense syllables proved to be easier on immediate recall, while meaningful stimuli, particularly those which were number related, were relatively easier on delayed recall. Finally, sound errors were more likely to be made by Broca's and “mixed anterior” aphasics, while meaning errors were particularly prominent among conduction aphasics. These results are discussed in terms of the mechanisms which may mediate repetition in aphasic patients.     

Question form analysis in discourse agreement between a mother and a language-learning child

This study analyzed the question form used in discourse between a mother and her language-learning child. Spontaneous taped data of mother-child interactions were collected at three different time periods. Initially the child was 2;3 and data collection stopped at 2;5. Analysis of dialogue units based on protocols of discourse proposed by Mishler (1974) was conducted. Results indicated that question chaining occurred most frequently in discourse, followed by arching, then embedding. All question forms except one were initiated by the mother. Evidence also indicated that the subject did not have the linguistic competence of allwh-question forms by 2;5. This study indicated that question chaining was the most frequent type of discourse analysis with this dyad.     

A prospective naturalistic study of the impact of an intensive medical treatment on the social behavior of child and adolescent cancer patients

The impact of intensive chemotherapy and prolonged hospitalization on the social behavior of child and adolescent cancer patients was assessed. Twenty-three patients, aged 18 months to 21 years, were observed while they received chemotherapy in a protected environment or in a regular hospital room. Single-subject analyses were used to examine changes on six behaviors in relation to changes in physiological status. Fourteen patients showed significant change in the frequency of at least one behavior. Play and sleep were the behaviors most likely to change. The changes began to occur as patients experienced the systemic toxic effects of the drugs, although a dissipation of drug toxicity generally was not accompanied by a corresponding behavior change. The findings are discussed in relation to age-developmental and interindividual heterogeneity in response to treatment.     

Evaluations of the Work of Men and Women as a Function of the Sex of the Judge and Type of Work

Forty-two male and 42 female subjects selected from a large city, a small town, or a university campus were asked to evaluate four pen and ink sketches and four quotations. Two sketches and two quotations were associated with fictitious women's names while the remainder were associated with fictitious men's names. A three-way interaction indicated that women tended to discriminate against the productions attributed to men, and men significantly discriminated against the productions of women. But all discriminations were limited to intellectual productions (quotations).     

Vocational behavior and career development, 1976: A review

This review covers selections from the literature published in 1976 on topics of interest in vocational and career behavior and development. Both theoretical and research contributions are included, representing investigations in vocational choice, career maturity and development, stereotyping, measurement, vocational behavior, and related variables.     

Pregnancy: A social stigma?

Experimental evidence is presented which explores the social stimulus value of pregnancy. It was found that, for men especially, the pregnant woman elicits avoidance and staring and that these responses occur primarily because pregnancy is a novel visual stimulus. For women, avoidance seems to be tied less to the stimulus aspects of the pregnant woman than to role expectations about her behavior. The pregnant woman is expected to be passive, but is simultaneously rejected for being so. It is argued that this constellation of responses may produce discomfort and withdrawal in the pregnant woman herself, since avoidance and staring are easily interpreted as negative reactions. How these reactions fit into the cultural response to pregnancy is discussed.     

Perceptions of pain and perceptions of health

Perceptions of pain and perceptions of overall health status are complex phenomena. While logically and empirically linked, the direction of influence between the two is uncertain. Is pain one among the many indicators people take into account as they evaluate their general health status? Or are global health perceptions stable aspects of experience which underlie and color more transient experiences such as pain? These are especially interesting questions given recent evidence regarding the power of subjective health assessments in mortality prediction. The relationship between pain and perceptions of health was examined in a sample of 200 randomly selected clients of an outpatient rehabilitation center. Respondents were given a complete musculoskeletal examination by their physician followed by an extensive arthritis pain assessment administered by the staff nurse; instruments used were from the U.S. Public Health Service National Health and Nutrition Examination (NHANES-I). Other data collected by self-report included symptoms elicited by a body systems review, diagnosed chronic disease, functional disability, self-ratings of global health, evaluations of past and future health, and demographic factors. Regression analysis showed that (1) pain had an independent effect on self-perceptions of health net of other health status covariates, (2) self-perceptions of health had an independent effect on pain net of other health status covariates, (3) individuals who evaluated both their past and future health as poor reported more present pain, and (4) individuals who felt their health would be worse in the future reported poorer present health. Findings show that reports of present pain and present global health status were linked to each other and that the sense of an overall health trajectory influenced the interpretation, evaluation, and reporting of current states, both specific and general.     

Imagery skill and preference in bilinguals

A number of studies have reported differences in the performance of bilinguals and monolinguals in verbal tasks. It has been suggested that one source of this difference is a greater tendency among bilinguals to use non-verbal ways of representing events, because of the potential for confusions between their two verbal codes. In the present study, bilingual and monolingual college students were compared on three dimensions of self-reported aspects of imagery—control, vividness and preference—as well as on a performance measure of spatial manipulation skill. When these tasks were preceded by a nominally verbal activity (prose comprehension), there were no group differences on the self-report or objective imagery measures. In contrast, when they were preceded by an imagery rating task, some evidence of a compensatory reliance on spatial codes among bilinguals was obtained. Implications of these task induction effects on both subjective and performance measures of a skill were discussed.     

Cognitive variables related to suicidal contemplation in adolescents with implications for long-range prevention

In a series of studies with college and high school students (Total N=808) consistent and strong relationships were found between suicidal contemplation and the irrational beliefs considered by Rational-Emotive Theory & Therapy (RET) to underlie emotional distress. Suicidal contemplation was measured first by an item from the Beck Depression Inventory and subsequently by the Suicide Probability Scale. Irrational beliefs were measured by the Jones Irrational Beliefs Test and, in the third study, by the new Attitudes & Belief Scale-II as well. Groups formed on the basis of increasing indices of suicidal contemplation were found to be consistently, increasingly more irrational on both measures. Also groups created according to low, medium, and high levels of irrational beliefs (the B in RET) were found to be markedly different on C variables such as anxiety, depression, hopelessness, anger, psychosomoatic symptoms and suicidal contemplation. The findings were interpreted as strongly inferring a causational relationship from attitudes and beliefs to emotional distress and the contemplation of suicide. The implications of the findings for RET theory and for therapeutic and preventive strategies related to emotional distress and suicidal contemplation are clear. Other approaches to the explanation of suicide are cited and reference is made to a previous critical summary of them (Woods & Muller, 1988).Paul J. Woods, Ph.D., Co-Editor of this Journal, is a Fellow of the Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy in New York City, a Professor of Psychology at Hollins College, and a Licensed Psychologist in independent practice in Roanoke, Virginia.Ellen S. Silverman, R. N., C. & M.A. collaborated in Study III for a Master's thesis at Hollins College. She is currently in a Ph.D. program in psychology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University.Julia M. Gentilini, B. A. collaborated on Study I for an Honors' thesis in psychology at Hollins College.Deborah K. Cunningham, M. A. collaborated on Study II for a Master's thesis at Hollins College. She is currently in a Ph.D. program in psychology at the University of Memphis.Russell M. Grieger, Ph.D., Co-Editor of this Journal, is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in independent practice in Charlottesville, Virginia, and a Fellow of the Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy in New York City.