In- and outgroup representation in a dynamic society: Hong Kong after 1997

Reunification with the People's Republic of China in 1997 draws attention to the identity of Hong Kong people along with their representation and perception of in- and outgroups. We gathered current data on in- and outgroup representations, self-categorizations, and the willingness to assimilate in this dynamic sociocultural environment. A new experimental method was developed to measure the structure and feature dimensions of in- and outgroup representation in 25 university students and 25 employees. Results showed that the structure of mental representations had changed after reunification. Interestingly, significant feature dimension of intergroup perception, such as modernity and Confucian values, proved to be consistent with earlier research. In the present study, it became obvious that such feature dimensions played an important role in discriminating between in- and outgroups.     

Self-Labeling Sexual Harassment

This study was designed to examine personal, stimulus, and organizational factors that predict the self-labeling of sexual harassment. Hypotheses were developed based on the social cognitive schema framework, which suggests that the activation of a victim's schema of sexual harassment influences self-labeling incidents as sexual harassment. Results of a secondary analysis of the 1995 Department of Defense Gender Issues dataset generally supported the hypotheses in that self-labeling is a multi-faceted process. Several findings were in the opposite direction from that predicted (e.g., perceptions that the military was implementing sexual harassment policies were negatively associated with self-labeling). Alternative explanations for the complexity of the self-labeling process were also examined. Portions of this article were presented as a poster at the 2000 Association for Women in Psychology conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Authorship is listed alphabetically, both authors contributed equally to this study.     

The relation of white matter hyperintensities to cognitive performance in the normal old: education matters

This study examined whether the severity of cerebral white matter abnormalities (evident on MR images as white matter hyperintensities (WMH)) was related to the cognitive performance of 141 high-functioning older adults. The elderly showed the typical age decrement on measures of processing speed, working memory, and inhibition; however WMH severity was significantly related only to processing speed. The strength of this relationship was, however, influenced by the educational level of the participants, such that processing speed was more associated with WMH severity in less-educated than in well-educated participants. This is consistent with recent concepts of cognitive reserve, but does raise a question as to the underlying source of the cognitive decrement found in the sort of well-educated elders typically used in cognitive-aging studies.     

Computerized stroop test to assess selective attention in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Research shows abnormal function of the pre-frontal cortex in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This cortex is involved in the control of executive functions related to planning and execution of goal-oriented strategies, working memory, inhibitions, cognitive flexibility, and selective attention. Selective attention involves focus on the target stimulus, ignoring competing distractions. The Stroop Test (Stroop, 1935) is usually used to evaluate selective attention. This study investigated whether children with ADHD could exhibit modified performance in the Stroop Test. Using a computerized version of this test (Capovilla, Montiel, Macedo, & Charin, 2005), the study compared the reaction times (RTs) of 62 Brazilian children, between 8 and 12 years of age, 31 of whom were diagnosed with ADHD and sent to psychiatric clinics, and 31 without ADHD studying in regular schools. All children with ADHD satisfied the criteria of the DSM-IV-TR and were evaluated with the Conners Abbreviated Questionnaire (Goyette, Conners, & Ulrich, 1978), completed by parents and teachers. The results revealed that children with ADHD exhibit greater interference in RT than children without ADHD. This corroborated the hypothesis that children with ADHD exhibit a deficit in selective attention, consisting in augmented RTs, as measured by the Computerized Stroop Test.     

A conceptual model for the development of externalizing behavior problems among kindergarten children of alcoholic families: role of parenting and children's self-regulation

The purpose of this study was to test a conceptual model predicting children's externalizing behavior problems in kindergarten in a sample of children with alcoholic (n = 130) and nonalcoholic (n = 97) parents. The model examined the role of parents' alcohol diagnoses, depression, and antisocial behavior at 12-18 months of child age in predicting parental warmth/sensitivity at 2 years of child age. Parental warmth/sensitivity at 2 years was hypothesized to predict children's self-regulation at 3 years (effortful control and internalization of rules), which in turn was expected to predict externalizing behavior problems in kindergarten. Structural equation modeling was largely supportive of this conceptual model. Fathers' alcohol diagnosis at 12-18 months was associated with lower maternal and paternal warmth/sensitivity at 2 years. Lower maternal warmth/sensitivity was longitudinally predictive of lower child self-regulation at 3 years, which in turn was longitudinally predictive of higher externalizing behavior problems in kindergarten, after controlling for prior behavior problems. There was a direct association between parents' depression and children's externalizing behavior problems. Results indicate that one pathway to higher externalizing behavior problems among children of alcoholics may be via parenting and self-regulation in the toddler to preschool years.     

Unruly difference: the politics of stigma and the space of the sacred

This essay looks at three contemporary Jewish American playwrights: Tony Kushner, Martin Sherman and Deb Margolin, whose plays ask fundamental questions about Jewish identity in its political, cultural and spiritual dimensions. Breaking from the concerns of their theatrical predecessors, most of whom ignored or disguised their Jewish roots, these playwrights draw on profoundly Jewish concepts to reconfigure narratives of redemption, obligation, ethical community, and Messianic utopianism. Their plays are characterized by a sensibility of “unruly difference.” Attracted by the politics of marginality; these writers re-imagine otherness in plays that celebrate a different understanding of faith and conjure the sublime. By carving out a more capacious definition of Judaism that embraces contradiction and contention, faith and doubt, progressive social vision and deepened spiritual commitment, they sit aslant the mainstream. They are drawn to their understanding of the spiritual power and cultural grandeur of the Jewish heritage, but question the politics of accommodation and the limitations of tradition and law. The ambivalence these writers express about Judaism adds to the complexity of their writing and to its value as a cultural indicator. Working in new idioms, they refute traditional discourses and dominant paradigms of conformity and coalescence that characterize modern Jewish-American life.     

Using internet resources in a research methods course

Internet resources (a WWW home page, a Unix-based Listserv discussion list, and e-mail) were used to supplement traditional materials in a research methods course. The course also included word processing and computerized data analysis, and the student version of MEL was used as a research simulator. A computer usage survey was administered at the beginning and end of the semester. Analysis of the survey results indicated that students were more positive in their attitudes about computers as a helpful tool for psychologists at the end of the course than at the beginning. They did not show an increased appreciation for the usefulness of Internet and e-mail, however, which is probably the result of the text-based Internet browser and the slowness of the e-mail system used.     

Can dogs use vocal intonation as a social referencing cue in an object choice task?

Evidence from the literature indicates that dogs’ choices can be influenced by human-delivered social cues, such as pointing, and pointing combined with facial expression, intonation (i.e., rising and falling voice pitch), and/or words. The present study used an object choice task to investigate whether intonation conveys unique information in the absence of other salient cues. We removed facial expression cues and speech information by delivering cues with the experimenter’s back to the dog and by using nonword vocalizations. During each trial, the dog was presented with pairs of the following three vocal cues: Positive (happy-sounding), Negative (sad-sounding), and Breath (neutral control). In Experiment 1, where dogs received only these vocal cue pairings, dogs preferred the Positive intonation, and there was no difference in choice behavior between Negative or Breath. In Experiment 2, we included a point cue with one of the two vocal cues in each pairing. Here, dogs preferred containers receiving pointing cues as well as Negative intonation, and preference was greatest when both of these cues were presented together. Taken together, these findings indicate that dogs can indeed extract information from vocal intonation alone, and may use intonation as a social referencing cue. However, the effect of intonation on behavior appears to be strongly influenced by the presence of pointing, which is known to be a highly salient visual cue for dogs. It is possible that in the presence of a point cue, intonation may shift from informative to instructive.     

A visual object stimulus database with standardized similarity information

Although many visual stimulus databases exist, none has data on item similarity levels for multiple items of each kind of stimulus. We present such data for 50 sets of grayscale object photographs. Similarity measures between pictures in each set (e.g., 25 different buttons) were collected using a similarity-sorting method (Goldstone, Behavior Research Methods Instruments & Computers, 26(4):381–386, 1994). A validation experiment used data from 1 picture set and compared responses from standard pairwise measures. This showed close agreement. The similarity-sorting measures were then standardized across picture sets, using pairwise ratings. Finally, the standardized similarity distances were validated in a recognition memory experiment; false alarms increased when targets and foils were more similar. These data will facilitate memory and perception research that needs to make comparisons between stimuli with a range of known target–foil similarities.