Children's Social Skills: Assessment and Classification Practices

After defining social skills, the authors review recent advances in the assessment and classification of children's social skills. Social skills have been demonstrated to be critical prerequisites to academic and interpersonal success. Therefore, knowledge of recent advances in the evaluation of social skills is essential to the functioning of counselors in schools.     

An A-B-C-D-E Worksheet for Promoting Beneficence When Considering Ethical Issues

An A-B-C-D-E worksheet has been prepared to promote beneficence when considering ethical issues. The components of the worksheet are derived from ethical principles and ethical decision-making models. The worksheet makes abstract concepts of decision-making models concrete and practical. In addition, it provides a shorthand for remembering key elements necessary to good ethical decision making. It is systematic and useful and can aid students of ethics and mental health professionals to think more critically about ethical dilemmas.     

PERSONALITY, INTEGRITY, AND WHITE COLLAR CRIME: A CONSTRUCT VALIDITY STUDY

This study examined the construct validity of personality scales, a personality-based integrity test, and homogenous biodata scales as reflected in their ability to discriminate white collar criminals from other white collar employees. The sample included 365 prison inmates incarcerated in 23 federal correctional institutions for white collar offenses, and 344 individuals employed in upper-level positions of authority. A cross-validated linear discriminant function ( DF ) based on 16 variables selected in the developmental sample produced a large difference (1.83 standard deviation units) between the two sample groups. The pattern of score differences revealed the offenders as having greater tendencies toward irresponsibility, lack of dependability, and disregard of rules and social norms. This study indicates that there are large and measurable psychological differences between white collar offenders and nonoffenders, and that the major construct underlying these differences is "social conscientiousness." The best measure of this difference was a personality-based integrity test.     

TWO MODELS OF SPIRITUAL JOURNEY: YOGA AND CONFUCIUS

At first glance, to juxtapose the ascetical recommendations of Patanjali and Yoga next to the counsels of Confucius and the classical Chinese tradition seems improbable and even contradictory; indeed, each thrust contrasts very sharply with the other. India's Samkhya-Yoga tradition attests to an inward thrust, to a radical probing of what some have even described as the "frontiers of inner-space". From the very dawn of history, Yogis have pioneered an interior exploration of the psyche and human spirit; ultimately these Yogis proclaim the hidden value of each person, a dimension they call " purusa ". The Sanskrit word purusa has been variously translated as "consciousness", "spirit", "light", or simply as the authentic and genuine identity of the human being. Quite naturally then, the quest for realizing this purusa - identity became the preoccupation and all-consuming goal of the Yogis — even at the cost of an almost total disregard for the social order including the abandonment of such traditional values as our commonly accepted virtues of family, society, and social growth and development.     

REEL REALITY: Science Consultants in Hollywood

Carl Sagan would have been proud of the film’s scientific accuracy if he had lived to see the film through to its conclusion... (Dennis Schwartz writing on Contact in Ozus’ World Movie Reviews). Find me a scientist! A geologist! Someone who can tell me what the hell is going on! [Mike Roark (Tommy Lee Jones) in Volcano]. Surprisingly enough, when Tommy Lee Jones shouts out this line during the eruption of Mt. Wilshire in Volcano, he actually echoes the cries of some of the most powerful people in Hollywood. Twenty per cent of the top grossing films of all time have had scientific or technical consultants,1 as did the 2000 and 2001 Best Picture Oscar winners (Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind), several of the top-rated television shows of recent years (C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation and The X-Files among them), and a prodigious number of other entertainment industry products. This is a paper about the experience of science consultants in Hollywood. It examines the process through which their input is secured and incorporated by filmmakers, and how that knowledge is part of a process of commodification of scientific knowledge through which those filmmakers play with the concept of reality as part of the industry and craft of the dream factory. It interrogates the idea of reality as viewed through native eyes: as social scientists, when the producer of the movie Spider-Man says during an interview that his movie is very accurate scientifically, our duty is not to stare back at him in disbelief, but to take that sentiment and try to understand the cultural framework that enables him not just to say this with a straight face, but to mean it.     

The differential effects of parental divorce and marital conflict on young adult romantic relationships

The differential effects of parental divorce and marital conflict on young adult children's romantic relationships were examined in this short‐term longitudinal study. Using a sample of 285 young adults, structural equation modeling supported the hypothesis that parental divorce and marital conflict were independently associated with young adult children's romantic relationships through different mechanisms: Parental divorce was associated with young adults' low level of relationship quality through a negative attitude toward marriage (positive attitude toward divorce) and lack of commitment to their own current relationships. However, marital conflict was associated with young adults' low level of relationship quality through their conflict behavior with their partner. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for future research.