Culture,method, and the content of self-concepts: Testing trait,individual–self-primacy,and cultural psychology perspectives

Three theoretical perspectives on cultural universals and differences in the content of self-concepts were tested in individualistic (United States, n = 178; Australia, n = 112) and collectivistic (Mexico, n = 157; Philippines, n = 138) cultures, using three methods of self-concept assessment. Support was found for both trait perspectives and the individual–self-primacy hypothesis. In contrast, support for cultural psychology hypotheses was limited because traits and other personal attributes were not more salient, or social attributes less salient, in individualistic cultures than collectivistic cultures. The salience of some aspects of self-concept depended on the method of assessment, calling into question conclusions based on monomethod studies.     

Adolescents' performance on delay and probability discounting tasks: contributions of age, intelligence, executive functioning, and self-reported externalizing behavior

Healthy adolescents, ages 9-23, completed delay and probability discounting tasks and measures of verbal and nonverbal intelligence, executive functioning, and self-reported internalizing and externalizing behavior. Delay but not probability discounting decreased with age. Delay discounting was also associated with verbal intelligence and Go-NoGo and Iowa Gambling Task performance. Probability discounting was associated only with externalizing behavior. Findings conform to an accumulation of evidence that while delay and probability discounting may have some overlapping components, they also reflect some fundamentally different processes in this age group.     

Transforming to Teach: Teaching Religion to Today's Black College Student

Abstract. Emerging from the particular experiences of the marginalized, postmodern pedagogies (bell hooks, Paolo Freire, feminist pedagogies) argue that education is more than conveying information from teacher to student. Rather education should encompass the transformative process of shaping character, values, and politics through the dynamic interaction among the teacher, the students' experiences, and the content of the instructional material. These perspectives argue that educators should reject “the banking model” of education, and teach to transform. However, religious studies with today's black college student tests the mettle of these approaches. On the one hand, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have long practiced transformative education through a commitment to shaping both the minds and characters of their students. On the other hand, many of today's black college students are less receptive to transformation, particularly in the academic study of religion. This resistance to transformation is a reflection of (1) the socio‐economic reality of the current student, and (2) a new black religiosity that portrays the world in binary terms. These economic and religious realities present a teaching context for which few religious scholars are prepared. This essay discusses the particularities of teaching religion to today's black college student by sharing the challenges, failures, successes, and joys of teaching religion at a small church‐related, historically black women's college in the south. I will discuss the techniques that fail, and the way in which this unique context causes me to transform the way I teach religion. In the midst of a commitment to postmodern pedagogies, I feel a need to return to the banking model's establishment of authority and emphasis on content. As I negotiate with this method, I find ways to stealthily infuse transformative pedagogical techniques. I also discuss the way such a dramatic shift in pedagogy has transformed me, the teacher.     

Validation of an ipsative personality measure (DISCUS)

The purpose of this study was to examine the construct validity of an ipsative personality test (DISCUS), and various effects of the ipsative format of the test. Both an ipsative and a normative version of the DISCUS test was administered to a sample of undergraduate students (N = 103), along with an adjective based personality test that measures the Big-Five personality traits (5PFa). The results indicated that the normative and the ipsative version of DISCUS are not equivalent, and caution is needed when using the ipsative version for psychometric evaluations as in validation studies. The four DISCUS dimensions (Dominance, Influence, Stability, and Carefulness) represented combinations of the Big-Five traits rather than independent traits as indicated by the correlations with the Big-Five measure.     

The Differential Role of Anxiety Sensitivity and its Components in the Relation between Emotional Nonacceptance and Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms and Disorders among Latinos in Primary Care

The present investigation examined anxiety sensitivity (AS) in the relation between emotional nonacceptance (unwillingness to experience unwanted emotions) and mood and anxiety symptoms among Latinos seeking health services at a primary healthcare facility. Participants included 267 adult Latinos (85.4% female; Mage = 38.8 years, SD = 10.7, and 95.9% used Spanish as their first language). Results indicated that emotional nonacceptance was indirectly related to number of mood and anxiety disorders, anxious arousal, social anxiety, and depressive symptoms through AS. The observed effects were evident above and beyond the variance accounted for by gender, age, marital status, educational status, employment status, years living in the United States, and negative affectivity. Using a multiple mediation model revealed that the AS cognitive, physical, and social concerns demonstrated unique incremental explanatory effects (above and beyond the other two AS sub-scales) for depressive, anxious arousal, and social anxiety symptoms, respectively. Thus, specific sub-scales of AS were uniquely related with the expression of particular affective symptom domains. Overall, the present findings suggest that there is merit in focusing further scientific attention on the interplay between nonacceptance and AS in regard to better understanding and intervening to reduce anxiety/depressive vulnerability among Latinos in primary care.     

“This is. That was.” Examining a Family’s Lived Experiences After a Cancer Diagnosis

In 2015, 231,840 American women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. This figure represents mothers, wives, or sisters diagnosed with cancer, a diagnosis which has the potential to affect those closest to them, especially their immediate family. This research aimed to examine the lived experience of a family unit that lost their spouse/mother/sister-in-law to invasive breast cancer. A phenomenological case study was utilized to guide this research. One family unit, consisting of a spouse, daughter, son, and sister-in-law to the deceased were recruited from Southern Ontario, Canada. Background questionnaires and one-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted. The following themes emerged: (1) negatives, describing struggles with balancing care, faith, and living after a death in the family and (2) silver linings, depicting the strength that Nancy, the deceased, maintained during her illness, and the family’s hope and optimism for the future. This paper only addresses the theme “Negatives,” while the last theme is addressed in Part II of this research. Within the theme “Negatives,” there were four sub-themes: (1) What About the Kids? (2) The Balancing Act, (3) Why Would He Do This? and (4) Life After Mom. Each will be discussed in turn. This research study provides valuable information regarding the lived experiences of families coping with a parental/spousal cancer diagnosis. It may assist other individuals in similar situations by providing comfort knowing that they are not the only ones encountering this journey. The participants’ voices may also allow others to develop strength by understanding the effect of cancer on a family.     

Adolescents' performance on the Iowa Gambling Task: implications for the development of decision making and ventromedial prefrontal cortex

Healthy adolescents (79 girls, 66 boys), ages 9-17, completed the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT; A. Bechara, A. R. Damasio, H. Damasio, & S. W. Anderson, 1994) as well as working memory (digit span) and behavioral inhibition (go/no-go) tasks. Cross-sectional age-related changes were seen on all 3 tasks. Gender differences were seen in IGT deck preference and attentional variables (i.e., go/no-go hit rate and forward digit span). After age, gender, and general intellectual abilities were controlled for, IGT performance was not predicted by working memory or behavioral inhibition scores. Findings suggest that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex or its connections are functionally maturing during adolescence in a manner that can be distinguished from maturation of other prefrontal regions. Development of these functions may continue into young adulthood.     

Cognitive bias in dizziness: emotional Stroop and autobiographical memories

Dizziness is commonly associated with anxiety, and is often caused by a dysfunction of the balance system. While a link between dizziness and both anxiety disorders and depression has been established, less is known about information processing in dizziness. In the first experiment we tested whether 15 patients with dizziness would display an emotional Stroop effect for panic-related words. Also included was a control group of 15 persons. The Stroop task was preceded by ratings of personal relevance of the Stroop words and followed by a surprise free recall of the words. Results showed a Stroop effect for panic-related words in the dizziness group, but the interaction did not reach significance (p = 0.08). Separate analysis of dizziness-related panic words however resulted in a significant group x condition interaction. In the free recall of Stroop words a main effect of word category was found, with more panic-related words being recalled. The second experiment investigated autobiographical memories in 14 patients with dizziness and 14 matched controls. Results showed a group x condition interaction with less specific memories being recalled following positive cue-words in the dizziness group. The overall pattern of results suggests that dizziness is related to deficits in information processing, which could be targeted in treatment.     

Play with me at my speed: describing differences in the tempo of parent-infant interactions in the Lausanne Triadic Play paradigm in two cultures

The goal of the present study was to examine the tempo of triadic play in Swedish and American families through a comparison of 20 families from each culture. When infants were approximately 3 months old, families in both cultures participated in the Lausanne Triadic Play (LTP), a paradigm that facilitates the examination of the triad as a whole and an organization of its parts. All family play sessions were coded separately in Sweden and America using coding systems that had been developed in each country. Dynamics within the triadic play were compared across cultures, and also across coding systems. Results indicated that both coding systems described a distinct difference in the tempo of play between American and Swedish Families. Overall, although there were many similarities between countries, American families were found to have a faster pace in triadic play than Swedish families. This difference in tempo is explored in the data analyses and the discussion of this article.