RELIGION AND EMPIRICISM IN THE WORKS OF PETER BERGER

Abstract. Peter Berger established himself in the sociological profession in large part through his functional interpretations of religion and its ostensible demise in relation to the empirical bent of modern intellectual thought. Yet, in his ef–fort to expand the scope of empiricism such that it might address nontrivial concerns, Berger found himself attempting to understand the "substance" of religiori—that is, the conviction that there exists an "other" which confronts us unconditionally and consequently forms the basis of all issues concerning value and meaning. Berger's writings deserve critical attention in that they disclose both the problems and the promises of utilizing empirical methods for the task of rehabilitating, rather than debunking, humanity's religious propensities.     

Automation and cognition in air traffic control: An empirical investigation

Several investigators have expressed concern that the imminent automation of air traffic control may have negative consequences on cognitive functioning, and ultimately on performance. We investigated these possibilities empirically by comparing normal, conventional air traffic control with an experimental condition designed to resemble an extreme version of automation. Overall, measures of performance were comparable between conditions. Most of the cognitive measures (attentional demands, visual search, recall of flights, recall of flight data) were not impaired by the automation analogue. Instead, two prospective measures (prospective memory, planning) showed improved performance. The prospective memory advantage is particularly surprising given that the automation-analogue group was unable to manipulate external memory aids. Possible reasons for the prospective memory advantage include a reduced workload, which allows the controller to get the necessary information in other ways, and a change in the nature of the task resulting from the “automation” of the strip management module.     

Family stressors as predictors of codependency

Codependency has been defined as an extreme focus on relationships, caused by a stressful family background (J. L. Fischer, L. Spann, & D. W. Crawford, 1991). In this study the authors assessed the relationship of the Spann-Fischer Codependency Scale (J. L. Fischer et al., 1991) and the Potter-Efron Codependency Assessment (L. A. Potter-Efron & P. S. Potter-Efron, 1989) with self-reported chronic family stress and family background. Students (N = 257) completed 2 existing self-report codependency measures and provided family background information. Results indicated that women had higher codependency scores than men on the Spann-Fischer scale. Students with a history of chronic family stress (with an alcoholic, mentally ill, or physically ill parent) had significantly higher codependency scores on both scales. The findings suggest that other types of family stressors, not solely alcoholism, may be predictors of codependency.     

Using a taped intervention to improve kindergarten students' number identification

A multiple baseline design across students was used to evaluate the effects of a taped numbers (TN) intervention on the number‐identification accuracy of 4 kindergarten students. During TN, students attempted to name the numbers 0 through 9 on randomized lists before each number was provided via a tape player 2 s later. All 4 students showed immediate increases and reached 100% in number‐identification accuracy. One student reached 100% accuracy after TN was supplemented with performance feedback, reinforcement, and overcorrection.     

Engineering academic performance with selective retrieval: the benefits of implied ability

Research on retrieval fluency suggests that, under different recall constraints, recalling past failures might be as effective as past successes for engineering task performance. In the current study, students recalling three instances of academic success correctly answered more items on a knowledge task than those recalling nine instances. Other students, asked to recall nine instances of failure, answered more items correctly than those recalling three failures and more than those recalling nine successes. This pattern was partially mediated by the assessments of one's ability as compared with other students. The results are interpreted as extending previous research in retrieval fluency by suggesting that the ease of retrieving task‐related instances informs individuals about their comparative ability that, in turn, influences performance.     

Primary Care Providers’ Responses to Patient-Generated Family History

Family health history is one of the best predictors of an individual’s risk for common disease, yet it is underutilized in routine care. Although the Surgeon General has recommended consumers record their family health history and share it with their health care provider, providers’ perceptions of patient-generated family histories are unknown. To learn more about providers’ experience with and perceptions about patient-generated family histories, we mailed surveys to 301 providers and had a response rate of 24% (n = 68). Seventy-three percent felt a patient-generated computer pedigree would improve their ability to assess risk as compared to their current methods. Seventy percent felt a patient-generated computer pedigree would either have no effect on or would increase the number of patients that could be seen in a day. Results suggest that providers appreciate the potential benefits of patient-generated family histories. Genetic counselors and nurses are in a prime position to promote and facilitate the use of patient-generated family health histories in routine care.     

Foster Care Children’s Kinship Involvement and Behavioral Risks: A Longitudinal Study

Researchers have found that individual strengths (e.g., coping, optimism) are protective against behavioral risk (e.g., delinquency, suicide) among traumatized youth in foster care. However, less is known about kinship involvement (i.e., extended family support) as a social strength that can also attenuate the effects of childhood trauma, thereby reducing behavioral risk. Addressing the lack of research on kinship involvement, the present longitudinal study investigated individual strengths (IS) and kinship involvement (KI) as moderators between trauma experiences (TE) and risk behaviors (RB) among 336 youth, ages 6 to 13, who entered the Illinois child welfare system between 2011 and 2014. Controlling for Time 1 (T1) RB, T1 IS, age, gender, and ethnicity, we utilized a three-level Hierarchical Generalized Linear Model to analyze TE?×?KI and TE?×?IS at T2. The study found that KI was negatively associated with RB (β16?=??.08, Event Rate Ratio [ERR]?=?0.92, p?=?<.01), suggesting that youth with more KI had relatively lower RB trajectories. Further, the TE?×?IS interaction was significant in the model (β21?=??.05, ERR?=?0.95, p?<?.01); TE was positively associated with RB at lower levels of IS but not higher levels of IS. These results highlight the importance of assessing children’s kinship networks and individual strengths early in foster care.