Will infants search when ‘no toy’ is hidden? A study of implicit assumptions about the development of object permanence

In the Piagetian tradition, presence or absence of a sense of object permanence is inferred from whether an infant does or does not search when an object is occluded. This line of reasoning entails an implicit assumption, i.e. an infant will not search if no object is seen to disappear. This assumption was evaluated in three studies of 9- and 12-month-old infants' responses to ‘hiding’ toy and ‘no toy’ in different orders in one and two positions. The infants did not search for ‘no toy’ when it preceded toy hiding, but they did search for ‘no toy’ when it followed ‘toy’ under some conditions.     

Candidate Effects on Election Outcomes: Political Skill,Campaign Efficacy,and Intentions in a British General Election

Integrating Social/Political Influence Theory with the Theory of Planned Behavior, we argue that personal resources (i.e., political skill, self-efficacy) enable political candidates to form more ambitious campaign intentions, and thus perform better in elections. We tested this model with a sample of political candidates (N = 225) campaigning in a British general election. Three months before polling day, candidates provided self-ratings of political skill, domain-specific self-efficacy (i.e., campaign efficacy), and personal campaign intentions during the campaign period. Our results demonstrated that political skill was positively related to campaign efficacy, and intentions, via campaign efficacy. We also found a significant indirect effect for political skill on electoral performance (i.e., percentage of the vote), through campaign efficacy and intentions. Implications of our results for understanding candidate effects in campaigns and future research are discussed.     

Mental health past age fifty: A growing specialty in psychotherapy

With the over-50 cohort becoming a major proportion of the population, the special needs and problems of this group call for special skills and knowledge on the part of psychotherapists involved with them. Not only are stage-related developmental considerations a factor, but repressed fears of physical depletion, failure to achieve life goals, and the ultimate reality of death all play a significant part, in therapists as well as patients. These need to be dealt with through exploration and confrontation.     

A Preliminary Investigation of College Students' Alcohol Consumption at Two Universities With Limited Greek Systems

At 2 moderately sized, public, urban universities with limited Greek systems, 1,246 college students completed the CORE Survey (C. A. Presley, R. Harrold, E. Scouten, R. Lyerla, & P. W. Meilman, 1994). Serious alcohol‐related behaviors and concerns were noted. Implications of findings and suggestions for addictions counselors are presented.