Are psychology's tribes ready to form a nation?

Collaboration between social psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists is giving rise to a new approach that its practitioners call 'social cognitive neuroscience'. Scientists from each discipline are using the theories and techniques of the other to generate new answers to fundamental questions about attitudes, beliefs, the self, moral judgment, and other issues. Is this interdisciplinary endeavor an exercise in wishful thinking and good intentions, or is it a preview of psychology's future?     

A Multidimensional Scaling Analysis of Perceptions of Academic Dishonesty Among Fifth-Grade Students

A study was conducted to investigate the perceptions of academic dishonesty in fifth-grade students. Two methods were used to gather data: a sorting task, which was used to indirectly assess the students' perceptions, and a rating scale task, which was used to externally validate the results of the sorting task. Results of the multidimensional scaling analysis yielded two dimensions, the first being tests/homework and papers, and the second, more ambiguous appearing to differentiate based on seriousness.     

Sleep Deprivation and Dating Aggression Perpetration in Female College Students: The Moderating Roles of Trait Aggression,Victimization by Partner,and Alcohol Use

Dating aggression, whether it is physical or psychological, is a major social concern. The background-situational model is highly predictive of dating aggression, but it lacks consideration of biopsychosocial processes. Sleep was investigated as one such process. A sample of 108 university undergraduate women completed objective (actigraphy) and subjective measures of sleep quality as well as self-reports of dating and trait aggression. Indicators of sleep deprivation were associated with greater frequency of dating aggression perpetration. Associations were especially strong when trait aggression and victimization by the partner were higher. Contrary to hypotheses, alcohol consumption did not significantly moderate the relation between sleep and women’s aggression perpetration. Less sleep was associated with women’s more frequent aggression toward their partners, perhaps because sleep deprivation causes difficulties with emotion regulation.     

Assaults in the air: Concerning attacks against flight attendants

Violence directed at airline personnel by passengers while an aircraft is in flight presents an interesting and uncommon form of deviant behavior that can inform the study of deviance in general. Such behavior has been identified by various observers as a growing social problem. This paper explores the phenomenon of assaults against flight attendants through analysis of official data including both case files and statistics, interviews with officials, and a multidisciplinary literature review. Specifically, we identify factors related to both the etiology of, and reactions toward such behavior. Factors related to etiology include (1) the physical environment of an aircraft; (2) the juxtaposition of status roles between passenger and attendant; (3) the exercise of authority as a precipitating event; (4) the pervasiveness of sexual stereotypes; (5) the consumption of alcohol and drugs; and (6) psychological changes related to the experience of flying. In examining the responses to assaults we discuss (1) the statutory laws regarding aircraft assaults; (2) patterns in official statistics; (3) factors related to the underreporting of such incidents; (4) reactions by companies, unions, and the government, including the politics of deviance‐defining; and (5) changes in patterns of response. Unlike common assaults, the offenders are almost exclusively middle‐ and upper‐class persons. Suggestions for further research are offered.     

RECLAIMING AND RETURNING GENDER TO CONTEXT

Gender receives relatively little attention as a critical aspect of context, despite the general acknowledgment among psychologists that human behavior needs to be studied within the context of societal norms and practices. In this article I explain why this is the case and then, using examples from the area of dual-earner families, describe ways we can give gender its rightful contextual place in research practices. By so doing I also argue that needed transformations can take place.     

What it means to be and feel like a "true" American: perceptions and experiences of second-generation Americans

Through semistructured interviews, the authors investigated the relationships between the definition of a "true" American, the impact of 9/11, and the war in Iraq and their impact on experiences of fitting into and being excluded from the American identity with a sample of 10 2nd-generation young adults. Using consensual qualitative research methods (C. E. Hill et al., 2005; C. E. Hill, B. Thompson, & E. N. Williams, 1997) the authors identified 6 major domains that described participants' experiences, including physical characteristics of true Americans, behavioral characteristics of true Americans, beliefs and values of true Americans, the impact of 9/11 on definitions of true Americans, participants' American identity, and experiences as 2nd-generation Americans.