Hispanic and majority student attitudes toward forcible date rape as a function of differences in attitudes toward women

Less rejecting attitudes toward forcible date rape are related to more traditional attitudes toward women, as measured by the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (G. J. Fischer, “College Student Attitudes Toward Forcible Date Rape. I. Cognitive Predictors,” Archives of Sexual Behavior, 1986, 15, 457–466). Does this relation reflect more traditional or more negative attitudes toward women? If the former, then an ethnic minority having still more traditional attitudes toward women (than the nonethnic majority), also should be less rejecting of forcible date rape. This hypothesis was assessed by surveying attitudes of bicultural and bilingual Hispanic, other self-reported Hispanics, and nonethnic majority college students from a large introductory sociology class in a large Southwestern university. Results showed that Hispanics, overall, (1) had more traditional attitudes toward women than nonethnic majority and (2) as hypothesized, had less rejecting attitudes toward forcible date rape. However, these effects were not a simple function of ethnicity, at least not for males. For example, bicultural and bilingual Hispanic males were least likely to blame the male for the forcible date rape, but were no less rejecting of such behavior than other Hispanic males and had no more traditional attitudes toward women than other Hispanic or majority males. Bicultural and bilingual Hispanic females, on the other hand, were most likely to blame the male, had the least rejecting attitudes toward date rape, and had the most traditional attitudes toward women. one interpretation is that exposure to less restrictive sex roles of the majority culture is a liberating influence on Hispanic females, but not on Hispanic males who, perhaps, see more liberal attitudes toward women as having no or even negative payoff. Differences found between Hispanics who are bicultural and bilingual and other self-reported Hispanics suggest that these groups should not be combined, and that a research sample needs to be defined more specifically than “Hispanic.”     

Vibrotactile signal detection

The theory of signal detectability was applied to vibrotactile sensitivity in two experiments. The first experiment showed The psychometric function to be satisfactorily linear when a sensitivity index of the d family was plotted against the signal intensity expressed in decibels. The second experiment yielded receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) curves of a familiar form for the yes-no and rating response methods. Reasonably consistent estimates of sensitivity were obtained in the second experiment from the yes-no. rating, and forced-choice methods. The sensitivity indices examined were d’ and d_e’, based on Gaussian density functions; A, based on Rayleigh density functions; and the distribution-free indices, P(A) and F(C). For each type of index a tendency was observed for the forced-choice value to be lower than the yes-no and rating values.     

Development of kinetic images: When does the child first represent movement in mental images?

An experiment investigated at what age children could represent movement in imagery. Five- and eight-year olds were asked whether two stimuli were the same or different in shape. The two stimuli were either presented in the same orientation or one stimulus differed from the other by clockwise rotation of 30 ° (0.52 rad), 60 ° (1.05 rad), 120 ° (2.09 rad), or 150 ° (2.62 rad). Children were instructed to visually imagine the counterclockwise rotation of one shape into the position of the other to help make the judgment. For both 5- and 8-yr olds, reaction times increased as a linear function of angular discrepancy between stimuli, indicating that both age groups represented rotation in their imagery. The findings conflict with Piaget and Inhelder's thesis that imagery representing movement first emerges when children are 7 to 8 yrs of age.     

Affective state and preference for immediate versus delayed reward

Fifty-two 9-year-olds were randomly assigned to success and failure treatment conditions involving acceptance or rejection of a drawing made for an art show. In a pilot study, this treatment was shown to influence significantly subjects' affective states. Just after treatment, subjects were presented with choices between pairs of small immediate and large delayed rewards. As predicted, subjects who had experienced success chose more often the large delayed reward than those who failed (p < .02). Prior expectancy for success and sex were not significantly related to choice behavior. The influence of affective state on various parameters of the choice paradigm was discussed, and other evidence was cited indicating that affective state is a major determinant of self-gratification behavior.     

A small-animal inhalation chamber for short-to-intermediate term exposure

An inhalation chamber for behavioral toxicology studies is described. Complete and uniform diffusion of test atmospheres throughout the chamber is achieved, thus solving a dead-airspace problem prevalent in extant chamber designs. Modular attachments to the chamber allow for a variety of uses, including physiological-pathological and classical or operant conditioning. The chamber design and size are appropriate for testing most small laboratory animals (e.g., birds, rodents, and small primates), but the chamber is easily modified for use with larger vertebrates. Despite the versatility of design, the chamber is relatively inexpensive and easy to build.     

Prejudice and discrimination within the school psychology profession: Survey results from the committee on prejudice and discrimination,Division of School Psychology,American Psychological Association

The committee on prejudice and discrimination, Division of School Psychology, American Psychological Association, conducted a survey in order to determine whether school psychologists have (a) experienced any prejudice and/or discrimination with respect to ethnicity, gender, age, and sexual orientation in salary schedule (in primary employment and in consultative employment), in tenure status, and in publication and grant productivity rate (number of articles published in professional journals, whether they have reviewed articles for journals, amount of typical research grant received); and (b) engaged in legal and/or legislative activity around any existing prejudice or discrimination. A total of 850 surveys were sent to a random sample of approximately 2,500 members of Division 16, American Psychological Association, and the total return was 52%, with 41.2% usuable responses. The results do not in themselves indicate bias with respect to ethnicity, gender, age, or sexual orientation. The findings do, however, indicate the need for further study regarding possible prejudice and discrimination.     

Psychological re-evaluations: A survey of practices and perceptions of school psychologists

The practice of psychologically re-evaluating students receiving special education services has been mandated by P.L. 94–142 and further operationalized by state departments of education. Intuitively, such a requirement appears sound, for psychologists occasionally make mistakes, children change over time, and efficacy of special education services is variable. Yet given the other mandated practices, such as yearly IEP updates, and the fact that many school psychologists spend a majority of their time testing, we wondered how important three-year psychological re-evaluations are considered by school psychologists. In the present study 40 psychologists across four states were surveyed concerning their perceptions and practices regarding re-evaluations. The psychologists' responses to a 16-item questionnaire indicated that re-evaluations comprised a substantial portion of their evaluations, involved a considerable amount of time, and were perceived as an important check on a child's diagnosis and placement. Re-evaluations and initial evaluations were described as involving nearly identical tests and related activities.