The relative contributions of rods and cones in sensory memory under photopic and scotopic conditions

Brief presentations of letter arrays were probed by bar markers within or outside the fovea after various time delays. Figural information presented to the foveal region was retained better under a photopic condition than information in the parafoveal region, but under a scotopic condition parafoveal information demonstrated superior retention. However, decay rates over time of all functions were similar, demonstrating that figural information in the rods and cones decays at similar rates.     

Norms for employed daughters' and sons' behavior toward frail older parents

This study examined whether norms that concerning assisting frail older parents were different for daughters than for sons when the adult children are members of dual-earner couples. Data were gathered by telephone interviews from a probability sample of 315 adults residing in western Alabama. Of the 18 statements presented, statistically significant differences between the expectations for daughters and sons occurred in only three cases (help with housework, meal preparation, and yard work), suggesting substantial support for norms of equalitarianism. Further, there were few differences between the expectations held by females and by males for daughters and sons. Generally, the results suggested strong support for behaviors that facilitate the independent living of both adult children and their frail older parents.The authors acknowledge with thanks the assistance of the University of Alabama's Capstone Poll, which collected the data for this study.     

Reciprocal Effects Between Locus of Control and Job Attributes

The purpose of this study was to examine the reciprocal relationships between locus of control and job attributes of a representative sample of 1383 employees in a large Australian city. It was predicted that employees with an internal locus of control would attain jobs higher on skill-utilization, influence and income than those attained by employees with an external locus of control. It was also predicted that jobs involving high skill-utlization, influence and income would induce greater internal control beliefs than those low on skill-utilization, influence and income. Locus of control was measured using Rotter's scale (Rotter, 1966). Reciprocal causation was assessed using two-stage least squares analysis. For the total sample, it was found that locus of control and job attributes were reciprocally determined. However, locus of control was not related to influence when skill-utilization and income were controlled. When the sample was split on the basis of gender and marital status, the predicted relationships between locus of control, skill-utilization and income were found for married men only. For married women, locus of control was neither a determinant of job attributes nor an outcome of job experience. These sub-group differences were interpreted in terms of differences in job tenure, work values and occupational opportunity.     

Performance of disturbed hyperactive and nonhyperactive children on an objective measure of hyperactivity

Twenty hyperactive emotionally disturbed children (6–11 years) and a matched sample of nonhyperactive emotionally disturbed children were selected from the population of a therapeutic day treatment facility on the basis of teacher ratings. They were administered the Matching Familiar Figures Test-20 and were rated on several scales of impulsivity and/or hyperactivity. Each subject was required to perform on the Delay Task of the Gordon Diagnostic System, which required them to inhibit behavioral responding on a temporally based schedule (DRL-6) in order to win points. Children classified as hyperactive, whether by one or more criteria, were relatively unable to refrain from emitting a high number of nonreinforced responses. Moreover, these performance differences persisted regardless of age or IQ and were stable over the 8 minutes required to complete the test.The authors gratefully acknowledge the efforts of the following members of the Institute of Clinical Psychology, University of Virginia: Richard Abidin, Ann Loper, Ronald Reeve, and Sherry Kraft. Data analyses were conducted using STATMANAGER, Hayden Software Company, copyright 1983.     

Schizotypy and hemisphere function—I : Theoretical considerations and the measurement of schizotypy

This paper brings together, in the context of individual-differences theory, two developing themes in schizophrenia research. One concerns the manifestation, in normal people, of ‘psychotic’ characteristics and their measurement using scales which, unlike the Eysenck P scale, draw their items from the clinical symptomatology of psychosis. Recent work on the so-called ‘borderline states’ is considered especially relevant and a new two-scale questionnaire (STQ) is described which was modelled on the current distinction, in DSM-III, between ‘schizotypal personality disorder’ and ‘borderline personality disorder’. The second theme addressed concerns the possible biological basis of individual differences in ‘schizotypy’. It is argued, in the light of some emerging views about the nature of schizophrenia, that this may lie in the functional and structural properties of hemisphere organization. A suggested strategy for evaluating this theory is an examination of the performance of schizotypal normal Ss on tests of hemisphere function.     

Schizotypy and hemisphere function—III : Performance asymmetries on tasks of letter recognition and local-global processing

Two experiments are reported comparing high and low schizotypal normals on divided field tasks of (a) letter recognition and (b) local-global processing. On the former, low schizotypal Ss showed an expected right visual-field superiority, whereas high schizotypal Ss showed the opposite, in that respect resembling schizophrenic patients. A similar reversed asymmetry was found when the two personality types were compared for local and global processing of letter stimuli, high schizotypals being especially unusual in showing superior local processing for stimuli presented in the left visual field. The results are taken as providing further support for the theory of schizotypy put forward in a previous paper.     

Maternal and adolescent depressive symptoms and family conflict: An autoregressive cross-lagged examination of competing models in multi-stressed mothers and adolescents

Maternal and adolescent depression are challenges that often co-occur. Many studies have drawn bivariate associations between maternal depressive symptoms, adolescent depressive symptoms, and family conflict, but few have examined reciprocal effects. Even among extant studies, there is a lack of clarity related to directionality of influence. Three competing theoretical models may explain the relationship between maternal depressive symptoms, adolescent depressive symptoms, and family conflict, and these processes may differ by adolescents’ sex. Using three time points of data from 187 diverse mother-adolescent dyads, we fit a taxonomy of autoregressive cross-lagged structural equation models to simultaneously evaluate the competing theoretical models and also examine differences by sex using multiple-group analyses. Results indicate a symptom-driven model whereby adolescent depressive symptoms predicted increases in family conflict. Sex differences were also found. For males, but not females, greater adolescent depressive symptoms predicted subsequent increases in maternal depressive symptoms, which then predicted lower family conflict—possibly indicating maternal disengagement/withdrawal. Our findings suggest addressing adolescent depressive symptoms in order to prevent family conflict and that distinctive targets for the prevention/intervention of family conflict should account for differences by adolescents’ sex.     

Religious Homogamy and Marital Satisfaction in South Korea: Exploring Variations across Religious Groups

This study examines whether and how the association between religious homogamy (i.e., whether spouses have the same religious affiliation) and marital satisfaction varies across religious affiliations by utilizing a unique context that four large religious groups (i.e., Buddhists, Protestants, Catholics, and religious nones) coexist in South Korea. Our results show that while religious homogamy has a positive relationship with marital satisfaction among Protestants and Catholics, there is no such association among Buddhists. This study also reveals that higher levels of religious attendance intensify the positive relationship between religious homogamy and marital satisfaction only among Protestants. Moreover, religious heterogamy is positively associated with marital relationships among religious nones compared to religious homogamy. However, this pattern held only for religious nones who married Buddhists or Catholics. We discuss the implications of our findings for research on religion and marriage from cross-cultural perspectives.     

Making Space Behind the Veil: Black Agency within a Predominantly White Religion

The work of W.E.B. Du Bois highlights the significance of Christian religion in Black American life. According to Du Bois, the Black Church serves as a site of self-formation and affirmation, and the White Church as a source of racist beliefs and justifications for inequality. In this paper, we expand Du Bois’ inquiry about the influence of religion with a study of Black Americans who belong to a predominantly White religion. For those whose religious experience is almost wholly within the “white world,” what role does religion play in their lives? We analyze a set of 52 public accounts by Black Americans discussing their experiences as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). We find that for many Black LDS, membership in the LDS Church is characterized by contrast and contradiction, yielding spiritual conviction, joy, and meaningful communion on one hand, and racism and isolation on the other. We also find that Black LDS respond to these contradictions in a variety of ways. We classify these agentic responses into five types and examine the sociological significance of the observed variation. We conclude with a discussion of implications for scholarship on race and religion.     

Divine Relations as a Basis of Subjective Social Status During Later-Life: Direct and Moderating Effects

Early social theorists, including W.E.B Du Bois, recognized the importance of religion and its links to inequality, particularly in how religious vocabularies are attuned to frictions with inimical concrete social and political realities. We apply these ideas to research on the intersection of religious beliefs and economic deprivation, examining how beliefs in divine relations not only structure subjective social status (SSS), but also the association between financial stress and SSS. Analyses of data from the Caregiving, Aging, and Financial Experiences Study—a national study of Canadian older adults (N = 4010)—show that financial strain is associated with lower SSS, but better divine relations (higher support from a divine power and lower troubled relationships with a higher power) benefit SSS. Divine support also attenuates the association between financial strain and SSS. This research suggests a Du Bosian “double consciousness,” in which relations with a divine power serve as a basis for individual conceptualizations of social status that run counter to predominant narratives based on economic standing. We suggest directions for future research to explore the nuances of SSS within the religious context informed by a Du Boisian mode of inquiry.