Coping With Threats to Just‐World Beliefs: Derogate,Blame, or Help?1

The present research investigated Lerner's (1970, 1980) just‐world theory by manipulating victim‐related factors in a scenario and measuring several possible strategies for dealing with the threat to participants' just‐world beliefs created by the victim's intense suffering. Participants read a story about a victim who varied in terms of his character (likeable vs. unlikeable) and behavioral responsibility for causing his accident (high vs. low). The general pattern of results showed that for the unlikeable low‐responsibility victim, the primary response to protect justice beliefs appeared to be character derogation; for the likeable high‐responsibility victim, the primary protective strategy appeared to be blame; and for the likeable low‐responsibility victim, the primary protective strategy appeared to be compensation. Implications for just‐world theory are discussed.     

Assessment of quality of life in a multicultural cancer patient population

Quality of life (QOL) is increasingly assessed in cancer patients. In this article, the authors examined the psychometric performance of a commonly used QOL questionnaire, the Quality of Life Questionnaire--Cancer 30 (QLQ-C30; N. K. Aaronson et al., 1993), in multiethnic cancer patients. Content validation studies in patients and clinicians identified possible new items. Multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis supported equivalent structure across ethnic groups (Caucasians and Asian/Pacific Islanders [APIs]). A higher order QOL factor appeared to directly affect functioning scales and symptom count. Exploratory factor analysis examined effects of new items. Ten factors were extracted, 6 consistent with the original instrument and 4 reflecting potentially new aspects of QOL: Positive Social Support, Coping, Existential Well-Being, and Sexuality/Intimacy. The QLQ-C30 appears appropriate for use in API cancer patients. Further work needs to ensure that it includes all important domains.     

Metacognitive components of visual search in children

Two studies examined children's increasing ability to analyze tasks in terms of the perceptual features that affect task difficulty. Of particular interest was any understanding that perceptual confusions occur during the search for an object surrounded by objects similar in shape or color to that object. In Study 1, 32 pre-schoolers constructed arrays intended to make the search easy or difficult. They made the search difficult simply by putting many toys into the toy box. In a forced-choice situation, they indicated that task difficulty was influenced by the number of objects and the similarity in color and shape of the targets and the surrounding objects. Study 2 more thoroughly examined knowledge of color and shape confusions, using 96 children from Grades K, 1, 3, and 4, assigned to two age groups. The older children but not the younger ones showed a significant understanding of color and shape confusions. Both age groups understood that performance is affected by a person's interest level and degree of attention to the task. The results were discussed in terms of the accessibility of the children's knowledge under different conditions.     

Utilization of groups in training for school consultation

The purpose of the present paper is to describe the utilization of groups over the past six years in our two semester school consultation practicum course. In addition, problems and issues raised by the utilization of groups are considered. Three tensions resulting from the utilization of groups are described and it is concluded that regardless of the complexity of the issues or the instructor's fallibility, the three tensions represent issues around which instructors must make decisions.     

Discounting of food and water in rats shows trait- and state-like characteristics

Delay discounting is the loss in value of an outcome as a function of its delay. The present study focused on examining a trait-like characteristic of delay discounting in a preclinical animal model. Specifically, we were interested in whether there was a positive relation between discounting of 2 different outcomes in rats. That is, would rats that discount delayed food steeply also discount delayed water steeply? In addition, we examined how session-to-session variability in discounting could be attributed to differences between subjects (trait variability) and to differences within subjects (state variability). Finally, we measured discounting from early- to mid-adulthood, allowing us to examine changes in discounting as a function of age. Overall, we found a moderate, positive correlation between discounting of food and discounting of water in rats, providing further evidence that the relative consistency with which individuals discount different outcomes is a trait-like characteristic. In addition, we found a high degree of within-subject variability in discounting, indicating strong state-like differences from session to session. Finally, overall, discounting decreased as a function of age; however, individual-subject data showed variability in how discounting changed across time. Overall, our results show that differences in delay discounting between individuals reflect variability in both trait- and state-like characteristics.     

Holistic Human Development

One of the tenets of holism is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Applying this theorem epistemologically, we could say that a holistic view is greater than the sum of the specialized views that contribute to it. Within the framework of three divergent worldviews (mechanistic, organismic and contextual) as originally proposed by Pepper (World hypotheses: A study in evidence, University of California Press, Los Angeles, 1961), holism as both a philosophical position and a practical approach to research is applied to the study of adult human development. Because spiritual development has received less scholarly attention than biological, cognitive, or emotional functioning, topics such as meditation research, non-religious spirituality, and the concept of soul are covered to promote a balanced developmental perspective. Historical and philosophical factors leading to holism are described, a sampling of interdisciplinary dialogue between psychology and theology is presented, and conclusions regarding the need for holistic thinking and the relationship between religion and spirituality are offered.     

Perceived Academic Control: mediating the effects of optimism and social support on college students’ psychological health

The first year of college presents numerous challenges experienced as overwhelming by some freshmen who may become overly stressed and depressed. This longitudinal study examined perceived academic control (PAC) as a mediator of optimism and social support’s buffering effects on freshman students’ psychological health. Multiple regressions assessed optimism and social support (at the start of the academic year) as predictors of year-end stress and depression among 288 freshmen. PAC (at the start of the year) was then examined as a mediator of the effects of optimism and support. Lastly, stress and depression were assessed as predictors of year-end degree commitment and cumulative GPA. As expected, optimism and support predicted less stress and depression, yet their beneficial effects were mediated by students’ PAC. Depression subsequently predicted less year-end degree commitment and lower cumulative GPAs. PAC mediates the protective effects of optimism and support, providing additional protection for students against poor psychological health. Findings have implications for shielding students’ health against the demands of the freshman year.

Does within-person variability predict errors in healthy adults aged 18–90?

This study investigated within-person variability on basic psychomotor tasks in relation to errors on a higher order cognitive task. We were interested in whether more variable individuals were more prone to making errors, and whether this relationship varied with age. Variability was assessed using simple and choice reaction time, while errors of omission (misses) and commission (false alarms) were obtained from simple and complex visual search tasks. Data from 557 participants aged 18–90 years were included in the analysis. Greater variability was associated with more misses, and distribution analyses showed that slower responses were behind this effect. Variability was also associated with false alarms, but the pattern was inconsistent. Taking age into account revealed that the association between variability and misses in the simple visual search condition was stronger in older (aged 65–90 years) participants. The results suggest the relationship between greater variability and errors of omission (misses) may be related to inattention. Measures of variability may therefore provide valuable insights into individual differences in error rates and, more broadly, may also offer early warning of persons who are more prone to errors in visual search.