Political Attitudes and the Vietnam War: A Study of College-Educated Men of the Vietnam Generation1

Groups of Vietnam veterans (n= 52), Vietnam era veterans (n= 77), and nonveterans (n= 249), all of whom had graduated from an Ivy League university in 1966, were compared in terms of their retrospectively reported general political orientation in 1966 and their current orientation and specific political attitudes in 1990–1991. The Vietnam veterans rated themselves as being more conservative than the nonveterans on political orientation and on specific political issues in 1990–1991. The Vietnam-era veterans tended to take an intermediate position politically between the other two groups. Controlling for retrospective political orientation in 1966, intensity of military experience predicted more ideological conservatism and more support for the war against Iraq, as well as a more conservative position on a number of specific political issues of current interest. Results are consistent with the idea that critical experiences in young adulthood, namely military service in Vietnam, may affect political attitudes over many years.     

Spatial complexity and hand usage on the Block Design Test

The Block Design test is a task utilizing spatial ability, on which subjects are required to arrange red and white blocks in a pattern similar to one presented on a stimulus card. 69 right-handed subjects were presented a series of trials which varied in difficulty or spatial complexity. The amount of time that each subject's hand was in contact with the blocks during each of the reproduction attempts was recorded. Analysis of these times shows that subjects use their right hands with greater frequency only on tasks of low and moderate spatial complexity. This preference is not present on tasks of high spatial complexity. Interpretations of this finding are offered.     

Perceiving unfairness in the family: cause or consequence of marital distress?

This research tests a model suggesting that marital distress leads individuals to scrutinize what is given and received in the relationship. This scrutiny elicits perceptions of unfairness that maintain or exacerbate marital distress. In a 3-panel longitudinal study tracking married couples across the transition to parenthood, both wives' and husbands' reports of marital conflict and wives' marital dissatisfaction at Time 1 positively predicted perceived unfairness of the allocation of household tasks at Time 2, controlling for earlier perceptions of unfairness. In addition, there was evidence of perceived unfairness of division of labor at Time 2 predicting marital conflict and marital dissatisfaction for wives at Time 3, controlling for earlier conflict and dissatisfaction. This model of relationship distress and perceptions of unfairness is contrasted with prior interpretations of links between perceived injustice and distress in relationships.     

Psychosis and multiple family group therapy

Despite the growing evidence base for the effectiveness of family intervention in the treatment of individuals suffering from a psychotic disorder, in practice only relatively few mental health teams use family approaches when treating and managing those with schizophrenia or other psychoses. This paper describes a pragmatic model, which may be used in addition to other ongoing treatments, such as medication, CBT or single family therapy. It was developed jointly by clinicians and service users over the past few years. It consists of regular multiple family group work, with six to eight families attending simultaneously, and aims to involve families directly in the treatment, rehabilitation and recovery of their members suffering from psychotic disorder.     

The Gods Are Watching: An Experimental Study of Religion and Traditional Belief in Burkina Faso

Traditional beliefs play an important role in many Sub‐Saharan African village societies. These beliefs imply immediate punishment for any breach of the moral code, and the possibility to influence an individual's life by the use of magic. We analyze the economic impact of traditional beliefs on behavior by conducting an experiment with microentrepreneurs in the environs of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). The salience of traditional beliefs is randomly varied through semistructured interviews. We find that priming traditional beliefs substantially increases prosocial behavior in the Trust Game. This effect is independent of age, gender, religious affiliation, or wealth.     

Spearman’s Law of Diminishing Returns and national ability

This research examined Spearman’s Law of Diminishing Returns (SLODR) using national ability as the unit of analysis. National ability was estimated using international standardized tests such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). Factor analysis estimated the national G loadings of tests for high and low ability nations. Consistent with SLODR, the G loadings of tests were lower for higher ability nations. The pattern was confirmed after correcting for school attendance and age biases. Because a test’s g loading is directly related to its predictive validity (correlation with outcomes), our results imply that the predictive validity of tests may be lower for higher ability nations.     

Testing and validating the trait emotional intelligence questionnaire (TEIQue) in a German-speaking sample

The trait emotional intelligence questionnaire (TEIQue) was tested and validated using a sample of 352 German-speaking participants. A detailed psychometric analysis provided evidence in support of the reliability of the TEIQue (at the facet, factor and global levels) and the robustness of its proposed four-factor structure. Using a subsample of 150 participants, the associations between the TEIQue and a series of relevant constructs (Big Five, life satisfaction, somatic complaints) were examined, which also included data on other trait EI measures. Overall, the TEIQue showed theoretically expected relationships to all other constructs and incremental validity in the prediction of life satisfaction and somatic complaints over and above the Big Five as well as all other trait EI measures combined.