Remembering past emotions: The role of current appraisals

This research assessed the stability of memory for emotions over time, and the relationship between current appraisals and memory for emotions. A week after the televised announcement of the verdict in the criminal trial of Mr Orenthal James (O.J.) Simpson, participants were asked to describe their emotional reactions and their appraisals when they first learned of the verdict. After a delay of two months, and again after more than a year, participants recalled their initial emotional reactions and described their current appraisals of the verdict. After two months, the more participants' appraisals of Mr Simpson's innocence or guilt had changed, the less stable were their memories for the intensities of happiness and anger. After two months, and after more than a year, systematic changes in memory for happiness, anger, and surprise were found in directions consistent with current appraisals. These findings replicate and extend the findings of Levine (1997), and suggest that memories for emotional responses are partially reconstructed based on current appraisals of events.     

The role of television in language acquisition

The conventional view among developmental psychologists is that television viewing does not contribute to a young viewer's language acquisition. That assumption is challenged. Evidence is presented that suggests that children can learn about language as they view television: (1) From age 2, children attend to television and view in an active, purposeful manner. (2) Some programs present dialogue in an attention-getting, content-redundant context. (3) Children can learn word meanings when viewing. (4) Children draw upon television as a source of verbal routines for their own play interactions.     

Christian-Muslim Relations: A look backwards and A look forwards

At a significant moment in the calendar of one of the two concerned traditions, as the Christian community enters the second millennium of its history, this article looks back over the history of the relationship between Christians and Muslims and selects some examples of defining moments in the relationship. These examples illustrate the wide variety of attitudes towards and perceptions of the other which are evident in history. The article then attempts to look forward and outline some features which are desirable for the future study of Christian-Muslim relations.