The values of work success

This study attempted to examine the work value correlates on various occupational scale dimensions like service, sales and management. In all 1458 people completed two validated questionnaires: one measuring six occupational scales (HPI: Hogan Personality Inventory) and the other measuring the values and preferences that indicate the type of work that an individual would like to do, and is best suited for (MVPI: Motives and Values Preferences Inventory). There were many sex differences on the values measured. Hierarchical regressions showed some values (Affiliation, Power, Recognition) related to many of the occupational scales but often in the opposite direction. Factor analysis suggested three overall value/vocation factors (Enterprising, Traditional and Social). Implications for vocational guidance and limitations of the study are considered.     

Richard (Routley) Sylvan: Writings on Logic and Metaphysics

Richard Sylvan (né Routley) was one of Australasia's most prolific and systematic philosophers. Though known for his innovative work in logic and metaphysics, the astonishing breadth of his philosophical endeavours included almost all reaches of philosophy. Taking the view that very basic assumptions of mainstream philosophy were fundamentally mistaken, he sought radical change across a wide range of theories. However, his view of the centrality of logic and recognition of the possibilities opened up by logical innovation in the fundamental areas of metaphysics resulted in his working primarily in these two, closely connected fields. It is this work in logic and metaphysics that is the main focus of what follows.     

Early Menarche: Confluence of Biological and Contextual Factors

An important factor in a girl’s feelings about menstruation as well as psychological outcomes is the timing of menarche. Reaching menarche early compared to one’s peers has been implicated as a risk factor for multiple negative outcomes including depression, delinquency, body dissatisfaction, and substance abuse. Early menarche also involves a convergence of biological and contextual factors that interact to influence psychological outcomes. In this paper we first review the biology of menarche. Drawing from studies conducted in the U.S. as well as European nations and New Zealand, we synthesize the research on environmental factors that contribute to early menarche, as well as evidence that early menarche changes a girl’s social environment. Then we review the hormonal influence hypothesis, the maturation disparity hypothesis, the contextual amplification hypothesis, and the accentuation hypothesis as models that may explain the mechanisms by which early menarche contributes to negative psychological outcomes. Finally, we describe how both mediation and moderation models can be used to understand the processes that link early menarche to adverse outcomes.     

Structure and measurement of depression in youths: applying item response theory to clinical data

Our goals in this article were to use item response theory (IRT) to assess the relation of depressive symptoms to the underlying dimension of depression and to demonstrate how IRT-based measurement strategies can yield more reliable data about depression severity than conventional symptom counts. Participants were 3,403 children and adolescents from 12 contributing clinical and nonclinical samples; all participants had received the Kiddie Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children. Results revealed that some symptoms reflected higher levels of depression and were more discriminating than others. Furthermore, use of IRT-based information about symptom severity and discriminability in the measurement of depression severity was shown to reduce measurement error and increase measurement fidelity.     

University psychology clinics in Australia: Their place in professional training

Abstract: There is universal recognition of the need for developmentally appropriate supervised clinical experience in professional psychology training. University clinics were established to provide a bridging function for postgraduate clinical psychology students, assisting the integration of psychological theory and research into real‐world clinical applications and professional identity development. The aim of training in university clinics is to provide opportunities for clinical practice and high‐quality supervision to monitor and shape clinical skills. The experiences gained in external practicum settings complement this initial training but cannot replace it. The recent introduction of Medicare rebates for psychology services has threatened the survival of university clinics because low‐cost psychological treatment is now available from experienced practitioners. This paper provides data on Australian university clinics collected before the introduction of Medicare. Concerted efforts are needed to protect university clinics in order to maintain standards required for accreditation of clinical psychology training programs. The potential impact of the loss of university training clinics is discussed and strategies to ensure their survival are suggested.     

BODY OBJECTIFICATION AND DEPRESSION IN ADOLESCENTS: THE ROLE OF GENDER, SHAME, AND RUMINATION

Objectification theory posits that the tendency to view oneself as an object to be looked at and evaluated by others negatively affects girls', but not boys', subjective well-being. Although it has been established that women self-objectify more than men, research in this area has been limited to the study of adult college women. The aim in the current longitudinal study was to investigate the role of body shame and rumination in the link between self-objectification and depression among a community sample of girls and boys at ages 11 and 13. Results indicated that adolescent girls reported higher levels of self-objectification, body shame, rumination, and depression than boys. The findings support a model in which body shame and rumination mediate a direct relation between self-objectification and depression among girls; developmentally, the gender difference in self-objectification appears before the gender differences in rumination and depression.     

Women, men, work, and family. An expansionist theory.

The lives of women and men, the relationships that they establish, and their work have changed dramatically in the past 50 years, but the dominant theories driving research in these areas have not. In this article, the authors argue that the facts underlying the assumptions of the classical theories of gender and multiple roles have changed so radically as to make the theories obsolete. Moreover, a large body of empirical data fails to support the predictions flowing from these theories. Yet the development of new theory for guiding research and clinical practice has not kept pace. The authors attempt to fill this theoretical gap by reviewing the research literature and articulating an expansionist theory of gender, work, and family that includes four empirically derived and empirically testable principles better matched to today's realities.     

GENDER COMPARISONS OF MATHEMATICS ATTITUDES AND AFFECT

This article reports the complex results of meta-analyses of gender differences in attitudes and affect specific to mathematics. Overall, effect sizes were small and were similar in size to gender differences in mathematics performance. When differences exist, the pattern is for females to hold more negative attitudes. Gender differences in self-confidence and general mathematics attitudes are larger among high school and college students than among younger students. Effect sizes for mathematics anxiety differ depending upon the sample (highly selected or general). One exception to the general pattern is in stereotyping mathematics as a male domain, where males hold much more stereotyped attitudes ( d = -.90). While affect and attitudes toward mathematics are not the only influences on the development of gender differences in mathematics performance, they are important, and both male and female affect and attitudes should be considered in conjunction with other social and political influences as explanations.