Resilience: enhancing well-being through the positive cognitive triad

The present study tested whether the relationships among resilience, life satisfaction, and depression could be explained by positive views toward the self, the world, and the future (positive cognitive triad). Structural equation modeling and mediation analyses were conducted based on 1,419 college students in Hong Kong. The model of positive cognitive triad as mediator between resilience and well-being fit the data (comparative fit index = .94, Tucker-Lewis index = .93, root-mean-square error of approximation = .08). Findings showed resilience to be significantly related to positive cognitions about the self, the world, and the future. Individuals who had higher level of resilience held significantly more positive cognitions and reported significantly higher levels of life satisfaction and lower levels of depression. The utility of the positive cognitive triad as the mechanism through which resilience enhances well-being was supported. Applications in cultivating resilience and positive cognitions in counseling services are discussed.     

Acquisition and generalization of instruction following behavior in profoundly retarded individuals

Four profoundly retarded male residents of a state institution learned to comply with the instructions "come here," "stay," and "sit." Acquisition occurred in a special therapy room and instructions were presented in a fixed sequence. All subjects learned to comply with the instructions in the training environment. Testing occurred in the subject's ward dayroom where instructions were presented in a random sequence. Despite dramatic changes in the stimulus conditions associated with the transfer to the testing situation the subjects performed close to their asymptotic level. Three experimentally naive subjects participated in a second experiment which was similar to the first, except that the number of acquisition sessions and the number of trials per session were reduced. The reduction in number of acquisition trials did not appear to affect performance in the testing environment. The possibility of terminating off-task behavior of institutionalized individuals by eliciting previously acquired instruction following behavior was discussed.     

Biclustering Models for Two-Mode Ordinal Data

The work in this paper introduces finite mixture models that can be used to simultaneously cluster the rows and columns of two-mode ordinal categorical response data, such as those resulting from Likert scale responses. We use the popular proportional odds parameterisation and propose models which provide insights into major patterns in the data. Model-fitting is performed using the EM algorithm, and a fuzzy allocation of rows and columns to corresponding clusters is obtained. The clustering ability of the models is evaluated in a simulation study and demonstrated using two real data sets.     

What do we learn from the Implicit Association Test about intergroup attitudes in Hong Kong? The case of social identification inclusiveness and need for closure

The current study tests an implication of the Associative-Propositional Evaluation model of implicit and explicit attitude measures in Hong Kong's intergroup context. We argued that the Implicit Association Test taps associative intergroup evaluations that are not necessarily consistent with the propositional implications of one's social identification inclusiveness and need for closure. In contrast, explicit intergroup attitude measures tap propositional evaluations resulting from validating the inferences drawn from pertinent propositional information in the evaluation context. Thus, explicit intergroup attitude should be consistent with the propositional implications of social identification inclusiveness and need for closure. We tested and found support for these hypotheses in a study of Hong Kong adolescents' ( N  = 65) perception of Hong Kong people and Mainland Chinese.     

Sexual Harassment and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms among Asian and White Women

Sexual harassment is a prevalent problem that has been associated with negative psychological and physical health outcomes. Although sexual harassment has been linked to posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, little is known about how PTS symptoms that arose from sexual harassment experiences might be associated with psychological and physical health. This study examined the associations among sexual harassment, PTS symptoms, and psychological and physical well-being in a sample of Asian and White women. In addition, given the lack of research on sexual harassment among Asian women, we investigated the moderating role of ethnicity. Results indicated that greater sexual harassment frequency and PTS symptom severity predicted more depression, overall psychological distress, and physical symptoms. PTS symptom severity and ethnicity moderated the relationship between sexual harassment frequency and physical symptoms. We discuss the implications of these findings and directions for further research.     

Managing intergroup attitudes among Hong Kong adolescents: Effects of social category inclusiveness and time pressure

Previous research has shown a widespread bias among Hong Kong adolescents against Chinese Mainlanders. Based on social identity and social cognitive theories, we examined the effects of identity frame switching (situational induction of social category inclusiveness) and time pressure (environmental constraints on social information processing) on Hong Kong adolescents' attitudes toward Chinese Mainlanders. Results indicated that Hong Kong adolescents had acquired a habitual tendency to make social comparisons within an exclusive regional framework of reference. This habitual tendency might lead to negative judgment biases toward Chinese Mainlanders, particularly when the adolescents made social judgments under time pressure. In addition, switching to an inclusive national frame of reference for social comparison attenuated negative intergroup attitudes. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

The Role of Situational Interviews in Fostering Positive Reactions to Selection Decisions

We investigated the effect of interview format and employment equity program strength on perceptions of fairness. We used job seekers and vignettes to test the hypotheses. The participants reported lukewarm support for employment equity programs. The use of a situational interview in the selection process of an organisation that had adopted an employment equity program contributed to higher perceptions of fairness vis‐à‐vis the use of an unstructured interview. The results also showed that the inclusion of a situational interview in the selection process mitigated negative reactions to the selection decision when a strong employment equity program was in place as well as when a female visible minority was hired. Nous avons évalué l'impact sur la perception de justice du style d'entretien et de la rigueur d'une charte d'équité relative à l'emploi. On a fait appel à des demandeurs d'emploi et utilisé un test de jugement situationnel pour éprouver les hypothèses. Les répondants se sont montrés peu enthousiastes en ce qui concerne les chartes d'équité relatives à l'emploi. Le choix d'un entretien structuré dans le processus de sélection d'une organisation qui avait adopté une charte d'équité relative à l'emploi a amélioré la perception de justice portant sur un entretien ordinaire. Il apparaît aussi que la présence d'un entretien structuré dans le processus de sélection atténuait les réactions négatives consécutives au résultat de la sélection quand existait une sérieuse charte d'équité relative à l'emploi et quand était embauchée une minorité féminine non négligeable.