Relationship Between Humor Appreciation and Counselor Self-Perceptions

This study examined the relationship between humor appreciation and self-perceptions of high school guidance counselors. Results indicated that humor appreciation was unrelated to self-perceived counselor effectiveness, and that male and female counselors enjoyed similar types of humor. Counselors described their humor preferences as being extroverted, realistic, intelligent, and enjoying lighthearted and offbeat humor. Finally, counselors with more education perceived themselves as having less of a sense of humor.     

A Consistent Ethic of Life: An American-Catholic Dialogue

Cardinal Bernardin provides an analysis of the Catholic Church and society at large for developing a consistent ethic of life. The Cardinal's position is that the pro-life position of the Catholic Church must be a comprehensive and consistent ethic of life. Furthermore, questions of abortion and nuclear war must be linked by a consistent ethic of life. Cardinal Bernardin closes with a conviction that there is a new openness today in society to the role of moral argument and moral vision in public affairs. The Catholic Church needs to commit itself to domestic and foreign policy changes that reflect a respect for life.     

EFFECTS OF FEEDBACK AND COGNITIVE PLAYFULNESS ON PERFORMANCE IN MICROCOMPUTER SOFTWARE TRAINING

A field experiment of 68 full-time employees studied the effects of performance feedback and cognitive playfulness (that is, cognitive spontaneity in human-computer interactions) on microcomputer training performance. In addition, this research examined the impacts of performance feedback and cognitive playfulness on software efficacy perceptions and on a variety of affective outcomes, including satisfaction with feedback, satisfaction with training, and positive mood. The findings suggest that positive feedback generally results in higher test performance and more positive affective outcomes, than does negative feedback. Similarly, employees higher in cognitive playfulness demonstrated higher test performance and more positive affective outcomes than those lower in cognitive playfulness. Finally, a significant feedback × playfulness interaction on test performance was found. Specifically, employees lower in cognitive playfulness benefited more from the positive feedback than did those higher in cognitive playfulness. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

FEMALE VS. MALE ABSENCE RATES: A TEMPORAL ANALYSIS

The purpose of this research is to test the importance of temporal trends within absenteeism data for males and females. The data support previous findings of higher absenteeism rates for women when compared to men. The data also indicate the importance of temporal trends as suggested by Dansereau, Alutto, and Markham (1978). Conclusions are drawn concerning the use of absence rates as dependent variables.     

Personality Profiles of Recently Terminated Executives

Empirical comparison of terminated executives' personality profiles with employed controls revealed no pathological indicators in those terminated.     

The Dissolution of the Self in Unsettled Times: Postmodernism and the Creative Process

How does culture affect creative behavior? This question forms the background for this essay, which investigates commonalities between creative processes and features of an impending “postmodern” age. Specifically, recurring themes in discussions of the creative process — the combining, ordering, and integration of disintegrated elements — appear also to be standard features of postmodern consciousness. This essay draws from contemporary fiction-writing; popular culture; and postmodern psychology, which views the self as a work-in-progress, to demonstrate these affinities. Postmodern consciousness, it is argued, heralds an era of renewed creativity partly because the fractured view of the self it promotes, with its emphasis on paradox and irony, appears well equipped to encourage creative expression.     

Personality Correlates of College Age Bulimics

This study was conducted to examine the relationships between bulimia and the personality characteristics of assertiveness, masculinity, femininity, masculinity-femininity, and externality. The results showed low but statistically significant negative relationships between assertiveness, masculinity, and masculinity-femininity and high bulimia test scores, and even greater predictive ability was obtained when these variables were combined.