Case vignette: premature surrender

Three commentaries are offered on the following case: George, age 57, is a previously healthy man who recently underwent surgery for removal of a low-grade malignant thymoma. At the time of admission to the hospital, George stressed to the staff that he had long ago signed a "living will," which he renewed immediately after he learned of his cancer diagnosis. At the time of surgery, the tumor was found to extend into his mediastinum; although it was removable, this required revision of part of the sternum and grafting of the vessels feeding the heart chambers. Because of the resultant tissue damage and neuronal hyperactivity, George experienced postoperative episodes of cardiac arrhythmia and bronchospasm. Unanimous medical opinion was that this situation was a temporary problem that would resolve itself as the tissues healed. Until that time, however, it will be difficult to wean him from ventilatory support. When his stay in the intensive care unit became prolonged, George and his family began to insist that his status be changed to "do not resuscitate" and reminded the staff about his longstanding living will. All of this is happening despite the fact that the patient and family seemingly comprehend that although the short-term interventions are invasive, there is a high probability of a successful outcome. George's cancer prognosis is excellent, and, although he may well have an episode of life-threatening arrhythmia, he is likely to respond to resuscitation interventions. Once the immediate postoperative period is over, his potential for a long and productive life with full capacities is excellent. Consider the following questions: (a) Should George's expressed wishes be respected, or should the staff take additional steps to help him survive the postoperative period, even if that means violating his stated wishes? and (b) What steps might the staff follow in sorting through this problem?     

The Separation-Individuation Test of Adolescence

The procedures undergone to establish the validity of the Separation- Individuation Test of Adolescence (SITA) are described. The test consists of six scales designed to measure key dimensions of adolescent separation-individuation. Each scale was subjected to three stages of validation: theoretical-substantive, internal-structural, and external-criterion. The results of data with 305 adolescents are reported. Although particular modifications from the original form are planned, appreciative levels of validity were established for the SITA's various scales.     

An empirical investigation of self-esteem as a composite construct

Three measures of chronic self-esteem, plus four measures developed to assess situational components of self-esteem (task-specific self-esteem and social self-esteem), were administered to 238 undergraduates at a large, urban university and a community college in the southeastern United States. Evidence for a composite construct of self-esteem was found. Results also indicate task-specific self-esteem correlates as high as .42 (p < .01) with chronic self-esteem and as high as .76 (p < .01) with social self-esteem. Task-specific self-esteem was found to be a better predictor of grade point average than chronic or social self-esteem. Suggestions are made for further research on the situational components of self-esteem to extend current findings.     

Possible effects of forced report order on tachistoscopic recognition of bilaterally presented stimuli: A response to Young and Ellis

Comparing visual field asymmetries for bilaterally presented words and corresponding line drawings, we found an RVF advantage for words and no visual field asymmetry for line drawings. We suggested that the RVF advantage previously obtained by Young, Bion, and Ellis (Brain and Language, 11, 54–65, 1980) for bilaterally presented line drawings may have resulted from a forced order of report procedure, noting that the RVF advantage was greater on trials on which subjects were forced to report in the nonpreferred right-to-left order. Young and Ellis (Brain and Language, 20, 166–171, 1983) attempt to discredit this claim and maintain their hypothesis that the RVF advantage for line drawings is attributable to better temporary storage of these stimuli by the left than the right hemisphere. In the present article, we present in greater detail our arguments for the effects of forced order of report on the perception of bilaterally presented stimuli and refute Young and Ellis's ibid. criticisms of this proposal.     

Development of sex biases in children: 40 years later

Children in grades 2–10 (200 of each sex) assigned desirable and undesirable traits to girls or boys. Half the subjects had an additional option of both sexes. Children in all grades assigned more desirable traits to their own sex and more undesirable traits to the opposite sex, in line with Smith (1939). Both sexes became less positive toward their own sex and more positive toward the opposite sex with increasing age. This pattern also had characterized girls in Smith's study, whereas, boys had shown the opposite pattern. Beginning in the sixth grade, girls were more apt than boys to assign desirable traits to their own sex. Availability of the “both sexes” option decreased stereotyping, especially in girls.     

Examining awareness of privilege among midwestern college students: An analysis of race/ethnicity,gender, and religion

Dominant group members often are not aware of the privileges they benefit from due to their dominant group membership. Yet individuals are members of multiple groups and may simultaneously occupy multiple categories of dominance and marginality, raising the question of how different group memberships work in concert to facilitate or inhibit awareness of multiple forms of privilege. Examining awareness of privilege is important as awareness may be linked to action to dismantle systems of privilege that maintain oppression and inequality. Grounded in intersectional scholarship, in this study we examined how occupying intersecting categories of race/ethnicity, gender, and religion corresponded to an awareness of White, male, and Christian privilege. In a sample of 2321 Midwestern college students, we demonstrated that students from marginalized groups broadly reported greater awareness of all forms of privilege than students from dominant groups, and the difference between marginalized and dominant groups was most pronounced when the specific group category (e.g., gender) aligned with the type of privilege (e.g., male privilege). We also tested interactions among race/ethnicity, gender, and religion, only finding an interaction between race/ethnicity and religion for awareness of White and male privilege. These findings helped to clarify that multiple group memberships tended to contribute to awareness as multiple main effects rather than as multiplicative. Finally, we examined mean differences among the eight intersected groups to explore similarities and differences among groups in awareness of all types of privilege. Taken together, these findings quantitatively demonstrate the ways in which group memberships work together to contribute to awareness of multiple forms of privilege. We discuss study limitations and implications for community psychology research and practice.     

Insights into computational thinking from think-aloud interviews: A systematic review

This systematic review examines 35 empirical studies featuring the use of think-aloud interviews in computational thinking (CT) research. Findings show that think-aloud interviews (1) are typically conducted in Computer Science classrooms and with K-12 students; (2) are usually combined with other exploratory CT assessment tools; (3) have the potential to benefit learners with special needs and identify the competency gaps through involving diverse participants; (4) are conducted in the absence of cognitive models and standard procedures; and (5) display insufficient definitional and methodological rigor. Theoretically, this review presents a systematic assessment about the application of think-aloud interviews in CT studies and identifies the limitations in existing CT-related think-aloud studies. Practically, this review serves as a reference for studying the cognitive processes during CT problem-solving and provides suggestions for CT researchers who intend to incorporate think-aloud interviews in their studies.     

Memory lapses during a pandemic: Differential associations between COVID-stress and daily memory lapses?

The policies related to COVID-19 pandemic such as stay at home orders and social distancing increased daily stress and associated impairments in mental health. This study examines the association between COVID-related stress and cognitive functioning by examining two different types of daily memory lapses, those related to prospective memory (i.e., memory for future plans) and retrospective memory (i.e., memory for past information) as well as the perceived emotional and functional consequences of daily memory problems. As part of a larger study, 58 adults (18 men; 22 ± 3 years) completed a web-based version of the daily inventory of stressful events including stress related to COVID-19 and positive/negative affect for eight consecutive days between 8 September 2020 and 11 November 2020. Findings showed that prospective lapses were positively correlated with COVID-19 stressors (r = 0.41, p = 0.002). At the within-person level, daily COVID-19 stressors were significantly associated with the number of prospective lapses (b = 0.088, SE = 0.040). COVID-19-related stressors were not significantly related to retrospective lapses (all ps > 0.05). Our findings suggested that more daily COVID-19 stressors were related to greater numbers of prospective lapses in daily life even among healthy younger adults. Thus, future research should address long term relations of COVID-19 stress and cognitive functioning in addition to the specific cognitive impairments related to COVID-19 infection.