Personality and drug testing: An exploration of the perceived fairness of alternatives to urinalysis

Paper-and-pencil inventories have been suggested as a less invasive alternative to urinalysis drug testing. Using 702 students in three experiments, an overt integrity test, a personality inventory, an interest inventory and a no-testing control condition were compared. Subjects reacted most positively when no testing was required. When drug testing was required, subjects were most satisfied with either overt tests or urinalysis, and least satisfied with the personality inventory. Attempts to increase the acceptability of personality testing by providing explanations and rationale had no effect on subjects' attitudes.We wish to express our appreciation to Andrew Colfelt for his assistance in research design and data collection, and to Kevin Murphy and Terry Stecher for their comments on previous drafts of this paper.     

Molecular carrier testing for the fragile X syndrome: Issues for genetic counselors

Molecular analysis of the fragile X (FMR-1) gene identifies female fragile X carriers, but appropriate genetic counseling can only be provided if the limitations of the testing methods are understood. Molecular analysis of this gene is achieved with both the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Southern blot techniques. PCR is faster and can determine the actual number of CGG repeats, which modifies genetic counseling substantially. However, for a sizeable percentage of women, PCR alone is not conclusive, and Southern analysis is necessary to complete the study. While this procedure takes longer, it is usually conclusive. Women who present for genetic counseling and carrier testing in the second trimester of pregnancy need this information quickly, and for them the turn-around time is paramount. It is critical that genetic counselors understand these methods so that they can educate their clients and facilitate appropriate follow-up.     

The responses of African American women firefighters to gender harassment at work

The purpose of the present study is to describe the responses of African American women firefighters to sexual and gender harassment. Surveys and interviews of 22 firefighters nationwide uncovered universal exposure to harassment. Contrary to prior studies, most of which involved white college students and white collar workers, all these firefighters used externally focused, direct response strategies. Nineteen women directly confronted the harasser; of these, ten responded aggressively, including four women who countered physical harassment in kind. Their stories suggested that most found their strategy to be effective at stopping the present harassment and deterring future occurrences. While few firefighters reported positive work relations, these may have been a precursor to, rather than a result of, their direct response patterns.We wish to thank Maureen Aniakudo, Brenda Brooks, and the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters, and Terese Floren and Women in the Fire Service for their invaluable advice and support. This project was supported by funding from the Fromkin Research Grant and Lectureship at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues' Grants-in-Aid Program, and the University of Wisconsin System's Institute on Race and Ethnicity.     

Children's appraisals of sex-typed behavior in their peers

Four experiments evaluated the effect of variations in sex-typed behavior in hypothetical peers on children's ratings of friendship. In all four studies, the children were heterogeneous with regard to social class, ethnicity, and race. In Experiment 1, children (71 boys, 90 girls) in Grades 3–6 read five stories about a target boy and in Experiment 2 (102 boys, 137 girls) about a target girl who displayed four sex-typed behaviors that ranged from exclusively masculine to exclusively feminine. In Experiment 1, boys preferred the exclusively masculine boy most as a friend. With each addition of a feminine behavior (and corresponding subtraction of a masculine behavior), the friendship ratings became increasingly negative. In contrast, the girls preferred the exclusively feminine boy most as a friend and, with each addition of a masculine behavior, the friendship ratings became increasingly negative. In Experiment 2, the converse was found although girls' ratings of friendship were less sharply affected by the target girl's sex-typed behavior than was observed for boys' ratings in Experiment 1. In Experiment 3, children (33 boys, 38 girls) in Grades K—2 were read three stories about a target boy, accompanied by detailed chromatic illustrations, whose four sex-typed behaviors were exclusively masculine, equally masculine and feminine, or exclusively feminine. The boys had significantly more favorable friendship ratings than the girls; however, in contrast to Experiments 1 and 2, the target boy's sex-typed behavior did not affect friendship ratings of either boys or girls. Experiment 4 (28 boys, 27 girls) repeated the procedure of Experiment 3 with children in kindergarten and Grade 1; in addition, the children made forced-choice friendship ratings for each of the three possible story pairs. In contrast to Experiment 3, boys' friendship ratings were affected by the target boy's sex-typed behavior, as observed in Experiment 1, but girls' friendship ratings were not. However, in the forced-choice situation, the boys significantly preferred the exclusively masculine boy whereas the girls significantly preferred the exclusively feminine boy. The results were discussed in relation to the influence sex-typed behavior has on modifying the effects of a peer's sex on affiliative preference and sex differences in appraisals of cross-gender behavior, including the concept of threshold effects.     

Is entry-level recognition viewpoint invariant or viewpoint dependent?

Subjects decided whether an object drawing matched the entry-level name that immediately preceded it in a name-object sequence. When objects in the stimulus set were visually similar with respect to global shape and configuration of parts, response time increased linearly from 0° to 120° for both match and mismatch trials. Similar effects of orientation were found on match trials when objects in the stimulus set were visually dissimilar. No effects of orientation were observed when name and drawing did not match in the visually dissimilar condition. The results are consistent with the view that, in a variety of viewing situations, the initial identification of an object at the entry level is accomplished by viewpoint-dependent mechanisms.     

MEASURING SEXIST DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE

Surveys of 14 African American and 30 White women firefighters support reliability and validity claims for the Sexist Discrimination in the Workplace subscale of the Schedule of Sexist Events, developed by Klonoff and Landrine (1995). The more sexist events at work these women reported in the past year, the lower the perceived valuation of respondents by coworkers and the greater the job stresses associated with token status, with being a pioneering woman and with being treated differently.     

Disclosure of Trauma and Psychosomatic Health: An Interview With James W. Pennebaker

This interview with James W. Pennebaker explores the often serendipitous career development of his interest in the relationship between the disclosure or inhibition of traumatic experience and psychosomatic illness. His current research has moved beyond psychosomatic illness to address other aspects of physical and mental health. The importance of Pennebaker's research is reflected in the many books and articles he has written, the continuing grants he has procured, and the awards he has won. His research findings yield several important implications for the counseling process and for counseling professionals themselves.     

Pigeons’ Performances of a Radial-Arm-Maze Analog Task: Effect of Spatial Distinctiveness

The Psychological Record - Pigeons were presented with a radial-arm-maze analog task involving five response keys in one of four spatial arrangements. Two of the arrangements involved...     

Ethical issues in genetic counseling: A comparison of M.S. counselor and medical geneticist perspectives

New technologies available in the field of medical genetics have increased the importance of responsible ethical decision-making among genetic counselors. A 1985 national survey of M.D. and Ph.D. genetic counselors assessed ethical attitudes using case scenarios designed to simulate dilemmas faced in genetic counseling (Wertz and Fletcher, 1988b). The current study focuses on attitudes of M.S. genetic counselors using similar scenarios, allowing for effective comparisons. M.S. counselors were more willing than M.D. and Ph.D. counselors to maintain patient confidentiality when screening for Huntington's Disease and occupational diseases, and a greater number would agree to counsel patients pursuing prenatal testing for sex selection. A majority of M.S. counselors would disclose an XY karyotype to a phenotypically female patient. M.S. counselors reasoned that respect for patient autonomy and patient confidentiality justified their decisions in many cases. The importance of these principles is discussed and questioned.     

Mediational use of internal representations of food and no-food events by pigeons

Two experiments were conducted with pigeons to determine whether internal representations of food and no-food events can act as mediators in the formation of new associations. Specifically we asked if the representation of an anticipated event can replace the event itself in an established conditional discrimination. In Phase 1 of both experiments pigeons were differentially autoshaped to peck hue stimuli, only one of which was followed by access to food. In Phase 2 they were trained on a symbolic 0-delay matching-to-sample (DMTS) task with food and no-food samples and line-orientation comparisons. In Phase 3 the birds were tested on a symbolic DMTS task in which the hue stimuli from Phase 1 were substituted for the Phase 2 food-event samples. For the Pos group, the hue followed by food in Phase 1 was substituted for the food sample and the hue associated with no-food was substituted for the no-food sample so that the resulting sample/comparison pairings were consistent with the food-event mediator. For the Neg group the pairings were reversed so that the sample/comparison pairings were inconsistent with the food-event mediators. In Experiment 1, when the no-food event was the absence of an event, acquisition of the transfer task was significantly more rapid in the Pos than in the Neg condition. In Experiment 2, when the no-food event was the presentation of an empty food hopper, the Pos group transferred at a significantly higher level than the Neg group. The two experiments provide evidence that in pigeons, representations involving event anticipations can be substituted for, and are thus similar to, the events themselves.