The relationship between rational thinking and intelligence in children

This study ws designed to evaluate the efficacy of a four-session REE curriculum and examine the relationship between intelligence and the endorsement of irrational beliefs in elementary school children. A twotailedt-test administered to examine difference between pre- and post-test scores onThe Idea Inventory was statistically significant,t (1,94)=5.90,p<.0001. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient between pre-test scores onThe Idea Inventory and theOtis-Lennon School Ability Test failed to reach significance (r=.15) suggesting higher intelligence did not predict greater endorsement of rational beliefs. The post-test scores using the same two instruments reached a correlation coefficient of r=.51 and was statistically significant at the .01 level. A higher percentage of children who scored below the mean on theOtis-Lennon improved from pre- to post-test than children who scored above the mean.     

Occupational prestige: A sex-neutral concept?

This study addresses the generalizability of measures of occupational prestige to men and women. Respondents were asked to evaluate the prestige of occupations and to rate male and female incumbents in these occupations. Results suggest that the general prestige of occupations is best predicted by the sex-typical jobholder. This research demonstrates that the seemingly sex-neutral concept of occupational prestige incorporates strong sex-linked assumptions. Implications of these findings for occupational prestige and for the social sciences in general are discussed.     

A system for the assessment of human performance in concurrent verbal and manual control tasks

A multipurpose laboratory system incorporating a voice interactive terminal and graphic display system is described. The facility is designed to investigate some aspects of human performance on concurrent verbal and tracking tasks. The results of a pilot study showing decrements in dual-task performance are reported.     

Formal assessment of problem-solving and planning processes in preschool children

While much is known about adult problem-solving, the materials, analyses, and theoretical issues from the adult literature rarely make contact with the tasks typically used to investigate children's thinking. This paper examines the behavior of 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old children attempting to solve a novel variant of the Tower of Hanoi task. Problems varied in difficulty (one to seven moves for the minimum path solution) and in goal type: tower (all objects on one peg) or flat (all pegs occupied). For each problem, children gave verbal statements of their complete solution plan. The Plan Analysis examined performance as a function of goal type and age. Better performance was observed for tower ending problems, and among older children. The Error Analysis revealed that specific error propensities were related to both age and goal type. The Strategic Analysis compared the first move profiles of 6-year-olds to those of several plausible move selection models, and a high degree of correspondence was obtained between specific models and individual children. Young children appear to have rudimentary forms of many of the problem-solving processes previously identified in adults, but they may differ in encoding and representational processes.     

Life Change and Psychological Distress: The Role of Perceived Control and Desirability

Two studies were conducted to specify what attributes of life change events increase the risk of future psychological distress. It was hypothesized that the events perceived as both undesirable and uncontrollable would be most likely to be linked to subsequent distress. In the fiist study, which employed a retrospective methodology, 117 college students reported the life changes that occurred to them over a 3-month span and indicated the desirability and controll-ability of each event. These subjects also responded to an inventory, used in studies of community mental health, to assess symptoms of psychological distress. The findings indicated that only events perceived as both undesirable and uncontrollable were related to the incidence of psychological distress symptoms. Study 2 examined the same hypothesis in a prospective methodology. As in Study 1, only undesirable, uncontrollable life events were significantly related to subsequent psychological distress symptoms. The results of both studies implicate the importance of perceptions of control over aversive events in understanding the link between real life outcomes and illness.     

Manager behavior in a social context: the impact of impression management on attributions and disciplinary actions

Two experimental studies were run to test the effects of subordinate impression management on the appraisals and responses of a manager, following an incident of poor performance. Two common impression management tactics, accounts and apologies, were manipulated in each of the studies. Subjects in both studies were experienced nursing supervisors. On the basis of the "discounting effect" reported in the attributional literature it was hypothesized that accounts of external causes for poor performance, i.e., excuses, would lead subjects to (1) attribute less responsibility to the subordinate, (2) be less personal in their responses, and (3) be less punitive in their responses. Apologies, because of their "equity restoration" effects, were expected to influence subjects' disciplinary responses to the poor performance, without necessarily affecting their attributions of responsibility. Experiment 1. which employed written stimulus materials and a repeated-measures design, provided strong support for all hypotheses. Experiment 2. which employed a film stimulus and between-subjects design, provided strong support for the accounts hypotheses but only minimal support for the apology hypotheses. The results highlight the importance of social information cues in the appraisal of performance.     

You must leave before you can cleave: A family systems approach to premarital pastoral work

We advocate the use of a family systems approach to premarital pastoral work, involving exploration of the families of origin of the intended spouses. Family systems theory argues that a marriage is like a merger of two corporations, each having its own stockholders; thus, adequate preparation for marriage involves coming to terms with the realities of one's family of origin and that of one's intended spouse. Exploratory techniques include genograms, house tours, family photo albums, and discussions of the rules and rituals in the respective families. Leaving father and mother is the central prerequisite to marriage.Dr. Mitchell is Professor of Pastoral Care and Theology, Eden Theological Seminary, 475 E. Lockwood Ave., Webster Groves, Missouri 63119. Dr. Anderson is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology, Wartburg Theological Seminary, 333 Wartburg Place, Dubuque, Iowa 52001.