IS SCIENCE PERSISTENCE A MATTER OF VALUES?

This study investigates the hypothesis that congruence in value perspectives distinguishes science-able students who persist in science from those who do not (nonpersisters). A science values measure was administered to 173 undergraduates with high levels of commitment and ability in the sciences. On each of six hypothetical dilemmas from everyday science, respondents rated the importance of three justice and three care considerations for self and for science, using a Likert-type 7-point scale. A significant three way interaction involving sex, persistence, and point of view (self/sience) emerged, with persisters generally demonstrating congruence between self and science on the value perspectives; female persisters, however, were more likely to combine justice and care perspectives than were males. Nonpersisters' self/science ratings of justice and care were sharply dissimilar, with females demonstrating the most incongruence. In all groups, justice was the prominent perspective attributed to science.     

Gaze patterns during identity and emotion judgments in hearing adults and deaf users of American Sign Language

Deaf individuals rely on facial expressions for emotional, social, and linguistic cues. In order to test the hypothesis that specialized experience with faces can alter typically observed gaze patterns, twelve hearing adults and twelve deaf, early-users of American Sign Language judged the emotion and identity of expressive faces (including whole faces, and isolated top and bottom halves), while accuracy and fixations were recorded. Both groups recognized individuals more accurately from top than bottom halves, and emotional expressions from bottom than top halves. Hearing adults directed the majority of fixations to the top halves of faces in both tasks, but fixated the bottom half slightly more often when judging emotion than identity. In contrast, deaf adults often split fixations evenly between the top and bottom halves regardless of task demands. These results suggest that deaf adults have habitual fixation patterns that may maximize their ability to gather information from expressive faces.     

An analysis of reinforcement sensitivity theory and the five-factor model

Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) and the Five-Factor Model (FFM) are two prominent personality accounts that have emerged from different backgrounds. Although the two accounts are applied to similar research topics, there is limited empirical work examining the correspondence between them. The current study explored the relationship between RST-based personality traits and the FFM domains and facets in an undergraduate sample (n = 668). Regression analyses indicated that Sensitivity to Punishment (SP) was positively associated with Neuroticism and Agreeableness, and negatively associated with Extraversion, Openness, and Conscientiousness. In contrast, Sensitivity to Reward (SR) was positively associated with Extraversion and Neuroticism, and negatively associated with Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Exploratory analyses at the facet level specified the relationship between SP, SR, and each domain. A factor analysis was also conducted to explore the higher-order factor structure of RST and the FFM domains. Three factors emerged, which we labelled SP, Stability-Impulsivity, and Sensation Seeking. Taken together, these findings suggest that there is substantial overlap between these two accounts of personality. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adolescent girls' interpersonal vulnerability to depressive symptoms: a longitudinal examination of reassurance-seeking and peer relationships

A transactional, interpersonal framework involving adolescents' reassurance-seeking and peer experiences may be useful for understanding the emergence of gender differences in depression prevalence during the adolescent transition. Sociometric nominations of peer acceptance/rejection and ratings of friendship quality provided by adolescents and their friends were used to measure peer experiences among 6th-8th-grade adolescents (N=520) over 3 annual time points. After controlling for age and pubertal development, significant but small prospective effects offered mixed support for hypotheses: (a) depressive symptoms and negative peer relations predicted increasing levels of girls' reassurance-seeking; (b) initial levels of reassurance-seeking and depressive symptoms predicted deteriorating friendship quality among girls and low friendship stability, respectively; and (c) reassurance-seeking combined with poor peer experiences predicted increases in girls' depressive symptoms.