Age-related variation in the influences of aging stereotypes on memory in adulthood

Adults 24-86 years of age read positive or negative information about aging and memory prior to a memory test. The impact of this information on recall performance varied with age. Performance in the youngest and oldest participants was minimally affected by stereotype activation. Adults in their 60s exhibited weak effects consistent with the operation of stereotype threat, whereas middle-age adults exhibited a contrast effect in memory performance, suggestive of stereotype lift. Beliefs about aging and memory were also affected by stereotypic information, and older adults' changed beliefs were more important in predicting performance than was exposure to stereotype-based information alone.     

Behavioral,Affective, and Cognitive Parenting Mechanisms of Child Internalizing and Externalizing Problems during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased mental health concerns, including depression and anxiety among parents and internalizing and...     

Kinesthetic Aftereffects and Individual Differences in Carryover effects

There is disagreement among researchers about the distinction between dynamic and static spatial performance. Given that dynamic spatial performance is supposed to be important for some occupations, such as air traffic control (ATC), it is germane to have evidence about the likelihood of that distinction. In the present study, a battery of printed static spatial and reasoning tests were applied to 480 applicants for an ATC training course. Two dynamic spatial tests were also applied. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed for testing three models. In Model A, static and dynamic spatial tests were grouped, whereas in Model B, spatial tests were separated according to their static or dynamic character, and in Model C, spatial tests were segregated according to the construct they tapped (visualization or spatial relations). The authors found that Model B, which distinguished static and dynamic spatial tests, showed the best fit. They also discuss some implications of the findings.     

Solution strategies as possible explanations of individual and sex differences in a dynamic spatial task

When individuals perform spatial tasks, individual differences emerge in accuracy and speed as well as in the response patterns used to cope with the task. The purpose of this study is to identify, through empirical criteria, the different response patterns or strategies used by individuals when performing the dynamic spatial task presented in the Spatial Orientation Dynamic Test-Revised (SODT-R). Results show that participants can be classified according to their response patterns. Three different ways of solving a task are described, and their relation to (a) performance factors (response latency, response frequency, and invested time) and (b) ability tests (analytical reasoning, verbal reasoning, and spatial estimation) are investigated. Sex differences in response patterns and performance are also analyzed. It is found that the frequency with which men and women employ each one of the strategies described here, is different and statistically significant. Thus, employed strategy plays an important role when interpreting sex differences on dynamic spatial tasks.     

Student Evaluations and Gendered Expectations: What We Can't Count Can Hurt Us

Does teacher's gender impact students' evaluations? We critically evaluated the research literature and concluded that the form gender bias takes may not be easily detectible by quantitative scales. To explore this possibility, we did a qualitative analysis of the words that 288 college students at two campuses used to describe their best- and worst-ever teachers. Although we found considerable overlap in the ways that students talked about their male and female teachers, we also saw indications that students hold teachers accountable to certain gendered expectations. These expectations place burdens on all teachers, but the burdens on women are more labor-intensive. We also saw signs of much greater hostility toward women than toward men who do not meet students' gendered expectations.     

Attachment-based assessments of parent-child relationships in middle childhood

Although a number of measures have been developed to assess parent-child attachments, validity data on middle-childhood measures are lacking. The present study tested attachment-based measures of parent-child relationships designed for the later middle-childhood years (9-12 years of age). Self-reports from children assessed perceptions of security and avoidant and preoccupied coping. Some children also completed a projective interview assessing attachment state of mind. Mothers and fathers reported their willingness to serve as an attachment figure and were rated for responsiveness. Data were collected from a cross-sectional sample of 3rd and 6th graders and their parents. A 2-year follow-up on the younger sample provided data on the stability of the measures. There were modest associations across the different measures and moderate to high stability. The attachment-based measures were also related to teacher ratings of children's school adaptation.     

Local Religious Subcultures and Generalized Social Trust in the United States

Using multilevel analyses of 21,193 General Social Survey respondents nested within 256 metropolitan areas and counties, we find that individuals’ willingness to trust others is strongly related to the denominational make‐up of geographic areas. The percent of evangelical Protestants in the population negatively predicts individual‐level generalized trust, while percent mainline Protestant and percent Catholic positively predict trust. The effect sizes of these results are large and robust to statistical controls, and they hold even among nonmembers of the religious groups; for instance, “percent evangelical” predicts lower trust even among nonevangelicals. Black Protestant population share initially appears to predict lower trust, but the association disappears after adjusting for racial residential segregation. Following a longstanding theoretical tradition in the sociology of religion, we argue that the religious characteristics of places—not just individuals—shape local subcultures in ways that affect a broad range of behaviors, attitudes, and values such as generalized trust.     

Sex differences in dynamic spatial ability: The unsolved question of performance factors

Males and females differ in several cognitive abilities, although the largest gap can be found in spatial ability. Some published studies make the claim that performance factors, which can be either subject- or task-related variables, explain these differences. However, previous studies in which performance factors were measured have focused on static spatial tests. Little is known about the role of performance factors in dynamic spatial tasks. In the present study, we analyzed a sample of 2624 university graduates to test the role of three performance factors (response latency, response frequency, and invested time) derived from the Spatial Orientation Dynamic Test-Revised (SODT-R; Santacreu, 1999). The results showed that males and females appear to cope with the dynamic task in different ways. However, males outperformed females even when the effects of the performance factors were partialed out; that is, the assessed performance factors did not explain much of the sex-related variance. Alternative ways of measuring performance factors will be needed if they are to explain sex differences in dynamic spatial ability.     

The Influence of Cultural and Generational Differences on the Ministry Experience of Chinese American Church Leaders

This qualitative study explored the influence of cultural and generational differences on the ministry experience of fourteen Chinese American male church leaders. Specifically, this study examined how differences in communication style, view of authority, level of acculturation, and expectations of the church could create conflict within the church setting. This study also provided insight into the types of problems these church leaders and church members faced as a result of cultural and generational conflict as well as solutions they found in response to that conflict. Taken together, these findings not only address the literature gap regarding this understudied group of individuals, but they also have implications for more effective ministry in a multicultural church setting.