Knowledge organization and skill differences in computer programmers

Like experts in other fields, expert computer programmers can recall at a glance far more information relevant to their field than novices can. One explanation for this difference is that experts not only have more information, they have it better organized into meaningful chunks. In this paper, we infer the details of individual programmers' chunks of key programming concepts using the Reitman—Rueter (Cognitive Psychology, 1980, 12(4), 554–581.) technique for inferring tree structures from recall orders. Differences in organizations accompany skill-level differences. Beginner programmers' organizations show a rich variety of common-language associations to these programming concepts; Intermediate programmers show mixtures of programming and common-language associations; and Experts show remarkably similar, but not identical, organizations based clearly on programming knowledge.     

Stability of attachment representations: the transition to marriage

This study examined the stability of adult attachment representations across the transition to marriage. One hundred fifty-seven couples were assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; C. George, N. Kaplan, & M. Main, 1985), the Current Relationship Interview (J. A. Crowell & G. Owens, 1996), and measures describing relationship functioning and life events 3 months prior to their weddings and 18 months into their marriages. The authors tested the hypotheses that attachment classifications are stable and that change is related to experiences in the relationship and/or life events; 78% of the sample received the same primary AAI classification (secure, preoccupied, and dismissing) at both times. Change was toward increased security and was associated with feelings and cognitions about the relationship. Only 46% of participants initially classified as unresolved retained the classification. Stability of the unresolved classification was associated with stressful life events and relationship aggression.     

Coping with human immunodeficiency virus: Do optimists fare better?

Individuals who test positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) face a difficult adjustment task. It was hypothesized that those who were more optimistic would cope more effectively and experience less distress. Both general and health-specific measures of coping were used. Optimism and distraction were negatively related to state anxiety, whereas emotional preoccupation was positively related to state anxiety. Optimism was not a predictor of depression. Rather, distraction was negatively related to depression, whereas palliative coping, emotional preoccupation, and the interaction of palliative coping and optimism were positively related to depression. The mediation of optimism by coping variables indicated that emotion-oriented coping was a negative mediator of optimism on both state anxiety and depression. Distraction (which includes some social diversion content) was a mediator of the impact of optimism on depression.     

Transition from School to Adult Life: Empowering Youth Through Community Ownership and Accountability

The evolution of transition services for youth with disabilities illustrates the transformation that has occurred from a systems-driven to a youth-centered support approach. This article documents how this shift has occurred. We review research that has influenced the direction of national policies and practices. A chronology of the policies that best represent the seminal foundation for current transition best practices for youth with emotional disturbance (ED) is presented. The field of special education led the way toward articulating the new vision for providing transition support by defining services as the coordination of multiple systems to address life domains (e.g., post-secondary education, employment, independent living, and community adjustment). Promising practices, within the context of the conversion to an ecological model of support that contributes to youth self-determination, include utilization of a youth-centered, strengths-based approach to transition planning, beginning in the middle school years. There remain significant barriers to adoption of the practices that may best support the successful transition of youth. These include lack of coordinated efforts across systems, socioeconomic, and community factors. Committed actions by government, the business sector, and private citizens are essential to address these challenges.     

Testifying on Eyewitness Reliability: Expert Advice Is Not Always Persuasive1

This study investigates the impact of different types of expert testimony regarding the unreliability of eyewitness identification. In two hypothetical court cases involving eyewitnesses, expert testimony was presented that was either sample-based (presenting the results of a research program on eyewitness identification) or person-based (presenting information about the particular eyewitness under consideration); the expert either offered causal explanations for his unreliability claim or failed to do so. Two additional control groups (with and without eye-witness identification) were not presented with any expert testimony. The results indicate that subjects who had been confronted with an expert statement made more lenient judgments about the offender but did not discount the eyewitness identification completely. Sample-based information had a moderate impact on the subjects' judgments, regardless of whether or not causal explanations were given. Person-based testimony was the most influential type of expert advice when a causal explanation was provided but the least influential one when no reasons were given. The practical (international differences in admissibility of expert testimony) and theoretical implications (processing of base-rate information) of these findings are discussed.     

The functional independence of trait self-knowledge: commentary on Sakaki (2007)

In a recent paper, Sakaki (2007) proposed that Klein and Loftus's conclusion that semantic and episodic trait self-knowledge are functionally independent (e.g., Klein, Babey, & Sherman, 1997; Klein & Loftus, 1993a; Klein, Loftus, Trafton, & Fuhrman, 1992b) was based on questionable assumptions and not supported by the available evidence. In this paper we show that Sakaki (2007) has misinterpreted our position on the independence of self-knowledge, omitted mention of large portions of the relevant research at odds with her contention, and conducted her studies with procedures we explicitly warned against due to interpretive ambiguities associated with their use.     

Parents’ Intelligence Mindsets Relate to Child Internalizing Problems: Moderation Through Child Gender

Parental belief systems can strongly influence children’s affect, behavior, and mental health. However, associations between specific kinds of parental beliefs and children’s mental health have not been thoroughly explored. One relevant belief system is parental intelligence mindset: beliefs about the malleability of intelligence. Children of parents who view intelligence as static (known as a fixed intelligence mindset), rather than malleable through effort (known as a growth intelligence mindset), experience more academic, self-regulatory, and motivational difficulty. However, associations between parental intelligence mindset and child mental health problems are unclear. Accordingly, we tested whether parents’ intelligence mindsets related to internalizing problems in their children (N?=?131, ages 5–8). Overall, parents with stronger fixed intelligence mindsets had children with greater internalizing problems, particularly social anxiety (characterized by fear of negative evaluation). Results further revealed that parents’ fixed intelligence mindsets were associated with overall internalizing problems and depressive symptoms in boys, but not girls. Results are the first to suggest and parse direct links between parents’ intelligence mindsets and youth internalizing problems.     

The analytic therapist in the group 1980: Continuities and discontinuities with Sigmund Freud

Freud's clinical concepts, formulated in the course of psychoanalytic treatment of individual patients, remain viable today in the practice of analytic group therapy. The context has changed. The transition into the group modality adds dimensions and intensifies the existing ones. Crucial, too, is the increased awareness we have of the therapeutic relationship with its power and complexity, as the context for these clinical concepts. The knowledge that each individual is unique and human applies to the therapist as well as to the patient. Comprehension of this permits better understanding of transference and resistance.Paper given in introduction to a Postgraduate Center three-day workshop, The Therapist in the Group, April 1980.     

Utilization of groups in training for school consultation

The purpose of the present paper is to describe the utilization of groups over the past six years in our two semester school consultation practicum course. In addition, problems and issues raised by the utilization of groups are considered. Three tensions resulting from the utilization of groups are described and it is concluded that regardless of the complexity of the issues or the instructor's fallibility, the three tensions represent issues around which instructors must make decisions.