Verbal working memory and on-line syntactic processing: Evidence from self-paced listening

Two experiments investigated the relationship between performance on standard tests of verbal working-memory and the on-line construction of syntactic form. In Experiment 1, working-memory was measured in 100 college students on a version of the Daneman and Carpenter (1980) reading-span task, and online syntactic processing was assessed using a self-paced listening task with four sentence types. In Experiment 2, working-memory was measured in 48 college students on two versions of the reading-span task and two other tests of verbal working-memory, and on-line syntactic processing was assessed using the self-paced listening task with an additional sentence type. In both experiments, there was no relationship between working-memory capacity and the increase in processing time seen for the on-line construction of syntactic form for either syntactically more complex or syntactically simpler sentences. The results indicate that the capacity of the working-memory system that is measured by standard working-memory tests does not determine the efficiency of on-line syntactic processing. They are consistent with the view that the working-memory system used for parsing is at least partially separate from that measured by traditional measures of working-memory capacity.     

Predictors of feminist self-labeling

This study investigated the relations of demographic and attitudinal variables on self-labeling as a feminist. Male (N=22) and female (N=83) primarily white (79%) college students and other adults responded to a questionnaire assessing their opinion of the feminist movement, perceptions of feminists, agreement with profeminist attitudes toward women's roles, belief in the importance of collective vs. individual action, political liberalism, and perceived discrimination. Although self-labeling as a feminist was significantly related to all of the above, with the exception of perceived discrimination, two major predictors were shown to be independently important: profeminist attitudes toward women's roles and opinion of the feminist movement.     

Personality and Attitudinal Predictors of Support of Proposition 187—California's Anti-Illegal Immigrant Initiative1

Right-wing authoritarianism, stereotypes about illegal immigrants relative to legal immigrants (and nonimmigrants), and collective self-esteem were investigated as predictors of attitude toward California's Proposition 187—the 1994 initiative making illegal immigrants ineligible for public services. Among both Latinos (n= 92) and Caucasians (n= 79), right-wing authoritarianism and negative stereotypes about illegal immigrants predicted Proposition 187 support and reported vote. For Latinos, low collective self-esteem and high levels of acculturation predicted support and vote in favor of Proposition 187. In contrast, high collective self-esteem among Caucasians was related to Proposition 187 support and vote. The results suggest that 3 perspectives on prejudice—personality, cognitive, and cultural—contribute to the understanding of attitudinal and behavioral support of Proposition 187.     

The Use of Contextual Information Related to General World Knowledge by Right Brain-Damaged Individuals in Pronoun Resolution

This study investigated the ability of right brain-damaged individuals (RBD) to use contextual information to resolve ambiguous pronouns. Subjects were presented with sentence pairs and required to resolve the ambiguous pronoun in the second sentence. Contrary to the prevailing view that RBD patients have difficulty using contextual information to integrate language, the RBD group demonstrated a normal pattern of response, demonstrating a sensitivity to the pragmatic information contained in the leading sentence. They responded more quickly to sentences with a pragmatically constrained preferred referent than to those sentences for which there was no preferred referent. As well, they chose the preferred referent significantly more often than the non-preferred referent. These results suggest that RBD patients can use contextual information at the level of a minimal discourse (i.e., two sentences).     

The double standard in age-discrepant relationships

If a double standard of aging exists, the relationship in which the female is older should be seen more negatively than the more traditional male-older relationship. This study examined the effects of both degree of age discrepancy and sex of the older person on attributions of success for relationships in both adult and adolescent samples. Both samples rated the highly discrepant female-older relationship (18 years difference) least probable of success. Level of discrepancy and sex of older person were significant factors for both groups. Surprisingly, both adult and adolescent males, in contrast to females, did not show the double standard in evaluating moderately discrepant relationship (7 years).     

A psychological and theological understanding of the histrionic personality

This paper examines a representative case of histrionic (the term hysterical is used interchangably) personality from a psychological and theological perspective. A working hypothesis is presented, based on Genesis 1–3, that is both clinical and theological. It is hypothesized that individuals who manifest histrionic features relate to each other as Strong Man/Dependent Woman and/or Strong Woman/Passive Man. Both ways of relating are usually present in the same relationship. In relating to one another in these ways, they are searching for a human god or goddess. In turn, they think and act as if they too were a god or goddess. They have not discovered another way of relating; that is, as male and female created in the image of God. A clinical case study is presented and the course of treatment described. Since the histrionic personality is multidimensional, so must be the treatment.     

The Papago Psychology Service: A community mental health program on an American Indian reservation

A community psychology service run by the Papago Indian tribe and staffed largely by Papago Indians who have been trained as mental health workers is described. This service is unique among mental health services for Indians in that the tribe has complete control of the funds for the service and sets its own policies. It was developed for a rather traditional Indian group, and the culture, the traditions, and the wishes of the Papago community were respected. Consultation with medicine men was built into the program from the start, and adaptation of mental health techniques to fit the culture is stressed. Before this clinic was established, few mental health resources were directly available to the reservation. Similar to other Indian tribes, the Papagos are economically disadvantaged, with an unemployment rate of over 50%, low educational attainment, and very high rates of alcoholism, suicide, and vehicular accidents. The topics covered are the tribe's view of health programs for its people, the present Papago community and traditional means of treatment, traditional psychotherapy adapted to Papago culture, the indigenous Papago mental health worker, and the non-Indian professional consultant.