Openness to Experience and Development of Adult Identity

ABSTRACT The formation of ego identity through exploration of alternatives and formation of commitments is a central issue in the transition from adolescence to adulthood (Erikson, 1959, Waterman, 1982) In 59 adults ranging in age from 18 to 30, independent identity scales were found to be positively correlated with age The construct of openness to experience was hypothesized to account for individual differences in identity development As predicted, openness to experience was positively correlated with ratings of current and past identity exploration, and negatively related to intensity of identity commitment A comparison of two methods of measuring ego identity showed that identity rating scales provide a more differentiated assessment of psychosocial development than does the identity status scoring method     

The credibility of children's allegations of sexual abuse

Sexual abuse, the fastest growing type of abuse complaint, often raises issues concerning the credibility of individual allegations. This paper discusses historical, developmental, and societal factors affecting children's credibility and recommended assessment methods that maximize a child's capacity to relate his or her experience. Clinical factors leading to false allegations are discussed.     

SOCIAL VALUES AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL AFRICA*

This study was conducted in Southern Africa in the country of Zimbabwe where 75% of the population reside in economically underdeveloped rural areas. Two groups of rural-dwelling subsistence farmers were interviewed in their homes with respect to life-style, stressors and coping mechanisms. The experimental group consisted of 62 farmers who had recently moved to a newly-developed government-sponsored farming community and the control group consisted of 75 farmers who had been resident on their farms for an average of 15 years. The results showed that subjects in the development scheme experienced more stress than those in the control group but viewed themselves as coping adequately. The development scheme appeared to be successful from a psychological perspective in that the subjects were able to continue their traditional lifestyle as well as incorporate modern values based on a cash economy.     

Sexual harassment of university faculty by colleagues and students

The focus of this research was on faculty members as victims of sexual harassment by colleagues (peer harassment) and students (contrapower harassment). A self-administered, mailed questionnaire was sent to a probability sample of faculty at a large, public Midwestern university and to the whole population of faculty at a small, public institution in the Western Mountain region. Several hypotheses were made based on conflict theory, role theory, and previous research. Results indicated that women faculty generally have more negative attitudes toward and broader definitions of sexual harassment than do male faculty. Moderate levels of sexual harassment of faculty by both colleagues and students were reported; minor and anonymous (course evaluations and obscene phone calls) forms were the most common. Female faculty were more likely to report harassment by colleagues; male faculty were more likely to report some potentially harassing behaviors by students. Incidents of sexual harassment were usually not reported to formal agents of social control.This research was funded, in part, through the Small Grant Program of the Office of Research and Sponsored Activities, Illinois State University. The author would like to thank Krista Moore for her assistance in data collection at the Colorado site, Nancy Uphoff for her assistance with the library research, Robyn Leech and Ann Marie Woods for coding and data entry, and Elizabeth Grauerholz and Susan Specher for their comments on an earlier draft of this paper.     

The role of collateral information about examinees in item parameter estimation

Standard procedures for estimating item parameters in item response theory (IRT) ignore collateral information that may be available about examinees, such as their standing on demographic and educational variables. This paper describes circumstances under which collateral information about examineesmay be used to make inferences about item parameters more precise, and circumstances under which itmust be used to obtain correct inferences.This work was supported by Contract No. N00014-85-K-0683, project designation NR 150-539, from the Cognitive Science Program, Cognitive and Neural Sciences Division, Office of Naval Research. Reproduction in whole or in part is permitted for any purpose of the United States Government. We are indebted to Tim Davey, Eugene Johnson, and three anonymous referees for their comments on earlier versions of the paper.     

Constructions of emotion: Discrepancy,arousal, and mood

An interactive adventure-type computer game was used to explore the constructive components of emotional experience — sympathetic nervous system arousal and evaluative cognitions — postulated by discrepancy/evaluation theory. Manipulations of expectations produced significant and large heart rate changes for both positive and negative discrepancies. Autonomic response also reflected the degree of interruption/discrepancy produced by an event. Negatively toned (discrepant) events tended to produce significant intensity and higher overall autonomic arousal. In addition, subjects' intensity of experience was related to their autonomic response.The research and preparation of this report were supported by a grant from the Spencer Foundation. We are grateful to Carol Beards, Barbara Lagana, and Jeffrey McIntosh for assistance in data collection and data analysis. Special thanks go to Mark Wallen for programming Rogue and much of the data analysis.     

The role of the hemispheres in closed loop movements

The purpose of these experiments was to determine if the two hemispheres play different roles in controlling closed loop movements. Subjects were asked to move to a narrow or wide target in the left or right hemispace. Reaction time (RT) was faster for the left arm of normals, only in the right hemispace, but there were no differences between arms in movement execution. Right but not left hemisphere stroke (CVA) patients showed longer RTs for the contralateral but not ipsilateral arm. The right CVA group's ipsilateral movement, especially to narrow targets was less accurate. The left CVA group's RT did not benefit from advanced information, but ipsilateral movement execution was normal. These results were discussed in terms of inter- as well as intrahemispheric control of programming and execution of closed loop movements.     

Three-dimensional spatiotemporal imaging of movement patterns: Another step toward analyzing the continuity of behavior

Computer-aided spatiotemporal imaging techniques, like those that are proving to be important in many other scientific fields, are being used to represent and study movement patterns of animals exposed to basic reinforcement contingencies. Data from a video-tracking system that provides real-time tracking of the position of an experimental animal as it moves about in a three-dimensional space can be plotted in up to three dimensions. When the data are plotted in two spatial dimensions and the time dimension, behavior is captured as continuous patterns or structures in space-time. Spatiotemporal imaging of movement patterns permits regularities to be observed that are not seen as readily in other ways such as watching videotapes of the experimental sessions or simply examining rate of responding. By providing a concise spatiotemporal representation of the movement patterns that occurred in a given experimental preparation, the imaging techniques described here represent an advancement in the scientific study of continuously flowing behavior. Although we concentrate here on movement patterns produced by basic reinforcement contingencies, the spatiotemporal imaging technology is applicable to any research topic in which movement patterns are of interest, such as foraging, place learning, sign language, and limb movement.     

The limits of religion: liberalism and anti-liberalism in the Islamic Republic of Iran

This essay investigates the ways that ‘religion,’ as a particular category of discourse, organised Muslim debates in the Islamic Republic of Iran during the 1990s and early 2000s. Recent work in the study of religion has highlighted not only liberalism’s privatised and largely protestant notion of religion, but also the ways that understanding of religion affects the representation of Islam in the West. Studies of Islam, continuing the critique of liberal assumptions regarding religion, often uphold a traditionalist understanding of Islam as an equally valuable way of being in the world. This article, in contrast, explores the ways that liberal religion figures in both liberal and anti-liberal Muslim debate. Specifically, it traces the ways that Muslim theology (kalām) draws upon and contests the rationality and secularity of the world and, in so doing, turns the gaze back to continuing discontents with liberalism in the West.