Spirituality and the Events of September 11: A Preliminary Study

Personal crises have been associated with spiritual growth. Sparked by the global response to the crisis of September 11, 2001, the authors examined the relationship of spirituality and the September 11 tragedy using a sample of convenience from a college student population. This preliminary study used an experimental design to examine various effects of the world crisis events of September 11 on components of individual spirituality. Spirituality was conceptualized using a 4‐component model, Significant differences between the experimental and control groups were found on the Transcendence subscale. Taking into consideration the different kinds of tragedies, the authors present implications for counseling and suggest directions for future research.     

Similarities and Differences Between Religiosity and Spirituality in African American College Students: A Preliminary Investigation

To explore similarities and differences between religiosity and spirituality, the authors used several measures of religiosity and spirituality to examine the level of their association in 171 African American college students. Results support the multidimensionality of both constructs. An intrinsic religious orientation accounted for most of the variance in each type of spirituality; conversely. 1 type of extrinsic religious orientation accounted for almost none. The authors also found no significant differences between men's and women's scores on any of the religiosity and spirituality measures. The authors discuss implications for addressing religion and spirituality with African American clients.     

Paternalistic leadership and subordinate responses: Establishing a leadership model in Chinese organizations

Paternalistic leadership (PL) is the prevalent leadership style in Chinese business organizations. With an approach similar to patriarchy, PL entails an evident and powerful authority that shows consideration for subordinates with moral leadership. Although PL is widespread in Chinese business organizations, very few studies have focused on this leadership style and those that have were simply conceptual analyses and not empirical studies. We sampled 543 subordinates from local businesses in Taiwan to investigate PL, Western transformational leadership, and subordinate responses to these two leadership styles. Our hypotheses were as follows: (1) PL has a significant and unique effect on subordinate responses compared to Western transformational leadership; (2) there exists an interaction between the three elements of PL (benevolence, morality, and authoritarianism) and subordinate responses; and (3) the authority orientation of a subordinate's traditionality has a moderating effect upon the relation between PL and subordinate responses. Statistical analyses generally supported these hypotheses. Directions for follow-up studies are offered and implications for leadership theory and practice are discussed.     

The psychology behind the masks: Psychological responses to the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in different regions

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was first reported in China, and spread to 29 regions, affecting over 8000 people worldwide. For the general public, the psychological impact of SARS may have been greater than the physical health danger of the disease. The present paper proposes the influence of psychological factors on people's cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses during the SARS outbreak. The various papers in this special issue of the Journal reveal how people have reacted during the SARS outbreak: People's general coping styles may be related to their health behavior during the outbreak. Cultural differences were evident in the perception of SARS, and individuals' perceptual styles may have influenced their ability to cope with the outbreak. The way in which individuals coped with SARS-related stressful events was different from their usual practices of managing daily stress. Individual differences in the adoption of preventive measures were related to the distinct susceptibility to several social-cognitive biases.     

Perceived Parental Rearing Style, Self-Esteem and Self-Criticism as Predictors of Happiness

This study set out to determine to what extent three recalled parental (care, discouragement of behavioural freedom, denial of psychological autonomy), self-esteem, and self-criticism predicted self-rated happiness in a normal, non-clinical, population of young people in their late teens and early 20s. Three hundred and sixty-five participants completed four questionnaires: Parental Bonding Instrument (Parker, Tupling and Brown: 1979, British Journal of Medical Psychology 55, pp. 1–10), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg: 1965, Society and the Adolescent Self-Image (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ)), Self-Criticism Questionnaire (Brewin, Firth-Cozens, Furnham and McManus: 1992, Journal of Abnormal Psychology 101, pp. 561–566), and the Oxford Happiness Inventory (Argyle, Martin and Crossland: 1989, Recent Advances in Social Psychology: An International Perspective (Elsevier, North Holland)). Regressions showed self-esteem (the positive five items) to be the most dominant and powerful correlate of happiness. Maternal care was a significant correlate of both self-esteem and self-criticism. Maternal care was the only direct correlate of happiness when paternal and maternal rearing styles were examined together suggesting that the warmth showed by mothers towards their children was particularly beneficial in increasing the offsprings' scores on self-reported happiness. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Appraisal of Sociopolitical Change Among South African Youth: The Relation to Psychological Maladjustment1

The study aimed to assess the emotional effects of appraisals of the South African sociopolitical transition among adolescents. The central hypothesis predicted a direct relation between negativity of appraisals and psychological maladjustment indexes. Participants were 540 adolescents (Black and White), relatively evenly divided by race, gender, and school grade level. Appraisals were quantifiably measured using the Sociopolitical Change Scale (SCS), which was developed for the study; and maladjustment indexes were measured using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis & Spencer, 1982). The hypothesis was confirmed for the Impact of Change factor of the SCS and was partially confirmed for the Evaluation factor. These findings suggest a direct relation between negative appraisals of the transition and psychological maladjustment. Interactions with the race variable indicate residual emotional effects, particularly among Black youth. Methodological, clinical, and political implications of these findings are explored.     

Eye movements of large populations: I. Implementation and performance of an autonomous public eye tracker

This paper details the design and construction of an autonomous public eye tracker exhibit, which was installed at the National Gallery, London, in 2000/2001. For over 3 months, it functioned both as an informative exhibit and as a controlled eye movement experiment, gathering data from over 5,000 participants. The issues associated with automatic unattended recording of the eye movements of members of the public are discussed. The performance of the exhibit is examined, and its successes and problem areas are highlighted with regard to potential applications and future exhibits. The success of the project proves the viability of autonomous public eye trackers as both data-gatherers and public exhibits.     

Leverpress escape/avoidance conditioning in rats: Safety signal length and avoidance performance

Leverpress escape/avoidance is an excellent model for assessing coping in rats. Acquisition of the leverpress response is determined by the interstimulus (signal-shock) interval, as well as the type and duration of the aversive event. One factor that has received less research attention is the safety or feedback signal. The safety signal presumably negatively reinforces leverpress responding through fear reduction. Here, we present a parametric manipulation of safety signal length and avoidance performance. All rats were trained with a 60-s tone conditioned stimulus and an intermittent 1-s, 1.0-mA footshock. Training was further accomplished with a 1−, 2−, 4−, or 6-min safety signal. Acquisition of the avoidance response was comparable at all safety signal durations. Rats trained with the shortest safety signal (1 min) exhibited more leverpresses during the safe period, a measure of anxiety. Thus, acquisition of the leverpress avoidance response was efficient regardless of safety signal duration, even though shorter periods were associated with greater anxiety.