The power of affirming group values: Group affirmation buffers the self-esteem of women exposed to blatant sexism

Extending the group affirmation literature to the domain of prejudice, this study investigated whether group affirmation buffers the self-esteem of women exposed to blatant sexism. In accordance with Self-Affirmation Theory and group affirmation research, we hypothesized that when one aspect of the collective self is threatened (gender identity), self-esteem can be maintained via the affirmation of an alternative aspect of the collective self. In a 2 × 2 between-participants design, female students were randomly assigned to read about discrimination directed toward women or a non-self-relevant disadvantaged group (the Inuit). All then participated in a (fictitious) second study, in which half completed a group affirmation manipulation (wrote about the top three values of a self-defining group) and half completed a control writing exercise. The self-esteem of women who were threatened by sexism, but group affirmed, was protected from the negative effects of perceiving sexism.     

From synonyms to homonyms: exploring the role of metarepresentation in language understanding

Doherty and Perner (Metalinguistic awareness and theory of mind: just two words for the same thing? Cognitive Development, 13 (1998), 279–305) report that children’s understanding of synonyms and false belief is dependent on an understanding of the representational mind. Experiment 1 extends this finding by examining children’s understanding of homonyms. Children aged 3 and 4 years were asked to judge whether a puppet correctly selected the second member of a homonym pair. Performance on this task was strongly associated with performance on the false belief task even after chronological and verbal mental age had been accounted for. Experiment 2 incorporated two new tasks: a synonyms task and an adjectives task. Understanding of synonyms and homonyms significantly predicted performance on the false belief task. However, once chronological age was accounted for, only performance on the homonyms task did so. The difficulty experienced on the homonyms task was not due to a reluctance to acknowledge that the puppet can point to a different picture when the the same word label is used twice. Children had no difficulty on the adjectives task when the puppet had to point to a different picture described using the same adjective. The suggestion that the understanding of synonyms, homonyms and false belief are related by a common insight into the representational mind is therefore not supported.     

Enhancing Procedural Justice in Local Government Budget and Tax Decision Making

Two studies examined criteria for procedural justice in the related contexts of local government budgeting (Study 1) and taxation (Study 2). Questionnaire data were gathered from 272 municipal police chiefs in Study 1 and 81 municipal property owners in Study 2, Regression analysis indicated that ethicality. accuracy, and bias suppression were signiticant ( p < 0.05) predictors of procedural justice in both studies. Other significant predictors of procedural justice in Study I were correctability and justification. However. the relationship between justification and procedural justice in Study I was negative. which is contrary to theory. The results suggest strategies that local government officials can use to enhance the perceived fairness of budget and tax decision-making procedures.     

Measuring Sexual Relationship Power in HIV/STD Research

This article introduces a theoretically based and validated measure of relationship power dynamics: the Sexual Relationship Power Scale (SRPS). Focus groups were conducted to generate items for Spanish- and English-language scales. The SRPS was administered to a census of women (N = 388) at a community health clinic. All respondents had a primary male partner; they were mostly Latina (89%), with mean age 27 years. The 23-item SRPS possesses good internal reliability (coefficient alpha = .84 for English version, .88 for Spanish version) and predictive and construct validity. Factor analyses support two subscales: Relationship Control and Decision-Making Dominance. As hypothesized, the SRPS was inversely associated with physical violence and directly associated with education and consistent condom use (p < .05).     

Neuropsychological Dysfunction in Children with Borderline Personality Disorder Features: A Preliminary Investigation

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is often linked to neuropsychological deficits, yet few studies have examined BPD or its features and concomitant neuropsychological dysfunction in childhood. This study examined children with borderline features (n = 21) using the Coolidge Personality and Neuropsychological Inventory for Children and compared them to controls (n = 21) with features of at least one personality disorder, but not BPD. As hypothesized, the BPD group scored significantly higher than the control group on the Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Executive Functions Deficits, Mild Neurocognitive Disorder, Conduct Disorder, and Oppositional Defiant Disorder scales. It appears that behavioral disturbances associated with BPD are linked strongly with neuropsychological dysfunction. Because none of the children with BPD features in the present sample had a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI), it appears likely that TBI in the histories of adult BPD patients may not be the cause of BPD, but traits such as anger and impulsivity in BPD may cause TBI. Clinical implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Toddlers from Low-Income Families Have Below Normal Mental, Motor, and Behavior Scores on the Revised Bayley Scales

This study examined scores on the original and revised Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-II) for 87 infants and toddlers from low-income families. Infants' scores were consistent with scores from the normative sample. In contrast, toddlers obtained mental, motor, and behavioral scores that were lower than scores from the normative sample. Mental, motor, and behavioral scores from the BSID-II were correlated for toddlers, but not for infants, suggesting that the interrelationship between behavior and development increases with age. These findings are consistent with longitudinal studies demonstrating a decline in developmental performance among toddlers from low-income families. They demonstrate that the vulnerability of toddlers can not be explained by outdated test norms. The findings may be partially explained by canalization theory in which early development is guided by species-specific self-righting processes that protect infants from all but the most devastating environmental influences or by a lack of enriching caregiving practices for toddlers in low-income families. With the restandardization of the BSID-II, more toddlers will qualify for early intervention. Recommendations are provided for prevention programs to reduce the vulnerability demonstrated among low-income toddlers.     

A Preliminary Analysis of Counseling Students' Attitudes Toward Counseling Women and Women of Color: Implications for Cultural Competency Training

In this study, 56 counseling students responded to peer‐generated presentations on counseling women and counseling women of color. Qualitative methodology was used to identify students' racial, ethnic, and gender attitudes in counseling contexts. Implications for cultural competency training are provided.     

Examining Subtypes of Behavior Problems among 3-Year-Old Children,Part II: Investigating Differences in Parent Psychopathology,Couple Conflict,and Other Family Stressors

This study examined family stressors among 3-year-old children who were classified as hyperactive (HYP), hyperactive and oppositional defiant (HYP/OD), and non-problem based on mothers' reports of behavior. Children with HYP/OD were found to experience higher levels of family stressors than non-problem children on almost every family stressor variable. Compared to children with HYP, families of children with HYP/OD also tended to report more Axis II maternal psychopathology, Axis I paternal psychopathology, and high intensity couple conflict tactics. However, the HYP and HYP/OD group did not significantly differ on maternal Axis I psychopathology, paternal Axis II psychopathology, parental marital status, negative life events, frequency of couple conflict, or use of lower intensity couple conflict tactics. Parents of children with HYP and HYP/OD reported more negative life events, more maternal adult ADHD symptoms, and more maternal avoidance and verbal aggression during marital conflict than parents of non-problem children. Implications for treatment and etiology are discussed.     

Rhythmic alternation and the optional complementiser in English: new evidence of phonological influence on grammatical encoding

In a recall-based spoken production experiment, native English-speaking participants' variable use of the complementiser that to introduce the sentential complement in sentences like Henry knew (that) Lucy/Louise washed the dishes was found to be related to whether that inclusion/omission resulted in an alternating sequence of stressed and unstressed syllables between the verb of the main clause and the subject of the complement clause. This finding is discussed in relation to the question of whether and how phonological encoding can influence grammatical encoding in spoken language production.