Predicting Zimbabwean women's ability to tell their partners to use condoms.

The effectiveness of AIDS education may depend on the development of models that predict and explain HIV prevention behavior. In this study, the aim was to test Fishbein and Ajzen's theory of reasoned action model in predicting women's capacity to tell their partner to use condoms. The basic theory pertains to the relationship of 1) attitude toward behavior and 2) the subjective norms to behavior; further refinements reflect factors such as 3) perceived behavioral control or self-efficacy, 4) and perceived barriers. A sample was drawn of 123 female first-year teacher trainees in Harare, Zimbabwe, in late 1990; a self-administered questionnaire was distributed and returned. 72% of the respondents were sexually experienced. The mean age of the entire sample was 24 years. The results of the multiple linear regression indicated that the model was able to predict were F(2,74)=32.81, p.0001. 47% of the variance was explained by this Fishbein model. Attitude toward behavior was significantly associated with the intention to tell one's partner to use condoms (beta = .60, p .05). Subjective norms were not significant (beta = .15, p .05). Perceived behavioral control and perceived barriers were also not significantly associated with the intention to tell one's partner to use condoms. A caveat was that the subjective norm was measured by only one item, and an improved conceptualization and measurement of this construct might have changed the relationship. The suggestion is that health educators should address women's underlying beliefs and attitudes about the benefits of telling their partners to use condoms. Future prospective studies will better delineate the relationship between attitude and behavior.     

The practice of psychotherapy and spiritual direction

The author compares and contrasts insight-oriented psychotherapy, supportive psychotherapy, and spiritual direction in relation to goals and methods; management of resistance, transference, and countertransference; and selection criteria. The enhancement of spiritual formation through insight-oriented psychotherapy and supportive psychotherapy is also discussed.     

INTERVIEWER DECISION PROCESSES AND EFFECTIVENESS: AN EXPERIMENTAL POLICY-CAPTURING INVESTIGATION

Using a policy-capturing approach, 29 corporate interviewers evaluated 64 hypothetical candidates for a position in a financial services organization. Six selection criteria were manipulated in a balanced factorial design. Interviewers evaluated candidates' qualifications and made hiring recommendations. The results revealed substantial individual differences in interviewers' decision strategies, as well as their insight into their own decision processes. Data on the effectiveness of the 29 interviewers were collected from 427 hiring managers and the decision processes of effective and ineffective interviewers were compared. The findings indicated that the decision strategies used by effective interviewers were quite similar to one another and relied heavily on two selection criteria. Also, effective interviewers were more likely than ineffective interviewers to use selection criteria in a manner that mirrored their self-reports of the importance of these criteria. Effective interviewers were more aware of their decision processes than ineffective interviewers.     

Prominence of girls and boys in the classroom: Schoolchildren's perceptions

Several studies have revealed teachers' asymmetric perceptions of girls and boys in their classes. The present research examines these effects on schoolchildren's own perceptions of the prominence of male and female peers in school relevant categories. A total of 147 (native born, Jewish middle class) second and sixth graders participated in the study. A questionnaire in two versions was prepared: One formulated in the masculine plural, habitually used in Hebrew as the generic plural for both sexes. The other in both masculine and feminine (optional he/she) plural, also admissible in Hebrew usage. Overall, students judged more boys as prominent, even more so in sixth grade. Subjects also pointed to same-sex peers as prominent. Surprisingly, the sex-optional formulation of the questionnaire did not decrease stereotyping perceptions. Results raise questions about the status of girls in school. Implications for girls' future as achievers in modern society are discussed. Furthermore, the effectiveness of language manipulation in Hebrew regarding sexist vs. nonsexist attitudes is put into question.     

Progressive and imaginal relaxation training for elderly persons with subjective anxiety.

Elders exposed to either progressive or imaginal relaxation procedures reported significant relaxation effects and showed improvement on measures of personal functioning. The results of the Physical Assessment Scale of the Relaxation Inventory indicated that relaxation responses were acquired within and across sessions. Large, consistent changes in relaxation occurred in all 4 sessions. The Symptom Checklist-90-R, which measures self-reported personal adjustment, showed significant positive changes following relaxation training and at 1-month follow-up. Elders who imagined muscle tension release profited as much as those engaged in actual muscle tension-release activities. This finding is of importance for older adults who may experience physical limitations that contraindicate muscle-tension-release procedures.     

On the Compatibility of Pacifism and Care

A mother's commitment to use violence if necessary to protect her children is not incompatible with pacifism, if pacifism is understood as the commitment to end war and war is understood as the use of violence as a political tool.     

Examination of apparent extent as an explanation of the Poggendorff effect

The explanation of apparent misalignment in the Poggendorff figure, based on underestimation of the intertransversal distance, was investigated in two experiments. In Experiment 1, subjects judged the intertransversal distance in the traditional Poggendorff figure and two of its variants. The size of the acute angle and the intertransversal distance were manipulated. Half of the subjects made the judgments with the method used by Wilson and Pressey (1976) and the other half made their judgments with the method used by Greist-Bousquet and Schiffman (1981). The results indicated that perceived intertransversal distance was greater with the former method. In Experiment 2, subjects adjusted the transversals to apparent collinearity in the same displays as were used in Experiment 1. The collinearity judgments were transformed to allow comparison with the results of Experiment 1. Comparison of the collinearity judgments with the distance judgments indicated that they did not follow similar trends. For each Poggendorff variant, proportional distance judgments increased as the size of the acute angle increased, and decreased as the intertransversal distance increased. Collinearity judgments did not vary as a function of intertransversal distance. As the size of the acute angle increased, collinearity judgments increased for two of the Poggendorff variants but decreased for the third. It was concluded that the findings did not support the explanation of apparent misalignment based on underestimation of the intertransversal distance.     

Patterns of movement in the first 6 months of life: new directions

The field of infant perceptual development has relied heavily on the preferential-looking and habituation paradigms. Despite the obvious advantages of employing standardized methodologies, there is a need to study how perceptual variables give rise to and guide action beginning in the neonatal period. It is argued here that, in the first 5 months of life, it is important to distinguish reflexive patterns of movement from voluntary and cortically controlled patterns. Some criteria are defined. This paper describes three experiments which utilized movement counters to record developmental changes in the frequency and synchrony of limb movements in infants under 5 months. The results show that there is a general increase in frequency of limb movements from 1 to 5 months, but with a plateau or even a decrease in activity from the middle of the third month to the end of the fourth month. It was also demonstrated that synchrony scores (co-activation) for pairs of limbs showed significant increases from 1 month to 5 months. Finally, in all three experiments the presentation of an attractive toy resulted in suppression of activity. The results of the three experiments are interpreted to measure a gradual increase in cortically controlled movement patterns.     

COGNITIVE EFFECTS OF LOGO AMONG BLACK AND WHITE ZIMBABWEAN GIRLS AND BOYS

The cognitive effects of LOGO were examined among 11–12-year-old black and white Zimbabwean girls and boys. Fifty-two experimental group children were exposed to a BBC LOGO programme with a screen turtle. Forty-one control group children received no exposure to computers at school. Pre-tests on four WISC-R subscales were held in January, 1987 and post-tests on the same four WISC-R subscales were held in November/December, 1987. The data were analyzed with multivariate analysis of covariance, using pre-test scores as the covariate. The results suggested that children in the experimental group did better on the WISC-R Arithmetic scale and that black girls exposed to LOGO showed particular gains in spatial reasoning, as measured by the WISC-R Block Design scale. It is concluded that LOGO appears to facilitate cognitive growth. Methodological limitations of the present study are discussed and suggestions for future research are presented.