The Bank Job: A Field Study of Sexually Discriminatory Performance on a Neutral-Role Task

Sixty-four checks were cashed in a field examination of sex role discrimination using a non-sex-role stereotyped (neutral role) task. Experimenter (customer) sex, subject (teller) sex, amount of the check, and bank branch were varied to produce a 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 design. Transaction times were longer for female customers than for male customers, and were longer with male tellers than with female tellers. Results were interpreted as supporting the hypothesis of greater sex role salience in cross-sex, as compared with same-sex dyads. Suggestions are made for further research using neutral-role tasks to better define certain role concepts.     

Two‐year‐olds’ naîve predictions for horizontal trajectories

Hood recently reported that preschool children overgeneralized the prediction that falling objects travel in a straight line in spite of extensive counter‐evidence that the object had been deviated to a non‐aligned box by a tube. This behaviour was interpreted as a na?^ve theory of gravity resulting from an overgeneralization derived from experience of falling objects. The current study set out to test whether there was also a significant tendency for 2‐year‐olds to predict that objects travel in a straight line in the horizontal plane. This was achieved by comparing search for an invisibly displaced object moving either vertically or horizontally. The findings confirmed a gravity bias for falling events but did not reveal a similar tendency in the horizontal condition. In the horizontal task, children were as likely to search at an incorrect non‐aligned box as an aligned incorrect box. This supports the interpretation of a na?^ve gravity bias present from at least 2 years of age.     

Predictors of Media Effects on Body Dissatisfaction in European American Women

This study involved a sample of 81 European American women viewing either appearance-related or non-appearance-related magazine advertisements. Participants completed measures of demographics and objectified body consciousness prior to viewing these images and a measure of body dissatisfaction prior to and after viewing the images. Body dissatisfaction scores worsened after viewing images of women who exemplified cultural standards of the thin beauty ideal. Neither objectified body consciousness nor body mass index predicted degree of change in body dissatisfaction after viewing the images. In other words, the impact of viewing the images was the same for all women, despite varying body mass index levels and varied degrees of objectified body consciousness. Implications are discussed.     

The Experience of Genetic Counselors Working with Patients Facing the Decision of Pregnancy Termination after 24 Weeks Gestation

Prenatal genetic counselors are health care professionals who counsel women making reproductive decisions which include decisions such as terminating pregnancies due to fetal anomalies. Little is known about the experiences and practices of prenatal genetic counselors working with women who have the option of termination after 24 weeks gestation. In this national survey of 168 genetic counselors who have practiced prenatal genetic counseling, we asked about their general practice patterns, including indications for which termination is offered and types of abortion care services that are coordinated by genetic counselors. We report respondents’ self-assessments of level of understanding of federal abortion law and abortion procedures. Seventy-six percent of respondents have offered and counseled on termination after 24 weeks and 93% of respondents believe it is the responsibility of the counselor to discuss this option with patients. However, one-third report that they have some or no understanding of the procedures and three-quarters report that they have some or no understanding of federal abortion law. The results of this study provide insight into knowledge and experiences of genetic counselors working with these patients, allowing for improved genetic counselor training and continuing education to provide better guidance and develop more effective means of assisting patients.     

Validation Study of the Portuguese Version of the Family Problem Solving Communication (FPSC) Index

Within family stress theories, the way in which families communicate about their hardships and issues is crucial for the family’s stress management and functioning. In the current study, we sought to validate the Portuguese version of the Family Problem Solving Communication (FPSC) Index and examine its psychometric properties. Developed within the context of the resiliency model of family stress, adjustment and adaptation, the FPSC is a ten-item self-report measure that assesses the family communication patterns that are likely to play a role in the family’s coping with hardships and difficulties. The participants were 332 individuals between 18 and 76 years who completed the FPSC and self-report measures of family hardiness and family functioning. A confirmatory factor analysis supported the original FPSC bifactorial structure, indicating the presence of two dimensions, Affirmative Communication and Incendiary Communication. Correlations between the scale’s total score and its dimensions with the measures of family hardiness and family functioning attested to its convergent validity. Furthermore, the index demonstrated respectable to very good internal consistency and temporal stability. In conclusion, the Portuguese version of the FPSC is a valid and reliable instrument that can support the development of future empirical studies focused on family problem solving communication, especially with regard to family adaptation in different contexts of adversity.     

Are parrots poor at motor self-regulation or is the cylinder task poor at measuring it?

The ability to inhibit unproductive motor responses triggered by salient stimuli is a fundamental inhibitory skill. Such motor self-regulation is thought to underlie more complex cognitive mechanisms, like self-control. Recently, a large-scale study, comparing 36 species, found that absolute brain size best predicted competence in motor inhibition, with great apes as the best performers. This was challenged when three Corvus species (corvids) were found to parallel great apes despite having much smaller absolute brain sizes. However, new analyses suggest that it is the number of pallial neurons, and not absolute brain size per se, that correlates with levels of motor inhibition. Both studies used the cylinder task, a detour-reaching test where food is presented behind a transparent barrier. We tested four species from the order Psittaciformes (parrots) on this task. Like corvids, many parrots have relatively large brains, high numbers of pallial neurons, and solve challenging cognitive tasks. Nonetheless, parrots performed markedly worse than the Corvus species in the cylinder task and exhibited strong learning effects in performance and response times. Our results suggest either that parrots are poor at controlling their motor impulses, and hence that pallial neuronal numbers do not always correlate with such skills, or that the widely used cylinder task may not be a good measure of motor inhibition.     

Spiritual Distress and Depression in Bereavement: A Meaning-Oriented Contribution

One key focus of a meaning reconstruction model of bereavement concerns spiritual meanings attributed to the death, whether consoling or troubling. Specifically, previous studies in our research program suggest that religiously inclined violent death survivors are at risk for elevated levels of both bereavement distress and complicated spiritual grief, a crisis of faith following loss that refers to the erosion of the mourner’s relationship to God and/or the religious community. However, more research is needed to understand the convergence of depression and spiritual struggle in the context of violent and natural loss. In this study of a diverse sample of 59 American Christians bereaved less than 5 years, we sought to: (1) determine if individuals bereaved by homicide, suicide or fatal accident differed from those bereaved by natural causes in their levels of depression and spiritual coping; (2) investigate the relation between the latter constructs; and (3) ascertain if cause of death mediates the effect of religious coping on depression. We found that: (a) violently bereaved individuals endorsed more negative religious coping, and (b) depression was associated with greater spiritual struggle, particularly a sense of disrupted relationship with God. Contrary to expectations, positive religious coping was unrelated to post-loss depression, and cause of death did not mediate the relationship between spiritual coping and depressive symptomatology. A clinical case study concludes the article, illustrating the interweaving of spiritual and psychological distress in tragic bereavement, and their implications for a meaning-oriented grief therapy.     

Separating the Effects of Gender and Weight-Loss Desire on Body Satisfaction and Disordered Eating Behavior

The purpose of this study was to separate the effects of gender from those of desired weight loss on body satisfaction and eating disordered behavior. Therefore, we explored gender differences in a sample (N = 191) of men and women who wanted to lose weight. We expected that controlling for desire to lose weight would minimize gender differences; this was supported for (a) overall body dissatisfaction, and (b) degree of concern about, effect of, and importance of weight and appearance. Nevertheless, women reported (a) less satisfaction with several body parts, (b) stronger relations between body satisfaction and self-esteem, and (c) use of more weight-loss strategies. Exploratory analyses also were conducted to examine within-group differences among men. Implications are discussed.     

Race, Culture, and Ethnicity: Implications for a Community Intervention

We present an overview of research on African American families and emphasize in this discussion limitations of approaches used in the past to study African American families. We also discuss and identify challenges for designing and implementing community, family-based programs targeting competence-promoting behaviors in African American families. In addition, we attempt to accomplish the following objectives: (1) identify themes in studies of African American families, including bias in prior research; (2) discuss ways in which prior approaches and conceptual models guiding studies of African Americans have created challenges for the development and implementation of community-based intervention and research programs; and (3) present the Parents Matter! Program as an example of a community-based prevention effort that attempted to overcome many of the challenges created by prior research efforts.