Prosodic Effects in Minimal Attachment

This experiment explores the role of prosodic cues in resolving temporary morphosyntactic ambiguities in spoken language comprehension. Using a cross-modal naming task, we find that prosodic cues are as effective as overt lexical cues in controlling how the listener resolves attachment ambiguities. This suggests that prosodic factors can affect the early stages of parsing and interpretation.     

Assessing the effectiveness of a multimedia-based lab for upper division psychology students

The efficacy of multimedia-based training in producing increased learning was evaluated. Two multimedia software packages were compared with live or videotaped lectures on the same material. Results differed by type of student (low or high initial knowledge) and type of program. Multimedia training programs may need to provide more aid to students with less initial knowledge in the training domain. In addition, the effects of multimedia may be subtle and therefore require rigorous evaluation.     

USE OF ASSISTED READING TO INCREASE CORRECT READING RATES AND DECREASE ERROR RATES OF STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

The effects of assisted reading on 3 elementary students with learning disabilities were evaluated using a multiple baseline design. Data were collected from the students' oral reading from their basal texts. The results indicated an increase in number of words read correctly as well as a decrease in the number of words read incorrectly when assisted reading was used in the classroom.     

Family process and child anxiety and aggression: An observational analysis

Barrett, Rapee, Dadds, and Ryan (1996) described a phenomenon whereby family discussions magnified the style of children's problem solving in a way characteristic of their particular clinical diagnosis. That is, anxious children became more avoidant, aggressive children more aggressive, and nonclinic children more prosocial, after discussing ambiguous hypothetical situations with their parents. This study examined specific sequences of communications exchanged between parents and children hypothesized to underlie this family exacerbation of child cognitive style. Family discussions were videotaped and categorized for groups of anxious, aggressive, and nonclinic children and their parents. Results revealed differences between groups of parents in frequency of agreeing with and listening to their child and the frequency of pointing out positive consequences. Conditional probability analyses showed that parents of anxious children were more likely to reciprocate avoidance, while parents of nonclinic children were more likely to agree with and listen to prosocial plans from their child. Differences in parent behaviors observed during the family discussions were reliably associated with the child's response to the ambiguous situation proposed after the family discussion. Results support a model of developmental anxiety and aggression that emphasizes the interaction of family processes and social-cognitive development in the child.This research was supported by grants from The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, The University of Queensland, and The Myer Foundation of Australia.     

Separation Versus Connection,The Gender Controversy: Implications for Counseling Women

Traditional developmental theories hold that separation is the primary goal of human emotional development. Numerous current theorists question this notion. They propose that a girl's development of self is dependent on mutually empathic relationships with primary caretakers. This revision of developmental theory has implications for counseling. The counseling relationship with a woman should provide validation for her relational skill and opportunity to practice relational competence within the counseling relationship. Boys and men may also have the need to develop relational competence to secure a strong sense of self. If so, a relational model of counseling would apply to them as well.     

Responsibility and evil imagination

In this Niebuhrian perspective on hostile and violent discourse the author utilizes H. R. Niebuhr's fourfold notion of responsibility and his concept of evil imagination to examine relations marred by protracted hostility toward hated other or others. The author argues that violent and hostile discourse manifests a particular form of responsibility whereby persons expressing hostility toward hated others construct, by way of negative representations, maligned histories and identities for the other and at the same time construct an idealized or glorified history and identity for themselves. These positive and negative representations and histories, then, are utilized to answer questions regarding interpretation, accountability, and solidarity. Niebuhr's concept of evil imagination is employed to hypothesize about the intransigence of this form of responsibility and to suggest reasons why elevated and maligned representations, identities, and histories are, more often than not, inextricably and tragically linked.     

Race,gender, and the response to stress: Autoworkers' vulnerability to long-term unemployment

A three-wave panel study of auto plant closings focused on the mental health effects of unemployment on blue-collar workers. This paper explores how the impact of long-term unemployment varies across race and gender. We also examine whether other demographic factors can themselves modify the impactsof race and gender. Dependent variables include two measures of distress and two drinking measures. Results showed that the effect of long-term unemployment on distress and drinking was more severe among less educated workers, and responses of blacks were especially sensitive to level of education. In addition, men showed a greater association of long-term unemployment with depression (and to some extent anxiety) than did women. Marriage affected the responses of men but not of women, and of whites but not of blacks. Explanatory variables—the worker's experiences of financial hardship, other negative life events, and lack of a confidant—largely accounted for male-female differences. We conclude by discussing theoretical implications of these effects and address the limitations of the traditional term “vulnerability” in describing them. A prior version of this paper was presented at the North Central Sociological Association meeting in Dearborn, Michigan, April 25, 1991. Funds for the research were provided by the Michigan Health Care Research and Education Foundation and by the International Union-UAW. We are especially grateful to the men and women of the UAW, whose experiences and views form this investigation. We thank Kiseon Chung, Scott McKearney, David Rauma, and the anonymous reviewers for their comments on earlier drafts.     

Dealing with time pressure

A sample of 250 people completed a questionnaire where they rated 30 statements describing their behavior and experiences during a recent time pressure situation. A factor analysis resulted in three factors: Personal Burden, Work Problems and Difficulties, and Challenge Orientation. People high on this last factor liked the excitement of being under pressure, were very absorbed in the task, and showed signs of being effective in dealing with the situation. Such individuals were having what has been identified as a flow experience often observed in sports and the arts. The results of this study suggest that effective coping with time pressure is related to taking a task-oriented attitude, avoiding self-preoccupation, and using time management skills to focus on successful achievement.