Promoting Systemic Change Through the ACA Advocacy Competencies

In 2003, the American Counseling Association (ACA) adopted the ACA Advocacy Competencies (J. A. Lewis, M. S. Arnold, R. House, & R. L. Toporek, 2002) to provide guidance to counselors and acknowledge advocacy as an ethical aspect of service to clients. This article provides a foundation for this special section by sharing a historical perspective on recent pivotal advocacy movements within the profession. An overview of the development and content of the Advocacy Competencies is provided followed by a case example to assist counselors in understanding and enhancing their application.     

The Time Course of Verb Processing in Dutch Sentences

The verb has traditionally been characterized as the central element in a sentence. Nevertheless, the exact role of the verb during the actual ongoing comprehension of a sentence as it unfolds in time remains largely unknown. This paper reports the results of two Cross-Modal Lexical Priming (CMLP) experiments detailing the pattern of verb priming during on-line processing of Dutch sentences. Results are contrasted with data from a third CMLP experiment on priming of nouns in similar sentences. It is demonstrated that the meaning of a matrix verb remains active throughout the entire matrix clause, while this is not the case for the meaning of a subject head noun. Activation of the meaning of the verb only dissipates upon encountering a clear signal as to the start of a new clause.     

Evaluation of the Dispositional Hope Scale in injury survivors

Hope is a higher-order cognitive construct that encompasses the belief in one’s ability to accomplish personal goals. Hope has been conceptualised as consisting of two constructs – Pathways (the individual’s perceived means available to achieve goals) and Agency (belief in ones ability to succeed in using the identified Pathways). This study aimed to validate a measure of hope, the Dispositional Hope Scale (DHS: [Snyder, C. R., Harris, C., Anderson, J. R., Holleran, S. A., Irving, L. M., Sigman, S. T., et al. (1991). The will and the ways: Development and validation of an individual differences measure of hope. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(4), 570–585]) in a large sample of traumatic injury survivors (N = 1025). The findings support the psychometric properties of the scale, as well as the two-factor structure of Agency and Pathways, in this population. This study provides support for the use of the DHS as a measure of hope in traumatised populations.     

Men’s Interpersonal (mis)Perception: Fitting in with Gender Norms Following Social Rejection

Interpersonal perception (IP) is useful for meeting affiliation needs, but what if IP skills are derogated by those one wishes to affiliate with? We tested the effects of affiliation motivation on IP in predominately Caucasian men. Participants were mainly U.S. undergraduates from the intermountain west. We expected that following rejection, IP performance would vary depending on the skill’s gender appropriateness. Study 1 (N?=?69) found men who recounted an in-group rejection performed better on a masculine-framed IP test. Study 2 (N?=?102) extended findings to empathic accuracy, demonstrating that rejection influenced IP as a function of the gender norms of an in-group member. The role of affiliation motivation and gender norms in the development and maintenance of men’s nonverbal skills is discussed.     

The Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire: Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Within contemporary psychology there is increasing interest in the role of religion on behaviour and psychological functioning. Such interest can be attested to by the growth in the number of pertinent books and articles that have been published and also the development of new self-report measures of religiosity. The Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire is one such recently developed measure. It is a brief self-report measure comprising 10 items that were designed to measure strength of religious faith regardless of religious denomination or affiliation. Although Plante and Boccaccini (1997a, 1997b) have provided some preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of the scale, the factor structure of the scale has not yet been examined. The aim of the present paper was to confirm the factor structure of the scale. The hypothesised one-factor model was tested using confirmatory factor analytic methods. Data from a sample of 106 Northern Irish undergraduate university students were examined using confirmatory factor analytic methods. A one-factor model was tested and accepted on the basis of fit statistics, therefore supporting the hypothesised unidimensional structure of the scale. The present results provide further evidence that the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire is psychometrically sound and therefore it can be recommended for further use by researchers interested in the construct of strength of religious faith.     

Why The Pessimistic Induction Is A Fallacy

Putnam and Laudan separately argue that the falsity of past scientific theories gives us reason to doubt the truth of current theories. Their arguments have been highly influential, and have generated a significant literature over the past couple of decades. Most of this literature attempts to defend scientific realism by attacking the historical evidence on which the premises of the relevant argument are based. However, I argue that both Putnam's and Laudan's arguments are fallacious, and hence attacking their premises is unnecessary. The paper concludes with a discussion of the further historical evidence that would be required if the pessimistic induction is to present a serious threat to scientific realism.     

Absolute Versus Tentative Interpretations: Mediating Effects of Client Locus of Control

An analog design was used to investigate the mediating effects of client locus of control (i.e., an internal focus or external focus) on perceptions of counselor style of interpreting events (i.e., absolute or tentative interpretations) on measures of perceived session depth and smoothness, and perceived counselor expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness. One hundred and thirty-four undergraduate college students, crossed on level of locus of control, were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions, and then completed measures of perceived session depth and smoothness, as well as perceived counselor expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness. Results indicated a significant interaction effect on perceived counselor trustworthiness. Implications for college counselors are provided.     

Infant temperament and the brainstem auditory evoked response in later childhood.

Brainstem auditory evoked responses (BAERs) were evaluated on 10-12-year-old children (N = 56) who had been classified as high or low reactive to unfamiliar stimuli at 4 months of age. BAER measurement was selected because high reactive infants tend to become inhibited or fearful young children, and adult introverts have a faster latency to wave V of the BAER than do extroverts. Children previously classified as high reactive at 4 months had larger wave V components than did low reactive children, a finding that possibly suggests greater excitability in projections to the inferior colliculus. The fact that a fundamental feature of brainstem activity differentiated preadolescent children belonging to two early temperamental groups supports the value of gathering physiological data in temperament research.     

The Relationship Between Dissociation and Religiosity: An Empirical Evaluation of Schumaker's Theory

Dissociation can be broadly understood as alterations in consciousness where integrated processing of psychological and/or sensory information is disrupted. Following Schumaker's (1995) suggestion that dissociation elicited by religious ritual provides the basis for religious beliefs, the current aim was to empirically assess the relationship between dissociation, religious ritual, and religious beliefs. Four samples with varying levels of religious commitment were administered the Dissociative Experiences Scale, the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity-short form, and the Maranell Religious Ritual Scale. Dissociation scores were highest in the young Catholic sample and lowest in the Fellowship group. However, these results are largely affected by the covariate of age. No relationship was found between dissociation, religious attitude, and religious ritual in the student sample. However, small to moderate significant correlations were found in the Catholic sample. Results are discussed with reference to Schumaker's theoretical proposal and directions are suggested for future assessment of the dissociation-religiosity relationship.