Inhibitory effects of drinker and nondrinker prototypes on adolescent alcohol consumption.

This prospective study examined the relation between 308 adolescents' images of typical dinkers and nondrinkers and their subsequent alcohol consumption. The results indicate that both images are associated with changes in consumption between ages 16 and 18 but that they operate in different ways. Contrary to previous assumptions, drinker images do not represent goal states for adolescents in that they are more negative than their self-images and nondrinker images and are not correlated with their ideal selves. In contrast, nondrinker images do appear to represent goal states for adolescents who abstain from drinking. Implications for intervention are discussed.     

SEXUAL ASSAULT EDUCATION PROGRAMS: A META-ANALYTIC EXAMINATION OF THEIR EFFECTIVENESS

Meta-analyses of the effectiveness of college sexual assault education programs on seven outcome measure categories were conducted using 69 studies that involved 102 treatment interventions and 18,172 participants. Five of the outcome categories had significant average effect sizes (i.e., rape attitudes, rape-related attitudes, rape knowledge, behavioral intent, and incidence of sexual assault), while the outcome areas of rape empathy and rape awareness behaviors did not have average effect sizes that differed from zero. A significant finding of this study is that longer interventions are more effective than brief interventions in altering both rape attitudes and rape-related attitudes. Moderator analyses also suggest that the content of programming, type of presenter, gender of the audience, and type of audience may also be associated with greater program effectiveness. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

IN HARM'S WAY: FACTORS RELATED TO PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS FOLLOWING SEXUAL HARASSMENT

The negative consequences for victims of sexual harassment are well documented. However, one area unexamined is the process that leads to harm. Researchers have proposed three influences (i.e., objective or stimulus factors, individual factors, and contextual factors) on the psychological, health-related, and organizational outcomes of sexual harassment. This article examines the relative contribution of these influences on psychological distress following sexual harassment. Two studies were conducted. First, we examined approximately 1,200 women in a financial industry class-action lawsuit. A series of hierarchical regressions and subsequent dominance analysis revealed that the severity of the experiences and attributions made about them were the most important influences on symptoms of psychological distress. Study 2 examined 85 female plaintiffs in sexual harassment litigation. Dominance analysis again showed that the magnitude of their experiences had the strongest relationship with distress. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Identification of olfactory stimuli as reinforcers in individuals with autism: a preliminary investigation

Preference for six olfactory stimuli was assessed via paired preference assessments with three adults with autism. Using a combination multielement and reversal design, a reinforcer assessment was then conducted to determine the extent to which three (high preference, medium preference, and low preference) of the six olfactory stimuli evaluated in the preference assessment functioned as reinforcers for responding in the context of a sorting task. Relative to baseline, all of the participants exhibited increased responding for access to their high preference olfactory stimulus. The utility of olfactory stimuli as components of behavior intervention plans is discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emoticons in computer-mediated communication: social motives and social context.

This study investigated the role of emoticons in computer-mediated communication (CMC). The study consisted of an online questionnaire about the social motives for emoticon use and an experimental part in which participants (N = 1,251) had to respond to short Internet chats. In these chats, the interaction partner (friend vs. stranger) and the valence of the context (positive vs. negative) were manipulated. Results showed that emoticons are mostly used to express emotion, to strengthen a message, and to express humor. Furthermore, more emoticons were used in communication with friends than in communication with strangers, and more emoticons were used in a positive context than in a negative context. Participants seem to use emoticons in a way similar to facial behavior in face-to-face communication with respect to social context and interaction partner.