Femininity: From passion to an ethics of the impossible

Paper given as guest speaker at the Mini-Symposium on the Woman organized by the ORI (Organized Research Initiative) inWomen and the Image, Department of English and Comparative Literature, University of California, Irvine, California, April 28, 1992.     

Immobility reactions: A modified classification

This theoretical paper sets the stage for subsequent experimental reports on mobility and immobility in the Arkansas Line of Nervous Pointer dogs as contrasted with kennel mates of the normal line. Exactly opposite to the normal animals, the nervous dogs show marked inhibition of heart rate and musculoskeletal responses to man, including reduced ambulation and durable immobility following inversion and brief manual restraint in an open sling. The sling immobility of the nervous dogs (which may not differ basically from their freezing in upright position) might be designated as “tonic immobility” (TI). We hypothesize that such immobility, common in laboratory and natural conditions in many species, should be divided into two classes: hypotonic (cataleptic) and hypertonic (catatonic). We provide examples of such behaviors, particularly in man and dog, and cursorily review TI studies of other species. Neurophysiologic and neurochemical studies which bear on possible immobility mechanisms are briefly noted. We suggest that inconsistencies in reported concommitants of TI might result from failure to discriminate between types of behavioral responses.     

Predicting Child Restraint Device Use: A Comparison of Two Models1

This study's first objective was to apply Ajzen's theory of planned behavior (TPB) in the context of automobile child restraint device use to identify determinants of that behavior. A second objective was to test two specific hypotheses regarding the predictive role of perceived behavioral control: (a) Its inclusion should increase the proportion of variance already explained in intention by the attitudinal and normative components included in the theory of reasoned action; and (b) given the behavior under study, a model in which perception of behavioral control's influence on behavior is entirely mediated by intention, should fit the data. Subjects (N= 590) were parents driving with their 3- to 5-year-old children intercepted while entering or leaving parking lots of different public settings. The behavior of interest, child restraint device use, was rated by two independent observers. A self-report questionnaire assessing all constructs of Ajzen's model was given to the parent, who was instructed to return it by mail. Data were analyzed using LISREL VII. Results showed that perceived behavioral control and, to a lesser extent, attitude, emerged as the main determinants of behavioral intention which was itself predictive of child restraint device use. In addition, both hypotheses regarding the relation between perceived behavioral control on the one hand and intention and behavior, on the other, were supported. Discussion centered first on the mechanism through which perceived behavioral control exerts its influence, and second on the implications of the present results for the theory of reasoned action as well as for the theory of planned behavior.     

Mobile Cultures of Migrant Workers in Southern China: Informal Literacies in the Negotiation of (New) Social Relations of the New Working Women

In this paper, we analyze the data collected through in-depth interviews of migrant workers in Southern China about their mobile cultures. In particular, we focus on understanding the role that mobile cultures play in female workers’ negotiation of their social and romantic relations and leisure space and how these negotiations are directly or indirectly facilitated by development of informal literacies through their frequent short message service communicative practices. These will help us understand the lifestyle aspirations and life trajectories of the new young working women in China who are experiencing the most rapid socioeconomic changes in society and negotiating their ways of life amidst much tension between old and new values governing lifestyle aspirations, familial, and gender relations.

The mapping of Spanish social psychology through its conferences: a bibliometric perspective

This study of papers gathered from the proceedings presented at Spanish social psychology conferences explores the use of bibliometrics for studying scientific disciplines. A reference database of all the papers included in the conference proceedings of events held from 1983 to 2000 was generated and classified by thematic area, paper type and author institutional affiliation. The references were laid out on contingency tables and mapped with correspondence analysis. The results show that there is a growing number of co-authored papers and a predominance of empirical over theoretical paper types. Some institutions have a higher concentration of theoretical papers while others work mostly in the areas of organizational and health psychology. In terms of empirical papers, there is a tendency towards generating more qualitative-based studies over the span of time captured by this work. There are also a number of papers written about such areas as cultural psychology that points to the emergence of an interest in critical social psychology. Concluding remarks underline the role of conferences and scientific meetings as an important indicator of the dynamic development of a scientific discipline.     

Portuguese category norms for children

This study presents Portuguese category norms for children of three different age groups: preschoolers (3- to 4-year-olds), second graders (7- to 8-year-olds), and preadolescents (11- to 12-year-olds). Three hundred Portuguese children (100 in each group) completed an exemplar-generation task. Preschoolers generated exemplars for 13 categories, second graders generated exemplars for 17 categories, and preadolescents generated exemplars for 21 categories. For each group, responses within each category were organized according to frequency of production in order to derive exemplar-production norms for sets of tested categories. The results also included information about the number of responses and exemplars, idiosyncratic and inappropriate responses, and commonality and diversity indexes for all the categories. A comparison of these children's norms with the Portuguese adult norms was also presented. The full set of norms may be downloaded from www.psychonomic.org/archive.     

Subliminal priming of motivational orientation in educational settings: Effect on academic performance moderated by mindfulness

Recent literature indicates that a motivational orientation can be unconsciously primed. This study examined whether motivational priming influences students’ academic performance within an educational setting and whether this effect is moderated by students’ degree of mindfulness. Two randomly assigned groups of students received an identical lesson. However, the teacher’s slideshow contained different subliminal words according to the condition (autonomous vs. controlled motivation). Results demonstrated an interaction between students’ dispositional mindfulness and priming conditions. The more mindful students were immune to the manipulation whereas the less mindful students were affected by the priming: those primed with autonomous motivation obtained better results than those primed with controlled motivation. These findings contribute to priming research specifying individual differences of priming responsiveness.