Similarity ratings and confusability of lipread consonants compared with similarity ratings of auditory and orthographic stimuli.

Similarity ratings of pairs of lipread consonants were obtained using a 5-point scale. Matrices were constructed showing mean similarity ratings and confusions among stimuli. Both the similarity and the confusion data provide normative data useful for researchers in many areas. Lipread data collected here are compared with similarity ratings of orthographically and auditorily presented consonants collected by Manning (1977). These comparisons provide information about how stimulus similarity both within and between presentation formats may affect information processing of the three types of stimuli. These data are of special interest to researchers studying the visual processing of speech and the effect of format of presentation on recall.     

What children can tell us about living in danger

Developmental challenges faced by children growing up in situations of chronic danger linked to community violence and communal conflict are reviewed. The concept of post-traumatic stress disorder is expanded to include situations of chronic and on-going traumatic stress associated with dangerous environments--war zones and inner city neighborhoods plagued by violence and crime. Of particular importance is the impact of chronic stress and danger on the child's world view, the child's social map, and the child's moral development. On the basis of field work in 5 war zones, the article points to the importance of adult-led "processing" of the young child's experience to his or her psychological coping and moral development. Some of the contradictions operating in such environments are explored--for example, that "fanatical" ideology may provide short-term support for adults and children but also may serve to prolong communal conflict, impede the necessary processing of experience, and increase vulnerability in the long run.     

Multiple role juggling and daily mood states in working mothers: an experience sampling study

The effects of multiple role juggling (i.e., simultaneously attending to demands of different roles) on daily mood states of employed mothers were examined. Ss completed activity and mood questionnaires 8 times a day for 8 days. Multiple role juggling had immediate negative effects on task enjoyment and mood. However, contrast effects and habituation to role juggling occurred when mood and satisfaction were examined over time. Furthermore, mood states tended to spill over from one episode to the next within a day, but contrast effects were found across days. These results reflect the complex nature of psychological adjustment to multiple role occupancy.     

The perceived causal structure of loneliness

Two studies examined the way people represent the causes of loneliness as a semantic space and as a causal network. In a multidimensional scaling task, the results of Michela, Peplau, and Weeks (1982) were replicated and the causes wee classified according to locus and stability. In a 2nd study, 44 people judged the likelihood that these causes were interconnected. From these data, a causal network or perceived causal structure (Kelley, 1983) was derived by means of network analysis. The structure revealed a complex lay theory of loneliness in which personality influenced group behavior, which in turn influenced psychological states and beliefs. States and beliefs were also affected by physical features and situational factors.     

Courtesy stigma: the social implications of associating with a gay person

We investigated the operation of courtesy stigma with American male college students who reacted to a fictitious male student described as gay, rooming by choice with a gay male student, involuntarily assigned to room with a gay, or rooming with a male heterosexual. Among respondents who expressed strong intolerance of gays, the voluntary associate of a gay was perceived as having homosexual tendencies and as possessing the same stereotyped personality traits attributed to a gay. No such courtesy stigma was attached to the involuntary associate of a gay by these respondents. Relatively tolerant respondents engaged in no courtesy stigmatization at all. Thus, courtesy stigmatization occurred only under circumscribed conditions and appeared to depend more on the tendency of highly intolerant individuals to infer that a male student who apparently liked a gay individual was himself gay than on a motivation to maintain cognitive consistency.     

Formant frequency characteristics of children, young adult, and aged female speakers

Previous literature indicates that a difference may exist between formant frequencies (F1 and F2) of children, young adult, and elderly speakers. The purpose of this study was to compare F1 and F2 of 3 young, 6 young adult, and 3 elderly female speakers for the /i/, /ae/, /u/, and /a/ vowels. Analysis indicates a trend towards vowel reduction across the life span. These findings support previous research regarding age-associated acoustic changes as well as support for the possible anatomical and physiological alterations which may influence such changes.     

Visuospatial ability, accuracy of size estimation, and bulimic disturbance in a noneating-disordered college sample: a neuropsychological analysis

The relationship between visuospatial ability and size accuracy in perception was assessed in 69 normal college females. In general, correlations indicated small associations between visuospatial defects and size overestimation and little relationship between visuospatial ability and level of bulimic disturbance. Implications for research on the size overestimation of body image are addressed.     

New assessments of weight-related body image derived from extant instruments

A study of 79 female college students examined the reliability and validity of two new size/weight-related measures of body image. The Body-size Appraisal Scale and the Overweight Preoccupation Scale were derived from existing instruments. Analyses supported the internal consistency and 2-wk. test-retest reliability of both new scales. Correlations of scores on each scale with measures of anxiety about being fat, negative body-image affect and avoidance, restrained and bulimic eating, and depression support their concurrent and construct validity. Scores on the Overweight Preoccupation Scale were also related to the extent of investment in physical appearance. Regression analyses indicated that each new scale could be predicted from several other conceptually relevant body-image attitudes, even after actual body weight was controlled.