PURE TIME PREFERENCE

Pure time preference is a preference for something to come at one point in time rather than another merely because of when it occurs in time. In opposition to Sidgwick, Ramsey, Rawls, and Parfit we argue that it is not always irrational to be guided by pure time preferences. We argue that even if the mere difference of location in time is not a rational ground for a preference, time may nevertheless be a normatively neutral ground for a preference, and this makes it plausible to claim that the preference is rationally permitted.     

The Nature and Correlates of Conversational Sensitivity

People differ in their sensitivity to what happens during conversations: Some individuals enjoy listening to social exchanges, pick up hidden meanings in conversations, can generate optimal ways of saying things in interactions, and are generally “savvy” about the different sorts of power and affinity relationships exhibited in conversations. In this article we explore the nature and correlates of conversational sensitivity. People high in sensitivity make more high-level inferences when listening to social exchanges, unitize conversation in smaller chunks, emphasize conversation characteristics in their memories of interactions, and make more self-referents about conversations than less sensitive individuals. In addition, conversational sensitivity is positively related to self-monitoring, private self-consciousness, perceptiveness, self-esteem, assertiveness, empathy, and social skills. It is inversely related to communication apprehension, receiver apprehension, and social anxiety. In a final study, conversational sensitivity is construed not as an individual difference but as situational response: In some settings under some conditions, people become more sensitive to what happens in conversation.     

Concealing negative evaluations of a romantic partner's physical attractiveness

Two studies provided evidence that people hide their negative evaluations of their romantic partner's physical attractiveness. This pattern was found using self‐reports of concealment (Study 1) and a behavioral observation measure (Study 2). Participants who engaged in this deception also exhibited elevated speech disfluencies, which is a deception cue. Moderators of concealment were examined. Concealment was especially pronounced for participants high in care for the partner's welfare (Studies 1 and 2), low in commitment (Studies 1 and 2), and high in attractiveness ideals (Study 2). Results suggest that people use deception to regulate their romantic partner's feelings, but that long‐term orientation or desire to maintain closeness may curtail use of this strategy.     

FROM PAPER TO PIXELS: MOVING PERSONNEL SURVEYS TO THE WEB

Practitioners are not adequately prepared to handle concerns related to the acceptability of the online survey medium from the worker's viewpoint because the literature has only begun to address this issue. This study assessed reactions to Web-based questionnaires while moving an organization's climate survey online. Initial questions, posed via a paper-and-pencil instrument, gathered opinions concerning online surveys ( n = 437). A Web-based climate survey was then created and piloted (n = 98). Afterwards, die finalized instrument was administered ( n = 403), and a follow-up questionnaire was disseminated ( n = 175) to further gauge workers' reactions. Despite some initial anonymity concerns, most personnel were amenable to online surveying, and the Web-based medium did not appear to discourage participation from any subgroup (based on gender, race, military versus civilian classification, and workgroup size comparisons). This article, which is intended for practitioners considering the transition to Web-based surveys as well as those interested in evaluating and improving current Web-based survey processes, outlines issues regarding online survey implementation, offers a tool for evaluating survey software, and concludes with lessons learned and avenues for future research/practice.     

Similarity and preference judgments of musical stimuli

Two experiments were performed comparing similarity (technical-structural) and preference personal-affective) judgments of jazz improvizations (Experiment 1) and of classical, pop-rock, and jazz music (Experiment 2). A multidimensional scaling paradigm (INDSCAL) was used for pairwise comparisons of the 12 musical pieces in each experiment. Each 2 minute piece was subdivided into 10 second segments in order to reduce fatigue or boredom and provide better sampling across comparison trials. In general, similarity dimensions reflected greater agreement among the subjects that did preference dimensions and were hierarchically ordered. The dominant dimensions for both similarity and preference judgments of jazz improvizations were: Tempo, Dominant Instrument (Horns-guitar), and Articulation. The dominant dimensions for similarity judgments involving all three genres were: Classical-Contemporary, Jazz-Rock, and Tempo. The dominant dimensions for preference judments were: Rock-Classical, Jazz-Classical, and Tempo. In general, the preference judgments of musically sophisticated subjects were less constrained by salient dimensions.     

Detection of errors in statistical problem solving

Ten subjects were asked to think aloud while solving two statistical problems. The subjects were instructed after each substep of his/her problem solving, to check in various ways the solution of the previous substep. The subjects detected 25 out of a total of 56 errors when they solved the problems. About half of the detected errors were computational errors. Nine errors were eliminated in response to the checking instructions. The think aloud data indicated that subjects' most common way of detecting their own errors was by noting that computations resulted in extreme values. Subjects also detected errors by (a) "spontaneous discovery"; (b) discontent with other aspects of a solution than the numerical value of the answer; (c) repeating a solution. The last mentioned type of error detection only occurred when subjects responded to the checking instructions. Finally it was found that subjects had a strong tendency to respond to the checking instructions either in a routinized or in a non-elaborated way. It was discussed how the formulation of checking instructions can be improved in order to avoid this effect.     

Language About People with Disabilities

A decade of rehabilitation literature (a) calls attention to imprecise, stereotypical, and devaluing language that is often used to discuss people with disabilities and (b) offers more appropriate alternatives. Because professional counselors sometimes commit these language abuses, and counselors of all specialities can expect to see some clients who have disabilities, this article seeks to bring these issues to the attention of the counseling profession at large.     

Contributing Factors to Early Premature Termination at a College Counseling Center

The authors investigated the relationships between clients' early premature termination of counseling and ratings of their counselors' expertness, trustworthiness, and attractiveness and the extent to which clients believed that they were understood by their counselors. A follow-up survey was conducted to assess the clients' reasons for terminating prematurely. Participants were 148 students who sought individual counseling at a university counseling center. The two groups did not differ on the variables investigated. Most of the participants who terminated prematurely reported that they did so because they did not have time for further sessions, did not need further sessions, or forgot their appointments.     

The Counselor in the Hospice: A New Role

Part of the outreach program of the counselor training program at The College of Staten Island for the past ten years has been to provide counseling for persons with life-threatening and terminal illnesses and for their families. This effort led Cheikin to visit and work in hospices in England and Scotland. His experience has clearly shown that counselor education must include experience with and increased understanding of dying, grieving, and the effect of death on surviving family members; these are now being incorporated into the regular curriculum of the College.