The Relation of Cultural Mistrust and Psychological Health

The relation between cultural mistrust and psychological health was examined using a sample of 125 African American students. Results did not support the notion that mistrust of Whites is psychologically healthy but suggested that a moderate amount of trust of Whites is related to perceptions of personal well‐being. La relación entre la descofianza cultural y la salud psicológica se examinó utilizando una muestra de 125 estudiantes Americanos Africanos. Los resultados no sostuvieron la noción que la desconfianza de los Blancos es psicológicamente sana pero sugirió que una cantidad moderada de la desconfianza de los Blancos es relacionada a percepciones del bienestar personal.     

Relational Spirituality,Mature Alterity,and Spiritual Service among Ministry Leaders: An Empirical Study

Christian communities in the United States increasingly are debating sociopolitical issues and the relevance of social justice and cultural diversity to Christian spirituality. The present study investigated connections between spiritual maturity, mature alterity, spiritual service, and spiritual leadership in a predominantly female and ethnically diverse sample of Christian ministry leaders (N = 115) in the United States. Spiritual maturity was operationalized based on a relational spirituality model using measures representing dwelling- and seeking-oriented dimensions. Spiritual service was assessed through (a) sanctification of service and (b) a differentiated posture of listening to the struggles of others. Results showed both measures of spiritual maturity were significantly and positively related to social justice commitment, differentiated listing, and intercultural competence (the latter among female but not male ministry leaders) over and above effects for age and spiritual impression management. A dwelling-oriented measure of spiritual maturity was positively associated with the sanctification of leadership service, whereas a seeking-oriented measure of spiritual maturity showed a modest positive association with spiritual leadership. Spiritual leadership was unrelated to measures of mature alterity. Findings are discussed with respect to limitations, future psychological research, and theological implications for postcolonial pastoral leadership and spirituality.

     

Sound source location modulates the irrelevant-sound effect

Participants memorized lists of visually presented digits in silence or while ignoring distractor sounds that either came from the front and thus from the direction in which participants' attention was oriented, or from behind. Distractor sounds impaired recall performance, but the largest impairment was observed when the sound source was directionally close to the frontal visual target display. The results are consistent with the assumption of cross-modal attentional links in models of attention, and they are problematic for explanations of the irrelevant-sound effect within working memory models that do not specify an explicit role of attention in the maintenance of information for immediate serial recall.     

Stepping through the drug use sequence: longitudinal scalogram analysis of initiation and regular use.

Using a new technique for tracing the sequence of use over time, this study examined the pattern of drug involvement among 4,145 West Coast adolescents over the 4-year span from Grades 7-10. During the period covered, the mid- to late 1980s, we found no evidence that cocaine has become a gateway drug. However, the data provided some support for treating cocaine initiation as a separate stage that precedes the onset of hard drugs other than pills. The analysis also showed that increased involvement with legal drugs constitutes an important step in the transition to hard drug use for most adolescents. Weekly alcohol use followed marijuana use and preceded use of all other illicit drugs for Hispanic, White, and Black youth. However, it followed use of hard drugs for Asians. Weekly smoking formed a distinct stage between initial use of pills and other hard drugs for non-Hispanic Whites. The results underscore the importance of prevention efforts aimed at curbing the transition to regular use of alcohol and cigarettes, as well as their initial use.     

The effects of strategy—Monitoring training on children's selection of effective memory strategies

Second grade children were given training in general principles of strategy monitoring prior to being exposed to differentially effective acquisition strategies in a memory task. The results showed that even though both experimental and placebo control groups could assess when they remembered better, more experimental than control children attributed performance differences to their strategic behavior and then selected the more effective strategy on a forced-choice trial. These findings indicate that instruction in general memory-monitoring principles is sufficient to effect a change in strategy usage. The study therefore provides direct experimental support for the presumed relationship between metacognitive knowledge and subsequent strategy use.