Citizen participation,perceived control,and psychological empowerment

The research integrates the citizen participation literature with research on perceived control in an effort to further our understanding of psychological empowerment. Eleven indices of empowerment representing personality, cognitive, and motivational measures were identified to represent the construct. Three studies examined the relationship between empowerment and participation. The first study examined differences among groups identified by a laboratory manipulation as willing to participate in personally relevant or community relevant situations. Study II examined differences for groups defined by actual involvement in community activities and organizations. Study III replicated Study II with a different population. In each study, individuals reporting a greater amount of participation scored higher on indices of empowerment. Psychological empowerment could be described as the connection between a sense of personal competence, a desire for, and a willingness to take action in the public domain. Discriminant function analyses resulted in one significant dimension, identified as pyschological empowerment, that was positively correlated with leadership and negatively correlated with alienation.     

Major depression in the transition to adulthood: risks and impairments.

An ongoing longitudinal community study (N = 375) examined childhood risks and later adult impairments associated with 1-year Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) diagnoses of major depression during the transition to adulthood. Risks from birth to age 9 were reported by mothers, participants, and teachers. Teacher-reported hostility at age 6 predicted later depression. At age 9, self-perceptions of anxiety/depression, unpopularity, familial rejection, and abuse were potent risks. For men, neonatal and childhood health problems predicted later depression. For women, risks included family constellation, parental death, and poor academic achievement at age 9. Men and women who were depressed at age 18, age 21, or both demonstrated extensive psychosocial impairments in early adulthood, including poor overall functioning, interpersonal and behavioral problems, low self-esteem, and suicidality.     

FURTHER ANALYSIS OF PROBLEM BEHAVIOR IN RESPONSE CLASS HIERARCHIES

A functional analysis identified the reinforcers for 3 participants' problem behavior, but only relatively mild problem behaviors (e.g., screaming, disruption) were observed when all topographies produced tested consequences. We then conducted an extinction analysis in which specific topographies produced a reinforcer while all other topographies were on extinction. The extinction analysis confirmed that the same reinforcer identified in the initial functional analysis maintained more severe topographies of problem behavior (e.g., aggression). In addition, results of the extinction analysis indicated that 2 of the participants displayed patterns of responding consistent with a response class hierarchy hypothesis, in which less severe problem behavior frequently occurred prior to more severe topographies. The 3rd participant displayed a response pattern indicative of differential reinforcement effects.     

Emerging views of the role of theory

Offers a few broadly evaluative observations about what we have learned from the articles and commentaries contained in this special section. We discuss how--although the contributions contained in this special section might be viewed on one level as suggesting a lack of consensus concerning the role of theory--on a metalevel the contributions are suggestive of movement toward consensus. The emerging consensus seems to be that not only is theory alive and well but it is unlikely that we will ever be able to do without theory. However, our ways of thinking and talking about theory appear to be undergoing change; that is, the trend is in the emergence of theory as a guide for action or action-based epistemology. We conclude with ideas about future directions, including the call for methodological pluralism, theoretical pluralism, and metatheoretical development.     

Do Supervisors and Subordinates See Eye-to-Eye on Job Enrichment?

The Social Information Processing Model states that employees' perceptions of their job characteristics are influenced in part by others (e.g., supervisors). This study compared supervisors' and their subordinates' perceptions of the subordinates' job enrichment. The convergence of these perceptions were then examined in relation to the subordinates' job satisfaction, performance, and organizational commitment. Fifty-two supervisor-subordinate pairs from an university in the northeastern United States were the subjects in this study. Results indicted that: (1) supervisors and their subordinates perceive subordinates' job characteristics differently, and (2) the supervisors' perceptions have limited relationships with critical work outcomes. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

A microcomputer-controlled system for measuring reactivity in small animals

A microcomputer-controlled system has been designed for measuring reactivity in small laboratory animals. This system uses a microcomputer to trigger an acoustic signal, which is fed to a loudspeaker through an audio power amplifier. An animal’s acoustic startle response is recorded using a moving-coil loudspeaker as a movement transducer. The transducer output is coupled to a peak-hold circuit that records the maximum voltage generated by the animal’s response. After conversion to digital form, the data for each stimulus presentation are stored and then printed when all trials have been completed.     

Catheterization of the lumbar subarachnoid space for long-term CSF collection in unanesthetized nonhuman primates

Chronic indwelling spinal catheters facilitate administration of drugs and serial sampling of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Most catheters used in primates enter the ventricles or rostral subarachnoid space. This paper describes a procedure for catheterizing the lumbar subarachnoid space. Although the technique is invasive, maintenance and utilization of the catheter do not disturb the subject. The preparation remains patent for up to 21 days and permits both intrathecal drug administration and collection of CSF samples from unanesthetized subjects.     

A reevaluation of the effect of velocity on induced motion

Induced motion (IM) was measured as a function of the temporal frequency of inducer oscillation. IM magnitude decreased as frequency increased above 5 Hz. Increasing the amplitude of inducer motion, and thereby its velocity, did not influence the temporal frequency dependence of IM. This suggests that it is the duration of inducer motion, rather than its velocity, that is the critical stimulus feature in studies that report decreased IM with higher frequencies of inducer oscillation. In a separate experiment, the optokinetic nystagmus elicited by the inducing stimulus in the absence of a fixation target displayed frequency-response characteristics similar to those of IM. This finding supports the hypothesis that IM magnitude is proportional to the voluntary effort required to suppress reflexive eye movements while maintaining stable fixation.