Acquired equivalence and distinctiveness of cues: II. Neural manipulations and their implications

Neural manipulations were used to examine the mechanisms that underlie the acquired equivalence and distinctiveness of cues in rats. Control rats and those with excitotoxic lesions of either the hippocampus (HPC) or entorhinal cortex (EC) acquired the following conditional discrimination: In Contexts A and B, Stimulus X-->food and Stimulus Y-->no food, and in Contexts C and D, Y-->food and X-->no food. Rats then received many food pellets in A but not in C. After this treatment, control rats showed more magazine activity in B than in D--an acquired equivalence-distinctiveness effect. This effect was also evident in HPC rats but not in EC rats. These results indicate that changes in stimulus distinctiveness are dissociable from the process of conditional learning.     

Entrepreneurship,professionalism, leadership: A framework and measure for understanding boundaryless careers

We propose a person-centered framework for conceptualizing subjective careers in an increasingly boundaryless work context. Specifically, we argue that entrepreneurship, professionalism, and leadership (EPL) can serve as three key dimensions of subjective career space. We relate this framework to earlier macro-level national and organizational career models proposed by Kanter (1989) and Schein (1978). Our empirical study involving 10,326 Singaporean university students demonstrated that entrepreneurial, professional, and leadership career aspirations (including motivations, efficacies, and intentions) can be measured independently, that these career dimensions are independent of vocational interests, and that they are to some degree viewed as competing career alternatives. We also show that EPL motivation profiles can operationalize the boundaryless and protean career concepts. Individuals concurrently high in entrepreneurial, professional, and leadership career motivations, and those high in entrepreneurial and leadership motivations are highest in boundaryless and self-directed career attitudes, while those primarily motivated for professional careers hold the most traditional career attitudes. We conclude by discussing the potential of the framework for understanding human resource issues at organizational and national levels and for enhancing the study of entrepreneurship, professionalism, and leadership.     

Physical symptoms and the interplay of work and family roles

The paradigm underlying research on the relationship between work and physical-health symptoms in men has focused on workplace stressors and has ignored men's family roles. Research on women, work, and health suggests several necessary additions to this paradigm, including (a) a focus on job rewards and job concerns and (b) attention to the impact of family roles on the relationship between job rewards and concerns and physical health. We included these variables in a study of a disproportionate random sample of 403 employed 25- to 55-year-old women. Major findings are that (a) work rewards (e.g., helping others at work) are related to reports of low levels of physical symptoms; (b) work concerns (e.g., overload) are associated with reports of high levels of physical symptoms; (c) particular work rewards, which may be different for women than for men, mitigate the negative health effects of work concerns; (d) among employed mothers, satisfaction with salary is negatively related to physical-health symptoms; and (e) women in positive marriages or partnerships were more likely to reap physical-health benefits from the rewards of helping others at work and from supervisor support.     

Rorschach test findings at the beginning of treatment and 2 years later, with a 30-year follow-up

In this article, I report a case containing 2 Rorschach assessments-the first (R1) 30 years ago at the beginning of a 4-year period of psychotherapy and the second (R2) 2 years later. I also recently contacted the patient to obtain information about his life during the 26 years since termination. This report examines the 2 Rorschach protocols-combining the Comprehensive System (CS; Exner, 2003) structural summaries with thematic content analysis-in relation to the patient's history, treatment, and 30-year outcome. I focus on the change between R1 and R2, particularly the shift from an introversive to an ambitent EB and a corresponding shift from 6 Y responses on R1 to 6 m responses on R2. In the clinical interpretation, I considered these shifts in a context of the patient's patterns of managing destabilization and overstimulation.     

Bilingual frequency encoding

Two experiments are reported that examine the nature of the processing of frequency information in Spanish-English bilinguals. In the first study, subjects studied a list of English-only, Spanish-only, and mixed-language words varying in their frequency of occurrence, and under conditions of being either informed or uninformed about the later frequency test. Subjects were then shown pictures represeting the nominally presented items and had to give frequency judgments for the words depicting the objects. Frequency judgments were significantly faster when the words had been presented in a single language, suggesting a summation of access times for the mixed-language words. Instructional conditions had no effect on frequency judgments, but the latency to judge was significantly reduced for the informed subjects. In the second study, using similar acquisition procedures, subjects were shown test words in either the same or the different language from the one in which the words were originally experienced. Subjects demonstrated a clear ability to assign frequencies according to the relationship between acquisition and test language. The data were discussed in terms of supporting the hypothesis of separate bilingual language processing, and implications for the automatic nature of frequency acquisition were also addressed.This article is based on a paper originally presented at the meetings of the Southwestern Psychological Association, San Antonio, April 1983.     

Beliefs about Sexual Assault in India and Britain are Explained by Attitudes Toward Women and Hostile Sexism

As many as one in five women worldwide will be sexually assaulted over the course of her lifetime (United Nations 2008), yet myths that downplay the prevalence and severity of sexual assault are still widely accepted. Are myths about sexual assault (rape myths) more likely to be accepted in cultures that endorse more traditional gender roles and attitudes toward women? To explore the relationships among rape myth acceptance, attitudes toward women, and hostile and benevolent sexism, data were collected from 112 Indian and 117 British adults, samples from two cultures differing widely in their gender role traditionalism. Analyses confirmed a cultural difference in rape myth acceptance, with the more traditional culture, India, accepting myths to a greater extent than the more egalitarian culture, Britain. Indian participants’ greater rape myth acceptance was explained by their more traditional gender role attitudes and hostile sexism. We discuss ways in which promoting gender egalitarianism may help to break down negative beliefs and reduce the stigma surrounding sexual assault, especially in India, for example through interventions which increase exposure to women in less traditional roles (e.g., those in positions of power).     

Does the Type of Cheating Influence Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Cheating?

There has been a plethora of studies outlying the various factors which may affect undergraduate student cheating, generally focusing on individual, situational and deterrent factors. But beyond these factors, does the type of cheating affect students’ perceptions of cheating? We found that there were differences in regards to gradable cheating such as cheating on homework, tests and papers versus non-gradable cheating such as illegally downloading software/music from the Internet or photocopying materials which violate the university’s academic integrity policy. Gender, discussion of ethical issues in class and enforcement of cheating reduces the acceptance of cheating across types of cheating. Less time spent on the Internet reduces the acceptance of only non-gradable cheating and the type of institution and knowing the consequences of cheating reduces the acceptance of only gradable cheating.     

Stuttering treatment for a school-age child with Down syndrome: A descriptive case report

BackgroundLittle is known about optimal treatment approaches and stuttering treatment outcomes for children with Down syndrome.Aims and methodThe purpose of this study was to investigate outcomes for a child with Down syndrome who received a combination of fluency shaping therapy and parent delivered contingencies for normally fluent speech, prolonged speech, and stuttered speech.ResultsIn-clinic speech measures obtained at post-treatment and at 4 months follow-up reflected improvements in fluency of 89.0% and 98.6%, respectively. The participant's beyond-clinic follow-up sample reflected an improvement of 95.5%. Following treatment, the participant demonstrated improved self-confidence, self-esteem, and improved participation and functioning at school.ConclusionsFindings suggest that fluency shaping with parental contingencies may be a viable treatment approach to reduce stuttering in children with Down syndrome. Future research using an experimental research design is warranted.Educational objectives: Readers will be able to describe (a) prevalence estimates of stuttering in individuals with Down syndrome, (b) the main components of a fluency shaping program for a child with Down syndrome who stutters and has co-occurring speech and language delays, and (c) speech and parent-, teacher-, and self-report treatment outcomes.