A genetic and environmental analysis of sensation seeking

The genetic and environmental contributions to the trait of sensation seeking were analyzed using the responses of 422 pairs of twins to the Sensation Seeking Scale (Form IV). The biometrical method of Jinks and Fulker was applied to the data. The data fit the model indicating the likelihood of a predominantly additive gene action controlling the general trait. The heritability figure of 58% (69% of the reliable variance) was quite high for a personality trait. Data from other studies suggest that the heritability of the personality trait rests upon specific inherited biological traits, such as the biochemicals of the brain and gonadal hormones which affect arousability of the central nervous system and relevant traits, such as mood, impulsivity, risk taking, and sociability.     

Law-related training in school psychology: A national survey of doctoral programs

This article deals with the nature of law-related training in doctoral programs in school psychology. The characteristics of such training efforts are described, and implications for future training activities are discussed.     

Individual,family, and societal dimensions of genetic discrimination: A case study analysis

Background. As the development and use of genetic tests have increased, so have concerns regarding the uses of genetic information. Genetic discrimination, the differential treatment of individuals based on real or perceived differences in their genomes, is a recently described form of discrimination. The range and significance of experiences associated with this form of discrimination are not yet well known and are investigated in this study. Methods. Individuals at-risk to develop a genetic condition and parents of children with specific genetic conditions were surveyed by questionnaire for reports of genetic discrimination. A total of 27,790 questionnaires were sent out by mail. Of 917 responses received, 206 were followed up with telephone interviews. The responses were analyzed regarding circumstances of the alleged discrimination, the institutions involved, issues relating to the redress of grievances, and strategies to avoid discrimination. Results. A number of institutions were reported to have engaged in genetic discrimination including health and life insurance companies, health care providers, blood banks, adoption agencies, the military, and schools. The alleged instances of discrimination were against individuals who were asymptomatic and sometimes impacted on other asymptomatic relatives. Few surveyed respondents knew of the existence of institutions such as state insurance commissions or the Medical Information Bureau, Inc., which may play roles in redress of grievances or correction of misinformation. Conclusions. Genetic discrimination is variable in form and cause and can have marked consequences for individuals experiencing discrimination and their relatives. The presence of abnormal genes in all individuals makes each person a potential victim of this type of discrimination. The increasing development and utilization of genetic tests will likely result in increased genetic discrimination in the absence of contravening measures. All authors contributed equally to this work. This work was supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and funding from the Department of Mental Retardation of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.     

A comparison of “traditional” and “atypical” workers: Demographic,behavioral, and attitudinal differences

Differences among full-time (n=1066), part-time (n=132), and moonlighting employees (n=153) in a variety of occupations were examined. Moonlighters as compared to full-timers were younger, more frequently male, perceived less educational fit with their main jobs, and were primary wage earners. Full-timers as compared to part-timers were more frequently male, married, and primary wage earners. Part-timers had the greatest turnover, but no differences were detected for other withdrawal behaviors. Part-timers were more satisified with working conditions but were less satisfied with extrinsic rewards and life in general. Moonlighters expressed a stronger work ethic and placed less importance on working conditions.A version of this paper was presented at the 1991 Meetings of the Southwest Division of the Academy of Management in Houston, TX.     

Behavioral and emotional problems among Chinese and American children: Parent and teacher reports for ages 6 to 13

This study compared behavioral and emotional problems reported by parents and teachers in Chinese urban and rural samples and demographically similar American samples. Parents of 469 6-to-13-year-old children of each nationality completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Teachers completed the Teacher's Report Form (TRF). Cross-cultural differences were generally modest in magnitude. Chinese children scored higher on TRF Delinquent Behavior and Anxious/Depressed syndromes, and on Internalizing. American children scored higher on CBCL Aggressive Behavior and TRF Attention Problems syndromes. Boys exhibited more externalizing behaviors across both cultures. The mean correlation between parent and teacher ratings was .36 in the Chinese sample and .29 in the American sample, a nonsignificant difference. Findings indicate considerable similarity between problems reported for children in very different societies.This work was supported by NIMH grant MH40305 and by University Associates in Psychiatry, a nonprofit health service and research corporation of the University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry.The authors are grateful to David Jacobowitz and Catherine Howell for their help in the analyses.     

The association of assimilation and an increase in visibility in perceptual grouping

Subjects performed a series of forced-choice discriminations to determine whether both group-assimilation and group-visibility associations could be obtained from nearly identical strong and weak group patterns. The discrimination between the context+target and the context was better than between the target^– and background, as was the case for^—, whose context and target components were its left and right halves, but not for^—. and^— produced a better performance when their lines (halves) were the same in color, and a poorer performance when their lines were different in color, but produced the reverse. Likewise, only and^— produced a better performance when closed, and a poorer performance when open. These context+target etc., same-different, and closure results argue that and^— produced a greater increase in visibility of their component^–, more assimilation among their parts, and a stronger group than did . This evidence of a group-assimilation-visibility association cannot be attributed to the fortuitous occurrence of an increase in visibility with one object, assimilation with a second, and closure with a third, unlike previous evidence. This association cannot be explained by feature-based theories. Therefore, a superordinate unit is the cause of this association.     

How (Fast) Can I Help You? Tone of Voice and Telephone Operator Efficiency in Interactions1

This study examined how tone of voice related to directory assistance operators' s]peed at handling customer calls. Brief (5-s) audio exerpts of telephone operator conversation were presented to judges who rated these on 5 personality dimensions and 5 vocal qualities. When these measures were correlated with a key measure of job performance, namely call duration, results showed that operators who were faster at handling calls were rated as significantly more enthusiastic, sympathetic, confident, professional, and friendly (average r= -.56). The voices of faster operators were also rated as significantly more changing (vs. monotonous) and as containing clearer (vs. slurred) pronunciation. Results are discussed in terms of the role that tone of voice plays in telephone operator-customer interaction, and telephone interactions more generally.     

Policy impact on information technology programming in the social services

Policy is the product of a group struggle between contending factions who constantly strive to weight policy creation and decision making in their favor. Within social service settings, resource policies promoted by management compete with service policies of social workers. Management familiarity with information technology (IT) rewards operational advantage in resource application at the expense of social work personnel. Within the Israeli Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs this has enhanced the position of the manager. Social workers failed to incorporate IT within the natural systems approach resulting in a state of disempowerment vis à vis IT itself. The social worker will be able to avail himself of IT only consequent to redefinition of social services organization policy based on social work concepts such as social change, involvement, informal organization and empowerment. His current interest is the knowledge base of social work. He has written widely on social work and the personal social services, with particular reference to dependency, empowerment and new technology.