The explanatory power of theism

Special thanks to Alvin Plantinga, Michael Detlefsen and William Alston for many helpful suggestions.     

Semantic distinctions and memory for complex sentences

This investigation studied what people remember in recalling complex sentences, whether it is certain semantic distinctions or merely transformational markers. After short intervals 24 subjects tried to recall sentences of six kinds which formed paraphrase sets: S₁ before S₂, S₁ and then S₂, After S₁ S₂, S₂ after S₁, S₂ but first S₁, and Before S₂ S₁. (S₁ and S₂ denote first and second clauses in temporal, not linguistic, order.) Subjects remembered the underlying sense of sentences with S₁-S₂ clause ordering better than those with S₂-S₁ clause ordering, regardless of transformational complexity. Subjects also showed a response bias, hence better verbatim recall, for sentences with subordinate clause second and for sentences with S₁-S₂ clause ordering. Sentence confusions indicated that subjects remembered three semantic distinctions: the temporal order, order of mention, and main-subordinate relation of the two described events. A theory of memory for marked and unmarked semantic distinctions was used to account for the results.     

The Long-Term Impact of Family Routines and Parental Knowledge on Alcohol Use and Health Behaviors: Results from a 14 Year Follow-Up

Previous research has found significant associations between family routines (e.g., time shared and family meals), parenting characteristics, and later adolescent health behaviors. In general, greater family interactions, parental monitoring, and more optimal parenting style have been associated with less alcohol use during adolescence. We expanded upon this work by examining effects of family and parenting characteristics on alcohol use and health behaviors during young adulthood. We also followed tenets of the Contextual Model of Parenting by examining the moderating effects of parenting style on the associations between parent/family practices and outcomes. Data came from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997. A total of 5419 youth were surveyed at 12–14 years of age, and then annually for the next 14 years; 4565 were surveyed at a 10 year follow-up and 4539 were examined at the 14 year follow-up (84% retention). Multivariate models, controlling for sex and race/ethnicity, indicated that, in general, family routines and parental knowledge in early adolescence were associated with healthier behaviors at both the 10-year and 14-follow-ups. Results also showed that the protective effects of parental knowledge and family routines were strongest in families characterized by and authoritative parenting style.