Nature and Nurturing: Parenting in the Context of Child Temperament

Accounting for both bidirectional and interactive effects between parenting and child temperament can fine-tune theoretical models of the role of parenting and temperament in children’s development of adjustment problems. Evidence for bidirectional and interactive effects between parenting and children’s characteristics of frustration, fear, self-regulation, and impulsivity was reviewed, and an overall model of children’s individual differences in response to parenting is proposed. In general, children high in frustration, impulsivity and low in effortful control are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of negative parenting, while in turn, many negative parenting behaviors predict increases in these characteristics. Frustration, fearfulness, and effortful control also appear to elicit parenting behaviors that can predict increases in these characteristics. Irritability renders children more susceptible to negative parenting behaviors. Fearfulness operates in a very complex manner, sometimes increasing children’s responses to parenting behaviors and sometimes mitigating them and apparently operating differently across gender. Important directions for future research include the use of study designs and analytic approaches that account for the direction of effects and for developmental changes in parenting and temperament over time.     

Second order change and evidence‐based practice

Since its inception, family therapy (FT) has been distinguished by its explicit theoretical and practical focus on families and relationships as systems, with an emphasis on second order rather than first order change. As a result of these conceptual underpinnings we suggest that FT needs to look for manifestations of change which differ from individually focused disciplines such as clinical psychology. Studies of second order change have most commonly appeared in the form of conceptual papers and doctoral dissertations. We begin by revisiting the conceptual underpinnings of second order change. Building on this framework, we develop these aspects of change within the framework of recent developments in the empirical study of change. Finally, we point towards some promising directions for further evaluative work of FT as well as ways to incorporate some of these principles into training of FT students.     

Do unto others as others have done unto you?: Perceiving sexism influences women's evaluations of stigmatized racial groups

The present research examines how making discrimination salient influences stigmatized group members' evaluations of other stigmatized groups. Specifically, three studies examine how salient sexism affects women's attitudes toward racial minorities. White women primed with sexism expressed more pro-White (relative to Black and Latino) self-report (Studies 1 and 3) and automatic (Study 2) intergroup bias, compared with White women who were not primed with sexism. Furthermore, group affirmation reduced the pro-White/antiminority bias White women expressed after exposure to sexism (Study 3), suggesting the mediating role of social identity threat. Overall, the results suggest that making discrimination salient triggers social identity threat, rather than a sense of common disadvantage, among stigmatized group members, leading to the derogation of other stigmatized groups. Implications for relations among members of different stigmatized groups are discussed.     

Sexual Aggression and Control In Dating Relationships

This paper examines the effect of interpersonal control on sexual aggression while dating. A sample of white, heterosexual, college dating relationships is examined. Data are collected on men and women who inflict and sustain sexual aggression. The results indicate that, net of other effects, interpersonal control is a significant predictor of both men and women inflicting and women sustaining sexual aggression. It is argued that future research should look more to interaction patterns among couples rather than viewing sexual aggression as the result of men demonstrating their masculinity.     

Effects of reprimands and praise on appropriate behavior in the classroom

The effects of positive consequences on appropriate behavior at the beginning of a classroom experience were examined during an academic program for students with behavioral and academic difficulties. The results showed that the use of reprimands alone was associated with high levels of on-task behaviors during the initial days of the class. The addition of praise produced no change in the rate of on-task behaviors or the level of academic performance. The withdrawal of all consequences caused significant decreases in on-task behavior and academic productivity. The subsequent use of praise alone led to an initial increase followed by a dramatic decline in on-task performance, resulting in no change in the average rate of on-task behavior relative to the use of no consequences. These results are consistent with previous findings indicating the importance of reprimands for maintaining appropriate classroom behavior. Speculations regarding potential roles of praise are briefly discussed.The authors wish to thank classroom teacher Bonnie Chatterton for her exceptional cooperation and effort, Mark Gunning for his valuable assistance in the data collection, and Ann Abramowitz for her helpful editorial comments.     

OBSERVATIONS ON CONTACT STIMULATION PROVIDED YOUNG CHILDREN IN SELECTED AREAS OF GREECE,USA, AND USSR

This study was a cross-cultural investigation of contact stimulation, a variable known to be important to the developmental status of young children. An observational checklist was employed to examine objectively physical contacts provided young children by their caretakers in three modern western societies. Forty-nine caretaker-child pairs were studied for a total of 635 minutes in free-play situations in selected areas of Greece, the United States and Russia. Contacts designated as caretaking (designed to satisfy needs of children), pacifying (designed to please children), retrieval (designed to remove children physically from undesirable situations or places), and punishment were observed and measured. Results showed that American caretakers provided their charges with significantly fewer contacts than did caretakers in either of the other two societies studied. No differences were found either in physical retrieval or punishment contacts among the three groups. Implications for childrearing in all three societies were discussed.     

Dissociated naming and locating of body parts after left anterior temporal lobe resection: An experimental case study

After resection of the left anterior temporal lobe, a 17-year-old girl showed a dissociation of the verbal and nonverbal elements of lateral body orientation. She could identify body parts and body side on herself or on a confronting person, but was impaired in producing and understanding body part names. The verbal and topographic components of body orientation are neurally separable since they can be differently affected by cerebral damage.     

VRS—A programming system for visual electrophysiological research

VRS is a system of separate routines programmed to perform one or more of the functions for mapping neuronal receptive fields and determining neuronal response characteristics. The organization and use of the programming system are described along with the details of the routines.