The effects of receiving help: Gender differences in motivation and performance

This study examined gender differences among Caucasian college students in reactions to receiving unsolicited help from a similar peer on an educational task. We found that women, but not men, were more likely to attribute their relatively poor performance to a lack of ability when they received help than when they did not. Also, women who received help performed better on a subsequent, unrelated task than women who did not receive help. In contrast, men who received help spent less time on the subsequent task and performed worse on it than men who did not receive help. Implications of the results for the threat to self-esteem model [A. Nadler (1986) “Self-Esteem and the Seeking and Receiving of Help: Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives,” in B. A. Maher and N. B. Maher (Eds.), Progress in Experimental Personality Research (Vol. 14), New York, Academic Press] and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

REACTIVITY IN SELF-RECORDING: OBTRUSIVENESS OF RECORDING PROCEDURE AND PEER COMMENTS

Reactivity refers to behavior change that occurs during self-recording without specific programming of consequences. We analyzed the effects of obtrusiveness of recording procedure and peer comments on reactivity to self-recording. Three first-grade students in Experiment 1 completed math questions during a 5-min work period. When we gave the children recording devices and told them to try to complete more questions than the highest number they had previously completed, math performance increased, as did the number of verbalizations about it. Two children showed more reactivity when they used the more obtrusive recording device. Because the increase in math performance corresponded closely to increases in peer comments, we manipulated peer comments directly in Experiment 2. Four second-grade students completed a math task and an alphabet task. Three of the students showed increased math performance during periods when peer comments occurred compared to periods when peer comments did not occur. Although the data from the math task suggested that peer comments can enhance reactivity, we did not observe this relationship with the alphabet task. These results suggest that the conditions necessary to produce desirable results through self-recording are complex and contextually specific.     

Death, sex, love, and neuroticism: why is sex such a problem?

Terror management theory posits that sex is a ubiquitous human problem because the creaturely aspects of sex make apparent our animal nature, which reminds us of our vulnerability and mortality. People minimize this threat by investing in the symbolic meaning offered by the cultural worldview. Because people high in neuroticism have difficulty finding or sustaining meaning, sex is a particular problem for them. In Study 1, mortality salience caused high-neuroticism participants to find the physical aspects of sex less appealing. Study 2 revealed that for such individuals thoughts of physical sex increase the accessibility of death-related thoughts. This finding was replicated in Study 3, which also showed that providing meaning by associating sex with love reduces the accessibility of death-related thoughts in response to thoughts of physical sex. These findings provide insight into why people high in neuroticism have conflicting thoughts about sexuality and why sexuality is so often regulated and romanticized.     

The Relationship Between Health and Human Services and the Personal Goal-Directed Activities of Persons Living with AIDS

This study evaluates the relationship between the social climate from different services and the personal goal-directed activities of 224 individuals with AIDS. The study's results supported the main hypothesis that recipient and participatory service involvement uniquely influence personal goal-directed activities, even after considering individuals with AIDS' physical symptoms, psychological distress, income, and recruitment site. Income and involvement with participatory services were both positively related to the amount of personal goal-directed activity. Longitudinal analyses suggest that personal initiative contributes to the subsequent amount of personal goal-directed activities a person pursues. These results suggest further examination of factors contributing to the selection of different service types and of the processes underlying the relationship between participatory services and positive outcomes for clients with AIDS.     

Ambient Sexual Harassment: An Integrated Model of Antecedents and Consequences

Research on sexual harassment as a prevalent job stressor has focused primarily on outcomes for the direct targets of harassment; the antecedents and consequences ofindirectexposure to sexual harassment have not been explored. Ambient Sexual Harassment is proposed as an assessment of indirect exposure to sexual harassment. Ambient Sexual Harassment is defined as the general or ambient level of sexual harassment in a work group as measured by the frequency of sexually harassing behaviors experienced by others in a woman's work group. The integration of Ambient Sexual Harassment into the model of sexual harassment developed by Fitzgerald, Drasgow, Hulin, Gelfand, and Magley (1997) proposes that indirect exposure to sexual harassment will have similar antecedents and job-related, psychological, and health outcomes as direct exposure. An empirical test of the model, using samples of female employees from a public utility company (N= 455) and a food processing plant (N= 194), generally supports predictions.     

AN EFFECTIVENESS TRIAL OF CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT IN A FELONY PREADJUDICATION DRUG COURT

This study evaluated a contingency management (CM) program in a drug court. Gift certificates for compliance were delivered at 4‐ to 6‐week intervals (total value = $390.00). Participants in one condition earned gift certificates that escalated by $5.00 increments. Participants in a second condition began earning higher magnitude gift certificates, and the density of reinforcement was gradually decreased. No main effects of CM were detected, which appears to be attributable to a ceiling effect from the intensive contingencies already delivered in the drug court and the low density of reinforcement. Preplanned interaction analyses suggested that participants with more serious criminal backgrounds might have performed better in the CM conditions. This suggests that CM programs may be best suited for more incorrigible drug offenders.     

Confirmatory factor analysis of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) in a clinical sample.

Evidence for the validity of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF; Gioia, Isquith, Guy, & Kenworthy, 2000) based on internal structure was examined in a sample of children with mixed clinical diagnoses via maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis. Four alternative factor models of children's executive function, based on current theories that posit a unidimensional versus fractionated model (Rabbitt, 1997; Shallice & Burgess, 1991), using the revised 9-scale BRIEF configuration that separates two components of the Monitor scale, were examined for model fit. A 3-factor structure best modeled the data when compared directly with 1-, 2-, and 4-factor models. The 3-factor model was defined by a Behavior Regulation factor consisting of the BRIEF Inhibit and Self-Monitor scales, an Emotional Regulation factor consisting of the Emotional Control and Shift scales, and a Metacognition factor composed of the Working Memory, Initiate, Plan/Organize, Organization of Materials, and Task-Monitor scales. The findings support a fractionated, multi-component view of executive function as measured by the BRIEF.     

Maternal Identity Among Motherless Mothers and Psychological Symptoms in Their Firstborn Children

A variety of detrimental effects are associated with early parental loss. We examined the relationship between childhood maternal loss and maternal identity among 30 motherless mothers and their 26 matched controls, as well as the psychological health of their firstborns. Motherless mothers reported significantly lower maternal identity. However, firstborns of motherless mothers were no more likely to display psychological symptoms than firstborns of comparison mothers. The findings suggest that early maternal loss may not present risk for cross-generational effects.     

Developmental Indices Among Central American Immigrants Exposed to War‐Related Trauma: Clinical Implications for Counselors

In this study, the authors examine the separate levels of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress (PTS) among 68 Central American immigrants who had been exposed to war‐related trauma, as a function of developmental disruptions resulting in mistrust, identity confusion, and isolation. Findings indicate that variance in depression, anxiety, and PTS could be explained by the examined developmental disruptions. Clinical implications for counselors engaging in culturally sensitive trauma treatment and suggestions for research are discussed.