Forming, changing, and acting on attitude toward affirmative action programs in employment: a theory-driven approach

A model of attitude toward affirmative action programs (AAPs) was applied in 4 studies involving 1,622 participants. In Study 1, attributes people tacitly associate with AAPs were identified by open-ended elicitation. Using those attributes, an instrument was developed and administered in Studies 2, 3, and 4. In those studies, a multiplicative composite of beliefs and evaluations about the AAP attributes predicted AAP attitude, consistent with M. Fishbein and I. Ajzen's (1975) theory of reasoned action. Demographic effects on AAP attitude were partially mediated by this composite. In Studies 3 and 4, an experimental manipulation of AAP information was successful in changing AAP attitude, but in a way that polarized existing demographic differences. Study 4 also showed that AAP attitude and subjective norm jointly and uniquely predicted intentions to perform AAP-related behaviors. Intentions predicted the actual behavior of mailing postcards to political representatives reflecting participants' support for AAPs.     

Systematicity redux

One of the main challenges that Jerry Fodor and Zenon Pylyshyn (Cognition 28:3–71, 1988) posed for any connectionist theory of cognitive architecture is to explain the systematicity of thought without implementing a Language of Thought (LOT) architecture. The systematicity challenge presents a dilemma: if connectionism cannot explain the systematicity of thought, then it fails to offer an adequate theory of cognitive architecture; and if it explains the systematicity of thought by implementing a LOT architecture, then it fails to offer an alternative to the LOT hypothesis. Given that thought is systematic, connectionism can offer an adequate alternative to the LOT hypothesis only if it can meet the challenge. Although some critics tried to meet the challenge, others argued that it need not be met since thought is not in fact systematic; and some claimed not to even understand the claim that thought is systematic. I do not here examine attempts to answer the challenge. Instead, I defend the challenge itself by explicating the notion of systematicity in a way that I hope makes clear that thought is indeed systematic, and so that to offer an adequate alternative to the LOT hypothesis, connectionism must meet the challenge.     

The effects of bonus contingencies in a classwide token program on math accuracy with middle-school students with behavioral disorders

The effects of bonus points contingent on 80% accuracy in math with four middle-school special education students with behavior disorders were examined. A multiple-baseline design across students was used to evaluate the effects of bonus points. The overall results indicated that higher accuracy was found for math assignments during the bonus points condition than during baseline. This overall outcome was replicated for each subject in the study. The benefits of implementing a bonus contingency within an ongoing classroom token economy with middle-school students with behavior disorders are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ethical Considerations for Clinicians Treating Victims and Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV), a subcategory of domestic abuse, is a prevalent national health concern that many clinicians will face during their careers. It is important that clinicians become aware of the numerous ethical considerations that are relevant to this population. The existing literature has not yet examined the ethical issues faced by clinicians working with IPV clients through the lens of the most recent American Psychological Association ethics code. This article provides a brief overview of the historical context and the current state of the literature pertaining to IPV. Then it examines the unique ethical challenges associated with the treatment of IPV clients through the American Psychological Association ethics code. Recommendations are provided throughout this article to help clinicians make ethical decisions, maximize the benefits their clients receive from therapy, and minimize violence risk.     

Diabetes and psychological co-morbidity in children with a family history of early-onset type 2 diabetes

The present study was conducted to evaluate for depressive symptoms and undiagnosed diabetes in children with familial history of early-onset type 2 diabetes. Studies have shown that diabetes doubles the risk for depression and that the duration of diabetes is related to the severity of the depression. Individuals with depression are also said to be at greater risk for developing diabetes. In many cases diabetes is detected whilst screening for depression. Fifty-three children aged between 6 and 17 years were screened for diabetes and assessed for depressive symptoms using the Children Depression Rating Scale, revised version (CDRS-R). Thirty-six (68.0 %) of the children with a family history of early-onset type 2 diabetes had CDRS-R scores consistent with likely or very likely major depressive disorders. Depressive symptoms score was predicted best by the number of generations of diabetes in the family, with an associated r = .65 and adjusted R(2) = .41. As the generations of diabetes increased, the more likely it was for a child to have diabetes (r = .38, p = .005). Four (7.5%) of the children were diagnosed with diabetes. The findings suggest that depressive symptoms are common in children with a family history of early onset type 2 diabetes and may co-exist with diabetes. The independent variable that reliably predicted the child depressive symptoms score was the number of generations of diabetes in the family.     

The effect of phonological realization of inflectional morphology on verbal agreement in French: evidence from ERPs

The present study examined the impact of the phonological realization of morphosyntactic agreement within the inflectional phrase (IP) in written French, as revealed by ERPs. In two independent experiments, we varied the presence vs. absence of phonological cues to morphological variation. Of interest was whether a graded ERP response to these different conditions could be found in native speakers (Experiment 1), and whether non-native learners would benefit from the presence of phonological cues (Experiment 2). The results for native French speakers showed that compared to grammatically correct instances, phonologically realized inflectional errors produced a significant P600 response, which was statistically larger than that produced by errors that were silent. German L1-French L2 learners showed similar benefits of the phonological realization of morphemes. Phonologically realized errors produced a robust P600 response whereas silent errors produced no robust effects. Implications of these results are discussed in reference to previous studies of L2 acquisition of morphosyntax.     

Context, Cognition, and Common Method Variance: Psychometric and Verbal Protocol Evidence

Researchers continue to debate the importance of (item) context effects, which are often thought to produce inflated percept-percept correlations in organizational self-reports. Using Feldman and Lynch's (1988) theory of self-generated validity, we propose five conditions under which such context effects are most likely to occur and to have an impact on substantive conclusions. The proposed effects are tested with psychometric and verbal protocol data from 208 subjects responding to an organizational justice questionnaire, using a 3 (types of context) by 2 ("think aloud" versus "silent") experimental design. Psychometric results revealed context effects on scale means, reliabilities, and some of the relations between constructs. Respondents' concurrent verbal protocols from the "think aloud" condition provided evidence for the cognitive basis of these effects.     

Why do schools of thought fail? Neo-Freudianism as a case study in the sociology of knowledge

A full account of the social production of knowledge requires an understanding of how schools of thought fail, as well as succeed. This paper offers a sociology of knowledge analysis of the collapse of neo-Freudianism as a separate school of psychoanalysis and influential intellectual current. While the existing literature stresses personal conflicts between Karen Horney, Erich Fromm and Harry Stack Sullivan as a major cause of the failure of cultural psychoanalysis, my analysis highlights the sect-like nature of Freudian institutes, the professionalizing dynamics of American psychoanalysis, the contribution of the celebrity-dominated book market and culture, and the highly controversial nature of Erich Fromm's writings and intellectual activity. Neo-Freudianism is conceptualized as a hybrid system that is a combination of a literary phenomena, intellectual movement, faction of a sect, theoretical innovation and therapy. This analysis of hybrid intellectual systems raises larger sociology of knowledge questions about schools of thought and intellectual movements. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.