The Influence of Social Context on Requests in Young Iranian Children

This study concerns the influence of social contexts on young children's communication. The aim was to show that, at a very young age, children take into account the conversational context and certain conventions governing social relations. Iranian children's request behaviours were analyzed in three situations: (a) the adult immediately complies (satisfaction), (b) the adult asks a clarification question (clarification), and (c) the adult refuses to comply (refusal). Two groups of 12 children aged 18 and 30 months were observed in day-care centres during dyadic interaction with an Iranian adult. The verbal and nonverbal productions of the two groups were considered. The results showed that the children modified their behaviours in accordance with the adult's attitude. Comparison with a study conducted in France suggests that reformulations in the clarification situation are similar in the two cultures. The intercultural differences observed concern both overall request production and the characteristics of reformulations in the refusal situation. These specificities reflect the early influence of cultural values concerning the difference between the social status of children and adults.     

Pilipino American Identity Development Model

This article examines the identity development of F/Pilipino Americans. Because of a distinct history and culture that differentiates them from other Asian groups, F/Pilipino Americans may experience a different ethnic identity development than other Asian Americans. A nonlinear 6‐stage ethnic identity development model is proposed to promote proper therapeutic treatment. Este artículo examina el desarrollo de la identidad de los f/filipino‐americanos. Debido a una historia y una cultura distinta que los hace diferenciar de otros grupos asiáticos, los f/filipino‐americanos pueden experimentar un desarrollo de identidad étnica distinto al de otros grupos asiático‐americanos. Se propone un modelo de desarrollo de identidad étnica no‐lineal de seis etapas, para promover el tratamiento terapéutico apropiado.     

Jealousy,Gender, and Culture of Honor: A Study in Portugal and Brazil

The purpose of this study was to examine whether gender and culture of honor were associated with the type of infidelity (sexual or emotional) that affected our subjects more. Samples of 192 Portuguese university students (119 women and 73 men) and 415 Brazilian university students (214 men and 201 women) participated in this research. Participants responded to six dilemmas reflecting a type of infidelity (sexual or emotional), a gender scale, and a culture of honor scale. The results of both samples are compatible with the cultural theses about jealousy. Both men and women were more affected by emotional infidelity. In addition, it was found that the relationship between the sex of the participants and the type of infidelity that induced stress in them was affected by sociocultural variables, such as culture of honor, masculinity, and femininity. Some differences in the response patterns in the case of an infidelity, in both samples (Portuguese and Brazilian), are shown and discussed.     

Ambivalent Sexism and Attitudes Toward Wife Abuse in Turkey and Brazil

Men and women in Turkey and Brazil completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (Glick & Fiske, 1996) and measures of attitudes about wife abuse. In both nations hostile sexism (HS) and benevolent sexism (BS) positively correlated with attitudes that legitimize abuse. Regression analyses revealed that HS accounted for unique variance, but BS (once HS was controlled) was unrelated to wife abuse attitudes. These results: (a) add to the evidence for the cross–cultural validity of ambivalent sexism, (b) suggest that HS supports the justification of violence against wives, and (c) imply that the ostensible protectiveness of BS is contingent, failing to shield women from abuse if they are deemed to have challenged a husband's authority or violated conventional gender roles.     

An investigation of high school social studies teachers' understandings of vocabulary teaching and learning

This qualitative study focused on high school social studies teachers' understandings of and perspectives about vocabulary acquisition and instruction. The research questions were the following: (1) What do high school social studies teachers understand about vocabulary instruction? and (2) How do high school social studies teachers support vocabulary learning? Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 25 high school social studies teachers. Findings indicate that external factors shaped instructional decision-making for teaching vocabulary, teachers' belief systems guided instructional choices, and the diverse needs of students called for differentiated instruction not only for English language learners but also for all students given the unique nature of the language of social studies.     

Racial Microaggressions,Whiteness, and Feminist Therapy

Over the last decade, several authors have described the role of racial microaggressions in the lives of historically marginalized populations. However, the exact mechanisms in which racial microaggressions manifest in psychotherapy remain an area in need of further exploration. Drawing from research and scholarship on Feminist therapy and microaggressions, we use a case vignette of a 40-year-old African-American woman in treatment for depression with a White female therapist to demonstrate how microaggressions may unwittingly occur in a clinician–client dyad. We underscore the challenges that White therapists may encounter and provide suggestions and recommendations for culturally responsive therapy.     

Embodied Religious Thought: Gender Categories in Mesoamerica

This paper presents, discusses and evaluates empirical studies concerned with Christian prayer. These studies are classified within four main areas. The first area concerns what is known about the practice of prayer from empirical surveys and demonstrates that a much higher proportion of people pray privately than attend public places of worship. The second area concerns what is known about changing patterns of prayer during childhood and adolescence and argues that these changes need to be interpreted within the context of both developmental and social psychology. The third area concerns the subjective effects of prayer, beginning with Galton's early observations concerning the comparative longevity of the clergy (who are regarded as praying people) and including more recent studies of the psychological correlates of self-reported prayer, like personal well-being and purpose in life. It is concluded that, while such studies may demonstrate the beneficial nature of prayer, they cannot demonstrate the causal effcacy of prayer. The fourth area concerns the objective effects of prayer, beginning with Galton's early observations concerning the absence of comparative longevity among royalty (who are regarded as prayed for people) and including more recent studies of the growth correlates of prayer for pot plants. It is concluded that such studies currently provide contradictory evidence. It is recommended that further research in the field needs both to observe the strict criteria of objective empirical research and to be alert to theological nuances regarding the actual claims made for the efficacy of prayer within the community of believers.     

Conditions for positive and negative recencies in running memory-span recognition

A positive recency effect in a running-span recognition procedure was obtained in Experiment 1 for hits and for intratrial false alarms. In running recall procedures, recency does not fit well with an active updating hypothesis. In Experiment 2, in which the beginning of the target set was marked with a cue upon presentation, the recency effects disappeared. In Experiments 3 and 4 participants were forced to maintain 2 items in memory until the last one was presented for recognition. These three items were the target set. When the last item presentation was uncertain—because of the variable length list—an unexpected negative recency effect appeared. An explanation for this change from positive to negative recency is offered based on the sharing of attentional resources put forward by others for similar procedures.     

Semiotic Regulation through Inhibitor Signs: Creating a Cycle of Rigid Meanings

This study aims to analyze the process of semiotic regulation in youth transition to adulthood from the perspectives of cultural developmental psychology and dialogical self theory. The focus is on the transformations that occur in youth’s self-system configurations during a critical developmental period. In this paper, we will advance the idea that semiotic regulation may lead to the construction of strong signs (i.e. those signs that bring rigidity to personal meaning systems)—and more specifically, of strong inhibitor signs—that block the emergence of alternative meanings, leading to rigidity in the self-system. We present a longitudinal case study of a young man who participated in a social project in Salvador, Bahia to illustrate the process. Data was collected through two rounds of in-depth interviews at ages 18 (1st round) and 21 (2nd round) years. Analysis followed a mapping of positions and counter-positions, as well as emerging tensions and their resolution over time and in different spheres of life (i.e. work, school, and family life). The idea is to show how negotiations of self-positions evolve and activate a mechanism of inhibition of hierarchical integration and construction of alternative future meanings, in which rigid meanings are created and do not allow for emergence of alternative life trajectories.