Black and White Tokens in Academia: A Difference of Chronic Versus Acute Distinctiveness1

Token status effects, also called distinctiveness, include feelings of racial/gender awareness, representativeness, and accountability. In this multimethod three-part research, it is argued that Black students in a predominantly White university feel chronically distinctive, whereas White students may feel acutely distinctive when they are in the numerical minority. However, this acute distinctiveness is situation specific. First a pilot study confirmed that Black and White females differ in their reports of distinctiveness. Study 1 showed that Black students feel chronically distinctive and that they are often “solos” in classrooms. Study 2 tried to separate race and solo status effects on distinctiveness by experimentally manipulating group solo status. Results indicate a main effect for solo status and also a main effect for race on feelings of distinctiveness across solo conditions. Applications of this research for the token literature and for distinctiveness theory are discussed.     

There is no induced motion at near-threshold velocities

Duncker's classic experiments on induced motion at near-threshold velocities were based on the assumption that movement of one stimulus relative to the other (object-relative) is perfectly detected while it remains completely impossible to identify which of the two stimuli is moving (subject-relative). In the present experiments it is shown that the threshold areas of object-relative and subject-relative movement are largely overlapping. Consequently Dunker's assumption cannot be fulfilled: whenever object-relative movement is well detectable accuracy of detecting subject-relative motion will also be over 50%. In four additional experiments it is shown that the well-established effects of fixation, stimulus size and enclosure on induced motion are to be interpreted as effects of these variables on the detection of subject-relative movement: the so-called induction phenomena occured only when accuracy was over 50%.     

Reward Expectations: The Influence of Race, Gender and Type of Job

Previous research on pay expectations has focused on gender differences and the reasons for those differences. In this study three types of reward expectations were measured. Pay expectations (starting salary and peak salary) were assessed, as well as another reward expectation, ease of promotion. The influences of gender, race, and type of job on reward expectations were investigated. The results indicated that Caucasians have higher peak pay expectations than African Americans for all job types. Interactions were discovered between race and type of job for starting salary, and between gender and type of job for ease of promotion.     

Acculturation, parent-adolescent conflict, and adolescent adjustment in Mexican American families

We tested an acculturation model in a community sample of Mexican American families (146 mothers, 137 fathers, and 146 adolescents) that proposed that differences between parents and adolescents in acculturation would be associated with parent-adolescent conflict and adolescent adjustment problems. Contrary to hypotheses, we found that families who exhibited an acculturation gap were not more likely to report parent-adolescent conflict or adolescent adjustment problems. In fact, familial conflict and adolescent sexual experience were associated with high levels of acculturation among adolescents and their parents. Pending replication, these findings suggest that both parent and children acculturation may independently predict familial processes and youth outcomes, irrespective of an acculturation gap. Future research should consider other factors aside from acculturation differences that might account for parent-adolescent conflict and adolescent adjustment in Mexican American families.     

Latina adolescents: predicting intentions to have sex

This study utilized the theory of reasoned action to examine how Latina adolescents' intentions to have sex in the coming month were influenced by their general attitude toward having sex and their perceptions of general social norms about having sex. Eighty-four Mexican American and Central American adolescent females ages 14 to 19 participated in telephone interviews. One group of 41 Mexican American adolescents was obtained through a telephone survey and the second group of 43 pregnant or parenting Mexican American and Central American adolescents was recruited from health clinics. Path analysis conducted separately for the two groups indicated that, for the clinic group, perceptions of general social norms, but not general attitude, predicted intentions to have sex; and for the survey group, whether they were sexually active directly predicted perceptions of general social norms and intention to have sex. Adolescents' perceptions of what significant others desired of them, but not their motivation to comply, predicted perceptions of general social norms about having sex. Results underscore the importance of social norms for Latina adolescents when they are considering whether or not to have sex.     

Segmentation and Selection of Appropriate Chinese Characters in Writing Place Names in Japanese

This paper explores the relation between an unknown place name written in hiragana (a Japanese syllabary) and its corresponding written representation in kanji (Chinese characters). We propose three principles as those operating in the selection of the appropriate Chinese characters in writing unknown place names. The three principles are concerned with the combination of on and kun readings (zyuubako-yomi), the number of segmentations, and the bimoraicity characteristics of kanji chosen. We performed two experiments to test the principles; the results supported our hypotheses. These results have some implications for the structure of the Japanese mental lexicon, for the processing load in the use of Chinese characters, and for Japanese prosody and morphology.     

Addiction as an attachment disorder: implications for group therapy

This article presents a perspective on addiction that not only substantiates why group therapy is the treatment of choice for addiction, but also integrates diverse perspectives from 12-step abstinence-based models, self psychology, and attachment theory into a complementary integrative formula. Attachment theory, self psychology, and affect regulation theory characterize addiction as an attachment disorder induced by a person's misguided attempt at self-repair because of deficits in psychic structure. Vulnerability of the self is the consequence of developmental failures and early environmental deprivation leading to ineffective attachment styles. Substance abuse, as a reparative attempt, only exacerbates that condition because of physical dependence and further deterioration of existing physiological and psychological structures. Prolonged stress on existing structures leads to exaggerated difficulty in the regulation of affect, which leads to inadequate modulation of appropriate behavior and self-care and increased character pathology.     

Adolescent Girls and Their Mothers Talk About Experiences of Binge and Loss of Control Eating

Evidence suggests that adolescents’ experience of binge eating (BE) might differ in important ways from that of adults. Moreover, although BE appears more common in African American women than other disordered eating behaviors, little is known about the influence of cultural factors on this behavior in adolescents. The current investigation used qualitative methodology to examine the perceptions of White and African American adolescent girls and their mothers regarding experiences of binge and loss of control eating. Five focus groups were completed with 19 adolescent girls (aged 13–17, 58 % African American, 41 % White) who endorsed loss of control eating behaviors. Their mothers (N = 19) also completed separate, concurrent focus groups addressing food and eating behaviors. Responses to focus group questions were analyzed using thematic qualitative analysis. Adolescents’ awareness of their eating behaviors varied greatly. Girls reported some awareness of how emotions influence their eating behaviors, and described using food to achieve autonomy. Mothers evidenced awareness of their daughters’ problematic eating behaviors, the effects of emotions on eating for both their daughters and themselves, and sociocultural factors influencing diet. Data from these focus groups can inform the development of innovative interventions for adolescent girls engaging in loss of control eating.