Orientation-specificity in kinesthetic spatial learning: The role of multiple orientations

In the current study we tested whether multiple orientations in kinesthetic learning affected how flexibly spatial information is stored and later used in making location judgments. Three groups learned simple routes by walking them while blindfolded, with (1) multiple orientations achieved through normal walking, (2) multiple orientations achieved through backward walking, or (3) a single orientation achieved through walking without turning (which required forward, backward, and sideways walking). When subjects had experienced multiple orientations while learning the routes, later directional judgments were equally accurate (and equally rapid) regardless of whether the judgments were aligned or were contra-aligned with the orientation of the routes as originally learned. In contrast, when routes were learned in a single orientation (without turning), subsequent judgments on contra-aligned trials were both less accurate and slower than judgments on aligned trials. Thus, multiple orientations are important to establish orientation-free, flexible use of spatial information in a kinesthetic learning environment. This contrasts with the pattern of results typically found in visual spatial learning and suggests that the factors that affect orientation specificity of spatial use may differ across spatial modality.     

Substance use as an employee response to the work environment

A conceptual framework for the examination of alcohol and drug use as employee responses to work environments is proposed. Three sets of substance use antecedents are discussed. These are distancing forces, attractions, and constraints. Examples of these antecedents within the organizational setting are provided, and the dynamic interrelationships among them explored. Conditions for the use of different types of substances are also identified.     

Occupational status and suicide

The relationship between occupational status and suicide was examined using data from Sacramento County, California. Data were obtained from coroner's records filed routinely on all cases of sudden, violent, or unexpected death since 1925. Occupation- and age-specific suicide rates were calculated for males and age-adjusted for overall comparison for the decades 1945-1954, 1955-1964, and 1965-1974. Findings show an inverse relationship between occupational status and suicide for all age groups over the past 30 years. Over time, male suicide rates have increased particularly for employed males over 65, employed males aged 14 to 24, and males in low-status occupations. General economic insecurity among workers of low socioeconomic status (SES), particularly the elderly, is suggested as a contributing factor to these trends.     

Residual reading capability in a patient with alexia without agraphia

A case of pure alexia due to an ischemic lesion of the occipital temporal region is described. Written words could be matched but not read. Immediate memory span for graphemes was defective. The reading defect probably depends on the inability to modify the written word “globally”; the phonological process was intact, but the memory disturbance impeded reading. The dissociation is explained by the preservation of word forms, which are linked to the semantic stage. Nonwritten stimuli trigger a “meaning” which evokes the word form and so the written word is recognized even though it cannot be read.     

Event knowledge,elaborative propensity,and the development of learning proficiency

An experimental test was made of two hypotheses formulated to account for age differences across adolescence in the learning of arbitrary associations. One hypothesis ascribes such differences to two factors: the propensity to elaborate coherent relationships among initially disparate items, and accessibility to event knowledge that can form the bases of such relationships. The other hypothesis assumes that propensity remains constant across age, and that development stems entirely from increases in the accessibility of relevant event knowledge. These hypotheses are evaluated with reference to the performance of 11- and 17-year-olds in learning relationships among paired nouns. The results discredited both hypotheses, instigating the formulation of a revised conception of the relationship between knowledge and propensity as developmental determinants.     

Women's Understanding of Their Risk of Developing Breast/Ovarian Cancer Before and After Genetic Counseling

Many studies have reported that individuals frequently over- or underestimate their risk of developing cancer both before and after they attend genetic counseling for breast and/or ovarian cancer. Using a combination of interviews and written questionnaires, we investigated counselees' understanding of their risk of developing cancer before and after genetic counseling. We demonstrate that although 76% of the sample thought that their risk was elevated relative to women in general, only a small proportion (17%) were willing or able to provide a numerical estimate of their risk of developing cancer before they attended the clinic. Following the consultation, 43% indicated that their risk of developing cancer was lower than they had anticipated. Twenty-two percent described their risk in absolute rather than relative terms, i.e., that they would definitely (not) develop cancer in the future. The implications of these findings for further research are discussed.     

Predictors of Sentencing Decisions: The Beliefs, Personality Variables, and Demographic Factors of Juvenile Justice

The role of beliefs, personality variables, and demographic factors in the sentencing of juvenile offenders was investigated. The subjects (1,030 members of the juvenile justice system) judged hypothetical juvenile perpetrators. Various personality, belief, and demographic variables were found to be related to sentencing severity; these relationships differed based on the type of crime judged. Further, relations among these variables and sentencing behavior indicated three coherent patterns or resonances. A liberal group of individuals, believing in rehabilitation, external causality of crime, a positive prognosis for the perpetrator, and nontraditional views of women, sentenced moderately. Two types of conservative individuals were defined. Both groups were punitive, and believed in internal causality of crime; however, they differed on attitudes toward women, needs for cognition, and beliefs about seriousness and harm. One group sentenced the most severely and the other the most leniently. Implications for the sentencing of juvenile offenders are discussed.     

The nexus between family and work roles of academic women in Israel: Reality and representation

This study examines the relationships between family responsibilities and scientific and scholarly productivity of women in academia. It is commonly believed that faculty women are less productive than their male colleagues because of childbearing and other domestic duties. Though this assumption seems logical, it is not supported by evidence from a growing number of studies including the present. The family-career nexus of faculty women in Israel is examined on two levels: the actual—namely the association between number of children and rates of publications, and the perceptual—the ways in which faculty women perceive and describe the problem. The data show that the presence of children does not reduce research productivity, and that respondents accept their family obligations as matter of fact. The paper attempts to account for the main finding that women with more children do not publish less, but somewhat more than women without children or with one child, and also discusses several explanations that have been forwarded in other studies.     

Memories of Mickey Mouse: Young children recount their trip to disneyworld

What young children remember and how long they retain such information are crucial issues for the study of young children's memory. In this research, these issues were examined by asking children who visited Disneyworld at 37 or 49 months of age to recall their experience. Half of the children were interviewed 6 months after their trip, and the remaining children were interviewed after 18 months. Surprisingly, there were no effects for age or retention interval on the amount children recalled; all children recounted a great deal of accurate information about their Disneyworld experience. However, older children's reports were more detailed than younger children's, and older children tended to recall more information spontaneously than did younger children. Finally, there is some suggestion that children who talked about their Disneyworld experience more frequently with their families subsequently recounted more information during the memory interview. Implications for these findings are discussed.