Problem-solving deficits and depressive symptoms among children

Depressive symptoms among 40 fourth- and fifth-grade students as measured by the Children's Depression Inventory, correlated highly with impaired problem solving at block designs (r = .64) and anagrams (r = .67). Similar impairments have been found among depressed adults, suggesting that depression among children may be continuous with depression among adults.     

SOME DETERMINANTS OF PSYCHOLOGISTS' EMPLOYABILITY IN ACADEMIC SETTINGS

A factor analysis of 11 variables, ferreted from the curriculum vitae (CV) of 338 applicants for the position of assistant professor of psychology, yielded four factors which were used as predictors in six stepwise multiple regression analyses in which the ratings of 92 CV's by five members of a search committee were utilized as the criteria, first collectively and then individually. The first factor which was chiefly composed of the number of publications, especially senior authorships, accounted for 16% of the total variance and was the most potent contributor to the multiple R. Comparison of the results of the single-judge analyses revealed some notable vicissitudes in the prominence of the four predictors. Relationships of the present findings to the past policy-capturing research were indicated.     

Determinants of associative response latency

The relationship between single-word, free-association response latency and the following characteristics of Kent-Rosanoff words were examined: ( a ) grammatical form class, ( b ) emotionality, ( c ) familiarity, and ( d ) D (the number of different response words given to a stimulus word in a single-word free-association situation by a group of subjects). In addition was examined the relationship between response latency and ( e ) the type of associative linkage constituted by the stimulus-response combination, and ( f ) response frequency. Given the limits posed by the present stimulus material, subject material, and analyses performed, the conclusion was reached that single-word, free-associative response latency is related primarily to D ( r =0.81), secondly to the frequency with which a given stimulus-response combination occurs in a group of subjects.     

The need and ability to achieve cognitive structuring: individual differences that moderate the effect of stress on information processing.

The authors examined the hypothesis that the interaction between the need for cognitive structure (NCS) and the ability to achieve cognitive structure (AACS) moderates the effect of stress on information processing. NCS is the preference for using cognitive structuring, as opposed to piecemeal processes, as a means to achieve certainty. AACS is the extent to which individuals are able to apply information processes that are consistent with their levels of NCS. The hypothesis was validated in 4 studies, which showed that stress increased high-AACS participants' use of cognitive structuring if they had high NCS and reduced it if they had low NCS. An opposite effect was found for low-AACS participants. The implications of these results for the understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the effect of stress on information processing are discussed.     

Effects of in-group bias on planned encounters of Jewish and Arab youths

In a sample of 9th-grade Jewish (n = 118) and Arab (n = 100) students in Israel who participated in planned binational encounters, the author examined in-group biases as a function of (a) their perceptions of the encounter between the groups as interpersonal or as intergroup contact and (b) their views of the status of their respective national groups in Israel as legitimate and stable. In comparisons of the 2 encounter groups (of equal status), both groups showed in-group biases. In comparisons of the national groups at large (of unequal status), the Arab students considered their group similar to the Jewish group, whereas the Jewish students rated their group more favorably than they rated the Arab group. For the Jewish, but not the Arab, students, in-group bias was contingent on simultaneous ratings (legitimate-illegitimate; stable-unstable) of the binational situation in Israel. The data support a 2-dimensional model rather than a 1-dimensional model of intergroup-interpersonal definition of the encounter.     

The effects of mood on managerial risk perceptions: exploring affect and the dimensions of risk.

The effects of managerial mood on situational risk perceptions were tested among 85 managers from a variety of organizations, industries, and positions in Singapore. A risk-assessment scenario was developed that systematically varied the risk dimensions of outcome uncertainty, potential gains and losses, situational framing, and personal expectations. Negative, neutral, and positive moods were induced by having managers recall and describe work events. As affective state became more positive, managers perceived situational framing as more positive, and their beliefs that they could influence risky outcomes increased. Additionally, positive affect increased the likelihood that people who perceived situations as risky would select riskier courses of action.     

Endorsements by Mexican-Americans of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory: cross-ethnic comparison

Gender-related personality traits among Mexican-American men and women were examined. The sample consisted of 307 Mexican-Americans (150 women, 157 men) in a predominantly Mexican and Mexican-American community in South Texas. Mexican-American men scored significantly higher than the women on eight masculine items, whereas Mexican-American women scored higher than the men on four feminine items. A comparison between the scores of Mexican-Americans on the Bem Sex-Role Inventory with those of the original sample in the inventory's manual showed that the scores for the Masculinity and Femininity subscales for both Mexican-American men and women were not significantly different from those of the original sample. A significant difference, however, was found on some of the items of the inventory. Analysis also indicated that more Mexican-American men were categorized as Feminine and Androgynous than were non-Hispanic Euro-American males in the original sample. Among Mexican-American women there were more individuals classified as Masculine and Undifferentiated and a lower percentage as Feminine than among the original sample. Implications and recommendations based on the results are discussed.     

The activation of phonology during silent Chinese word reading.

The role of phonology in silent Chinese compound-character reading was studied in 2 experiments using a semantic relatedness judgment task. There was significant interference from a homophone of a "target" word that was semantically related to an initially presented cue word whether the homophone was orthographically similar to the target or not. This interference was only observed for exact homophones (i.e., those that had the same tone, consonant, and vowel). In addition, the effect was not significantly modulated by target or distractor frequency, nor was it restricted to cases of associative priming. Substantial interference was also found from orthographically similar nonhomophones of the targets. Together these data are best accounted for by a model that allows for parallel access of semantics via 2 routes, 1 directly from orthography to semantics and the other from orthography to phonology to semantics.