Textural effects in perceived pointing of ambiguous triangles

Five experiments examined the influence of textural stripes on perceived pointing of ambiguous (equilateral) triangles. Reaction times for discriminating specific directions of pointing were measured for plain triangles and for triangles containing stripes that were either coincident with or perpendicular to one of the three possible directions of pointing. Perceptual interference occurred when the stripes biased a direction other than one specified by the discrimination task. The magnitude of the interference decreased (a) as the environmental salience of the specified direction increased and (b) as the spatial frequency of the stripes increased. Further results indicated that this frequency effect is relative to the size of the triangle; it is not determined by absolute (retinal) frequency. Stripes in the ground region surrounding the triangle also produced interference. However, this interference decreased as the region around the triangle was cleared of stripes. The results are discussed in terms of factors that determine the qualitative and quantitative nature of the interference effect, particularly symmetry and spatial frequency.     

Letting the baby out with the bathwater: Reflections on counselling,counselling psychology and psychotherapy in Britain

This paper responds to key points raised in Launagani's article (this issue). In particular, it focuses on the effectiveness of therapy and questions whether or not therapy is dangerous. Also it considers the future of counselling, counseling psychology and psychotherapy and predicts that therapies that do not adapt to brief or time-limited settings may become relegated to private practice. Treatment manuals based on techniques and strategies and not particular therapies will be developed which may include recommendations for the type of interpersonal approach required for different clients. It concludes that due to pressure of work, members of the therapeutic professions will have less time to sit on committess in support of their professional bodies.     

The Relationship Between Health and Human Services and the Personal Goal-Directed Activities of Persons Living with AIDS

This study evaluates the relationship between the social climate from different services and the personal goal-directed activities of 224 individuals with AIDS. The study's results supported the main hypothesis that recipient and participatory service involvement uniquely influence personal goal-directed activities, even after considering individuals with AIDS' physical symptoms, psychological distress, income, and recruitment site. Income and involvement with participatory services were both positively related to the amount of personal goal-directed activity. Longitudinal analyses suggest that personal initiative contributes to the subsequent amount of personal goal-directed activities a person pursues. These results suggest further examination of factors contributing to the selection of different service types and of the processes underlying the relationship between participatory services and positive outcomes for clients with AIDS.     

Female workers' acceptance in traditionally male-dominated blue-collar jobs

This study examined possible differential treatment by and negative attitudes of civilian male co-workers and male supervisors toward civilian female workers in traditionally male-dominated blue-collar jobs. Surveys were completed by 53 male supervisors and 327 male co-workers of four departments of a large government agency. Male supervisors indicated they would not treat female employees differently than they have treated male employees. Male co-workers, however, reported they have treated other male co-workers more favorably than they would treat female co-workers. In addition, supervisors, compared with male co-workers, reported more favorable attitudes toward female workers.     

Cartesian analysis: A computer-video interface for measuring motion without physical contact

In this paper, we describe a computer-video interface capable of measuring videotaped motion without physical contact. It constructs imaginaryx-, y-, z-coordinates around a moving object by juxtaposing front and side views on one video record. A special effects generator (SEG) superimposes this two-part image onto the microcomputer’s graphic output. The user watches the SEG’s output and traces the motion of interest in real-time with a computer-generated cursor, a process that assesses the onset time, termination time, duration, linear displacement (i.e., length), and velocity of each traced movement. Reliability coefficients between two independent users were .99 for onset time, .85 for duration, .89 for displacement, and .90 for velocity. In 80 gestures, the correlation between estimated displacement and measured displacement was .73; the correlation between estimated duration (determined from frame-by-frame inspection of the videotape) and measured duration was .80. Twenty-five measurements of displacement for a motorized target traveling 75.4 in. differed from the true value by | .06 |, | .06 |, and | .30 | in. for thex, y, andz dimensions, respectively.     

When to intervene and take a stand: Evaluating bystander roles in intergroup name-calling contexts

Children (n = 121, M = 9.86 years, SD = 0.64) and adolescents (n = 101, M = 12.84 years, SD = 0.69) evaluated proactive and passive bystander behaviour to intergroup name-calling (N = 222, 54% female). Scenarios depicted ingroup perpetrators and outgroup victims who were from a stigmatized group (ethnicity) or a non-stigmatized group (school affiliation), with bystanders depicted as being proactive (intervening to help) or passive (failing to challenge the aggression), counter to their own group's norm. Children and adolescents personally evaluated proactive bystanders more favourably than passive bystanders. However, adolescents, more than children, expected their peers to be more positive about proactive bystanders than passive bystanders in the stigmatized context. Results are discussed in terms of the complexities of bystander decisions and implications for anti-bullying interventions.     

Site Distance, Gender, and Knowledge of Geographic Sites

The primary purpose of the experiments presented in this report was to study systematically the geographic site-name, associative memory of male and female college students (predominantly White and middle class) for locations that varied in distance: local, national, and international sites. In the first experiment, participants were to match listed names of campus buildings and local cities with their marked locations on maps. In the second experiment, under a site-name memory, a site-name/map-aid memory, and a map-aid/name-aid memory (site-name associative memory) condition, participants were to recall or match as many of the 50 US states and the 25 largest US cities as they could. In the third experiment, the participants were to match a listed grouping of the world’s largest bodies of water and continents, a set of countries, and the world’s largest cities, with their marked locations on maps. In the first experiment, men matched significantly more local cities than did women; in the second experiment, men recalled significantly more of the cities under the site-name/map-aid and the map-aid/name-aid memory conditions than did women; and in the third experiment, men matched significantly more sites on all three maps than did women. The absence of gender differences for campus buildings and states may have been a product of the participants having had extensive opportunities to learn these sites. That men displayed greater knowledge of cities and international sites suggests that they have a greater interest in geography than do women. Because of the limitations of the methodology used, the gender differences favoring men could not be interpreted as primarily a product of nature or of nurture, and thus it was concluded that they were a joint product of nature and nurture.     

A Report on a Four-Year Longitudinal Study of Intellectual Development of Engineering Undergraduates

As part of an investigation into the effects of curricular reforms in the undergraduate program in the College of Engineering, a series of Perry-style interviews were conducted over a 4-year period. The study was undertaken in an attempt to assess the impact of collaborative design-based engineering courses that were being implemented. Students who completed the collaborative design course in their first year were higher on the Perry scale than their peers who did not. However, this effect was not sustained through the rest of the curriculum, as more traditional courses dominated. No statistically significant change in Perry position was observed for students in their 1st and 3rd years; however, a growth of approximately one Perry position was observed between the 3rd and 4th years. The relationship of current curricula to this pattern of intellectual development is discussed, and arguments for altering the curriculum to support intellectual development are made.     

Relationship between bullying and scores on the Buss‐Perry Aggression Questionnaire among imprisoned male offenders

This study investigated the relationship between bullying and aggression among imprisoned male adult offenders. The participants were 70 imprisoned male offenders, who were classified using the Direct and Indirect Prisoner Behaviour Checklist (DIPC) as one of four ‘bully’ groups: pure bully, pure victim, bully/victim, or not involved. Participants also completed the Buss‐Perry Aggression Questionnaire (AQ), a measure of aggression and hostility. The majority of the prisoners reported behaviors indicative of bullying, with 42.9 percent classified in the bully/victim group and 12.9 percent as pure bullies. 15.7 percent of participants were classified as pure victims, while 28.6 percent did not report any involvement in bullying. Bully/victims scored higher than participants who were not involved in bullying on the Hostility scale and Total score of the AQ. A number of correlations were found between the AQ scores and number of bully behaviors perpetrated. These suggested there is an overlap between the constructs measured by the AQ and type of bullying behaviors perpetrated. The number of bullying behaviors experienced was only correlated with the Hostility scale. The results are discussed in terms of previous research and their implications for theory and practice. Aggress. Behav. 31:1–11, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.