Conjunction benefits and costs reveal decision priming for first-order and second-order features

Across two experiments, decision priming was examined for conjunctions composed of first-order or first- and second-order stimulus features. Observers indicated the presence or absence of one or two features in a Gabor stimulus. When a pair of stimulus features differed in their speed of discrimination, responses indicating the presence of a conjunction were faster than those for the single feature for which discrimination was slowest (conjunction benefits). Also, responses indicating the absence of a conjunction were delayed if one of the features was present (conjunction costs). These results show that first- and second-order features can prime decisions about the presence of a conjunction and suggest that the two kinds of signals can be combined at a decision stage after the discrimination of stimulus properties has begun for each system.     

An exploratory study assessing relations of demographic characteristics with police recruits' attitudes toward abuse of children and abusive parents

The purpose of this exploratory study was to assess the relationships of demographic characteristics with attitudes toward abusive parents and abused children in a convenience sample of 183 police recruits. Police academy training staff invited recruits to complete a questionnaire which contained three vignettes and a 36-item questionnaire that depicted child neglect, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and demographic information. Analysis of responses showed that African Americans and Latinos reported more negative attitudes of anger, disgust, sadness, and discomfort toward an abusive parent than the Euro-American group. Women reported more negative attitudes toward an abused child and also more positive attitudes of sympathy and caring toward an abused child. Results partially support previous research suggesting demographic characteristics influence report of attitudes toward abusive parents and abused children. These findings about the influence of demographic characteristics on positive and negative emotional reactions toward abusive parents and abused children add to the literature.     

Depression and distress predict time to cardiovascular disease in dementia caregivers.

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the impact of depressive symptoms and distress from patient problem behaviors on time to developing a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a sample of 643 dementia family caregivers. DESIGN: A longitudinal, prospective design was used. Over an 18-month period, caregivers free from a CVD diagnosis at baseline were assessed at 6, 12, and 18-month follow-ups for the onset of CVD. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Days to the onset of CVD was the primary outcome. RESULTS: Over the length of the study, 32 participants (5%) reported a diagnosis of CVD. After adjusting for sociodemographic and health factors (e.g., high blood pressure, age, smoking history), greater depressive symptoms (p = .040) and distress from patient problem behaviors (p = .034) were significant predictors of time to CVD diagnosis. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that increased depressive symptoms and reaction to patient problem behaviors (i.e., distress) may increase caregivers' risk for experiencing negative health outcomes, specifically CVD.     

Reasoning About Single-Sex Schooling for Girls Among Students,Parents, and Teachers

The number of United States public schools offering single-sex education for girls has increased dramatically in the past decade. Rationales for all-girls schools are diverse and grounded in differing gender ideologies. We examined reasoning about all-girls schools among school stakeholders (i.e., individuals affected by single-sex schools, including students, parents, and teachers) in the Southwestern United States. Specifically, middle school students attending all-girls (n?=?398) and coeducational (n?=?191) schools, mothers of middle school students attending all-girls (n?=?217) and coeducational (n?=?64) schools, and teachers employed at all-girls (n?=?18) and coeducational (n?=?97) middle schools rated the veracity of multiple rationales for girls-only schools. Specifically, we examined rationales for single-sex schooling related to gender differences in learning, gender differences in interests, girls’ ingroup preference, and gender discrimination. Endorsement of rationales differed across participant role (student, parent, teacher) and school type (single-sex, coeducational). Overall, stakeholders affiliated with an all-girls school were more supportive of each rationale than stakeholders affiliated with coeducational schools. Teachers affiliated with the single-sex school strongly endorsed gender differences in learning as a rationale for single-sex schooling. Endorsement of rationales did not vary across participant gender. The implications of these findings for educational policy and the interpretation of research on single-sex schooling are discussed.     

The Role of Job Relatedness and Self‐efficacy in Applicant Perceptions of Fairness in a High‐stakes Selection Setting

This article presents results from two samples of applicants (total N = 368) for general practitioner posts in the United Kingdom. The roles of job relatedness and self‐efficacy in fairness perceptions were explored, with data gathered at two time points: immediately after testing and one month later following outcome (pass/fail) feedback. Overall, results indicated that in two samples, job relatedness perceptions measured at the time of testing predicted fairness perceptions measured following outcome feedback. In addition, the stage in the selection process (shortlisting vs. assessment center) was important in determining the extent to which job relatedness perceptions predicted fairness. Findings also suggest that self‐efficacy may be a predictor, rather than an outcome variable, in applicant fairness perceptions in this high‐stakes setting. Results are discussed in relation to their practical and theoretical implications.     

Becoming a high‐fidelity – super – imitator: what are the contributions of social and individual learning?

In contrast to other primates, human children's imitation performance goes from low to high fidelity soon after infancy. Are such changes associated with the development of other forms of learning? We addressed this question by testing 215 children (26–59 months) on two social conditions (imitation, emulation) – involving a demonstration – and two asocial conditions (trial‐and‐error, recall) – involving individual learning – using two touchscreen tasks. The tasks required responding to either three different pictures in a specific picture order (Cognitive: Airplane→Ball→Cow) or three identical pictures in a specific spatial order (Motor‐Spatial: Up→Down→Right). There were age‐related improvements across all conditions and imitation, emulation and recall performance were significantly better than trial‐and‐error learning. Generalized linear models demonstrated that motor‐spatial imitation fidelity was associated with age and motor‐spatial emulation performance, but cognitive imitation fidelity was only associated with age. While this study provides evidence for multiple imitation mechanisms, the development of one of those mechanisms – motor‐spatial imitation – may be bootstrapped by the development of another social learning skill – motor‐spatial emulation. Together, these findings provide important clues about the development of imitation, which is arguably a distinctive feature of the human species.     

Critical consciousness among rural adolescents: the roles of school connection and positive relationships with teachers

Social Psychology of Education - Critical consciousness (CC) has been linked to academic and civic engagement for students from marginalized backgrounds, but little work has examined CC for...     

Children’s Gender-Typed Behavior from Early to Middle Childhood in Adoptive Families with Lesbian,Gay, and Heterosexual Parents

Gender-typed behaviors—both gender-conforming and nonconforming—were investigated longitudinally among children in 106 adoptive U.S. families with lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents at two times (Wave 1, preschool-age; Wave 2, school-age) over 5 years. At Wave 1 (W1), parents reported on children’s gender-typed behavior using the Pre-School Activities Inventory (PSAI; Golombok and Rust 1993), and children’s gender-typed toy play was evaluated using observational methods. At Wave 2 (W2), children reported on their own gender-typed behavior using the Children’s Occupations, Activities, and Traits Personal Measure (COAT-PM; Liben and Bigler 2002). Observations of children’s gender-conforming toy play and parents’ reports of children’s gender nonconformity (PSAI) in early childhood (W1) were associated with children’s self-reports of gender nonconformity (COAT-PM) in middle childhood (W2); toy play was most strongly predictive of gender nonconformity 5 years later. Children’s gender-typed behavior also varied by age and gender at both time points, but no significant differences were found as a function of parental sexual orientation across time. Informative to ongoing debates about same-sex parenting, our findings indicate that among children reared by lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents, gender-typing appears to be similar, and predominantly gender-conforming, across early to middle childhood.