Effect of social support on the stress-burnout relationship

Business organizations have become interested in recent years in the role of social support in reducing the negative effect of stress. The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of two types of social support (i.e., job and life support) on the relationships between job and life stress and burnout. Participants consisted of 270 males and 254 females. For both males and females job stress and life stress correlate positively with burnout, while job and life support were negatively correlated with burnout. The hypothesis that social support would moderate stress-burnout relationships was not supported. Neither job support nor life support moderated job stress or life stress-burnout relationships. Females exhibited significantly higher levels of burnout, job stress, and life stress than males; however, there was no difference between males and females in the amount of social support received.     

Applying cognitive theory to the testing and teaching of intelligence

This article describes how cognitive theory can be applied to the testing and teaching of intelligence. The article is divided into three main parts. The first part describes how the study of intelligence, traditionally an area that has been viewed as under the purview of differential psychology, has come squarely into the purview of cognitive psychology. The second part describes how the testing and teaching of intelligence, which in the past have been largely atheoretical, have been transformed into theoretically based enterprises guided by the theories of cognitive psychology. The last part describes a particular theory of intelligence, the triarchic theory, and how it has been applied to the problems of testing and teaching intelligence. It is concluded that cognitive psychology has given the study of intelligence a ‘new lease on life’, and that the testing and teaching of intelligence can and should be viewed as a primary focus of application for the principles of cognitive psychology.     

Attitudes toward older and younger adults: a meta-analysis

Attitudes toward the elderly have been examined in a number of empirical studies, yet the question of whether the elderly are viewed more negatively than younger persons has not been resolved. A meta-analysis of the literature was conducted to examine this question; results demonstrated that attitudes toward the elderly are more negative than attitudes toward younger people. However, smaller differences between the evaluations of elderly and younger targets were found when (a) the study used measures of personality traits (compared with measures of competence), (b) there were a larger number of dependent measures included in the effect size, (c) specific information was provided about the target person (compared with when a general target such as old person was used), and (d) a between-subjects design (compared with a within-subjects design) was used. These results support Lutsky's (1981) conclusion that age, in and of itself, seems to be less important in determining attitudes toward the elderly than other types of information. The methodological limitations within the literature and a need to consider multiple components of attitudes toward older individuals are discussed.     

A longitudinal study of the psychosocial impact of stroke on primary support persons

We investigated longitudinally the effects of a stroke on the social support systems and well-being of the patient's primary support person, both acutely and as the condition stabilized. Individuals who had suffered a first stroke and a primary support person participated in two waves of data collection, carried out in 6-month intervals beginning 7 weeks after the stroke. Our data show that the prevalence of depressive symptoms is from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 times higher than rates found among representative samples of middle-aged and elderly populations. Mean level of depression did not change over time, although level of optimism declined significantly. Multiple regression analyses showed that levels of depression and perceived burden in support persons are highly related to aspects of the stroke such as its severity, and that demographic variables such as age and income play a relatively minor role in attenuating these relations in the acute adjustment phase. However, from 7 to 9 months after the stroke, well-established demographic variables such as health, income, and age were significant predictors of depression. Individuals who were older and who had good health and higher incomes were least depressed.     

Fixing forensic patients: Psychiatric recommendations for treatment in pretrial settings

This article is concerned with psychiatric recommendations for treatment at the Metropolitan Toronto Forensic Service (METFORS), a clinical assessment agency providing both 1-day and 30-day evaluations of criminal defendants in Toronto, Canada. Analysis of both psychiatric reports and quantitative research instruments demonstrated the saliency of treatment as a central forensic issue at METFORS. Among a sample of 592 defendants, 134 were considered in need of outpatient care. Persons recommended for hospitalization were most likely to exhibit histories of mental health rather than criminal justice contacts; to be arrested for nonviolent offenses; to manifest psychotic behavior while at METFORS; to be found unfit for bail, incompetent to stand trial, in need of further assessment and dangerous to self; and to experience higher rates of hospitalization, but lower levels of criminalization during the two years following their initial forensic assessment. Psychiatric reports at METFORS tended to merge recommendations for treatment and assessment; to suggest prison or probation as means for securing clinical treatment; and to provide little written support for judgments about the need for intervention. Along with competency and dangerousness, treatment is a key issue in forensic practice, and warrants further attention in the psycholegal literature.     

Increasing similarity in the values and life plans of male and female college students? Evidence and implications

A time-series analysis of college freshmen indicates that from 1969 to 1984 there has been a dramatic increase in the value women place on status-attainment goals, but not a comparable decrease in the value placed on domestic-nurturant goals—a pattern that reflects an amalgamation rather than a masculinization of the feminine value constellation. As the value placed on status-attainment goals has not increased as significantly for males, there has been a narrowing of the difference in the value constellations of the sexes over this time period. Further, there has been a greater increase in the percentage of women than men aspiring to graduate degrees and to the highest status professional and executive occupations, resulting in increased congruence in the educational and high-status career goals of women and men. The limitations and implications of these data are discussed.The research for this paper was funded by a grant from the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. I thank Andrea Tyree and Norman Goodman for reading and commenting on earlier drafts of this paper. I particularly thank Stephen Cole for his incisive comments.     

PAST: Viewing the programming process

A software package called PAST (Programmer Assessment Software Tools) is described. PAST was designed as a research and diagnostic tool to analyze how programmers develop and test program code. PAST uses line changes between successive compiles to estimate a programmer’s cognitive processing. Line changes are highlighted and graphically presented between any two versions or compiles. Summary graphs and statistics across all versions also are provided. Applications of PAST for expanding our understanding of programming and applying it to research, teaching, and learning are discussed.     

A method for calibrating the spatial coordinates of a visual display to high accuracy

High-resolution CRT displays are subject togeometric distortion: lines that are straight in the internal coordinates of the graphics software and hardware are curved when projected onto a plane in the observer’s line of sight. As the available resolution of CRT screens increases, it becomes more difficult to measure and correct for this distortion. We present a simple, highly accurate method for determining the mapping between internal coordinates and the viewing plane. It requires that an observer, using a calibration program, adjust triples of displayed points until they are collinear. A metal straightedge placed between the observer and the screen aids in this judgment. We describe the calibration of an IBM Enhanced Graphics Display in high-resolution mode (350 × 640 pixels), and illustrate how to use the estimated mapping to choose internal coordinates to draw undistorted figures that are accurate to within 0.5 pixel. The method can be used to assess or to correct the accuracy of visual displays. The method is relevant to experiments in spatial vision, spatial perception, perception of dot patterns, and any application in which geometrically accurate stimuli are required.