Phonological priming and cohort effects in toddlers

Adult word recognition is influenced by prior exposure to phonologically or semantically related words (cup primes cat or plate) compared to unrelated words (door), suggesting that words are organised in the adult lexicon based on their phonological and semantic properties and that word recognition implicates not just the heard word, but also related words. We investigate the phonological organisation of the toddler lexicon with two experiments using a picture priming technique. Twenty-four month olds showed inhibition of target recognition in related primed trials compared to unrelated primed trials (Experiment 1) and also in related primed trials compared to unprimed trials (Experiment 2). Further analysis of children’s responding found that this inhibition effect was modulated by the cohort and neighbourhood size of the words tested. Overall, the results indicate a lexical basis for the reported effects and suggest that the phonological properties provide an organisational basis for words in the toddler lexicon.     

Accent, perpetual foreigner stereotype, and perceived discrimination as indirect links between English proficiency and depressive symptoms in Chinese American adolescents

The current study uses García Coll et al.'s (1996) developmental competence model of ethnic minority children and Kim's (1999) racial triangulation theory as frameworks for investigating the mechanisms whereby early adolescent English proficiency relates to perceived discriminatory experiences and adolescent depressive symptoms. Data from 444 adolescents (239 girls and 205 boys, with a mean age of 13.0 years for Wave 1 and 17.0 years for Wave 2) and their parents living in major metropolitan areas of Northern California were collected. The structural equation modeling analyses indicate that self-reported low levels of English proficiency among Chinese American adolescents in middle school are related to these same students later reporting that they speak English with an accent in high school, which in turn relates significantly to their perceiving that they have been stereotyped as perpetual foreigners. For girls, a perpetual foreigner stereotype relates to perceptions of chronic daily discrimination, increasing the risk of depressive symptoms. For boys, the path is different: A perpetual foreigner stereotype is apparently related to discriminatory victimization experiences, which increase the risk of depressive symptoms.     

New Church Rising

Abstract I had the privilege of participating as a Campbell Scholar at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta with a group of theologians from Kenya, Egypt, Argentina, Jamaica and the US. The theme for our eight weeks together was “The Mission of the Church in an Age of Uprooted People”. This intensive time of dialogue and study helped clarify how the church as a whole has been uprooted from God's desired unity, and provided the space to reflect on the future of the global church from a congregational perspective. The result is this paper in which I explore the present state of Presbyterianism, Protestant denominationalism, and the church as a whole, while also envisioning new paths forward in our global, multicultural age.     

Dimensions of acculturation: associations with health risk behaviors among college students from immigrant families

In the present study, we examined a bidimensional model of acculturation (which includes both heritage and U.S. practices, values, and identifications) in relation to hazardous alcohol use, illicit drug use, unsafe sexual behavior, and impaired driving. A sample of 3,251 first- and second-generation immigrant students from 30 U.S. colleges and universities completed measures of behavioral acculturation; cultural values (individualism, collectivism, and self-construal); ethnic and U.S. identity; and patterns of alcohol and drug use, engagement in potentially unsafe sexual activities, and driving while (or riding with a driver who was) intoxicated. Results indicate that heritage practices and collectivist values were generally protective against health risk behaviors, with collectivist values most strongly and consistently protective. Nonetheless, heritage identifications were positively associated with sexual risk taking for Hispanics. U.S. practices, values, and identifications were not consistently related to risk behavior participation. Results are discussed in terms of bidimensional approaches to acculturation, the immigrant paradox, and implications for counseling practice.     

Predicting Election Outcomes from Positive and Negative Trait Assessments of Candidate Images

Conventional wisdom, and a growing body of behavioral research, suggests that the nonverbal image of a candidate influences voter decision making. We presented subjects with images of political candidates and asked them to make four trait judgments based solely on viewing the photographs. Subjects were asked which of the two faces exhibited more competence, attractiveness, deceitfulness, and threat, which are arguably four of the most salient attributes that can be conveyed by faces. When we compared our subjects' choices to the actual election outcomes, we found that the candidates chosen as more likely to physically threaten the subjects actually lost 65% of the real elections. As expected, our findings support the conclusions of Todorov, Mandisodza, Goren, and Hall (2005 ) by showing a positive correlation between the competence judgments and the real election outcomes. Surprisingly, attractiveness was correlated with losing elections, with the effect being driven by faces of candidates who looked politically incompetent yet personally attractive. Our findings have implications for future research on negative political communication, as they suggest that both threatening first impressions and fleeting impressions of attractiveness can harm a candidate's electoral chances.     

Are two narcissists better than one? The link between narcissism, perceived creativity, and creative performance

The current research examines the link between narcissism and creativity at the individual, relational, and group levels of analysis. It finds that narcissists are not necessarily more creative than others, but they think they are, and they are adept at persuading others to agree with them. In the first study, narcissism was positively associated with self-rated creativity, despite the fact that blind coders saw no difference between the creative products offered by those low and high on narcissism. In a second study, more narcissistic individuals asked to pitch creative ideas to a target person were judged by the targets as being more creative than were less narcissistic individuals, in part because narcissists were more enthusiastic. Finally, a study of group creativity finds evidence of a curvilinear effect: Having more narcissists is better for generating creative outcomes (but having too many provides diminishing returns).     

Linearity of Personality–Performance Relationships: A large‐scale examination

This paper reviews theory and past research concerning nonlinear relationships between personality tests and job performance. We compare linear and nonlinear regression models for each of the 32 Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ32i) scales using job performance as the criterion variable. We evaluate linear, quadratic, and cubic relationships between personality and job performance by calculating changes in R (ΔR) between the linear and nonlinear models. We use 3 decision rules of varying levels for ΔR and divide a large sample randomly into 2 samples to cross‐validate any nonlinear effects found. Few scales exhibited nonlinearity and the magnitude of the departures from linearity were small.