Why do people need self-esteem? Converging evidence that self-esteem serves an anxiety-buffering function.

Three studies were conducted to assess the proposition that self-esteem serves an anxiety-buffering function. In Study 1, it was hypothesized that raising self-esteem would reduce anxiety in response to vivid images of death. In support of this hypothesis, Ss who received positive personality feedback reported less anxiety in response to a video about death than did neutral feedback Ss. In Studies 2 and 3, it was hypothesized that increasing self-esteem would reduce anxiety among individuals anticipating painful shock. Consistent with this hypothesis, both success and positive personality feedback reduced Ss' physiological arousal in response to subsequent threat of shock. Thus, converging evidence of an anxiety-buffering function of self-esteem was obtained.     

Spatial cognition and neighborhood use: the relationship in older adults.

Measures of spatial cognition, neighborhood knowledge, and neighborhood use from the research described by Walsh, Krauss, and Regnier (1981) were examined to determine if laboratory tests of spatial cognition were significant predictors of older adults' use of their neighborhoods. The overall results show that laboratory-based measures of spatial cognition and subjects' knowledge of their neighborhoods are both significant predictors of their use of neighborhood goods and services. The ability to learn and remember the location and orientation of objects, when contextual cues were not provided at test, was more predictive of the participants' neighborhood use than either the participants' number of years in the neighborhood or their mobility. Spatial memory as measured by the Educational Testing Service Building Memory task predicted neighborhood knowledge, which was predictive of neighborhood use.     

Emotional disturbance and the development of self-consciousness in adolescence

The development of self-consciousness and its relationship to emotional disturbance was examined in early and late adolescence. The Imaginary Audience Scale was administered to emotionally disturbed and nondisturbed adolescents. As predicted, results indicated that self-consciousness decreased with age in nondisturbed adolescents. For the emotionally disturbed adolescents, the development of self-consciousness in temporary situations did not follow consistent patterns, as indicated by interaction effects. A significant negative relationship was found between intelligence test scores and self-consciousness in the disturbed group. The findings support the premise that social-cognitive shifts found in early to late adolescence are disrupted in disturbed populations. The mediating role of social experience as a factor in cognitive and emotional development is discussed.     

Alternation behavior, spatial discrimination, and reversal disturbances following 6-hydroxydopamine lesions in the nucleus accumbens of the rat

The effects of dopaminergic depletion of the nucleus accumbens was tested in various behavioral tasks such as alternation, spatial discrimination, and reversal learning, and in an extinction paradigm in a T maze. Animals with lesions showed impairment of spontaneous alternation behavior, disturbances in the acquisition of spatial discrimination, and great difficulty in reversing previously learned habits. In the extinction phase, experimental animals are unable to adjust their behavior, and continue to choose the previously reinforced arm of the T maze. It is suggested that the nucleus accumbens plays an important role in the transition of motivation into action, and that dopamine has a facilitatory influence on the mediation of these processes.     

The Egocentricity Index and Self-Esteem in court ordered psychiatric evaluations

An attempt was made to test the hypothesis that the Egocentricity Index (Exner, 1974), a ratio which incorporates pair and reflection responses, is related to self-esteem. Sixty criminal defendants referred for psychiatric evaluation were routinely administered the Rorschach. After all other testing was completed the subjects were asked to complete the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory. Results found no significant relationships between the Egocentricity Index and self-esteem as measured by the Coopersmith. It was recommended that the Egocentricity Index not be used as a measure of self-esteem until research evidence to support its use in this manner is provided.     

Juvenile homicide: The need for an interdisciplinary approach

Most of the empirical literature on juvenile homicide has emerged from the clinical experience of mental health professionals who have diagnosed and/or treated youngsters who killed. After a critical review of this literature, data on 787 juvenile homicide offenders are presented and discussed. These data indicate that intrafamilial killings represent but a small fraction of all homicides perpetrated by juveniles and that there are clear differences between intrafamilial and extrafamilial juvenile homicides.     

THE MEETING OF TWO CULTURES: ETHNIC IDENTITY AND PSYCHOSOCIAL ADJUSTMENT OF ITALIAN-AUSTRALIAN ADOLESCENTS*

The present study was designed to explore both the predictors of ethnic identity and the relationship between ethnic identity and psychosocial adjustment. Perceptions of ethnicity and ethnic identity and measures of psychosocial adjustment were obtained from 82 Italian-Australian adolescents. Parents' maintenance of cultural ties was associated with a strong sense of ethnic identity, however ethnic identity was relatively unimportant in predicting psychosocial adjustment. Cultural variables such as parents' embeddedness in the Italian community, the desire to assimilate into the Australian culture, and the perception of problems arising from minority group membership were of greater significance.