Expectations and Realizations: The Role of Expectancies in Achievement Settings

High expectancies of success are widely assumed to have positive effects on performance in achievement situations. However, previous investigations have tended to ignore task difficulty or assume that expectancies affect performance in a linear fashion. In two investigations, we found that (a) expectancies were more closely related to performance at difficult tasks than easy tasks and (b) low expectancies produced the poorest levels of performance, but moderate and high expectancies were equally advantageous. The practical, methodological, and theoretical implications of these findings are considered.This research was supported by a Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation (SBR-8958211) to Jonathon D. Brown, and a National Science Foundation graduate fellowship to Margaret A. Marshall.     

Life review therapy using autobiographical retrieval practice for older adults with depressive symptomatology

The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of life review based on autobiographical retrieval practice for treating depressed older adults. Forty-three adults aged 65-93 with clinically significant depressive symptomatology and no dementia were randomly assigned to treatment or to no treatment. The results indicated significant differences between experimental and control groups after 4 weeks of autobiographical retrieval practice. At posttest, those in the treatment condition showed fewer depressive symptoms, less hopelessness, improved life satisfaction, and retrieval of more specific events. The findings suggest that practice in autobiographical memory for specific events may be among the components of life review that account for its effectiveness and could be a useful tool in psychotherapy with older adults.     

The role of childhood abuse and neglect in the sensitization to stressful life events in adolescent depression

This study examined the role of childhood abuse and neglect in sensitizing adolescents to the effects of proximal stressful life events in a cross-sectional sample of 103 depressed and nondepressed adolescents. Consistent with hypotheses, adolescents with a history of childhood abuse and/or neglect reported a lower level of threat of stressful life events prior to episode onset than that reported by those without. This effect was specific to those on their 1st episode of depression and was specific to independent events (i.e., stressors outside of adolescents' control). Further, this effect was robust when controlling for level of chronic difficulties, which was higher in those with childhood abuse and/or neglect. The authors suggest that childhood abuse and/or neglect may be an important risk factor that sensitizes individuals to the effects of acute independent life events.     

The cognitive bases of learning to read and spell in Greek: evidence from a longitudinal study

We conducted a longitudinal study examining the role of phonemic awareness, phonological processing, and grammatical skills in the development of reading and spelling abilities in Greek. A battery of cognitive, linguistic, and literacy tasks was administered to 131 primary school children (65 7-year-olds and 66 9-year-olds) and was repeated in the following year (8- and 10-year-olds, respectively). Phoneme awareness, speech rate, and rapid automatized naming (RAN) were concurrent predictors of reading rate at Time 1 (T1), and speech rate was a longitudinal predictor of reading rate at Time 2 (T2) when reading at T1 was controlled. The predictors of spelling differed from those of reading; phoneme awareness and speech rate predicted concurrent attainments at T1, and phoneme awareness was a robust longitudinal predictor. Despite the differences in the degree of transparency between the Greek and English orthographies, phoneme awareness predicts variations in learning to read and spell in both languages.     

A meta-analysis of the antecedents and consequences of pay level satisfaction

This study reports results from a meta-analysis of 28 correlates of pay level satisfaction involving 240 samples from 203 studies conducted over the past 35 years. Results are presented in 4 categories: primary determinants, antecedents, correlates, and outcomes of pay satisfaction. The authors controlled for pay in examining relations between correlates and pay level satisfaction, as suggested by theory and when primary studies were available to do so. The authors found support for many of the relations suggested by a theoretical model and also note some limitations in the research that has tested this model. The authors recommend changes and additions to the model and suggest additional primary research in specific areas.     

Scientific Understanding and Mathematical Abstraction

This paper argues for two related theses. The first is that mathematical abstraction can play an important role in shaping the way we think about and hence understand certain phenomena, an enterprise that extends well beyond simply representing those phenomena for the purpose of calculating/predicting their behaviour. The second is that much of our contemporary understanding and interpretation of natural selection has resulted from the way it has been described in the context of statistics and mathematics. I argue for these claims by tracing attempts to understand the basis of natural selection from its early formulation as a statistical theory to its later development by R.A. Fisher, one of the founders of modern population genetics. Not only did these developments put natural selection of a firm theoretical foundation but its mathematization changed the way it was understood as a biological process. Instead of simply clarifying its status, mathematical techniques were responsible for redefining or reconceptualising selection. As a corollary I show how a highly idealised mathematical law that seemingly fails to describe any concrete system can nevertheless contain a great deal of accurate information that can enhance our understanding far beyond simply predictive capabilities.

Depressive Symptomatology among HIV-Positive Women in the Era of HAART: A Stress and Coping Model

Objective: An enhanced stress and coping model was used to explain depression among HIV-positive women in healthcare and community settings where highly active anti-retroviral treatment (HAART) was commonplace. Method: HIV-infected women in four cities (N=978) were assessed, cross-sectionally, for mental and physical health, stress, social support, and other background factors. Results: Self-reported level of depressive symptomatology was high. Number of physical symptoms, illness intrusiveness, and perceived stress were positively associated with depressed mood, while coping self-efficacy and social support were negatively associated. Stress mediated the effect of health status on depression and coping self-efficacy mediated the effect of psychosocial resources on depression. Our enhanced stress and coping model accounted for 52% of variance in depressive symtpomatology. Conclusions: Interventions focused on improving coping self-efficacy, bolstering social supports, and decreasing stress in the lives of HIV-positive women may help to reduce the negative effects of HIV disease on mood.     

Predictors of suicide ideation and depression in Hong Kong adolescents: perceptions of academic and family climates

The unique dimensions of perceptions of school and family contributing to depression and suicide ideation in Hong Kong adolescents were examined in two studies. In Study 1, among 327 Hong Kong Chinese female students ages 13-18, 47% reported some suicide ideation. Suicide ideation was significantly associated with depression, test anxiety, academic self-concept, and adolescents' perceived parental dissatisfaction with academic performance. The correlation between test anxiety and depression was especially high (r = .51). Study 2 examined how three different aspects of perceived family relationship were associated with depression and suicide ideation. Among 371 Hong Kong Chinese adolescents ages 14-20, 52.6% reported suicide ideation. Low levels of family cohesion and support and high levels of parent-adolescent conflict were positively related to depression and suicide ideation in both genders. Across both studies, depression mediated associations between academic- and family-related variables and suicide ideation. Findings underscore the importance of both academic and family climate in understanding depression and suicide ideation among Chinese adolescents.     

Suicidal ideation and attitudes toward suicide

Although hopelessness and depression are known risk factors for suicide, most individuals who are hopeless or depressed never make a suicide attempt. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that college students' (n = 230) attitudes toward suicide (the degree to which they see it as an acceptable option under some circumstances) would moderate the link between both hopelessness and depressive symptoms and their levels of suicidal ideation. This moderation hypothesis was supported, but only among men. Specifically, among men, levels of hopelessness and depressive symptoms were significantly related to suicidal ideation among only those with relatively positive attitudes toward suicide.