Computers and the liberal arts: Challenge to psychology

Three years ago Drew University began a campus-wide effort to integrate microcomputers into courses across the entire liberal arts curriculum. This paper summarizes the results of 14 studies that have assessed student and faculty responses to this effort, and concludes by suggesting some implications of these studies for psychologists involved in the design and evaluation of similar programs.     

African-American Teenagers’ Stories of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Cultural differences in illness perceptions and treatment access of teens with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are evident yet under studied. The purpose of this qualitative paper is to explore how African-American teenagers describe and narrate stories about their lives with ADHD. Data were gathered from four African-American teens in the Southern United States through a qualitative experience sampling method, and stories were analyzed using narrative analysis framed within the context of African-American rhetorical traditions. We argue that the study of teen-constructed narratives and culturally-situated talk are tools that can improve communication between healthcare providers and teens by illuminating the ways teens construct their personalized realities of ADHD.     

Cognitive appraisal of daily hassles in college students displaying high or low irrational beliefs

It is argued that Lazarus' construct of cognitive appraisal in life stress might usefully be related to Ellis' ABC model. To test the hypothesized role of cognitive appraisal in Lazarus' model of life stress, 240 male and female undergraduate students completed the Hassles Scale and the Irrational Beliefs Test (IBT). Based upon their scores on the IBT, subjects displaying high irrational beliefs differed significantly from subjects displaying low irrational beliefs in reported hassles frequency (higher for high irrational belief subjects) and reported hassles intensity (greater for high irrational belief subjects). Results are interpreted specifically as supportive of the cognitive appraisal construct in Lazarus' life stress model and generally as quite consistent with RET theory. An attempt is made to relate the cognitive appraisal construct to the ABC model in RET theory.Susan Mills Harran is a graduate of the M.S. Psychology program at Villanova University and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in clinical psychology at Hahneman University.Daniel J. Ziegler is Professor of Psychology, former Chair of the Psychology Department, and current Dean of the Graduate School at Villanova University.     

Crying in the Counselling Situation

Crying is a natural response which may be hindered by learned social inhibitions. The counsellor's embarrassment or uncertainty about how to respond may also be a block. If it is suspected that the crying is a diversion or manipulative act, this must be discussed. In general, however, expressing emotions openly may be an important learning experience. Requests to explain during crying are often unhelpful, and attempts atphysical comforting may be suppressive. The act of weeping may be an important stage for clients who are having to gain, or regain, contact with their own experience and feelings as they develop a proactive approach to managing their future.     

Pattern and flicker detection examined in terms of the nasal-temporal division of the retina

Contrast thresholds for the detection of flicker and the detection of pattern were measured for nasal and temporal retinae of each eye separately. While confirming that these two types of threholds can differ, depending on the spatial frequency, the results provide no support for hemiretinal or hemispheric asymmetries in the distribution of the putative pattern and movement channels.     

The President’s New Freedom Commission: Capitalizing on Opportunities to Advance School-Based Mental Health Services

The report from President George W. Bush’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (NFC), Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America(2003), proposes goals and recommendations for improving mental health services. This report has significant implications for the delivery of mental health services through the schools. A focused discussion of the potential opportunities and challenges of implementing NFC recommendations related to school-based mental health is presented. Strategies for addressing five key areas at the intersection of school mental health and the Commission’s recommendations include: stigma reduction, suicide prevention, expansion and improvement of school mental health, and screening and treatment of co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders.     

The development of cynicism

Two experiments explored the development of cynicism by examining how children evaluate other people who make claims consistent or inconsistent with their self-interests. In Experiment 1, kindergartners, second graders, and fourth graders heard stories with ambiguous conclusions in which characters made statements that were aligned either with or against self-interest. Older children took into account the self-interests of characters in determining how much to believe them: They discounted statements aligned with self-interest, whereas they accepted statements going against self-interest. Experiment 2 examined children's endorsement of three different explanations for potentially self-interested statements: lies, biases, and mistakes. Like adults, sixth graders endorsed lies and bias as plausible explanations for wrong statements aligned with self-interest; younger children did not endorse bias. Implications for the development of cynicism and children's understanding of bias are discussed.     

An Experimental Study of Disability Spread: Talking to an Adult in a Wheelchair Like a Child1

An experiment tested whether a physically disabled individual will be spoken to like a child. College students gave directions over an intercom to one person and then to a second person, after seeing photos of each. The second person was a 12-year-old child, a non-disabled adult, or the adult in a wheelchair. To control for individual differences, speech to the second person was assessed relative to speech to the first standard person. More words were used and there was greater amplitude at high frequencies when speaking to the child than to the non-disabled adult. Also, as expected from disability spread, more words were used and there was greater amplitude at high frequencies when speaking to the adult in a wheelchair than to the non-disabled adult.     

Alcohol in the Movies: Characteristics of Drinkers and Nondrinkers in Films From 1940 to 1989

We examined depictions of alcohol use in 100 popular films spanning 5 decades. Drinkers were depicted as more attractive, more romantically/sexually active, more aggressive, and having a higher socioeconomic status than nondrinkers. No systematic changes were found across decades that might reflect the growing knowledge base regarding the adverse effects of alcohol use. We compared the depiction of alcohol use in movies to real-world demographics and found that alcohol use in movies is somewhat glamorized.