The use of stereotypes and individuating information in political person perception

This article introduces the political person perception model, which identifies conditions under which perceivers rely on stereotypes (party membership), individuating information (issue position), or both in political person perception. Three studies supported the model's predictions. Study 1 showed that perceivers gave primacy to target information that was narrowly relevant to a judgment, whether that information was stereotypic or individuating. Study 2 found that perceivers relied exclusively on individuating information when it was narrowly relevant to the judgment and relied on both stereotype and individuating information when individuating information was not narrowly relevant to the judgment but did imply a political ideology. Study 3 replicated these findings in a more ecologically valid context and showed that people relied on party information in the absence of narrowly relevant policy positions and when individuating information did not imply a political ideology. Implications for political person perception and theories of stereotyping are discussed.     

Perceiving onset clusters in infancy

By 9-months infants are sensitive to native-language sound combinations. Our studies show that while younger infants discriminate clusters, they are not sensitive to differences in statistical frequency. Thus, the emergence of phonotactic knowledge is driven by experience with the frequency of occurrence of the sound combinations in one's language.     

Does d-Cycloserine Augmentation of CBT Improve Therapeutic Homework Compliance for Pediatric Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder?

Clinical studies in adults and children with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) have shown that d-cycloserine (DCS) can improve treatment response by enhancing fear extinction learning during exposure-based psychotherapy. Some have hypothesized that improved treatment response is a function of increased compliance and engagement in therapeutic homework tasks, a core component of behavioral treatment. The present study examined the relationship between DCS augmented cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and homework compliance in a double-blind, placebo controlled trial with 30 youth with OCD. All children received 10 CBT sessions, the last seven of which included exposure and response prevention paired with DCS or placebo dosed 1 h before the session started. Results suggested that DCS augmented CBT did not predict improved homework compliance over the course of treatment, relative to the placebo augmented CBT group. However, when groups were collapsed, homework compliance was directly associated with treatment outcome. These findings suggest that while DCS may not increase homework compliance over time, more generally, homework compliance is an integral part of pediatric OCD treatment outcome.     

The Role of Parents’ School Climate Perceptions on Attainment Expectations for Black Middle Schoolers

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Parents’ beliefs about their children’s schools are important influences on their parenting and on their children’s outcomes. Because of...     

Working with Older Adults: Predictors of Attitudes Towards Ageing in Psychology and Social Work Students,Faculty, and Practitioners

The Australian population is experiencing a rapid ageing of the population, and as such, an increased need for gerontological practitioners in the helping professions will continue to grow. Terror management theory (TMT), which was used to frame this study, posits that because of the fact that humans are aware of their own mortality, they are compelled to avoid the anxiety associated with it. Personal ageing and interaction with older adults may be reminders of the unavoidable decline and death that faces us all. The purpose of this study is to examine comfort in spending time with older adults amongst students, academic teaching staff, and practitioners in the fields of psychology and social work. We sought to determine if TMT helped predict fear of being with older adults. Ageism, contact with older adults, and known demographic factors associated with attitudes towards older adults were also examined. Hierarchical multiple regression explained nearly 46% of the variance in comfort with older adults and indicated that fear of ageing, positive ageism, negative ageism, contact with older adults, and sex were significant predictors. Educational efforts aimed at addressing beliefs about ageing and older adults may contribute to further comfort in working with older adults.