The Mexican American in Higher Education: Implications for Educators

From a review of literature and an examination of data from the Counseling Services at the University of Texas - El Paso, the authors conclude that Mexican-American students place more emphasis on cooperation and group achievement than on individual achievement, and that the education of Mexican Americans may be enhanced when teachers properly reinforce “successful behavior.” In addition, it seems that problems may arise in using U.S.-based theories of “democratic” leadership styles because the Mexican-American culture places more emphasis on traditional leadership roles.     

Youth Counselor Burnout

Counselors of unruly, runaway, truant, or delinquent children and their families run the risk of emotional overexposure– “burnout” as a result of intense client needs and problems. Survival on the job requires taking steps to avoid internalizing caseload pressures. These steps include: helping-not replacing-parents, keeping meetings brief, responding to emergencies selectively, taking simple steps first, using humor, taking care of oneself, expecting complications, avoiding panic, and knowing when to withdraw.     

Counseling the Children of Handicapped Parents

The children of the handicapped frequently need counseling to help them cope with the consequences of their parents' handicaps. Parental handicaps typically lead to modifications in parenting behavior and family structure that may be perceived as deficiencies. Kennedy and Bush discuss the child's reaction to parental handicap in the context of object loss and attachment. Evidence suggests that the children of the handicapped are overrepresented among those who are in some way maladjusted or in need of counseling. This article focuses on multiple sclerosis in parents, including its impact on children, suggested interventions, and a case study.     

Beyond Words: Influence of Nonverbal Behavior of Female Job Applicants in the Employment Interview

Three experiments studied the influence on hiring decisions of the nonverbal communication of female job applicants. The first experiment found ratings of the applicants' subtle cues to be significant predictors of the hiring decisions made by college-student judges. Professional employment interviewers served as judges in the second study to cross-validate the first experiment. The third study measured the relative contributions of work histories and nonverbal behavior to hiring decisions. Regardless of the work history preceding the applicant, nonverbal style had a statistically significant effect on hiring decisions.     

Measurement of head movement during auditory localization

Head movement can have a significant effect on the ability to locate the direction of a sound source. A system has been designed to track the head movement in response to sound originating at different azimuth locations with respect to the head. A videotape record is made of a light approximating a point source carried on a lightweight “beanie” mounted on the listener’s head. Movement of the light is monitored by the video camera and recorded on tape, along with the sound stimulus and information concerning loudspeaker location and time. The horizontal and vertical coordinates of the light-spot image are determined in relation to the video synch pulses defining the field borders. Synch signals are available from a video monitor either in real-time or from tape replay to define each TV frame and horizontal scan line. The circuitry interfaces to a computer programmed to take the information, apply a calibration, and process the data into records of time-varying head position and velocity. Examples of both digital and graphic printouts of head movement are given. The system is capable of expansion to three-axis operation.     

A machine-level software program for the generation of aversive conditioning schedules using the KIM-1 microprocessor

A microprocessor system can be used both to control aversive conditioning (classical, signaled and Sidman avoidance, and conflict) experiments and to acquire behavioral data in multiple subjects at a fraction of the cost of solid state systems. The software described in this paper can be used to program tones and shocks and count responses, independently, in up to 12 animals simultaneously.     

Structured flow of control in a laboratory control language

Seven basic forms of structured flow of control, sequential execution, IF-THEN-ELSE, DO-WHILE, REPEAT-UNTIL, SELECT-CASE, ITERATIVE-DO, and LOOP-EXITIF-ENDLOOP, are described. The application of the forms is illustrated with examples of typical problems from the psychology laboratory. The feasibility of implementing the basic forms is demonstrated by showing how they have been incorporated in a high-level language for controlling human learning, memory, and perception experiments.     

Apparatus for collecting voice chronography data

The conversion of speech into on-off pulse patteras representing talk spurts and pauses is a major tool used by psychologists in analyzing interactive communications behavior. We describe a conversion method and a means for interfacing its output with a computer, which allows the collection of large amounts of speech data from one or more sources. The major improvement over prior art is the ability to reject cross talk between neighbor speakers while permitting the detection of simultaneous speech. In the evaluation of the performance of the apparatus, no errors were detected for single-party speaking. Infrequent small errors occurred in the detection and duration of talk spurts and pauses during two- and three-party speaking, but these would probably be acceptable in most applications.     

Free recall of abstract and concrete words by American and Ghanaian college students

This investigation compared the free recall of concrete and abstract words in American and Ghanaian college students. There were no differences in the total number of words recalled as a function of concreteness or culture. However, recall of concrete words showed a greater improvement across trials for both cultures. Although there was no difference in the amounts of subjective organization exhibited by Ghanaian and American students, there was evidence for a greater serializing tendency among American students. It appears that the major cultural differences typically observed in African-American comparisons of free recall may be overshadowed by increases in the educational level of the subjects.