The Role of Beliefs in Mother-Adolescent Conflict: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior

This mixed method study applies components of the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen and Fishbein 1980) to mother-adolescent conflict. We examine if three kinds of beliefs—behavioral, control, and normative—predict patterns of family conflict. Forty mother-adolescent dyads completed an open-ended interview, self-report measures of conflict, and an observational measure of family interaction. Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that mothers’ and adolescents’ beliefs about the costs and benefits of conflict significantly predicted how they interacted and perceived conflict within dyads. Sex differences and differences between mothers and adolescents were identified. This work contributes to our understanding of the role of both general and specific beliefs in family conflict.     

Mother and father language input to young children: Contributions to later language development

There has been little research comparing the nature and contributions of language input of mothers and fathers to their young children. This study examined differences in mother and father talk to their 24 month-old children. This study also considered contributions of parent education, child care quality and mother and father language (output, vocabulary, complexity, questions, and pragmatics) to children's expressive language development at 36 months. It was found that fathers' language input was less than mothers' language input on the following: verbal output, turn length, different word roots, and wh-questions. Mothers and fathers did not differ on type-token ratio, mean length of utterance, or the proportion of questions. At age 36 months, parent level of education, the total quality of child care and paternal different words were significant predictors of child language. Mothers' language was not a significant predictor of child language.     

Life History Prototypes in the Study of Human Individuality

Using biographical data collected in late adolescence and young adulthood, prototypes or subgroups of individuals with similar patterns of prior behaviors and experiences were empirically identified. The prototypes are described, and the pathways taken by the prototypes from adolescence to adulthood are examined. Focusing on the various pathways or trajectories followed by different prototypes, we discuss implications of prototype membership for continuity and change in personality.     

Stress and the Control Beliefs of Prisoners: A Test of Three Models of Control-Limited Environments1

Three models are proposed to explain the relationship between individual differences in beliefs and stress responses in control-limited environments: (1) the Environmental Incongruency, (2) Differential Stress Responses, and (3) Undifferentiated Responses. The present research examined the support for each model using inmates differing in control beliefs and prison as the control-limited environment. The results did not support either the Incongruency or the Differential models. In contrast with previous studies of control-limited environments, there was no evidence of change in passive stress responses over time in prison, but there was an increase in active responses (e.g., conflicts with other inmates) early during incarceration. As predicted by the Undifferentiated Response M odel, inmates who were more external in Locus of Control experienced significantly more active and passive stress reactions. No differences were found in stress as a function of their internal beliefs.     

The role of elaborations in learning a skill from an instructional text

In these studies, we examined the role of elaborations for subjects learning a procedural skill (viz., using a personal computer) from an instructional text. In Experiment 1, we compared two sources of elaborations: those provided by the author and those generated by learners while reading. In the latter condition, subjects were given advance information about the tasks they were to perform so that they would generate more specific task-related elaborations while reading. Each source of elaborations facilitated skill performance. This result contrasts with results of the past experiments testing declarative knowledge in which author-provided elaborations were found to hurt performance. In Experiment 2, the author-provided elaborations were classified into those illustrating the syntax of the operating system commands and those explaining basic concepts and their applicability. Syntax elaborations produced significant facilitation for experienced and novice computer users. Concept elaborations produced no reliable improvement.     

Saying and doing: A commentary on a contingency-space analysis

This article addresses the contingency-space analysis (Matthews, Shimoff, & Catania, 1987) of the verbal regulation of behavior. From an applied perspective, the conceptualization of the relationship between saying and doing Matthews et al. present may be more complex than is necessary. The central issue in correspondence investigations is a simple one: does correspondence between what people say and what they do occur? The focus of this paper is on the applied and clinical importance of the relationship between verbalizations and relevant behavior and the implications for future research.     

Nature of spelling errors in transcortical sensory aphasia: A case study

The nature and extent of spelling errors in a patient with transcortical sensory aphasia were investigated. The two experimental conditions required the patient to spell monosyllabic and polysyllabic words both verbally and in written form. Analysis of the spelling errors revealed partially preserved knowledge of the visual image of a word as a whole, as well as preserved knowledge of temporal order. Our patient's error patterns in both conditions were more similar than dissimilar. These findings in conjunction with results reported in the literature indicate that patients exhibiting different aphasia syndromes use separate spelling strategies.     

Effects of spacing and embellishment on memory for the main points of a text

An advantage has been found for acquiring textbook knowledge by studying textbook summaries rather than reading the original prose (Reder & Anderson, 1980). Three studies are presented that help to establish the cause of the summary advantage. One possible cause is that reading summaries allows the subject to reread the main points at spaced intervals, and spaced practice is superior to massed practice. A second possible cause is that the presence of details distracts the subject’s attention away from the critical ideas that should be attended to. In Reder and Anderson (1980), these two factors were confounded, but they are unconfounded in the present studies. The results indicate that both possible causes, spaced practice and the absence of details, have significant, independent, and positive effects on retention of the central ideas of a passage.