Effects of Self-Correction on the Acquisition, Maintenance, and Generalization of the Written Spelling of Elementary School Children

We examined the effect of self-correction on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of written spelling of elementary school students attending an after-school clinic. Six students registered for remedial tutoring participated. During self-correction, students initially learned four proofreading marks and a procedure for using them that were subsequently applied as the students compared their spelling to a model. Results showed a functional effect between self-correction and improved student performance on target words. Using the self-correction procedure, the students spelled at least 98% of the target words accurately, maintained at least 85% of the correctly spelled words, and generalized at least 70% of the words at home, in context, and with word variations. Questionnaires administered to the students, their parents, and teachers indicated that students preferred self-correction. Parents noticed academic improvements in their child's spelling performance as well as positive changes in attitude toward school. Most teachers did not notice changes in spelling performance or attitude.     

Lateralized Changes in Regional Cerebral Blood Flow during Performance of Verbal and Facial Recognition Tasks: Correlations with Performance and “Effort”

Functional neuroimaging has been used to investigate neural substrates of mnemonic processes, and cerebral blood flow (CBF) measures have been sensitive to activation with memory tasks. Studies of memory with two-dimensional¹³³Xenon clearance techniques found that word and face recognition tasks produced contralateral CBF changes in mid-temporal cortical regions. This study replicated the activation paradigm, expanding to the three-dimensional resolution of positron emission tomography (PET). Word and face recognition, and a control baseline task were administered to 19 healthy right-handed volunteers (11 men, 8 women) during successive 10 min PET¹⁵O-water measures of CBF. Quantitative CBF rates were calculated with the arterial input function and the equilibrium model. Redistributions of blood flow were compared across tasks using both absolute and relative (region/whole brain) CBF.Replicating the¹³³Xenon clearance findings, CBF was “appropriately” lateralized during task performance (left–right for words > left–right for faces) in the mid-temporal region. Contrary to predictions, the recognition tasks did not activate expected mesolimbic or prefrontal areas. The task-induced CBF changes also correlated with performance. Bilateral CBF in mid-temporal and parahippocampal gyrus regions of interest correlated with the ability to correctly identify word targets (sensitivity). Left-lateralized CBF in the amygdala and hippocampus correlated with better word sensitivity as well as specificity (ability to correctly reject foils). Complementally, right-lateralized CBF in the parahippocampal gyrus correlated with better face specificity performance. In addition, left-lateralized CBF in the amygdala and right-lateralized CBF in the parahippocampal gyrus and hippocampus correlated with “mental effort” indices (task performance relative to basal ability) for word and face memory tasks, respectively. Thus, whereas this recognition task showed the expected lateralized increase in the mid-temporal region and not in frontal and limbic areas, lateralized activation in some of these areas was associated with better performance. Exploratory analyses on other regions showed lateralized changes in one additional temporal region, the occipital-temporal, and several limbic regions.     

Is it emotion or is it stress? Gender stereotypes and the perception of subjective experience

Two studies of college undergraduates (ns = 95 and 92, primarily non-Hispanic whites and Asian Americans) investigated gender stereotypes of stress and emotion, as well as variables that influence the perception of gender-related differences. Study 1 assessed how gender stereotypes differ from the self-reports of men and women. When asked to choose a label for the subjective experience of the average man and the average woman in a series of problematic hypothetical situations, participants generally tended to believe that the average female would feel ‘emotional,” but that the average male would feel “stressed.” By contrast, the label participants chose to describe their own subjective experience was not significantly affected by their gender. In addition, participants believed the average woman and man differed more in the intensity of their emotions than in the intensity of their stress, a belief contradicted by their own self-reports. Results of Study 2 indicated that gender-related differences in estimations of stress and emotion for the self were reduced or eliminated when specific information about experience-eliciting situations was provided. We would like to thank Matthew Dank for his help in preparing the stimulus materials.     

Gender, relational role orientation, and affinity for animal rights

Research based mainly on non-national samples reports a greater affinity for animal rights among women than men, and proposes a greater relational role orientation among women that emphasizes caring for others to explain this difference. Using a recent national sample comprised of 11% African American and 89% white American respondents, we find that a relational role orientation fails to account for women’s greater support of animal rights. It does provide minor help in distinguishing animal rights advocates from nonadvocates, but only among women and only on one of two measures of animal rights support. We conclude by proposing women’s structural locations as well as the interplay between these locations and women’s role socialization as alternate explanations for gender differences in affinity for animal rights.     

Rape Myth Acceptance and Sociodemographic Characteristics: A Multidimensional Analysis

Many myths have been identified surrounding rape, rapists, and rape victims. This study reexamines the acceptance of rape myths across gender role ideologies and selected demographic characteristics to identify core myths. Three myth categories were established and investigated: blaming the woman, excusing the man, and justifications for acquaintance rape. Findings indicate that rape myths remain prevalent and adherence to myths is related to demographic factors and gender role attitudes. Overall, respondents tend to excuse the man more than blame the woman. Males accept rape myths more than females. Racial differences emerged most strongly on the justifications for acquaintance rape dimension. Individuals with a conservative gender role ideology believe rape myths more than those with more liberal ideologies. While core myths did not emerge from the data, the most revealing finding is that summative scaling techniques used in previous studies may mask important differences, between and within the three dimensions, in rape myth acceptance among the groups studied.     

Commitment,intimacy, and women's perceptions of premarital sex and contraceptive readiness

A person-perception study was conducted to examine the influence of intimacy and commitment on the acceptability of premarital sex and contraceptive preparedness. Ninety-six women rated a female target's personality and behavior after reading a diary entry describing a couple's initial sexual encounter. The nature of the couple's relationship and who provided the condom were manipulated between participants. Women inferred a committed relationship when intimacy was present. Women rated the target, and her behavior, as more acceptable when she had sex in a relationship with commitment. When she provided a condom, the target was perceived as less nice in the noncommitted than in the committed relationship. When her partner provided the condom, however, commitment level did not influence personality ratings.     

Behavior analysis and farm animal welfare

This article demonstrates that there is a role for behavior-analytic techniques in the area of farm animal welfare and provides examples of the kinds of work that can be done. Behavior-analytic procedures, specifically those used in the study of psychophysics, preference, and demand, can provide answers to three questions people concerned with the welfare of farm animals are likely to ask: What can the animals detect? What do they like and dislike? What will they work to attain or preserve? Such information certainly is necessary for making reasonable decisions about animal welfare, although it is not sufficient in and of itself.     

Construct validity and test-retest reliability of a date rape decision-latency measure

In two studies, the construct (convergent and discriminant) validity and test-retest reliability of a date rape decision-latency measure was examined. In Study 1, 174 college men completed measures related to sexual aggression and listened to an audiotaped simulation of a date rape, during which cues of nonconsent and force gradually escalated over time. Participants were instructed to respond, by pressing a button which recorded the latency of their decisions in seconds, if and when they believed the man depicted in the scenario should stop his sexual advances. Results demonstrated positive associations between prolonged decision latencies and sexually aggressive behavior, calloused sexual beliefs, acceptance of interpersonal violence, and sexual promiscuity. In Study 2, initial results were cross-validated in a sample of 102 college men, and discriminant validity was established as decision latencies were unassociated with measures of social desirability, alcohol consumption and drug use. Test-retest reliability assessed over a 2-week interval was .87.The authors wish to thank Alan Gross and Brian Marx for providing the audiotaped stimulus materials, Richard Marsh for writing the decision-latency computer program, Jason Hicks for assisting with programming, and the undergraduate research assistants for serving as experimenters.