Things learned in early adulthood are remembered best

Evidence is reviewed that for older adults the period from 10 to 30 years of age produces recall of the most autobiographical memories, the most vivid memories, and the most important memories. It is the period from which peoples’ favorite films, music, and books come and the period from which they judge the most important world events to have originated. Factual, semantic, general-knowledge, multiple-choice questions about the Academy Awards, the World Series, and current events from this period were answered more accurately by two different groups of 30 older adults tested 10 years apart. A cognitive theory based on the importance of transitions and several noncognitive theories are considered as explanations of this pervasive phenomenon.     

The Effect of Intracouple Coping Concordance on Psychological and Marital Distress in Infertility Patients

The effect of intracouple coping concordance on psychological and marital distress was examined in a sample of 46 couples undergoing different stages of infertility treatment. Results indicate that the effect of coping similarity within couples is dependent on both the type of coping examined and the stage of the stressor. Specifically, for women the use of high levels of task-oriented coping by their partners and themselves is associated with the highest level of marital satisfaction. The findings also indicate that the use of high emotion-oriented coping by both partners is associated with the most psychological distress for men. Finally, the results show that marital satisfaction among women undergoing late stage treatment is highest in couples where the males are using low levels of emotion-oriented coping. Interestingly, the least satisfaction for women is evident when the woman is using less emotion-oriented coping while her partner is using more, rather than when both partners are using more emotion-oriented coping strategies. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Team-Track: A tool for investigating tracking performance in teams

Team performance and coordination have gained considerable interest in disparate fields (e.g., aviation, process control, medicine, and wartime operations). Team-Track, a C program that allows controlled experimental manipulation of team conditions, was developed to meet the research needs resulting from this interest. Using Team-Track, one can manipulate task interdependence, team staffing, relative contributions of team members, communications, and informational displays in a low-cost environment. The dependent measure of performance generated by the program is the absolute tracking error along each dimension. The program is ideal for investigating team interactions as it allows for orthogonal manipulation of team variables, therefore accommodating a multitude of research paradigms.     

External validity of role play assessment of assertive behavior

Forty female subjects, equally divided into high- and low-assertive groups on the basis of self-report data, participated in an assertion-eliciting situation. Half of the subjects were advised that the situation was not real and asked to role play their responses. Half of the subjects were uninformed that the situation was staged (natural behavior condition). High-assertive and low-assertive subjects were significantly different in both their self-report and their behavioral performance. Role play and natural behavior conditions did not differ, nor was the overall multivariate test of interactions significant. The findings indicate that role play assessment was comparable to naturally occurring behavior and provide support for the continued use of role play assessment in social skills research.     

Racial Identity as Mediator of the Relationship Between Gender Role Conflict and Severity of Psychological Symptoms in Black, Latino, and Asian Men

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the extent to which racial identity attitudes mediate the relationship between gender role conflict and psychological symptoms in Men of Color. The mediating role of racial identity was tested in Study 1 with a sample of Black men and in Study 2 with a sample of Asian and Latino men. The results of Study 1 provided support for full mediation, whereas in Study 2 evidence was found for partial mediation. The combination of the studies' findings underscores the importance of considering the extent to which Men of Color identify with their own racial group when examining the relationship between gender role conflict and psychological symptoms.     

Adaptive modes of rumination: the role of subjective anger

Rumination has been demonstrated to have negative consequences on affect, behaviour, and physiological markers. Recent studies, however, suggest that distinct “modes” of anger-associated rumination may lead to several positive consequences. Previous research primarily used recall procedures of anger episodes to elicit anger. By contrast, the present study focused on the effect of subjective anger on the process of rumination and tested its effects in a “staged” social interaction where a confederate provoked participants. Subsequently, participants engaged in rumination about the anger-eliciting event either in an abstract-distanced or a concrete-immersed rumination mode. Results showed an adaptive effect of abstract-distanced rumination on subjective anger primarily if anger is high prior to rumination. The findings also suggest different self-reported anger-related coping strategies in response to subjective anger intensity. These findings highlight that an abstract-distanced rumination may have differential effects on affective outcomes and anger-related coping strategies.     

Men and Menstruation: A Qualitative Exploration of Beliefs,Attitudes and Experiences

Our article presents the findings from a study exploring men’s attitudes towards and perceptions of menstruation. Using a social constructionist framework, we analyzed 48 Australian men’s written accounts in response to an anonymous online questionnaire which explored messages they received about menstruation growing up as well as their current attitudes towards, and experiences with, menstruation. Respondents were 18–69 years-old; most were Caucasian and in an intimate relationship, and they varied considerably in terms of educational attainment. Thematic analysis yielded four themes: (a) managing the stigma of menstruation, (b) talking menstruation today—open and closed communication, (c) menstruation is part of relationships, and (d) menstruation and social commentary. These findings shed light on how boys learn about menstruation and how men’s role in menstruation is constructed, emphasizing the educational, relational, and socio-political contexts in which these attitudes are created. Researchers, health care providers, and educators could use our findings to create more effective reproductive health education programs. Improving communication between parents and children may encourage a more balanced view towards menstruation, working towards reducing the stigma commonly experienced by girls and women.     

Gender variance in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder from the National Database for Autism Research

Previous studies suggest elevated rates of gender variance (GV), the wish to be of the other gender, in those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study aimed to understand the rate of GV in children and adolescents with ASD and explore differences in sex, age, and emotional-behavioral problems relative to those referred to clinical services for mental health concerns (“referred”) and to the general population (“non-referred”). A secondary analysis of data from the National Database for Autism Research was used to explore GV using a child behavior checklist, parent report, in 176 children aged 6 to 18 year with ASD compared to referred and non-referred cohorts. GV was present in 4.0% of the ASD group, higher than for the non-referred group (0.7%) but similar to the referred group (4.0%). There were no significant sex differences in GV prevalence (males 3.7%, females 6.0%) in the ASD group. That the GV rate was elevated in ASD relative to non-referred samples but similar to clinically referred samples suggests that elevated rates of GV were not specific to ASD and may be more broadly associated with neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders of childhood. Further population-based research using clinical assessment for gender dysphoria is required in individuals with ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders.     

The developmental approach to young children's strategic social cognition and behaviour

This study explores the development of strategic behaviour related to kindness and intelligence dimensions in 3‐ to 8‐year‐old children. Previous research systematically highlighted the affective bias that limited young children's thinking and behaving in strategic terms. We argue that young children are able to grasp specific dimensions of social affordances from personality traits and behaviour exemplifying these traits. The results obtained in the partner choice paradigm revealed a developmental increase in social utility understanding. This supports our hypothesis of early social affordances understanding and provides empirical evidence that affective bias did not drastically influence strategic partner choice in 4‐ to 8‐year‐old children. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enhancing Justice?

This article focuses on the follow question: Are human enhancement technologies likely to be justice impairing or justice promoting? We argue that human enhancement technologies may not be inherently just or unjust, but when situated within obtaining social contexts they are likely to exacerbate rather than alleviate social injustices.