BUCK-PASSING AND THE RIGHT KIND OF REASONS

The 'buck-passing' account equates the value of an object with the existence of reasons to favour it. As we argued in an earlier paper, this analysis faces the 'wrong kind of reasons' problem: there may be reasons for pro-attitudes towards worthless objects, in particular if it is the pro-attitudes, rather than their objects, that are valuable. Jonas Olson has recently suggested how to resolve this difficulty: a reason to favour an object is of the right kind only if its formulation does not involve any reference to the attitudes for which it provides a reason. We argue that despite its merits, Olson's solution is unsatisfactory. We go on to suggest that the buck-passing account might be acceptable even if the problem in question turns out to be insoluble.     

Evaluation of the Informational Content,Readability and Comprehensibility of Online Health Information on Monogenic Diabetes

The purpose of this study was to assess the informational content, readability, suitability and comprehensibility of websites offering educational information about monogenic diabetes available to patients. The top 20 results from 15 queries in four search engines were screened. Content analysis was performed by two independent coders. Readability was determined using Flesch-Kincaid grade level (FKGL) and Simplified Measure of Goobledygook (SMOG). The Comprehensibility Assessment of Materials (SAM + CAM) scale was utilized to evaluate website suitability and comprehensibility. Only 2% (N = 29) of 1200 screened websites met inclusion criteria. Content analysis showed that 16 websites presented information on at least the most common forms of MODY (1, 2 and 3), four addressed the utility of genetic counseling, and none included support resources for patients. All websites exceeded the consensus readability level (6th grade) as assessed by FKGL (10.1 grade) and SMOG (12.8 ± 1.5 grades). Although the majority (N = 20) of websites had an overall “adequate” to “superior” quality score (SAM + CAM score > = 40%), more than one-third scored “not suitable” in categories of content, literacy demand, graphics, and learning motivation. The online educational resources for monogenic diabetes have a high readability level and require improvement in ease of use and comprehensibility for patients with diabetes.     

Social Networks and Forgiveness: The Role of Trust and Efficacy

We examine the link between social network size and forgiveness, as well as mediating effects of self-efficacy and trust. Data are from the Detroit Community Study, which include three racial/ethnic groups: African Americans, Arab Americans, and White Americans (N=907). Results indicated that larger network size is associated with more forgiveness, but is mediated by trust. Patterns varied within racial/ethnic group: among Arab Americans self-efficacy mediated the effect of network size on forgiveness; among African Americans there were no direct or mediating effects; among White Americans an indirect effect of trust on forgiveness was identified. Findings suggest complex associations with forgiveness.     

The consistency of hysteric traits across three situational contexts

The consistency of personality traits across three situational contexts was demonstrated, thereby supporting the view of the individual as creator of societal groups and institutions. Nineteen sorority members were administered the Multivariate Personality Inventory (MPI), an instrument that assesses eight trait styles derived from a multivariate theory of personality in three conditions varying in both temporal order and immediate strength of sorority activity. As predicted, greater endorsement of the hysteric style was found for sorority members and the endorsement remained consistent across the three situational conditions. Results are discussed in light of the view that traits are fairly comparable across situations even though social behavior could vary depending upon the demands of the situation.     

Interevent differences in event memory: Why are some events more recallable than others?

Interitem differences in the free recall of action events were studied in five experiments. The action events were presented in three different formats: minitasks performed by the subjects in response to verbal instructions from the experimenter (SPTs), minitasks performed by the experimenter (EPTs), and task instructions (TIs). Not only were reliable interevent differences in recall probability demonstrated within each format, but these differences tended to correlate across formats, especially between the SPTs and EPTs; thus, a highly recallable SPT also tended to be a highly recallable EPT. Attempts to explain interitem recall differences in terms of differences in familiarity, vividness, and the availability of environmental cues were largely unsuccessful. An experimental analysis of the action events into action and object components showed the recall probabilities of our events to be mainly dependent on the recall probabilities of their action components, with only a minor dependence on the recall probabilities of their object components.     

Software review

Summary The actual software that is used in theSurvival Words program is less than adequate. It is definitely not a stand-alone program. The lessons that appear on the computer are not structured effectively, and are not very interesting. However, the manual that accompanies the software offers a wide variety of instructional activities that could be very beneficial in teaching students to read sight word vocabulary. Perhaps lessons should be structured so that the group instruction described in the manual occurs before students use the software. In this way, students could use the software as another source of instruction that could assist them in maintaining skills rather than acquiring skills.     

LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF OPPOSITIONAL CHILD TREATMENT WITH MOTHERS AS THERAPISTS AND THERAPIST TRAINERS

The follow-up data reported represent a long-term (3 to 9 years out of treatment) evaluation of 40 children who were clients of the Regional Intervention Program (RIP) from 1969 to 1978. As 3-, 4-, and 5-year olds, these youngsters exhibited severe and prolonged tantrums, continual opposition to adults' requests and commands, and physical aggression toward parents. Each child and mother participated in a standardized intervention package modeled after Wahler's Opposition Child Treatment. Results from school and home-based follow-up showed that: (a) commands, demands, or requests made by parents were likely to be followed by former clients' compliance; (b) former clients' social interactions in the home were overwhelmingly positive and their nonsocial behavior was by and large appropriate; (c) parent behavior in the home was consistent with the child management skills taught many years ago; (d) there were no differences between the compliant, on-task, social interaction and appropriate/inappropriate nonsocial behaviors of former clients and randomly selected class peers; (e) there were no differences in teachers' commands, negative feedback, positive social reinforcement, and repeated commands that were directed toward either former clients or randomly selected class peers; (f) both teachers' and parents' rating of former clients on the modified Walker Problem Behavior Checklist were highly correlated; (g) there were no differences in teachers' rating of former clients and class peers; and (h) of all the studied demographic variables, only age that treatment began and family intactness were related to current levels of behavior.     

Sex roles and fertility in college women

A study was conducted to examine the relationship of sex-role acceptance to actual and desired fertility. Two samples of women (105 undergraduates and 40 members of a women's organization) were administered the Bem Sex-Role Inventory and a questionnaire which assessed the women's behavioral acceptance of traditional female sex roles. The behavioral measures were sex-typed college major for the undergraduates and employment status for the women's organization sample. In addition, vocational interests were measured and related to fertility for the women's organization sample. Multiple regression analyses indicated that behavioral measures of sex-role acceptance accounted for more variance in predicting desired and actual fertility than did the Bem Sex-Role Inventory.     

The costs of selecting power bases or messages associated with the opposite sex

A study was conducted to examine the interpersonal costs of using power bases associated with the opposite sex. The study also tested two hypotheses regarding influence differences associated with two statistical interactions: (1) the sex of the source by the sex-type of the message, and (2) the sex of the subject by the sex-type of the message. Subjects (N=387) viewed a videotype containing one of six speakers (three males, three females) delivering one of two speeches (about gun control or child care centers) and using one of two power bases (helplessness or expertise). The results indicated that speakers using power bases associated with the opposite sex were liked less and regarded as less competent and qualified than their counterparts. The results also indicated that female speakers aroused more belief in the child care message and male speakers aroused more belief in the gun control message than did the other speaker-message combinations. No significant effects were associated with the interaction between subjects' sex and message. Among other findings, female subjects generally rated the messages and the speakers more positively than did male subjects.     

Nutritional misinformation of children: A developmental and experimental analysis of the effects of televised food commercials

This study assessed the accuracy of judgments of 100 school age children as to the presence of real fruit content in 3 sets of cereals and beverages advertised on TV: real fruit, nonfruit, and artificially fruit flavored products. In the baseline session, accuracy was an increasing function of age, but children at each age were deceived about real fruit content of artificial fruit products. In session 2, the experimental group saw TV ads for 6 products embedded in a program (naturalistic viewing). They then judged fruit content for these six advertised products, plus a matched set of six for which ads were not shown. Controls saw toy ads on TV, and then judged the same 12 products. In session 3, subjects in each group saw the same ads they had seen in Session 2, without the program and with instruction to attend very carefully to messages in the ad (intensive viewing). They then judged all 12 products again. After naturalistic viewing, few significant differential changes from baseline were found. But after intensive viewing, accuracy of judgment of advertised artificial fruit products was lower than baseline among experimental group children. By contrast, accuracy was higher than baseline both for control children's judgements of “advertised” prod-