Approval versus achievement motives in seventh-grade girls

Eighty seventh graders played a computer-programmed two-choice probability game in one of four conditions: with reinforcement for choosing the more probable response, with reinforcement for choosing the less probable response, with a silent experimenter, or alone. Children receiving reinforcement for the less probable response experienced a conflict between approval and achievement since choices which increased approval in this condition decreased success in the task. Across all conditions, girls chose the more probable response significantly more often than boys, indicating that girls did not sacrifice achievement for the sake of approval. Finally, girls did not reduce their efforts to achieve when working alone even though there was no opportunity for social approval, and did not express lower success expectancies than the boys even though these were measured anonymously.The authors wish to extend their appreciation to the teachers at Emerson School, Oak Park, Illinois, and to Ms. Glada O. Vaughn, principal, and Ms. Sandra Northrup Nowak, assistant principal, for their cooperation in carrying out this research.     

The Intersections of Dominant Discourses Across Race,Gender, and Other Identities

A discussion of dominant discourses across race, gender, and other identities is provided, especially in terms of consequences. Distinctions are made between consequences of social constructions and identity. An example of a counselor working with a client is provided to illustrate several points made by the author.     

Eschatological perspectives on aging

Focus is on the reality of aging as the concrete expression of our common human experience of ourselves as temporal beings. The analysis appeals to resources from a philosophical interpretation of temporality and a Christian theological interpretation of the central symbols of eschatology. Both resources provide positive approaches and clarifications of that aging process. Three eschatological symbol systems are noted: the traditional (past-orientation); the prophetic (present-orientation) and the apocalyptic (future-orientation). Each is analyzed as articulating a distinct authentic possibility for a person or a culture involved in the aging process. Symbols help orientate us in a positive way toward the process of aging.     

A Viable Alternative to Suspension From junior High School

In an effort to make better use of suspension procedures to modify student behavior, increase academic success of students experiencing suspension, and bring family and school together in behalf of any child whose behavior evidences social needs, a junior high school counselor-administrator-teacher team developed an Alternative to Suspension program that seems to work. Viable components of the program are thought to be in-school suspension time, no distracting activities, regular teacher academic involvement, counseling, and a high degree of parent involvement. The program is felt to be of great benefit in the solution of many negative aspects of a regular suspension procedure.     

Appraisal antecedents of shame and guilt: support for a theoretical model

Four studies used experimental and correlational methods to test predictions about the antecedents of shame and guilt derived from an appraisal-based model of self-conscious emotions (Tracy & Robins, 2004). Results were consistent with the predicted relations between appraisals (i.e., causal attributions) and emotions. Specifically, (a) internal attributions were positively related to both shame and guilt; (b) the chronic tendency to make external attributions was positively related to the tendency to experience shame; and (c) internal, stable, uncontrollable attributions for failure were positively related to shame, whereas internal, unstable, controllable attributions for failure were positively related to guilt. Emotions and attributions were assessed using a variety of methods, so converging results across studies indicate the robustness of the findings and provide support for the theoretical model.     

Neural substrates for verbal working memory in deaf signers: fMRI study and lesion case report

The nature of the representations maintained in verbal working memory is a topic of debate. Some authors argue for a modality-dependent code, tied to particular sensory or motor systems. Others argue for a modality-neutral code. Sign language affords a unique perspective because it factors out the effects of modality. In an fMRI experiment, deaf participants viewed and covertly rehearsed strings of non-sense signs; analyses focused on regions responsive in both sensory and rehearsal phases. Compared with previous findings in hearing subjects, deaf subjects showed a significantly increased involvement of parietal regions. A lesion case study indicates that this network is left-dominant. The findings support the hypothesis that linguistic working memory is supported by modality-specific neural systems, but some modality-neutral systems may also be involved.     

Genetic Counseling Outcomes: Perceived Risk and Distress After Counseling for Hereditary Colorectal Cancer

Genetic counseling may turn risk information into cancer prevention behavior by modifying health beliefs and cancer-related distress. We assessed the effect of genetic counseling on these factors in 101 adult first-degree-relatives of colorectal cancer patients from families with known or suspected hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer. Before counseling and once afterward, subjects completed self-report measures of perceived lifetime risk and cancer-distress. Most persons overestimated their cancer risk, and higher perceived risk was associated with believing that colorectal cancer cannot be prevented. Individual perceived risk changed after counseling, although mean perceived risk was unchanged. After adjusting for baseline risk, older persons and those with higher estimated objective cancer risk had larger postcounseling decreases. Distress after counseling was positively correlated with baseline distress and anxiety symptoms, and inversely correlated with tolerance for ambiguity. The findings suggest counseling interventions that should increase the likelihood of screening and offer hypotheses for future research.     

Forming a stable memory representation in the first year of life: why imitation is more than child's play

Although 9-month-old infants are capable of retaining temporally ordered information over long delays, this ability is relatively fragile. It may be possible to facilitate long-term retention by allowing infants to imitate event sequences immediately after their presentation. The effects of imitation on immediate and delayed recognition and on long-term recall were investigated using event-related potentials (ERPs) and elicited imitation, respectively. Mnemonic facilitation resulting from the opportunity to imitate was apparent using both assessments. ERP assessments at immediate and delayed recognition tests suggested that infants who were allowed to imitate had stronger memory representations of familiar stimuli relative to infants who only viewed the presentation of the events. In addition, infants who were allowed to imitate evidenced higher levels of ordered recall after 1 month relative to infants who only watched the experimenter's demonstration. Therefore, imitation proved to have beneficial effects on explicit memory in 9(1/2)-month-olds, providing evidence of its effectiveness as a tool to augment mnemonic capabilities in infancy.     

The Body Appreciation Scale: development and psychometric evaluation

Body image has been conceptualized and assessed almost exclusively in terms of its negative dimensions. Therefore, a measure reflecting body appreciation, an aspect of positive body image, was developed and evaluated via four independent samples of college women. Study 1 (N = 181) supported the Body Appreciation Scale's (BAS) unidimensionality and construct validity, as it was related as expected to body esteem, body surveillance, body shame, and psychological well-being. Study 2 (N = 327) cross-validated its unidimensionality. Study 3 (N = 424) further upheld the construct validity of the BAS, as it was: (a) related as expected to appearance evaluation, body preoccupation, body dissatisfaction, and eating disorder symptomatology and (b) unrelated to impression management. Studies 1 and 3 also indicated that the BAS predicted unique variance in psychological well-being above and beyond extant measures of body image. Study 4 (N = 177) demonstrated that its scores were stable over a 3-week period. All studies supported the internal consistency reliability of its scores. The BAS should prove useful for researchers and clinicians interested in positive body image assessment.