Consequence analysis: Its effects on verbal statements about an environmental project

Typically, citizens lack relevant information concerning possible consequences of proposed environmental projects. Despite federal requirements for citizen participation in decisions about proposed roadway projects, no systematic procedures exist for educating citizens as to the possible consequences of such projects. The effects of a consequence analysis procedure on community residents' verbal statements about the favorability of a proposed roadway project were assessed. The consequence analysis procedure involved asking residents to rate the desirability and magnitude of each of 48 possible consequences of the proposed roadway project. Following the intervention, overall ratings of favorability of the project changed for nine of ten residents. Community residents' ratings of the quality of participants' justifications of their position on the roadway issue provided evidence of generalization to this collateral behavior.     

Development of comprehension of sentences with “because” or “if”

The comprehension of sentences with “because” or “if” was investigated in children aged 2;9–11;11. Imitation, comprehension (choosing one of two picture sequences to go with a sentence), recognition (judging sentences with connective or structure differences as heard before or not), and synonymy (judging equivalence of meaning in sentences with different connectives or structures) tasks were administered, along with logical ordering, reversibility, and classification tasks. Above-chance responding in the comprehension task occurred by age 8, and in recognition and synonymy by age 10. Cognitive performance predicted 28.4% of the variance in the linguistic scores and cognitive success was concurrent with or preceded linguistic success. Comprehension of “because” and “if” appears to develop gradually, and is related to the development of certain operative rules.     

Comments on John B. Carroll's “how shall we study individual differences in cognitive abilities?—Methodological and theoretical perspectives”

A critique by Carroll (1978) of a study by Jarman and Das (1977) is discussed in terms of the methodology and theory of the Jarman and Das study. Additionally, two general issues concerned with individual differences in cognitive processes, and strategic behavior, are elaborated beyond Carroll's discussion. It is suggested that the Carroll critique of the Jarman and Das research is incorrect in several respects, and the theory on which this research was based may contribute some needed conceptual and operational distinctions to future individual differences investigations.     

Childrens' perceptions of parental expressiveness

While the literature suggests that males are less emotionally expressive than females, the issue has been informed by little systematic research. This article investigates the differences between sons' and daughters' perceptions of their mothers' and fathers' expressiveness of several emotions, both verbally and nonverbally. Using a sample of 1,245 students the dependent variable, perceived expressiveness of parents, was determined from responses to a 16-item Likert-type Perceived Parental Expressiveness Scale (PPES). It was hypothesized that fathers would be perceived to be less expressive than mothers. T tests were used to determine whether the mean differences are significant. The data indicate that fathers are perceived as less expressive of all emotions except physical anger. The ramifications of these findings for sex-role learning are discussed.The research reported in this paper is part of National Institute of Mental Health Grant No. 22156-01, The Inexpressive Male (Jack Balswick, Principal Investigator), University of Georgia. The authors wish to thank Dr. Charles W. Peek for his assistance in the revision of this article.     

A.R. Luria's role in the development of soviet psychology

Summary A.R. Luria is one of the most outstanding Soviet psychologists. He played a great role in the development of Soviet psychology and in the formulation of psychological problems on the basis of dialectical materialism. Together with L.S. Vygotskij and A.N. Leont'ev, he put forward a theory of the socio-historical genesis of higher, specifically human, mental functions. Luria carried out numerous investigations into the ontogenetic and historical development of these functions, as well as their disturbance with local brain lesions. As the founder, in the Soviet Union, of the new discipline of neuropsychology, he made a very significant contribution to the study of the cerebral mechanisms of mental activity.Originally published in Voprosy Psichologii 28 (4), 106–115 (1978), and translated by E. Scheerer. The translator gratefully acknowledges the help of Eunice and Josef Broek and Sonia Argyle     

Encoding specificity and modality effects in episodic memory

Summary A modified Brown-Peterson paradigm was employed to determine the extent to which proactive interference effects of a sensory nature would influence the occurrence of sensory encoding specificity effects in episodic memory. Subjects presented with an auditory or a visual study list of five to-be-remembered (TBR) words engaged in either an auditory or a visual arithmetic distractor task for 30 s, and then received the first word in the study list as an auditory or visual intralist retrieval cue or received no cue. Presentation of the intralist retrieval cue in the modality of the study list enhanced the effectiveness of the retrieval cue, whereas presentation of the retrieval cue in the modality of the distractor task decreased the effectiveness of the retrieval cue. Sensory encoding specificity effects were largest when the distractor task occurred in the modality opposite to the modality in which both the study list and the retrieval cue were presented.     

Social workers in schools - the teachers' response

73 teachers who had participated in a school-based social work scheme completed a questionnaire which recorded their attitudes to the programme. All the teachers had been directly involved in consultations about pupil management with six specially trained social workers. The response of the teachers suggest that even with a limited amount of contact, social workers can make a positive contribution to teacher practice. The personal characteristics of the teachers did not appear to affect their responses.     

A Developmental Approach to Outreach Services for Counseling Centers

Economics, pressure for accountability and changing student needs are forcing counseling centers to evaluate their services and methods of delivery. This article illustrates how a developmental, proactive, outreach approach can be an alternative to the traditional medical model.     

Technology of Counseling and the Science of Behavior: A Rapprochement

Analysis reveals that as the profession of counseling has increasingly been defined by the solitary practice of counseling, it has narrowed its vision and mission. Misdirected specialization has resulted in a highly skilled technology with a primary emphasis on the method(s) of counseling. In turn, this specialization has restricted the focus of counseling to areas amenable to that technology. Part of the diminution of counseling perspective is the result of a distancing of the counseling profession from the social and behavioral sciences, the humanities, and philosophy. The article presents examples from the social and behavioral sciences to demonstrate how their contributions could strengthen the profession and practice of counseling.     

Avoiding Counselor Burnout Through Role Renewal

Counselor burnout has become a concern for the counseling profession. This article focuses on avoiding counselor burnout through role renewal and makes generic role renewal recommendations for the counselor facing the possibility of burnout.