Predicting Women's Persistence in Adult Literacy Classes with Dispositional Variables

Adult literacy programs offer individuals, particularly women, opportunities to improve their educational levels and economic circumstances; however, persistence in these programs is an issue for many. Two hundred forty five participants in a statewide adult literacy program took the Adult Education Persistence Scale, a measure of self-efficacy, resilience, attitudes toward school, and attributions, a measure we developed in an effort to identify dispositional variables that predict persistence. Results indicated that dispositional variables modestly predicted persistence, identifying high and low attendees with 69% accuracy. We recommend screening for dispositional variables to identify those at risk for dropout and to provide relevant support.     

The real meaning of constructivism

Personal construct theory has a focus on constructs rather than elements, as can be clearly seen in the corollaries proposed by George Kelly. Yet, in the operationalization of his fundamental postulate, namely the repertory grid technique, there is an equal focus on both constructs and elements. Here we examine the relative contributions to variation in the grid data of both elements and constructs and use the intraclass correlation to examine this in several data sets. It is shown that in many instances, elements contribute more to the variation in grid data, irrespective of whether elements and constructs are supplied or elicited, or whether the ratings are made construct by construct or element by element. Implications of this for both the theory and practice are discussed.     

Rhythm and Semiotic Structures of Long-Term Ambivalence in the Dialogical Self: Eating Disorder and Recovery Voices

Ambivalence in the dialogical self is conceptualized as resistance to change. The cyclic processes that characterize ambivalence are seen to maintain a balance between opposing voices, producing dynamic stability in the self-system. What has not been incorporated in the study of ambivalence so far is consideration of structural levels from which the opposing voices are speaking. This prompted the present case study of long-term eating disorder ambivalence, which joins a consideration of semiotic system structure with process. In interviews with a young woman conducted over a three-year period, cyclic processes of eating disorder and recovery voices were pervasive, yet structural analysis of the subsystems and their transactions suggested that change was actually occurring in this presumably change-resistant system, pointing to a need for reconceptualizing ambivalent systems in relation to development.     

For whom is parting with possessions more painful? Cultural differences in the endowment effect

The endowment effect--the tendency for owners (potential sellers) to value objects more than potential buyers do--is among the most widely studied judgment and decision-making phenomena. However, the current research is the first to explore whether the effect varies across cultures. Given previously demonstrated cultural differences in self-construals and self-enhancement, we predicted a smaller endowment effect for East Asians compared with Westerners. Two studies involving buyers and sellers of a coffee mug (Study 1a) and a box of chocolates (Study 1b) supported this prediction. Study 2 conceptually replicated this cultural difference by experimentally manipulating independent and interdependent self-construals. Finally, Study 3 provided evidence for an underlying self-enhancement mechanism: Cultural differences emerged when self-object associations were made salient, but disappeared when self-object associations were minimized. Thus, the endowment effect may be influenced by the degree to which independence and self-enhancement (vs. interdependence and self-criticism) are culturally valued or normative.     

The influence of stimulus properties on multisensory processing in the awake primate superior colliculus.

Multisensory integration is a process whereby information converges from different sensory modalities to produce a response that is different from that elicited by the individual modalities presented alone. A neural basis for multisensory integration has been identified within a variety of brain regions, but the most thoroughly examined model has been that of the superior colliculus (SC). Multisensory processing in the SC of anaesthetized animals has been shown to be dependent on the physical parameters of the individual stimuli presented (e.g., intensity, direction, velocity) as well as their spatial relationship. However, it is unknown whether these stimulus features are important, or evident, in the awake behaving animal. To address this question, we evaluated the influence of physical properties of sensory stimuli (visual intensity, direction, and velocity; auditory intensity and location) on sensory activity and multisensory integration of SC neurons in awake, behaving primates. Monkeys were trained to fixate a central visual fixation point while visual and/or auditory stimuli were presented in the periphery. Visual stimuli were always presented within the contralateral receptive field of the neuron whereas auditory stimuli were presented at either ipsi- or contralateral locations. Many of the SC neurons responsive to these sensory stimuli (n = 66/84; 76%) had stronger responses when the visual and auditory stimuli were combined at contralateral locations than when the auditory stimulus was located on the ipsilateral side. This trend was significant across the population of auditory-responsive neurons. In addition, some SC neurons (n = 31) were presented a battery of tests in which the quality of one stimulus of a pair was systematically manipulated. A small proportion of these neurons (n = 8/31; 26%) showed preferential responses to stimuli with specific physical properties, and these preferences were not significantly altered when multisensory stimulus combinations were presented. These data demonstrate that multisensory processing in the awake behaving primate is influenced by the spatial congruency of the stimuli as well as their individual physical properties.