Further examination of the convergent and discriminant validity of the student–teacher relationship scale

Two studies extended psychometric research on the Student–Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) with kindergarten and preschool children (N₁ = 60–71; N₂ = 35) and their teachers. These studies used a multi‐method approach to replicate and extend previous findings concerning the convergent validity of the STRS Closeness, Conflict, and Dependency scale and to further examine the discriminant validity of the STRS. Study 1 investigated convergence between the STRS scales and child‐ and peer‐reports of the same constructs based on a multi‐trait multi‐method approach. Study 2 examined the pattern of associations between the STRS and indicators of teacher–child relationship quality rated by external observers. Support was found for the convergent validity and to a lesser extent the discriminant validity of the STRS Closeness and Conflict scale. For the STRS Dependency scale, additional research remains necessary. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implicit partner affect, relationship satisfaction, and the prediction of romantic breakup

The current research investigated the role of spontaneous partner feelings (implicit partner affect) in the dynamics of relationship satisfaction, commitment, and romantic dissolution. Participants completed a variant of the name-letter task as a measure of implicit partner affect, and self-report measures of relationship satisfaction and commitment. Approximately 4 months later, participants were contacted to assess their current relationship status. Overall, participants showed a biased preference for their partner’s initials (after adjusting for proper baselines), indicating the presence of positive implicit partner affect. Participants with more positive implicit partner affect were more satisfied with, but not more committed to, their relationship. Additionally, implicit partner affect exerted a significant indirect effect on relationship stability. These effects were independent of relationship length, age, and gender. Implications for the role of automatic affective processes in relationship processes and the utility of indirect measures for shedding light on relationship dynamics are discussed.     

Who’s chasing whom? The impact of gender and relationship status on mate poaching

Are women more interested in men who are already in a relationship? Female and male participants who were single or in a relationship viewed information about an opposite-sex other and indicated their interest in pursuing this target. Half of the participants were told that the target was single and half read that the target was currently in a relationship. The results showed that only single women were more interested in pursuing an attached target rather than a single target. We discuss how these results add to what is already known about mate poaching.     

The physiology of women’s power motive: Implicit power motivation is positively associated with estradiol levels in women

This study examined the relationship between implicit power motivation (n Power) and salivary estradiol in women. Forty participants completed the Picture Story Exercise, a measure of n Power, and salivary estradiol levels from two saliva samples were determined with radioimmunoassay. We found that n Power was positively associated with estradiol levels. The positive correlation between n Power and estradiol was stronger in single women and women not taking oral contraceptives than in the overall sample of women. These findings replicate those of Stanton and Schultheiss (2007), giving further credence to the argument that women’s dominance striving is positively associated with their endogenous estradiol levels and that both social and biological factors influence the nature of that association.     

Need fulfillment in the career development of women

To test Harmon's proposal that Maslow's needs theory can explain differences in women's career decisions, need importance scores of 481 college graduate women of 1968 were contrasted. Since full-time homemakers are dependent upon another person for fulfillment of basic needs (Maslow's security-safety and social needs), it was hypothesized that these needs would remain prepotent and, therefore, would be higher for homemakers than for women employed outside the home. Esteem and self-actualization needs of employed women were expected to be higher for employed women than for homemakers. The results of the analyses generally supported the hypotheses. The major resulting discriminant function contrasted negative weights on basic needs with positive weights on high-level needs. Homemakers scored highest on security-safety and social needs, while professional-managerial and clerical-sales workers scored highest on the esteem need. In an unexpected finding, self-actualization was found to be the highest-ranked need for all groups of women in the study.     

Relationship of vocational maturity to work values

This study examined the relationship of vocational maturity to work values. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) Vocational maturity is positively related to differentiation of work values within subjects. (2) Vocational maturity is positively associated with intrinsic work values and negatively associated with extrinsic work values. Sixty-two subjects enrolled in remedial reading at a community college were administered the Vocational Development Inventory-Attitude Scale and the Work Values Inventory. Data analyses supported hypothesis 1 for females, but not for males, and partially supported hypothesis 2.     

The challenge of raising ethical awareness: A case-based aiding system for use by computing and ICT students

Students, the future Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professionals, are often perceived to have little understanding of the ethical issues associated with the use of ICTs. There is a growing recognition that the moral issues associated with the use of the new technologies should be brought to the attention of students. Furthermore, they should be encouraged to explore and think more deeply about the social and legal consequences of the use of ICTs. This paper describes the development of a tool designed to raise students’ awareness of the social impact of ICTs. The tool offers guidance to students undertaking computing and computer-related courses when considering the social, legal and professional implications of the actions of participants in situations of ethical conflict. However, unlike previous work in this field, this tool is not based on an artificial intelligence paradigm. Aspects of the theoretical basis for the design of the tool and the tool’s practical development are discussed. Preliminary results from the testing of the tool are also discussed. An earlier version of this paper was presented by one of the authors at the First International Conference on Teaching Applied and Professional Ethics in Higher Education, Federal University of Surrey Centre for Applied Ethics, Southlands College, Roehampton, London, 2–4 September, 2003.     

Loneliness and belonging in narrative environments

Loneliness and belonging are often framed as psychological states affecting individuals. Their family, friendship, psychological mindset, and acquaintance networks are seen as important factors shaping experiences of loneliness and belonging, but the role of place, culture, and institutional environments are often relegated to the periphery of attention. This article adopts the lens of narrative environment to highlight the importance of environments and cultures in storying experiences of loneliness and belonging, in this instance, among students enrolled at a UK university. Focusing especially on student accommodation and the university's links (or perceived lack thereof) with its locality and the university's infrastructure, we argue for the dialectic and reciprocal relationship between students and their environment in storying experiences of loneliness and belonging. Narrative environment, we argue, encapsulates the way in which some people negotiate a sense of belonging, moving the focus beyond individual psychology and immediate social networks, to the impact of institutional and environmental culture.     

Relationship control and interpersonal perception in marriage

The correlation between married couples' interpersonal perception and relationship control in communication was investigated. A normated, standardized and shortened version of Laing et al. 's Interpersonal Perception method (IPM) was used to measure interpersonal perception. The test contain three levels of perception, namely (1) direct perception of the relationship, (2) misunderstandings, and (3) disagreements about the relationship. The couples' relationship control was observed in three different situations. Previous studies have found the amount of one-upmanship in married couples to be associated with problems of interpersonal perception. Although different methods were applied in the present study, this finding was replicated to some extent. Additionally, the results indicate that the more the couples communicated to each other that they both had the right to control the relationship, the less problems they had in interpersonal perception. The results also strongly suggest that couples communicating in egocentric and self-disqualifying ways perceive their marriage as less satisfying, and they also perceive each other's feelings and behaviours less accurately than those who have little or no such deviant communication.