Young adults' media use and attitudes toward interpersonal and institutional forms of aggression

Links between media violence exposure and favorable attitudes toward interpersonal violence are well established, but few studies have examined whether associations extend to include favorable attitudes toward institutional forms of aggression. Studies on this topic have not assessed multiple forms of media use and statistically controlled for individual characteristics likely to influence attitudes beyond sociodemographic information. In this study, undergraduate students (N=319) aged 18-20 years (56% male) completed a survey assessing media use (number of hours per week spent playing videogames, watching movies/TV shows, watching TV sports) and attitudes toward interpersonal violence, punitive criminal justice policies, and different types of military activities (preparedness/defense and aggressive intervention). Greater number of hours spent watching TV contact sports was associated with more favorable attitudes toward military preparedness/defense, aggressive military intervention, and punitive criminal justice policies among men independently of parental education, lifetime violence exposure within the home and community, aggressive personality, and constrained problem solving style. Greater number of hours spent watching violent movies/TV was associated with more favorable attitudes toward military preparedness/defense among men and with more favorable attitudes toward interpersonal violence and punitive criminal justice policies among women, but these associations became non-significant when adjusting for covariates.     

图片和汉字的激活水平及知觉干扰效应的比较

研究使用8个残缺水平下的图片及其中文名（汉字双字词）为实验材料．试图比较图片与汉字双字词识别激活水平的差异,接着比较二者产生知觉于扰效应的条件,并把二者产生知觉于扰的条件与英文单词产生知觉于扰的条件进行比较。实验一结果发现,在材料较清晰的条件下,汉字双字词的命名成绩高于图片,表明汉字双字词的激活水平不比图片低,但在材料很残缺的条件下,汉字双字词的命名成绩低于图片。实验二发现双字词和图片在没有事先学习情况下都产生知觉干扰效应,已有研究表明单个汉字无需事先学习也可以产生干扰效应,而英文单词需要事先学习。因此,图片和汉字的干扰效应与英文单词的差别跟图片、汉字的激活水平比英文单词高有关。     

亲子间家庭功能的知觉差异及其与青少年孤独感的关系

采用家庭功能评价量表（FAI）,青少年孤独感问卷,对北京和两安的1325名初高中生及其父母进行调查。结果发现：（1）在家庭功能问卷的所有维度,亲子间知觉差异显著,青少年的知觉更消极;（2）在家庭功能的所有维度,男孩与父母的知觉差异均大于女孩与父母的差异;沟通维度父子间的差异大于母予差异,冲突与和谐维度母女间的差异大于父女间的差异;（3）不同知觉差异纽青少年的孤独感差异显著,知觉差异水平与孤独感间呈线性关系;亲子阃在冲突与和谐及父母关注维度的知觉差异可以显著预测青少年的孤独感。     

初中生亲子冲突、朋友冲突对孤独感的影响及其性别差异：一项交叉滞后研究

对1330名初中生进行间隔一年的追踪测试,通过交叉滞后的方法探讨亲子冲突、朋友冲突和孤独感之间的相互作用。结果发现,对男生而言,先前亲子冲突对随后朋友冲突和孤独感预测作用不显著,而朋友冲突与孤独感为相互预测关系,亲子冲突和朋友冲突不存在显著预测关系;对女生而言,先前亲子冲突可以显著正向预测随后孤独感,而朋友冲突则不能,亲子冲突与朋友冲突为相互预测关系。结论：朋友冲突对男生的孤独感影响更大,亲子冲突对女生的孤独感影响更大。     

The effect of test schedules on the formation of linked perceptual classes

After training conditional discriminations among selected stimuli from two perceptual classes, the emergence of novel relations involving other members of both classes was assessed using cross-class probes. The cross-class probes were presented using one of four different testing schedules. In the 2/9 test, nine different probes were presented in each of two test blocks. In the 6/3 test, three different probes were presented in each of six test blocks. In the 18/1-RND test, each of the 18 cross-class probes was presented in separate test blocks. In the 2/9 and 6/3 tests, the cross-class probes were presented in a randomized order within test block. In the 18/1-RND test, the cross-class probes were presented in a randomized sequence. In the 18/1-PRGM test, however, the cross-class probes were presented in a programmed order (i.e., the values of the stimuli in each cross-class probe were changed systematically in the succession of probe presentations). About 55% of the linked perceptual classes emerged during the 2/9, 6/3, and 18/1-RND tests. Thus the number of different probes in a test block did not influence the emergence of classes as long as the probes were presented in a random order. Virtually all classes emerged during the 18/1-PRGM test. Thus at least one ordered introduction of different cross probes resulted in the reliable emergence of linked perceptual classes. Mechanisms responsible for linked perceptual class formation are discussed along with the relation of these classes to other complex categories.     

Knowledge in the information society

The German Council for Research, Technology and Innovation defines the “information society” as a type of society where the acquirement, storage, processing, exchange, diffusion and utilization of knowledge inclusive of their technological possibilities of interactive communication, here become increasingly important. In this notion, knowledge has become the decisive factor for economic growth and technological advance. As a social scientist I transform the term “information society” into processes of automatization of knowledge, which is called its informatization and computerization. It is argued that these processes affect the societal condition of knowledge in that the part of knowledge relating to the contents diminishes while the importance of the technical and/or formal part increases. In contrast to the claim of many social scientists, this trend does not lead to a superficial or shallow type of knowledge. What is changing is the social requirement of professional skills and qualifications. The great looming question about information society then is: Which knowledge do people need to behave competently, effectively and successfully in a world full of computers? The structure of this article is as follows. First I will have a look at the micro‐level of the composition of knowledge, next I will proceed to the historical shift from subject‐specific knowledge to media‐competence and finally I will talk about the meaning of the evolving dominance of—what I will call “media‐competent experts”.     

Using Celluloid to Break the Silence About Sexual Violence in the Black Community

Abstract

I am the producer, writer, and director of NO!, a feature length documentary that addresses intra-racial sexual assault in the Black community. Through this film, I hope to break the silence and give visual voice to a chorus of Black women rape survivors and Black women and men activists, historians, poets, attorneys, psychologists, and musicians. Their messages are conveyed through testimonies, scholarship, dance, music, and poetry.     

Gender differences in loss of psychological resources following experimentally-induced vicarious stress

Abstract

The present research focuses on gender differences in resource loss, perceived threat, and negative affective reactions induced by experimental manipulation of vicarious stress. Israeli students (54.7% women) were randomly allocated to one of two conditions: (1) Threat Condition (n=98), in which participants were exposed to a video film depicting terror attacks and (2) Control Condition (n=30), in which participants viewed a video film depicting a series of non-emotive news broadcasts. Participants also completed measures of mastery, optimism, and self-esteem. The data indicated that whereas under the Threat Condition women scored lower on psychological resources and higher on perceived threat than men, no significant gender differences were observed under the Control Condition. A path analysis revealed that gender was directly related to perceived threat and resource loss, which, in turn, were related to negative affect. In addition, a greater sense of mastery was related to lower resource loss. Overall, these experimental findings suggest that gender and mastery bear prominent effects on cognitive and emotional reactions to vicarious life threat.     

The political pluralisation of American evangelicals: how old media built a movement,and why the Internet is poised to change it

Although religious movements are a powerful force in politics, there has been relatively little work that adequately analyses the relationship between communication technologies and Christian political mobilisation in the United States. In addressing this deficit, this article has three interrelated objectives. First, it traces the impact of media technology on the evangelical project, paying specific attention to radio and television, and argues that these two media have had a largely unifying influence. Second, it seeks a better understanding of the impact of the Internet upon evangelical organisations by reviewing relevant academic literature in the context of on-the-ground developments. In doing so, the authors argue that instead of working to facilitate greater unity among evangelicals, as radio and television did in the past, the Internet is instead fragmenting and polarising them. Third, and more speculatively, they discuss implications for a fragmented evangelical community, and call upon scholars to conduct more research into recent developments in communications technology as it relates to Christian political mobilisation in the United States. Combined, these goals work to illustrate the complex relationship between media, religious organisations, and mass political mobilisation.