An Ecologically Differentiated, Multifactor Model of Adolescent Network Orientation

The paper presents a test of an ecologically differentiated model of social network orientation for adolescents that distinguished between different social network reference groups (family, peers, and nonfamily adults). The model was tested in two consecutive studies. Study 1 describes initial model development (N = 120). Study 2 presents a confirmatory factor analysis with a second sample (N = 430) to replicate the factor structure developed in Study 1. Results supported a three-factor model of network orientation that differentiated between network reference groups. Analyses of concurrent and predictive validity indicated that orientation to network reference groups was differentially related to the perceived quality and frequency of support from members of respective social network groups. Group differences (gender, race) regarding network orientation to different network reference groups were consistent with studies of other social network processes. Implications for the study of the network orientation and the study of social networks more generally are discussed.     

Bender Gestalt signs as indicants of conceptual impulsivity.

Sixty children were individually administered the Matching Familiar Figures Test and the Bender Gestalt Test. The mean age of the subjects was 10 years, 11 months. A significant relationship was found between errors on the Bender Gestalt test and impulsivity. More specifically, increased or decreased loops (figure four or six), change in angulation, loops for circles and circles for dots or dots for circles were all significantly related to children's impulsivity.     

How category advertising norms and consumer counter‐conformity influence comparative advertising effectiveness

Surprisingly little research examines whether and how category advertising norms influence the effectiveness of comparative advertising. To address this void, the present research investigates if the persuasiveness of a particular comparative advertisement depends on whether or not it is viewed as a typical tactic that conforms to category advertising norms. Results from experiments 1 and 2 indicate that a comparative advertisement used in violation of category norms results in a persuasion penalty that is evidenced by a reduction in the ad's impact on brand attitudes. This effect of category norms on persuasion is shown to be mediated by evaluations of the comparative advertisement's appropriateness in the product category. A final experiment confirms this persuasion penalty with respect to consumers holding conformity-based motives. However, this penalty is found to be reversed for individuals seeking counter-conformity in the marketplace, who respond more favorably to a comparative advertisement when it violates rather than conforms to category norms.     

HISTORICAL TITLES IN READING RESEARCH AND INSTRUCTION

This paper describes an informal spelling assessment that teachers can use to understand students' level of orthographic knowledge at the beginning of the school year. The results of this informal testing allow primary grade teachers to group students in September for word study and directed literacy instruction. The results of a year-long study in a lst-3rd grade classroom demonstrate that the initial placements of students were appropriate for instruction throughout the year. The initial spelling measures predicted reading achievement at various levels.     

Spiritual needs: Gender differences among professional spiritual care providers

The current study explored gender differences regarding spirituality by comparing the relative frequency with which male (n = 85) and female (n = 103) professional chaplains experience various facets of the spiritual experience. The women in the sample reported experiencing five of the seven spiritual constructs examined significantly more often than men, including the need for (1) belonging, (2) meaning, (3) hope, (4) beauty, and (5) acceptance of death. No significant gender differences were found for spiritual needs related to morality concerns or religious practices.     

Theory of mind and joint action in Parkinson’s disease

It has been suggested that the Theory of Mind (ToM) may rely on more basic processes of social cognition, such as action control (e.g., joint action), even if little is known about this relationship. The relationship between ToM and joint action can be studied in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), because they are characterized not only by a deficit in ToM (and in its cognitive and affective subcomponents) but also by a deficit in the inhibition of competing responses. Sixty PD patients and 60 matched healthy controls (HCs) performed a go/no-go Flanker task in both joint and individual conditions. Cognitive (Advanced Test or AT) and affective (Emotion Attribution Task or EAT) ToM also were measured. Thirty-five PD patients and matched HCs also performed the standard Flanker task, as a control measure. In patients, only individuals with high AT scores exhibited a joint Flanker effect, whereas in HCs the joint effect was found irrespectively of AT score. Patients with low EAT scores showed a greater interference effect than patients with high scores, whereas the opposite pattern was found for HCs. In regression analysis AT and EAT scores predicted the Flanker effect in the joint condition only. In the standard task, both groups showed a Flanker effect. The role of different fronto-striatal circuits, especially in PD patients, could explain the different involvement of cognitive and affective ToM in joint tasks. The Flanker effect is discussed considering the referential coding account and the attention-focus account as possible candidates to explain joint action effects.     

Evaluation of developmental surveillance by physicians at the two-month preventive care visit

We evaluated the effects of feedback and instruction on resident physician performance during developmental surveillance of infants at 2-month preventive care visits. Baseline data were obtained by videotaping 3 residents while they performed the physical and developmental exam components. Training consisted of individualized feedback and a brief instructional module, after which the residents were again videotaped while they performed preventive care visits. All 3 residents showed improved performance following training.     

The Interactive Effects of Mood and Involvement on Brand Extension Evaluations

This article examines the interactive effects of mood and involvement on evaluations of product extensions that vary in their similarity to the core brand. Results from an initial experiment show that, under conditions of high involvement, participants’ mood influenced their evaluations of extensions that were moderately similar to the core brand, but did not affect evaluations of either very similar or dissimilar extensions. Under low‐involvement conditions, however, the influence of positive mood was independent of core brand‐extension similarity. A second experiment demonstrates that mood's effect on extension evaluations may further depend on the measurement procedures used to elicit product appraisals. Collectively, these studies highlight important contingencies regarding mood's influence on extension evaluations and, as such, improve our understanding of consumers’ appraisals of brand extensions.     

With suspicious (but happy) minds: Mood's ability to neutralize the effects of suspicion on persuasion

Although investigations into the independent effects of mood and suspicion are plentiful, work examining their interactive impact on persuasion is nonexistent. To address this void in the literature, we consider how positive mood can affect the influence of suspicion on persuasion. In doing so, we investigate the potential for positive mood to neutralize the suspicion that consumers associate with sales agents in an interpersonal persuasion context. Two studies provide converging evidence of this neutralization effect. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed as are avenues for future work in this area.