Ritualized Interaction for the Advancement of Children's National Identification in Hong Kong

Both ongoing practice and the theory of interaction ritual chains imply the significance of the contribution that ritual makes to group solidarity, such as national identification. This contribution is in need of empirical examination as in this study, which surveyed 1,788 schoolchildren in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China. The results show that, controlling for earlier national identification behavior (within the previous year) and other predictors, ritualized interaction in an activity for national cause (within the previous 6 months) manifested both linear and quadratic positive effects on current national identification sentiment. The effect was stronger for children who previously displayed lower national identification behavior. These results favor the use of ritual to promote national identification.     

Dearly Departed: How Often Do Congregations Close?

We establish for the first time a national mortality rate for religious congregations by determining the 2005 status of congregations in the 1998 National Congregations Study sample. The annual mortality rate for religious congregations is 1 percent, which is among the lowest mortality rates ever observed for any type of organization. This unusually low mortality rate probably indicates an organizational population whose weakest members live on in a weakened state rather than an organizational population that is unusually robust all the way down to its most vulnerable members.     

Who's Got the Power? Gender Differences in Partners’ Perceptions of Influence During Marital Problem-Solving Discussions

Previous research on marital communication indicates that women have more influence in marital problem solving because they raise the issues and shape the discussion. Other studies suggest that men have the power in marital problem solving. This study re-examines power and influence from the partners’ point of view. Twenty-seven couples — 18 with a first child under 2, and 9 undecided about having children — were videotaped while working on a self-selected problem concerning their division of family labor. Data sources included: (a) transcribed audiotaped accounts given by each partner while viewing a videotape of their problem-solving discussion; (b) self-report questionnaires; and (c) ratings by a research team of the concordance between spouses’ accounts. Husbands and wives were perceived as having a primary influence on different aspects of the discussion. Women tended to raise the issues and draw men out in the early phase of the discussion, while men controlled the content and emotional depth of the later discussion phases, and largely determined the outcome. The women's accounts emphasized that their influence in the early phase was often illusory: their behavior was shaped primarily by the effort to choose strategies that would avoid upsetting their husbands. In terms of overall satisfaction with marriage, wives had greater tolerance than their husbands for conflict in the area of division of domestic labor, but less tolerance for their husbands’ domination of the discussion process. Women's marital satisfaction was higher when there was concordance between spouses in their accounts of their problem-solving discussion. This research highlights the importance of eliciting spouses’ own perceptions and definitions in understanding the impact of gender-linked power differences in marital communication.     

GENERAL MENTAL ABILITY,NARROWER COGNITIVE ABILITIES,AND JOB PERFORMANCE: THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE NESTED-FACTORS MODEL OF COGNITIVE ABILITIES

The nested-factors model is a well-established structural model of cognitive abilities in cognitive ability research but has not yet been used to investigate the role of cognitive abilities in job performance. Core assumptions of the nested-factors model are that a broad general mental ability (GMA) exists besides narrower abilities and that this GMA differs from the narrower cognitive abilities in breadth but not in subordination. The authors of this article propose that a recently emerging statistical technique—relative importance analysis—corresponds to the assumptions of the nested-factors model. To empirically study the implications of using the nested-factors model, the authors applied relative importance analysis to a meta-analytic matrix linking measures of 7 narrower cognitive abilities from an established ability taxonomy (Thurstone's primary mental abilities), GMA, and job performance. Results revealed that GMA accounted for 10.9% to 28.6% of the total variance explained in job performance and that GMA was not consistently the most important predictor. The discussion focuses on potential theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of the nested-factors model for personnel psychology.     

Relocating Barth's Theology of Culture: Beyond the ‘True Words’ Approach of Church Dogmatics IV/3

Barth's writings present two discrete approaches to culture and attempts to link the two overlook Barth's rationale for isolating them. Though interpreters of Barth's theology of culture typically turn to CD IV/3, I argue that this material is not the place to look for insights into his analyses of cultural forms (e.g. the Mozart essays), but is better understood simply as a necessary extension of his doctrine of the Word – identical in content and context to his remarks against theology of culture in CD I/1. Instead, Barth's eschatology provides us with greater insights into his theological approach to culture.     

Romantic competence,healthy relationship functioning,and well‐being in emerging adults

A skills‐based model of healthy relationship functioning—romantic competence (RC)—is described. Its association with relationship and individual well‐being was examined in three studies of emerging adults using the Romantic Competence Interview for Emerging Adults (RCI–EA), which measures competence as the interplay of three skill domains. Across studies (women [n = 102], women and men [n = 187], romantic couples [n = 89]), RC was associated with greater security, healthier decision making, greater satisfaction, and fewer internalizing symptoms. The RCI–EA skill domains formed a latent factor and were associated with self‐reports reflective of RC, supporting the construct's validity. The RC construct may thus provide a theory‐driven, overarching way to characterize healthy romantic functioning that can reduce negative outcomes.     

Associations Between Religious Personality Dimensions and Implicit Homosexual Prejudice

Personality correlates of implicit and explicit attitudes toward homosexual and heterosexual individuals were examined within a sample of predominantly Protestant college students in the south-central United States. Implicit attitudes were measured with the Implicit Association Test, a computer program that recorded reaction times as participants categorized symbols (of heterosexual individuals and gay men) and adjectives (good or bad words). Participants also completed self-report measures of religious fundamentalism (RF), Christian orthodoxy (CO), right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), impression management (IM), and attitudes toward heterosexuals, gay men, and lesbians. Participants displayed fairly negative implicit and explicit attitudes toward homosexual relative to heterosexual individuals. Consistent with previous research, RF, CO, RWA, and IM were associated with increases in self-reported homosexual prejudice. Religious fundamentalism was the strongest predictor of a negative implicit attitude toward gay men relative to heterosexuals.     

Parental monitoring,sensitivity toward parents,and a child's mate preferences

This study investigated gender differences in parental monitoring and sensitivity toward parents and the extent to which these measures can influence children's mate preferences. In 2 samples (the United States and the Netherlands), females reported experiencing higher levels of parental monitoring and being more sensitive toward their parents' feelings regarding mate choice (e.g., being more upset if their parents did not approve of their partner) than males. Individuals displaying higher sensitivity toward parents rated parental investment and cooperation, and to a lesser extent genetic quality, as being more important in a potential mate than individuals lower in sensitivity toward parents. The level of parental monitoring did not significantly predict the importance of parental investment and cooperation or genetic quality in a potential mate.