How help during pregnancy can undermine self-efficacy and increase postpartum intentions to quit

Pregnancy reflects a common experience for women in today's workforce, yet recent data suggest that some women scale back or leave the workforce following childbirth. Considering these effects on women's careers, researchers have sought to understand the underlying dynamics of these decisions. Here, we explore a paradoxical reason for weakened postpartum career attitudes: help that women receive during pregnancy. We integrate stereotype threat and benevolent sexism theories to explain how the effects of help on postpartum intentions to quit may be transmitted through reductions in work self-efficacy. In doing so, we consider the role of perceived impact—or the extent to which help interferes with versus enables women's perceived ability to continue performing their work role. Results of a weekly diary study of 105 pregnant employees suggest that work-interfering help led to decreased self-efficacy for work during the following week. Furthermore, there was an indirect effect of average help received at work during pregnancy on postpartum intentions to quit the workforce through reductions in work self-efficacy that was stronger insofar as help was work-interfering versus work-enabling. Taken together, our results highlight unintended negative consequences that occur when others provide ineffective support to women at work during pregnancy.     

MMPI taxonomies of child sexual and nonsexual offenders: a cross-validation and extension.

In a court clinic sample of 107 child sexual and nonsexual offenders, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) profiles did not differ as a function of arrests for sexual versus nonsexual offending. However, a three-group cluster-analytic solution was generated. Two of these clusters replicated those derived by Hall, Graham, and Shepherd (1991). The first cluster was unelevated, with Scales 4 and 9 as high points. The second cluster had MMPI Scales 4, 8, 2, and 7 as the highest scales. The third cluster was even more elevated than the other two clusters, characterized by extreme elevations on MMPI Scales F, 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8. The somewhat different results of this study versus previous studies (e.g., Hall et al., 1991) may be a function of the different populations sampled. The results provide evidence of within-group heterogeneity among sexual and nonsexual offenders that may be as important as between-group differences.     

An investigation into the relationship between perceived control,attitude variability and the consumption of two common foods

The study reported here takes its lead from the literatures which emphasize the importance of attitude variability and the role of perceived control over action. Within-person variability and perceptions of control are investigated in the context of people's attitudes towards the consumption of two common foods. The role of attitude ambivalence is also examined. The findings indicate that higher attitude variability is associated with weaker relationships between the components of the theory of reasoned action and that attitude variability is negatively related to perceived control. Moreover, perceived control is shown to be related to different sorts of control problem for different behaviours. It is advocated that a more in-depth assessment of attitude variability and the perceived control construct is merited and that recent calls for more serious examination of attitude ambivalence are well-founded.     

Changes in salt taste in dialysis and their relationship to blood constituents

Taste sensitivity for sodium chloride in solution and sensitivity and preference for sodium chloride in bread were measured in 14 male patients undergoing hemodialysis. There was an increase in sensitivity to salt taste following dialysis only when assessed using the bread samples. Patients on a lower sodium diet were more sensitive to salt taste in bread. Although the taste changes were not related to the decreases in serum sodium or to copper, greater increases in sensitivity were related to greater increases in serum zinc during dialysis.     

The relationship between eye movements and spatial attention

Most previous studies of the attentional consequences of making saccadic eye movements have used peripheral stimuli to elicit eye movements. It is argued that in the light of evidence showing automatic “capture” of attention by peripheral stimuli, these experiments do not distinguish between attentional effects due to peripheral stimuli and those due to eye movements. In the present study, spatial attention was manipulated by varying the probability that peripheral probe stimuli would appear in different positions, while saccades were directed by a central arrow, enabling the effects of attention and eye movements to be separated. The results showed that the time to react to a peripheral stimulus could be shortened both by advance knowledge of its likely position and, separately, by preparing to make a saccade to that position. When the saccade was directed away from the most likely position of the probe, the targets for attention and eye movements were on opposite sides of the display. In this condition, the effects of preparing to make a saccade proved to be stronger than the effects of attentional allocation until well after the saccade had finished, suggesting that making a saccade necessarily involves the allocation of attention to the target position. The effects of probe stimuli on saccade latencies were also examined: probe stimuli that appeared before the saccade shortened saccade latencies if they appeared at the saccade target, and lengthened saccade latencies if they appeared on the opposite side of fixation. These facilitatory and inhibitory effects were shown to occur at different stages of saccade preparation and suggest that attention plays an important role in the generation of voluntary eye movements. The results of this study indicate that while it is possible to make attention movements without making corresponding eye movements, it is not possible to make an eye movement (in the absence of peripheral stimulation) without making a corresponding shift in the focus of attention.     

Implicit and explicit COVID-19-vaccine harmfulness/helpfulness associations predict vaccine beliefs,intentions, and behaviors

We investigated the role of implicit and explicit associations between harm and COVID-19 vaccines using a large sample (N = 4668) of online volunteers. The participants completed a brief implicit association test and explicit measures to evaluate the extent to which they associated COVID-19 vaccines with concepts of harmfulness or helpfulness. We examined the relationship between these harmfulness/helpfulness COVID-19 vaccine associations and vaccination status, intentions, beliefs, and behavior. We found that stronger implicit and explicit associations that COVID-19 vaccines are helpful relate to vaccination status and beliefs about the COVID-19 vaccine. That is, stronger pro-helpful COVID-19 vaccine associations, both implicitly and explicitly, related to greater intentions to be vaccinated, more positive beliefs about the vaccine, and greater vaccine uptake.     

Book reviews

Modern American Religion, Vol. 3. Under God, Indivisible, 1941–1960 Martin E. Marty, 1996 Chicago: University of Chicago Press 548 pp. + xii. £27.96, US$34.95 ISBN 0–22–50898–6

Perspectives on New Religious Movements John A. Sauba, 1995 London: Geoffrey Chapman 240 pp., £12.99 (pb), £35.00 (hb) ISBN 0–225–66787–8 (pb),’ ISBN 0–225–66786‐X (hb)

New Religions and the New Europe Robert Towler, ed., 1995 Aarhus: Aarhus University Press 246 pp., £19.95 ISBN 87 7288 433 9

A New Dictionary of Religions John R. Hinnells, ed., 1995 Oxford: Blackwell 760 pp., US$74.95 (hb) ISBN 0–631–18139–3

Den Fremden verstehen: Eine Praktische Hermeneutik Theo Sundermeier, 1996 Göttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht 260 pp. ISBN 3–525–01619–0

Religion and Mass Media: Audiences and Adaptations Daniel A. Stout & Judith M. Buddenbaum, eds, 1996 Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications 294 pp., £37.00 (hb), £18.50 (pb) ISBN 0–8039–7173–7 (hb), 0–8039–7174–5 (pb)

Contemporary Mainstream Religion: Studies from Humberside and Lincolnshire Peter G. Forster, ed., 1995 Aldershot: Avebury xxxvii +135 pp., £30.00 ISBN 1–8562–919–2

One Earth Many Religions: Multifaith Dialogue and Global Responsibility Paul F. Kntiter, 1995 Maryknoll, New York: Orbis xiv + 218 pp., US$17.00 ISBN 1–57075–037–8

A Wider Vision: A History of the World Congress of Faiths 1936–1996 Marcus Braybrooke, 1996 Oxford: Oneworld Publications 192 pp., £10.99, US$16.95 ISBN 1–85168–119–1

The Phenomenon of Teilhard: Prophet for a New Age David H. Lane, 1996 Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press xvi +192 pp., US$21.95 ISBN 0–86554–498–0

The Wisdom of the Wyrd: Teachings for Today from our Ancient Past Brian Bates, 1996 London: Rider xiii +306 pp., £12.99 ISBN 0‐712E‐7277‐X

Desinformation als Methode. Die Bahā'ísmus‐Monographie des F. Ficicchia Udo Schaefer, Nicola Towfigh, Ulrich Gollmer, 1995 Hildesheim Georg Olms Verlag xiii + 685 pp., DM 65.00 (hb) ISBN 3–487–10041‐X

The New Latin American Mission History (Latin American Studies Series) Erick Langer & Robert H. Jackson, eds, 1995 Lincoln & London: University of Nebraska Press 212 pp., £15.95 (pb), £32.95 (hb) ISBN 0–8032–7953–1 (pb), ISBN 0–8032–2911–9 (hb)

Gender Rituals: Female Initiation in Melanesia Nancy C. Lutkehaus & Paul B. Roscoe, eds, 1995 New York Routledge 265 pp., £13.99 (pb), £37.50 (hb) ISBN 0–415–91107–9 (pb), ISBN 0–415–91106–0 (hb)

Daughters of Anowa: African Women and Patriarchy Mercy Amba Oduyoye, 1995 Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books 229 pp., US$18.00 (pb) ISBN 0–88344–999–4

Christianity in Africa: The Renewal of a Non‐Western Religion Kwame Bediako, 1995 Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press; Maryknoll: Orbis Books 276 pp., £16.95 ISBN 0–7486–0625–4

The Christian Heritage in the Holy Land Anthony O'Mahony with Goran Gunner & Kevork Hintuan, eds, 1995 Epping, Essex: Scorpion Cavendish xi + 320 pp., £15.95 ISBN 1–900269–06–6 (pb)

Patterns of the Sacred: English Protestant and Russian Orthodox Pilgrims of the Nineteenth Century Ruth & Thomas Hummel, 1995 Epping, Essex: Scorpion Cavendish ix + 76 pp., £10.00 ISBN 1–900269–08–2 (pb)

Pilgrimage Past and Present: Sacred Travel and Sacred Space in the World Religions Simon Coleman & John Elsner, 1995 London: British Museum Press 240 pp., Illus., £20.00 ISBN 0–7141–1738–2     

Practice and Persuasive Frame: Effects on Beliefs,Intention, and Performance of a Cancer Self-Examination1

Many behaviors are performed less frequently than intended because they require knowledge and skill to overcome behavioral barriers. This experiment tested effects of two factors, direct experience and message frame, that were hypothesized to affect men's intention to perform the testicle self-exam for cancer (TSE) and their actual exam performance, in part by affecting their knowledge and beliefs about overcoming TSE performance barriers. Men's experience performing the TSE on a life-like model and the frame (negative, positive, or neutral) of the recommendation promoting the exam were manipulated factorially. Consistent with prediction, men who practiced (vs. did not practice) the self-exam: (a) endorsed stronger beliefs about behavior-specific knowledge (e.g., ability to imagine a lump), (b) held more positive intention, and (c) translated that intention more consistently into self-reported action, in part because their behavior-specific knowledge increased their tendency to act on their intention. Consistent with action phase theory (Gollwitzer, 1990), intention related more strongly to behavior-specific beliefs than to general, long-term beliefs, and more strongly than attitude related to behavior-specific beliefs. These findings have practical and theoretical implications for promoting healthful and other intended behaviors.     

The Social Psychology of Jury Nullification: Predicting When Jurors Disobey the Law1

The United States judiciary assumes jurors obey the law as it is charged to them in the trial judge's instructions. This paper contends that jurors' comprehension of the law results from an active intelligence which makes available alternative decision rules giving rise to the power of juries to nullify instructions. To study the compliance assumption, we presented to mock jurors pattern jury instructions along with summaries of testimonies from a rape trial. Four times during the trial we administered to participants measures of their attributions of defendant responsibility, judgments about the legal elements of the case, and verdicts. Multiple regressions conducted with data from separate subsamples and with separate questionnaire administrations revealed that a) verdicts were based on attributions independent of the jury instructions, b) individual differences in life experiences predicted the degree to which decision makers used their attributions, and c) the more practiced participants were at applying the jury instructions the more heavily they weighed their own attributions and less heavily the judgments required by the law. We concluded that comprehension alone cannot predict the likelihood that jurors will comply with the law. Therefore, the assumption that jurors follow the law needs to be more carefully considered.