Parental authority,nurturance, and two‐dimensional self‐esteem

Tafarodi, R. W., Wild, N. & Ho, C. (2010). Parental authority, nurturance, and two‐dimensional self‐esteem. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. This study examined the relations of parental permissiveness, authoritativeness, authoritarianism, and nurturance with two dimensions of self‐esteem – self‐liking and self‐competence. In a sample of 207 two‐parent families, university students and both their parents provided independent reports on all the above variables. Covariance structure analysis was used to eliminate reporter‐specific bias and unreliability in predicting student self‐esteem from parenting behavior. The results revealed highly redundant positive associations of mothers’ and fathers’ authoritativeness and nurturance with both self‐liking and self‐competence. The pattern of these associations suggests that the significance of parental authoritativeness for the child’s self‐esteem is due mainly to the nurturance it provides. Contrary to expectation, mothers’ and fathers’ authoritarianism was also positively associated with self‐liking. As discussed, however, this is likely to be an artifact of the specific measures and testing methods used.     

Attitude Toward Asian Americans: Theory and Measurement

A theoretical framework to account for Whites' attitudes toward Asian Americans was developed and tested in 3 studies. An Attitude Toward Asians (ATA) scale was developed and found to be valid and reliable. Consistent with the framework, a negative factor and a positive factor were found to underlie attitudes toward Asian Americans. As expected, negative attitudes were shown to stem from both negative and positive instrumental attributes, whereas positive attitudes stemmed from positive instrumental and noninstrumental attributes. Predictions regarding emotional reactions to Asian Americans and attitude ambivalence were supported. Attitudes toward Asian Americans were also shown to influence judgments of African Americans. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

閃光信号的頻率选择实驗研究

一、問題 在現代生产技术中,人和机器可以看作是一个統一的系統。这一系統的中心环节是人。人凭借自己的感官从仪表和信号得到有关机器的运轉状态和生产过程的变化的信息,經过一系列的思惟活动,然后作出判断,并通过操作活动对机器和生产过程进行控制和調节。关于人和机器的这一方面的关系,以及关于机器、仪表、信号和操纵装置的設計如何适应人的感知、思惟和运动的特点,以便使“人机系統”达到最高效率的研究,已經形成一个新的学科分支,即“工程心理学”。本研究所涉及的閃光信号的頻率选择問題,就是属于工程心理学的范围。     

Assessing the relationship between cold pressor pain responses and dimensions of the anxiety sensitivity profile in healthy men and women

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) has been shown previously to be an important factor in the perception and experience of experimentally induced pain within healthy adults. The aim of the current study was to extend this research by: (i) using the Anxiety Sensitivity Profile (ASP) as an alternative measure of AS; (ii) examining whether different coping instructions affect pain reports; and (iii) investigating potential differences between men and women. Participants were 50 healthy adults (23 males, 27 females) who were required to complete 2 versions of the cold pressor pain task; one version required the use of control instructions, whereas the other made use of acceptance-based instructions. Although the coping instructions were found to affect pain thresholds (acceptance resulted in lower thresholds), a similar pattern of correlations were found between the pain indexes and AS under both conditions. Of the ASP subscales, the gastrointestinal and cognitive concerns components were found to be the most strongly related to pain experiences. When the analysis was conducted separately for each sex, the ASP scales were related to the self-report measures of pain in women, whereas they were related to the behavioural measures of pain in men. These results not only confirm that AS is associated with experimental pain, but that there may be sex differences in this relationship.     

Winch and Anscombe on Ethics and Religion

The aim of this paper is to consider in detail a paper in which Peter Winch discusses the absolute nature of the moral ought. Anscombe had argued that the notion of an absolute ought presupposes the idea of divine law. Winch's aim is to show her mistaken. On his view, it is the idea of divine that depends on the notion of an absolute ought. It is argued that Winch is not successful in his criticism. Indeed, were we to accept his assumptions, we should be forced to conclude that the moral ought is not absolute at all, but relative.     

Malcolm on Memory

Malcolm argues that memory takes a variety of forms and that philosophers go astray because they attempt to reduce this variety to a single form. We may grant that memory takes a variety of forms. It does not follow that these forms are of equal philosophical significance. In telling you my name, I do not have to recall it. I have repeated it innumerable times. If asked again, I simply repeat it once again. This is what Bergson called “habit memory”. But Proust, in tasting a madeleine cake, did recall the past. His childhood returned vividly to his mind. But since his experience was in the present and his childhood was in the past, how could the one be an experience of the other? Here, it seems, we do have a philosophical problem.     

Performance Assessment: Is Creative Thinking Necessary?

The study examined the relationship between creative thinking ability of 13 to 14‐year old female students and their ability in tackling problem solving situations in the science laboratory. The latter has been variously labeled as hands‐on problem‐solving tasks, scientific investigations, and performance assessment. No tutoring or guidance concerning how to solve the problem was provided. The scientific concepts embedded in the tasks are within the scope of the 13 to 14‐year old students, but the setting for the tasks are novel and not likely to be dealt with by their class teacher during the course of instruction. The solution process for these tasks is likely to involve the following components: preliminary trialing, planning, performing, communicating, interpreting and reflecting on the task to provide feedback for further refinement of the task (Department of Education & Science, U.K., 1987; Toh, 1990). The paper looks into the correlation of creative thinking ability and each of the six performance components, as well as the overall performance.     

Explaining Delay in Care Seeking for Breast Cancer Symptoms1

From a theory of care-seeking behavior, this study answered two questions: Do psychosocial variables (anxiety, utility, norm, and habit) and objective, facilitating conditions (e. g., regular practitioner) influence care-seeking delay with a breast symptom directly, or are psychosocial influences moderated by facilitating conditions? Do demographic or clinical factors explain delay, controlling for psychosocial variables and facilitating conditions? Women with breast cancer symptoms (N= 106) completed questionnaire measures. Delay was measured by the days between symptom detection and first contact with the health system. Norm and having a regular practitioner were related inversely to delay. The influence of anxiety was moderated by having a regular practitioner. Among women lacking a practitioner, anxiety was related inversely to delay; among women with a practitioner, anxiety was not related to delay. Controlling for psychosocial variables and facilitating conditions, women of color delayed longer than did Caucasians. Findings can guide research and theory about care seeking.