Introduction

Journal of International Migration and Integration -     

READING INTERESTS OF CHINESE ADOLESCENTS: EFFECTS OF PERSONAL AND SOCIAL FACTORS*

The relation of the reading interests of Chinese adolescents to their personality (introversion), values (intellectualism and academic achievement), and the reading interests of their family members and peers was studied. A total of 2,114 secondary school students participated in the study. The hypothesized relationship was found to be positive. Specifically, the more introverted students were attracted to more literary materials, whereas the less introverted were fond of more action type of materials. Students high on the value of intellectualism were found to read in general more than those low on the value in almost any kind of materials. Compared to the low ones, students high on the value of academic achievement tended to read more but the differences were not extensive; their interest seemed to focus more on the literary and curriculum-related materials. With respect to family and peer influences, students with parents, siblings, classmates, and friends who read tended to read more and have wider reading interests.     

Preference for Methods of Conflict Processing in Two Collectivist Cultures

Previous research has shown that harmony-enhancing procedures for conflict resolution are endorsed more in collectivist than in individualist societies, whereas the reverse is true for confrontational procedures. However, this result is derived from comparing Western with Eastern societies, leaving the possibility that it may be caused by a variety of East—West differences other than collectivism and individualism. To resolve this ambiguity and to extend the generality of this finding, two collectivist societies, one from Europe (Spain) and the other one from Asia (Japan), were contrasted in the present study. Consistent with the individualism—collectivism framework, results indicated that the procedural preferences of these two cultural groups were quite similar. Results also indicated that expectancies based on process control and animosity reduction were culture-general predictors of procedural preference, and that valences based on these variables yielded little additional variance over and above the expectancy variables. Expectancies based on fairness and favourableness were found to be culture-specific, as were their relationships with procedural preference. Results also implied that cultural femininity was not related to procedural preference. Finally, implications of these results for developing a universal theory of procedural preference are discussed.     

Explaining Choices in Procedural and Distributive Justice Across Cultures

A previous study (Leung, Bond, & Schwartz, 1990) established that an expectancy-valence model could be used effectively to explain behaviours in three social domains both within and across cultures. In this study the model was applied to the domains of resource allocation and conflict resolution in order to pinpoint which expectancies and which valences were carrying the explanatory weight of the respondents' behavioural strategies. For both Israeli and Hong Kong students the expectancies and, less strongly, the valences tapping harmony and performance quality were important for resource allocation; those tapping animosity reduction and process control, for conflict resolution. Suggestions were offered for broadening the net of explanatory constructs for future work aimed at specifying subjective factors associated with justice-related behaviours.     

RELIGIOUS SCHEMA AND VALUES*

Past research has consistently shown marked differences between religious believers and non-believers. Such differences were suggested in this study to be due to the presence of religious schema in believers. It was hypothesized that non-believers would be less schematic, or aschematic with respect to religion. This hypothesis was examined by comparing the value system of college student believers (Protestants and Catholics) and non-believers (those indicating no religious faith). Extensive differences were found. Consistent with the hypothesis, the differences were found mainly on the schema-relevant values. In essence, believers showed greater preference for and possession of the moral and relational values, and lesser on the personal-extrinsic, competency, and egoistic values. As predicted, no difference was found on the social and intellectual types of values which are basically schema-irrelevant. The notion of schema availability was also supported. When subjects' religiosity (as indicated by their preference for the salvation value and their self-rated possession of the religiousness value) was controlled for, all the above differences were removed. When high and low religiosity believers were compared, great differences were found. The differences between the high and low religiosity non-believers were however much less extensive.     

Preference for less segmented fixed-time components in concurrent-chain schedules of reinforcement

A concurrent-chain procedure was used to examine choice between segmented and less segmented response-independent schedules of reinforcement. A pair of independent, concurrent variable-interval 60-s schedules were presented in the initial link, along with a 1.5-s changeover delay. A chained fixed-interval fixed-time and its corresponding tandem schedule constituted the terminal links. The length of the fixed-interval schedule in the terminal link was varied between 5 s and 30 s while that of the fixed-time schedule was kept at 5 s over conditions. The first components of both terminal-link schedules were accompanied by the same stimulus. Except in the baseline condition, the onset of the second component of the terminal-link chained schedule was accompanied by either a localized (key color) or a nonlocalized (dark houselight) stimulus change. Stimulus conditions were constant during the terminal-link tandem schedule. With three exceptions, pigeons demonstrated a slight preference for the tandem over the chained schedule in the terminal link. Furthermore, this preference varied inversely with the length of the first component. In general, these results are consistent with previous studies that reported an adverse effect on choice by segmenting an interval schedule into two or more components, but they are inconsistent with studies that reported preference for signaled over unsignaled delay of reinforcement.     

Susceptibility to prosocial and antisocial influence in adolescence following mindfulness training

Mindfulness training programmes have shown to encourage prosocial behaviours and reduce antisocial tendencies in adolescents. However, less is known about whether training affects susceptibility to prosocial and antisocial influence. The current study investigated the effect of mindfulness training (compared with an active control) on self-reported prosocial and antisocial tendencies and susceptibility to prosocial and antisocial influence. 465 adolescents aged 11–16 years were randomly allocated to one of two training programmes. Pre- and post-training, participants completed a social influence task. Self-reported likelihood of engaging in prosocial and antisocial behaviours did not change post-training, and regardless of training group, participants showed a higher propensity for prosocial influence than for antisocial influence. Finally, participants were less influenced by antisocial ratings following both training programmes.     

Perceived stressors and stress responses among hospital-based nursing trainees

Perceived sources and levels of stress were assessed with a rating scale describing the experience of stressors and stress responses and an unstructured self-report about the reasons of such ratings in 60 nursing students in their first and final year of hospital training. The results, which show a significantly higher report of stress in the latter group, also point to identifiable sources of stressors in hospital-based nursing training procedures. Several recommendations to alleviate these conditions are discussed.     

Factors Affecting the Career Aspirations of Asian Americans

The authors compared the career considerations of a group of Asian American college students (52 men and 72 women) with a comparison group of Caucasian students (95 men and 151 women) using an Occupations List. The results revealed that Asian American students were more likely to have considered Investigative occupations and less likely to have considered Enterprising and Conventional occupations than were the Caucasian students. There were also differences in the career considerations of the two racial groups in terms of the prestige level and gender traditionality of the occupations. The implications of the findings for theory and practice are discussed.     

Teaching simple addition to children with mental retardation using a microcomputer

Computer assisted instruction (CAI) was used for improving the efficiency of simple addition (single-digit without carrying) computation in three children with mental retardation. The training program, conducted on a portable personal computer, consisted of demonstrations and repetitive practices on simple addition presented in a vertical format. A number of behavioral instruction techniques such as direct feedback, corrective demonstration, verbal association, and token reinforcement were also included. To evaluate the effects of the CAI package, a multiple-baseline across subjects design with followup was employed. Results showed that performances of children improved with training and were maintained at 1-week, 4-week, and 12-week followups. Generalization of the learned skills was evident when children were assessed on a paper-and-pencil addition test in a vertical format. The skills were also transferable, with initial prompting, to a computerized addition test in a horizontal format. These findings reaffirmed the applicability of CAI and behavioral techniques for teaching math skills to children with mental retardation.