Assessing White Racial Consciousness and Perceived Comfort with Black Individuals: A Preliminary Study

This research examined the relationship between White racial consciousness development and perceived comfort with Black individuals. Participants were 339 White undergraduate students from a large southeastern state university who were asked to complete a two-part inventory: part one measuring White racial consciousness development (a five-stage scale) and part two measuring perceived comfort in situations involving Black individuals. An eta coefficient was calculated, providing evidence for the existence of a strong curvilinear relationship between White racial consciousness and perceived comfort with Black individuals η =.23 at p<.0001. These findings suggest that Whites who are completely foreclosed (stage one) or who are well acquainted with Blacks (stage five) are more comfortable in situations with Blacks than Whites who had a moderate amount of contact with them (stages two, three, and four).     

Occupational Representativeness and Prestige Rating: Some Observations

The authors examine occupational representativeness for its effect on prestige ratings. Compositions of occupational listings do not affect ratings. Career counseling implications are noted.     

Can Science Be Objective? Longino's Science as Social Knowledge

In Science as Social Knowledge, Helen Longino offers a contextual analysis of evidential relevance. She claims that this “contextual empiricism” reconciles the objectivity of science with the claim that science is socially constructed. I argue that while her account does offer key insights into the role that values play in science, her claim that science is nonetheless objective is problematic.     

Sensational Thinking A Teaching/Learning Model for Creativity

Change, the acknowledged constant: The paradox of two seeming opposites contained as one. In the world today we find ourselves challenged by a multitude of paradoxical problems and our need to resolve these issues drives a change process, the nature of which is dynamic and complex. Dynamic change is recognized as a process of moving from one state or form to another, in ways that appear chaotic, non-linear, and unpredictable (Gleick, 1987). This results from the interactions between and among individual component parts of a system (Gleick, 1987; Bohm & Peat, 1987; Goodwin, 1991), and studies to understand how and why this type of change occurs have found that dynamic change is a creative process that occurs naturally in physical, biological and social systems.     

Correlates of parent–child communication about specific sexual topics: A study of rural parents with school-aged children

Using data from 600 parents of children aged 5 to 18, and a context-oriented, developmental socialization conceptual framework, the interrelationships between parents' perceptions of themselves, their child, and their family relationships and the amount of parent–child discussion of 16 sexuality topics were explored. Canonical correlation analysis was used to demonstrate how circumstances and contexts influence the complexity of parent–child conversations for mother–daughter, mother–son, father–son, and father–daughter dyads. Results lend support to the conceptual framework used, as well as to previous studies of this topic area. The implications of these findings for parent–child relationships and for future research on parent–child communication about sexuality are discussed.     

Characteristics of Guidance and Counseling Services in Canada

Canadian guidance and counseling services are considered in terms of societal influences, philosophical and theoretical biases, counselor role, functions, training, and current trends.     

Career and Employment Counseling With Soviet Jewish Immigrants: Issues and Recommendations

This article addresses issues faced by career and employment counselors working with Soviet Jewish refugees and provides recommendations for working effectively with this population.     

Taking Counseling to Minority Students: The Classroom As Delivery Vehicle

This article discusses an alternate treatment approach for helping minority students learn a variety of academic and coping skills. A Special Services course was designed and taught by two counseling psychologists, who were assisted by peer counselors and graduate student group leaders. The goals of this course were to help students develop a more positive set of self-evaluations and to increase individual responsibility and group cooperation among the students. Specifics of the course are presented, and evaluation methods are suggested. In addition, there are implications of this course for minority student retention.