The Relationship between Maternal Employment During Infancy and the Quality of Subsequent Relationships with Parents
Kirsten Gambone, Chris Lu, Jamie Szuchyt, Susan Deitrick, Susan Fields,
Amy Gelband, Dorothy Rowles, Deborah Stickney, Dorothy Zohe, and Catherine
Chambliss
Ursinus College
The present study examined
ratings of maternal and paternal relationships provided by male and female
young adult undergraduates grouped on the basis of their mother’s employment
status during their infancy (fulltime, part-time, or non-employment). Directionally
adjusted items were totaled to create a Maternal Relationship Scale and
a Paternal Relationship Scale. Oneway ANOVA revealed that scores on the
Maternal Relationship Scale were most favorable for participants whose
mothers did not work outside the home during their infancy. Subjects whose
mothers worked full-time during their infancy rated their current relationships
with their mothers most negatively; ratings from subjects whose mothers
worked part-time during their infancy fell in between these two groups.
Paralleling the results on the Maternal Relationship Scale, on the Paternal
Relationship Scale Oneway ANOVA revealed that scores on were most favorable
for participants whose mothers did not work outside the home during their
infancy. As with the other dependent measure, subjects whose mothers worked
full-time during their infancy rated their current relationships with their
fathers most negatively; ratings from subjects whose mothers worked part-time
during their infancy fell in between these two groups.
Although on most items assessing
attitudes towards both mothers and fathers participants whose mothers were
not employed during their infancy described more favorable relationships,
there were two exceptions to this finding. The first was in answering the
question about whether participants admire their mother, the second exception
was in answering the question of whether their father is the type of person
they would like to be. For both questions, participants gave a more favorable
reply if their mother worked part-time during their infancy, and the least
favorable reply if their mother worked full-time.
Attitudes and Expectations Regarding Maternal Employment among Male and Female College Students
Kirsten Gambone, Dorothy Zohe, Jamie Szuchyt, Susan Deitrick, Amy Gelband,
Chris Lu, Dorothy Rowles, Deborah Stickney, Susan Fields and Catherine
Chambliss
Ursinus College
The present study examines
the attitudes of male and female college students' regarding maternal employment
and their own career and family expectations. Perceptions of the benefits
and costs associated with maternal employment were assessed through administration
of the BACMEC. Disparities between males’ preferences for spousal
employment and females’ preferences for employment at different developmental
stages of children’s lives were examined.
Subjects were divided into
two groups on the basis of maternal work status (nonemployed versus employed)
during their early childhood (birth to 5 years). Subjects were similarly
grouped on the basis of maternal employment during their later childhood
(elementary school years and adolescence). Scores on the two BACMEC subscales
were calculated for each subject. Between groups t-tests revealed a significant
sex effect on both the benefits and costs subscales; males perceived fewer
benefits and greater costs than females. When males and females were assessed
jointly, early maternal employment was significantly associated with perceptions
of both the benefits and costs associated with maternal employment.
Separate chi square analyses
were conducted for male and female subjects assessing the relationship
between maternal employment history and future employment preferences.
Male participants’ mothers’ employment during their early childhood was
significantly associated with their preferences regarding their future
wives’ employment during their children’s infancy. Chi square analyses
of female employment preferences showed significant effects for preferences
during the preschool, elementary school, and adolescent years. Women whose
own mothers had worked while the participants were young were more likely
to prefer working at these developmental stages of their own children.
Analysis also revealed a significant effect for later maternal employment,
but only for participants’ employment preferences during their children’s
elementary school years. Women whose own mothers worked during their school
years were more likely to prefer working once their children reached elementary
school age.
Jennifer Friedman
Penn State University, Lehigh Valley
Rarely in the mental health
field do consumers get to physically work in areas such as the outdoors.
A noble hypothesis states that progress can be seen in a wide range of
illnesses from schizophrenia to borderline personality if consumers just
got their hands dirty. With this thought, consumers feel as if they
have given a living entity the chance to grow, and with careful instruction
they are given much responsibility.
One of the challenges is
that of accomplishing daily tasks in an orderly, positive fashion without
frustration and laziness coming into play. Yet with living things,
the consumers know that they are responsible not only for a task but for
a life.
Through potting or planting
each person’s item, an immediate ownership is established. Every
week, the growth of each plant is recorded in the consumer’s own Horticulture
Journal. Every day watering, weeding, and pruning are done not only
on the individual’s plant but also throughout the entire garden.
At the end of the season, plant growth is compared to the beginning data
and also to others in the garden. Amount of light is the only variable
not controlled by the consumers.
All consumers are able to
benefit from this program. Intelligence does not determine whether
or not you are able to care for a living plant. 100% of the clients
attending on the days this group was held were able to participate in Horticulture
Therapy. Even if some of the plants did not grow to their potential,
consumers reaped in the benefits of the whole.
Getting your hands dirty
often allows for more than one area of benefits. The results of the
garden, in this case, prove that one with a mental illness can still promote
growth. A sense of sharing and respect was gained through this program
with the daily duties assigned.
College Students' Responses to New Communication Technology
Terra Vicario, Erica Henninger, and Catherine Chambliss
Ursinus College
This study examined the risks
associated with increased reliance upon technology, including e-mail, instant
messages, and cellular phones. Subjects were undergraduate college
students ranging in age from 17 to 29. A sample of 40 students was
taken from a small, private liberal arts college in Eastern Pennsylvania.
A second sample of 25 engineering students was taken from a large university
in Illinois. Responses from these samples were merged with
a pre-existing data set of 172 was taken from Kunderewicz, Michener, and
Chambliss (2001). The total number of participants evaluated was
237 (mean age was 19.33 years). Multiple factors were assessed using a
survey composed of several sections. General background information
was collected on age, sex, college year, and major. The following
variables were assessed using a four-point Likert format scale (strongly
agree to strongly disagree): cellular phone use, instant messenger use,
and interference of cellular phones and instant messenger with work, school,
and daily schedules. Another four-point Likert format scale (always
to never) assessed attitudes regarding e-mail and perceived convenience
of technology. Preferences and actual modes of communication were
evaluated through separate ratings of communication patterns in relationships
with parents, teachers, close friends, and significant others. To
assess personality characteristics, the 22-item Extraversion Subscale from
the Eysenck Personality Inventory (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1963) was used
in addition to the Big Five Mini-markers Scale (Saucier, 1994). Conscientiousness
and agreeableness, two dimensions of the Big Five Mini-markers Scale, produced
significant results. As hypothesized differences between extraverts and
introverts were found in regards to email and cellular phone communication.
Engineering majors and liberal arts majors reported different timeliness
of
responding to email and also using instant messenger. Sex differences
were also significant. Future research on the harmful effects and
possible benefits are needed.
Factors Affecting the Perceived Increase in Violent Crime: An Analysis of Actual and Virtual Experiences
Rebecca A. Mersky and Catherine Chambliss
Ursinus College
Although most national and regional statistics show that violent crimes (murder, non negligent manslaughter, aggravated assault, robbery, and forcible rape) in the U.S. have been declining, there is a widespread misperception among the public that such crimes are increasing. There also appears to be an apparent public appetite for exaggerated portrayals of violence, fueling media reports, which often tend to reinforce rather than to challenge myths. This research attempted to determine if these false perceptions are the result of subjects’ direct, actual personal experiences or their indirect, virtual media experiences. This project also examined the thesis that overestimation of the risk of violence is associated with participants’ feeling more justified in being aggressors themselves and retaliating when threatened. This project thereby explored the irony that cultures that inspire paranoia may in fact become more dangerous, thereby justifying rampant paranoia. A survey (Perception and Experience of Violent Crime) was created based on previous research and was administered to 196 students at Ursinus College during the spring and fall semesters of 2001. Various statistical analyses were performed. It was found that subjects significantly overestimated the prevalence of violent crimes. Perceptions of general violence are at odds with actual rates of violent crime. Despite perceptions of general violence, most participants reported feeling safe in their immediate environments.
The Effectiveness of Implementing a Social and Emotional Learning Program for Elementary School Students
Kristie Bruno, Eileen England, and Catherine Chambliss
Ursinus College
The purpose of this study is to apply the theoretical frameworks of emotional and social intelligence to the development and implementation of an educational program for elementary school children. As defined by Daniel Goldman (1995), emotional intelligence entails a variety of abilities that are essential in securing and maintaining a healthy life. For instance, being aware of what triggers anger is integral to learning how to manage it in an effective way. The key component in strengthening emotional intelligence involves the correct identification and understanding of internal physiologically anchored emotional states and of the situations that elicit them. On the other hand, social intelligence involves the intricate knowledge and understanding of social interactions and people. Accurately assessing people’s reactions in social interactions and reaching positive interpersonal outcomes is the hallmark of social intelligence (Kelly & Moon, 1998). The key component in strengthening social intelligence involves the understanding of emotions, and therefore, both emotional and social intelligence are interdependently related. The development of social intelligence cannot occur in the absence of emotional intelligence, and the best indicator of emotional growth lies in the continued development of the social being. To enhance emotional and social intelligence, a year-long program consisting of five units (listening, feelings, anger management, decision-making, and perspective-taking) was created. The program was administered on a weekly basis and was under the supervision of the guidance counselor. The effectiveness of the program was assessed through a within-subjects analysis of pre- an post-test measures of emotional identification, prosocial and antisocial responding, anger management strategies, and a teacher rating scale.
Who's the Player?: The Effects of Class and Gender on One-Night stand Participants
Sarah Napolitan and Lauren Thomas
Ursinus College
Most people are aware that
one-night stands on a college campus are commonplace, but this study centers
on the specific
characteristics of these one-night stands. This study was an analysis
of relationship preferences among college students. The study concentrated
on the frequency of one-night stands among college students defined by
their gender and class. The study was conducted by surveying 72 undergraduate
students-half male and half female- about how often they have one-night
stands, the frequency of these one-night stands and circumstances surrounding
the event. This study focuses on whether one gender participates in these
activities more than another, and whether class (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior,
Senior) has anything to do with the number of one-night stands an undergraduate
man or woman takes part in. This study was conducted by a Research Methods
class at Ursinus College who created a survey to determine many aspects
of one-night stands, who participates in them, and why. Surprisingly, women
were found to have a significantly more numerous amount of one-night stands
than men. The study extensively covers what class men and women are more
likely to have one-night stands in, and which sex engages in these one-night
stands more. An in-depth analysis of these factors is offered, along with
an interpretation of the results.
The Effects of Maternal Employment on Urban and Suburban Middle School Students
Kristin Kinelski, Jessica Markowitz, and Catherine Chambliss
Ursinus College
This study investigated the
effects of maternal employment on beliefs and attitudes of suburban and
urban middle school students in addition to their comparative levels of
self-esteem. A five-part survey, including demographic information,
Beliefs About Consequences of Maternal Employment for Children, information
about the mother’s work status, an author devised Childhood Appraisal Scale,
and Rosenberg’s Self-Concept Scale, was administered to 38 sixth grade
urban students and
38 sixth grade suburban students.
Separate independent sample
t-tests were conducted between school type and gender. The results
indicated that both urban and female students perceived significantly greater
benefits associated with maternal employment. However, no differences in
perceived costs of maternal employment were found. Urban students
were significantly less influenced by their fathers than suburban students.
Suburban students were found to have a greater desire to imitate their
fathers and were more comfortable asking their fathers’ opinion than urban
students. No differential admiration of mothers was noted between
these groups, although significantly more suburban than urban mothers were
employed in professional jobs. Female students expressed greater
admiration for their mothers’ accomplishments and had a greater desire
to imitate their mothers than male students.
Chi square analyses were
conducted to analyze the relationship between sex and expected work status.
During their child’s infancy, a greater number of females expected to have
no outside employment than did males. However, once their child reached
school age, both males and females expected to have at least part-time
employment outside the home. No significant differences across school
type or gender were found on the measure of self-esteem.
The Analysis of Marital Status and Family Conflict in Adolescent Functioning
Garry Maus (IUP), Karrie Beeler, Eileen Astor-Stetson, and Brett Beck
(BU)
Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg University
In the current study, marital status of parents, conflict between parents, and hostility from parent to child was examined in relation to norm violation, grades, and depression in adolescents. A survey was given to college students taking General Psychology. Two hundred and fifteen college students completed the survey. Simple correlations were computed among hostility, norm violation, depression and conflict. All correlations were significant. Two Analysis of Variance were used to assess the relationships between the independent variables, gender and family status, and the dependent variables, norm violation and depression. Significant effects for gender were found where females scored significantly higher on depression while males scored significantly higher on norm violation. No significant differences were found based on marital status. Stepwise regressions assessing the relationship between the family variables, hostility and conflict, and the measures of adolescent functioning, depression and norm violation, indicated that conflict between parents and hostility from parent to child were related to increased depression. Hostility was significantly related to norm violation. Regression analyses performed for males and females separately indicated that for girls, hostility was related to norm violation and conflict was related to depression. For boys hostility was related to norm violation and hostility and conflict were related to depression. Overall, the hypothesis that conflict and hostility would be related to more problems in grades, norm violation, and depression was supported by the results of the study.
Infants' Use of Reflections as Information for Surfaces
Rebecca Baty, Mary Lille, Nancy Rader, & Research Team 04
Ithaca College
The purpose of this study is to investigate the development of an infant's ability to use reflections in perceiving surfaces. The infant participant sits in a high chair at the end of a visual cliff apparatus. A square-foot area of the shallow side's textured surface is cut away and covered with glass to present a "visual hole". The infant's heart rate is recorded as he or she watches a mechanical dog walk towards this visual hole. Some infants see the dog approach toward the hole when the glass covering the hole has obvious reflections, while others see an approach toward the hole when reflections from the glass are substantially reduced; infants are alternately assigned to either the reflections or no-reflections conditions. All infants participate in a third condition where the visual hole is covered with an opaque cover that matches the textured material of the shallow side. Data have been analyzed for 19 infants to date, with a mean age of 9.8 months. As the dog reached the texture-covered hole, crawling and non-crawling infants showed no significant changes in heart rate. For both glass-covered hole conditions, the heart rates of non-crawling infants decreased slightly as the dog reached the hole, indicating a lack of fear for the dog. Crawling infants, on the other hand, showed heart rate acceleration in the non-reflection condition. Apparently, when reflections were absent, they feared for the fate of the dog as it reached the threshold. These findings suggest that crawling infants are more likely than non-crawling infants to distinguish between a surface and a hole on the basis of information provided by reflections.
Understanding School Violence: Contributions of Adlerian Psychology
Sara Grimes and Mary K. Waibel-Duncan
Bloomsburg University
This study used Adler's clinical theory of Individual Psychology as a conceptual framework to gain a better understanding of factors that may contribute to the epidemic of youth violence. Specifically, Adler suggested that aggressive behavior is a function of an individual's inability to find a position of significance or worth within his or her social environment (i.e. social interest). To test this hypothesis, thirty-one eigth-grade children ages 12 to 14 years old from a public middle school in central Pennsylvania rated their level of internal and external assets, peers' level of the same, as well as their own prosocial behaviors. All ratings were done on 4-point Likert-type thermometer scales. Overall, data showed relatively high levels of internal and external assets (i.e., ratings of 4 "a lot") for both self and peers as well as similarly high ratings of perceived peer social competence. Due to lack of variability across items, discrepancy scores between self's and peers' assets were not significantly correlated with ratings of one's own social competence. Data are consistent with Adler's ideas about social interest insofar as high levels of prosocial behavior corresponded to high levels of perceived internal and external assets. That is, participants recognized many areas of personal competence, perceived themselves as belonging and contributing to society, and reported acting accordingly.
T. Moore, E. K. Mecca, D. Lamoureux, J. McCleary, and M. E. Oakes
University of Scranton
While much has been written
in recent years about the effects of caffeine and the fact that caffeine
is consumed by people of all ages, there is very little research detailing
age differences in caffeine consumption, knowledge of products that contain
caffeine, or perceived harmfulness of caffeine. The present study
will address these issues.
Four hundred eighty nine
grocery store patrons were interviewed. Three hundred seventeen were
female, 172 male. They ranged in age from 18 to 89 (Mage = 51.56).
One hundred thirty of the participants were young adults (age 18-39), 198
were middle aged (40-59), and 161 were older adults (60 and over).
Participants were then asked, "If an average cup of coffee contains 100
mg of caffeine, how much caffeine would be bad for a person to consume
in a day," followed by a request to name three products that contain caffeine.
Participants were then asked, "What products do you routinely consume that
contain caffeine?"
Older participants (compared
to young and middle aged respondents) could name fewer caffeinated products.
Further, the older respondents related that they consumed fewer caffeinated
products and conveyed that smaller amounts of caffeine are harmful to health.
More of the elderly respondents also related that they did not consume
caffeinated products at all. However, of those who reported consuming
caffeinated products, older and middle-aged respondents were more likely
than young respondents to report drinking coffee. Young respondents
related that they consumed more soda and chocolate compared to the other
age groups. There were no age differences evident for tea consumption
(all p's < .05).
Cross-Cultural Differences in Attitudes Toward Mental Illness: Japan versus the United States
Kiyotoshi Hashimoto, Diane Elia, and Catherine Chambliss
Ursinus College
The present study compared
attitudes about the causes and optimal responses to mental illnesses, and
the perceptions of the effects of maternal employment, on samples of male
and female college students attending schools in Japan and in the United
States. Independent samples t-tests were performed to assess differences
between the national groups in their responses to 22 Likert-formal items
exploring different aspects of a biophysical versus a sociocultural conceptualization
of the etiology of mental illnesses. Independent sample t-test comparisons
of the Japanese and American groups’ scores revealed differences on several
of the dependent measures. The American students perceived there as being
greater negative stigma associated with mental health problems than Japanese
students. Perhaps as a consequence of this concern about discrimination,
the U.S. students reported less willingness to seek treatment themselves
or to recommend that a friend with a problem go to a mental health clinic
for treatment. However, the America students were less likely to see mental
health problems as a sign of weakness than the Japanese respondents.
Significant differences
in attitudes toward treatment were also found. U.S. participants endorsed
the behavioral and humanistic etiological models more strongly than their
Japanese counterparts, but were less supportive of the psychoanalytic perspective
than Japanese students. The American students attributed treatment outcome
more to patient than to therapist factors, saw patients as having greater
control over their mental problems, and perceived thinking about one’s
problems as more valuable than the Japanese students. Consistent with this,
the U.S. students emphasized the value of verbal psychotherapy developments
more so than medical based treatment developments. The American students
saw the cause of mental health problems as less genetic than the Japanese
students, and reported less use of drugs and alcohol to relieve emotional
problems.
Violations of Equity Undermine Morale in Work Settings: Can Amicable Work Relations Be Restored?
John Mohl and Kenneth D. Richardson
Ursinus College
Subjects (N=76) were presented with an array of vignettes regarding the distribution of rewards in a work setting. Their task was to indicate what their judgements would be in one of three situations to which they were randomly assigned to respond: One in which their compensation was roughly equal to that of a comparable co-worker (equitable compensation), one in which their compensation was substantially less than that of a comparable co-worker (inequitable compensation), or a third situation in which their compensation was initially less than a co-worker, but later corrected to be comparable (equity initally violated, but subsequently restored). Dependent variables included likely feelings toward supervisory personnel, the co-worker involved, job satisfaction, and work motivation. One prediction derived from equity theory was that being undercompensated (inequity without restoration) would result in more negativism in regard to supervision, the workplace, the overcompensated co-worker, and reduce work motivation. The real question under study here was the extent to which initial violations of equity would be forgiven if followed by corrective restoration. Analyses of variance applied to the means generated by these three conditions indicated that while being undercompensated without correction undermined commitments to the job, the co-worker, and supervision, all three of these effects were precluded if corrective action was taken. Responses were no more negative in the "restoration" condition than in the condition in which no violation of equity had occurred. Our subjects suggested that damage to the "pscyhological contract" between worker and workplace could be salvaged, at least from a vicarious standpoint. It should be noted that numerous additional factors not included in this study are likely to mediate responses to equity restoration. In this case it was done voluntarily. On the other hand, high pressure to restore equity (e.g., legal action) may possibly draw very different responses. Future research would benefit by the inclusion of such variables.
Learning Processes Involved the Viewing of Random Dot Autostereograms
Tara K. Russo and John G. Jewell
Ursinus College
Using an ISCAN ETL 500 head
mounted eye tracker, we recorded eye movements and latencies to
achieve the 3-D image embedded in a computer-generated autostereogram.
The effect of repeated
presentations of the same and different autostereograms was examined.
In addition to improved
performance with repeated viewing of the autostereograms, we believe
that two additional learning
processes are involved in the viewing/fusion task. One process
is the motor learning that occurs for the
eyes. The motor system controlling the eyes must learn a specific
pattern of behavior that is necessary
to achieve the 3-D image. The second learning process is a perceptual
recognition needed to identify
the 3-D figure(s) after fusion has occurred.
Quality of Life Inventory: Validity and Relationship to Selfism
Duane Todd and Kenneth D. Richardson
Ursinus College
Empirical studies have demonstrated that behaviors deemed by observers as "arrogant" trigger attributions of insensitivity, untrustworthiness, and lead subjects to make dire predictions about the social futures of those who display arrogance (Richardson & Stroman, 1994, Richardson, Rasi, & Bullard, 1999, Todd, 2001). The present study was an attempt to ascertain if such judgements might be valid. This was done by administering to subjects (N=117)a survey packet containing the Quality of Life Inventory, or QOLI (Frisch, 1992) and a measure of "selfism" (Phares & Erskine, 1984). The selfism scale served as an indirect measure of arrogance as a personal style, and negative correlations between subjects' scores on that measure and certain dimensions of the QOLI would lend some validity to the negative predictions regarding the consquences of arrogance found in past studies. A second component of the study involved an assessment of the QOLI's validity by including open ended questions regarding specific problems that interfere with life satisfaction in various areas and having independent judges read and score these for seriousness. Although correlations between the selfism scale and the QOLI were found to be near zero, strong evidence for the validity of the QOLI was produced. Judges' ratings of the seriousness of the problems reported on the open ended items were negatively correlated with subjects' numerical QOLI scores, meaning that estimates of high seriousness by judges predicted lower QOLI scores on the rating scale component completed by the subjects. Interjudge reliabilities were also computed and found to be statistically significant. While the validity of the QOLI seemed to be supported in this study, the proposed relationships between selfism, arrogance, and quality of life were not. Implications and future research are discussed.
George Fago
Ursinus College
Cognitive psychologists have
increasingly been enlisted as consultants in the question of the reliability
of eyewitness testimony. As a result an extensive literature has
focused on the accuracy of witness recall and the possible contamination
of subsequent interrogation/deposition. The results of these
investigations have provided strong support for the hypothesis that the
manner in which potential witnesses are interviewed may strongly affect
their recall of the matters in question. That witnesses’ testimony
may be influenced by the nature of the questioning is no longer in dispute.
But a larger question remains: does an interrogation actually affect
the memory of subsequent events? This issue is frequently posed as
the following: Does the interrogation (1) introduce confusing
information which interferes with the subject’s ability to recall the correct
information, or (2) introduce information which the witness incorporates
into memory, rationalizes and incorporates into a previous memory, and
thus effectively overwrites the original memory.
If the confusion/retrieval
hypothesis is correct, then it should not matter whether the ‘confusing’
(incorrect) information is introduced immediately after the episode to
be remembered or later. In contrast, if the ‘overwriting’ hypothesis
is correct it would be critical that the ‘confusing’ information be introduced
as early as possible so as to allow the ‘incorrect information’ to be incorporated
into the memory of the main event.
The present study investigated
these questions. Questions were initially analyzed to determine their
level of correct response. Only questions which indicated substantial memory
failure were then included in the following analysis. This analysis
indicated both delay of questions and type of question affected subsequent
recall.
Effects of Parental Divorce on Risk Taking Behavior in College Students
Stacy Hartung and Julie Kontos
Bloomsburg University
Relationships between risk-taking behaviors such as alcohol abuse and unprotected sex were investigated in college students from intact or divorced families. The timing of the divorce was predicted to influence the prevalence of the risk-taking behaviors in the students of divorced parents. It also was predicted that male children of divorce would be more negatively affected by the divorce than their female counterparts, thus demonstrating more risk-taking behaviors. The participants consisted of 349, 18-24 year old students (284 females and 65 males) from a general psychology course at Bloomsburg University who received extra credit for completing a comprehensive questionnaire. The initial prediction that males would participate in significantly more risk-taking behaviors than females was supported by the Sensation Seeking Scale. Those participants from whose parents has divorced within the last year indicated significantly lower risk-taking behaviors than that of those whose parents divorced longer than a year ago and those from intact families respectively. Based on the data collected, a probable assumption could be made that immediately following the divorce of one’s parents, the individual draws into themselves and is wary of trying new things and participating in risk-taking behaviors. However, with time the individual learns to trust their environment once more and are able to actively participate in their environment. The analysis of the Multidimensional Self-Destructiveness Scale, the Desire to Experience and Produce Intense Emotions Scale, and the Alcohol’s Reasons for Use Scale is currently being done and is expected to further support our hypotheses.
Order in the Classroom: Early Educational Experiences and Attitudes Toward College
Jason Marakovits and Kenneth D. Richardson
Ursinus College
The issue of discipline in early education has been a growing concern over the past several decades, with increasing attention paid to unruliness and even violence within elementary educational classrooms. Systems such as the Reality Therapy Discipline Approach (RTDA) and Assertive Discipline have been developed in efforts to offer teachers more constructive and effective ways of managing classrooms. Although such schemes are receiving research regarding of their effectiveness, there remain additional questions regarding long term effects of disorderly classroom experiences during the early elementary school years. The present study attempted to do 3 things via a 32 item survey administered to college students (N=90): (1) examine college students' memories for specific elementary school classrooms that varied in unruliness, (2) relate these to student reports regarding teachers' behavioral styles in those classrooms, and (3) assess students' current enthusiasm for their own education. Results indicated that our subjects entertained rather vivid recollections of their early educational experiences and that levels of classroom unruliness were negatively correlated with teachers' degrees of organization, levels of concern for students' feelings, enthusiasm for learning, and students' enjoyment of the classrooms involved. Students' current levels of enthusiasm for learning in college were not strongly related to unruliness in the early classroom experiences that they were asked to rate. These results are consistent with the propositions that teacher attitudes, behaviors, and organization are strongly related to lasting impressions of the quality of early educational experiences. The current emphasis on classroom management is well founded, and additional research regarding the importance of that component of early education is warranted.
One-Night Stands as Function of Pre-College Relationships, LTR, and Dating Status
Megan K. Austin
Ursinus College
Survey Research concerning the consideration of engaging in one-night stands suggests that when coupled with variables such as committed relationships before college, long-term relationships of greater duration, and current dating status, create relationships of significance. Respondents engaged in committed relationships before entering college and experienced a long-term relationship lasting six months in duration or longer, were four times more likely to not consider engaging in one-night stands than those lacking committed relationships prior to entering college. Those who didn't contemplate engaging in one-night stands and are currently dating were more than twice as numerous than those who consider one-night stand activities. Individuals who have been in a relationship for greater than six months are seven times more likely to be presently dating. Theories such as Sternberg's love mapping and triangular love theory suggest that previous loving experiences influence future relationships. Although passion may be initially high, commitment and intimacy need time to manifest (Weiten, 1998). Respondents who have engaged themselves in long-term relationships may possess knowledge surrounding the nature of commitment and intimacy when formulating cognitive love maps.
College Students’ Attitudes toward Men and Women Managers
Cherie A. Wallace and Connie Schick
Bloomsburg University
Undergraduates (88 men, 191 females) completed The Women as Managers Scale (WAM), The Bem Sex Role Inventory(BSR) and information about job and managerial experience. This study found that for women only, those who had been a manager had lower WAM scores than those who had not. The WAM scores for both men and women had increased when compared with Terborg’s (1979) original WAM scores. Also college students were much more likely to have a higher WAM score if they had never been a manager. Many college students had had jobs in more than one category (clerical, service, fast food, retail, factory, and service). This study found that young people today don’t discriminate as much as in the past. This is may be because college students have had the opportunity to work with both men and women managers. We are more likely to find in many workplaces men and women mangers working together in the same workplace than when Terborg did his original study in the 1970s.
Mother-Infant Interactions and Behavioral Functioning in Toddlers: An Examination of Interpersonal Patterns
Christie P. Karpiak, Kristen Strack (UofS); Lorna S. Benjamin, Kelly
Schloredt, Karen Callaway, and Donna Gelfand (UofUtah)
University of Scranton and University of Utah
Behavior problems in children
can have serious implications. In addition to immediate distress, research
indicates that individuals who develop problems in early childhood are
more likely than those with later onset to demonstrate chronic problems
in multiple contexts. Researchers have identified an array of risk factors
that increase the likelihood of psychological problems in young children,
including specific patterns of interaction between preschool and early
elementary aged children and their parents. Such patterns have provided
targets for effective clinical intervention with children and their families.
This study was designed
to investigate whether similar patterns are apparent in infancy, and correspond
with the development of behavior problems in toddlers. In particular, a
sequential cycle of hostility between the infant and mother was hypothesized
to relate to subsequent externalizing problems in the children.
Subjects were 31 mother-infant
dyads, videotaped as they participated in the Strange Situation. All mother
and infant behaviors during the second reunion were coded in terms of moment-to-moment
interpersonal process using the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior
(SASB). Sequential analysis was used to quantify the sequences. The 2-3
year old version
of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was administered between 12
and 18 months after the Strange Situation, and scores were correlated with
the z-scores obtained for each dyad from the sequential analyses.
Results suggest that some
patterns of mother-infant interaction may predict subsequent behavior problems,
including patterns of mutual mother-infant hostility, and also sequences
that include either mother or infant hostility that is not reciprocated.
It is possible that these disparate patterns, all characterized by hostility
by one or both members of the dyad, develop into the negative cycle that
is evident in aggressive preschoolers.
The Spice of Life: Cohort Differences in Judgments of Food Nutrients
M. E. Oakes, T. Moore, E. K. Mecca, D. Lamoureux, and J. McCleary
University of Scranton
According to Rozin et al.
many people believe that a diet that is salt or fat free is more healthful
than a diet with trace amounts of either of these nutrients. In other
words, although both of these nutrients are essential in our diets, media
oversimplification of nutritional information has left many people with
the impression that fat or salt are toxic elements of food. In the
present study, we addressed the confusion about the harmfulness of common
food nutrients once again. However, in the present study generational/age
differences were
examined.
Four hundred eighty nine
patrons of two grocery stores were interviewed. Three hundred seventeen
were female, 172 male. They ranged in age from 18 to 89 (Mage = 51.56).
One hundred thirty of the participants were young adults (age 18-39), 198
were middle aged (40-59), and 161 were older adults (60 and over).
Participants were approached
while shopping and asked their age and questions about food characteristics,
i.e., "How many (much) _________ would be too much (i.e., unhealthy) in
a serving of a single food?" The food characteristics that were inquired
about were calories, fat, sodium, cholesterol, protein, sugar, carbohydrates,
and fiber.
It is evident from these
data that certain nutrients tend to have negative reputations while others
are considered to be much more positive. Many respondents from all
age groups, but especially young and middle-aged adults, indicated that
there is no harm in protein or fiber regardless of the amount in the food
(p < .05). Conversely, few respondents in any age group
reported that a food could have unlimited amounts of fat, sodium, cholesterol,
or carbohydrates and not be harmful. Older respondents (compared
to young adults) tended to report more often that any amount of fat, sodium,
and sugar is harmful.
A Four-Year Study of Letters to Santa: Impact of Societal Changes
Carole S. Slotterback and Jeanne M. Brolan
University of Scranton
Previous research on children's
letters to Santa Claus have examined a variety of factors, including how
traditional vs. non-traditional (i.e., lists) letters differed in their
requests, as well as how boys and girls differ. The current study
will focus on how this year's letters to Santa differ from those of previous
years.
This study uses 443 letters
to Santa Claus from the Scranton, PA area (approximately 120 miles from
New York city). Scranton is a non-transient, family-oriented community
of approximately 70,000 people (Chamber of Commerce, 2000). The main
areas of commerce include retail, manufacturing, and health care (US Census,
2000).
The letters span four years
(1998-2001). Boys wrote 182 of the letters while girls wrote 261.
No form letters, letters written by parents (e.g., "I can't afford to buy
presents"), letters without names, or envelopes full of pictures of toys
were used. After a training session, 36 pairs of students in Research
Methods Laboratory coded the letters for type, number, and price of toys
requested; type, number, and price of "other" requests (e.g., clothes,
CDs, computers); and whether or not the child used traditional opening
and closing sentiments, mentioned being good, used "please" and "thank
you", or expressed concern for Santa or others. Inter-rater reliability
across the 36 pairs was 85%.
The letters from this year
did differ from previous years in three main ways. Chi-square analyses
revealed that this year's letter writers were much more likely to mention
the wishes of their siblings than in previous years, and children were
much more likely to request adventure/fantasy toys this year than in previous
years. Also, children's letters this year were much more likely to
include patriotic sentiments than in previous years.
The Effects of Visual Illusions and Distractions on Trials and Number of Reversals Perceived in College Students
Michael Brinkos and Julie M. Kontos
Bloomsburg University
The study was designed to
measure the effects of visual illusions, trials, and distractions on perception
of reversals. Different forms of the Schroeder Staircase (SS) and Necker
Cube (NC) served as the visual illusions in this study. One form contained
no distractions while the distrtacting form contained geometrical images
surrounding the SS and NC. For the purposes of the study, a reversal was
defined as a change in perspective of the stimuli. Stimuli were presented
to participants on paper alternating from distracting and non-distracting
forms of the SS and NC. Participants were students from the University
in lower level psychology classes.
There were two main predictions
for this study. It was predicted that there would be a significant difference
in the number of reversals observed between the distracting and non-distracting
versions of the stimuli. Results showed that there was no significant difference
between the two versions of the stimuli. It was also predicted that practice
effects would be observed for each stimuli. A strong practice effect was
apparent in each of the eight trials for all stimuli.A future study that
employs different distractins in different sensory modalities (i.e., auditory)
could produce significant findings. Ideally, the distraction should be
a noxious stimulus that is not easily habituated to.
An Investigation of Self-Esteem, Psychological Well-Being, Body Image, and Eating Behaviors Among Male College Students
Eileen Giannini, Tiffany Hataway, Carolyn DeLuca, Mary Jane Neff, Sean
Flueso, Eileen Astor-Stetson, and Brett L. Beck
Bloomsburg University
Recent research has suggested an increase in eating disorders among men as well as an increase in the utilization of psychological services for this problem (Gilbert, 1996). While women still predominate in prevalence statistics for this behavior, it has been speculated (e.g., Anderson, 1990) that men are underdiagnosed because they are reticent about seeking treatment as well as the possibility that the triggers and exhibition of the pathological eating are different from those found in women. This study sought to extend the knowledge of body image and eating behaviors in male college students for whom these issues were perceived to be relevant. Prior research with a college sample (Braun, 1996) found that 37 percent of males with eating disorders played sports or were employed in areas in which body image and weight was deemed critical. Body image and eating questionnaires were given to members of an intercollegiate football team, varsity cross-country runners, varsity wrestlers, and students in Navy and Army ROTC. Results indicated a varying pattern of responses based on the sociocultural expectations of the individuals (e.g., football kicker v. lineman, athlete v. non-athlete). Implications of these findings as to understanding of the triggers for pathological eating behaviors in males as well as possible treatment approaches will be discussed.
Second:Fourth Finger Ratio Positively Correlates with Throw Toss Error in College Females
Nicole Sublette, Melissa Carlo, Mark Fitzgerald and J. Timothy Cannon
University of Scranton
Several lines of research
indicate that the relative length of the second to the fourth finger (2D:4D
Finger Ratio) is influenced by prenatal androgen exposure. Phelps
(1952) demonstrated the sexually dimorphic nature of this ratio, with males
tending to have ratios smaller than females. This ratio seems to
be established by the thirteenth intrauterine week (Garn et al., 1975)
and covaries with sexual preference (Breedlove et al., 2000; Robinson &
Manning, 2000), athletic ability (Manning & Taylor, 2001), and reproductive
success (Manning et al., 2000).
Finger length ratio, Throw
Task accuracy, Purdue Pegboard performance, and Grip Strength were measured
in 96 undergraduates. Examining males and females separately, the
2D:4D finger ratio showed only one significant correlation with test performance.
A positive relationship existed between this ratio and error on the Throw
Task for women , r(76) = .24, p = .04. Our results demonstrate that
for women, some variance in this task is associated with a physical characteristic
(finger ratio) that, in turn, is related to prenatal hormonal environment.