The prejudiced personality revisited: Personal need for structure and formation of erroneous group stereotypes.

Two studies explored the relation between personal need for structure (PNS) and a reasoning process through which stereotypes may form. Participants viewed information about the performance of group members on intelligence-related tasks and then indicated their inference strategies and impressions of the groups. Results indicated that high-PNS participants were more likely than low-PNS participants to form erroneous group stereotypes. Individual differences in attributional complexity and need for cognition also predicted stereotype formation under some conditions. The effects of PNS and other cognitive personality variables were weakened under conditions in which participants believed that they would have to justify their impressions publicly. Discussion focuses on processes underlying the relation between PNS and stereotype formation and on relations among personality, social context, and social inference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Books in school psychology: The first forty years.

Reviews books about school psychology published from 1930 to 1970 and describes trends in emphases over that time period. Common themes include the importance of assessment, the role of consultation, individual study of Ss, and the need for expanding the role of the school psychologist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Status of Holland's Investigative personality types and their consistency levels seven years later.

Assessed the predictability of J. L. Holland's Investigative personality type and the 3 consistency levels over a 7-yr period. A sample of 95 male Investigative Ss who completed the Self-Directed Search (SDS) as college freshmen in 1970 were sent a questionnaire 7 yrs later. The questionnaire gathered information about the Ss' educational and occupational situations including present occupation, educational status, ideal career choice, and projected career in 1982. Hypotheses concerned the predictability over a 7-yr period of (a) 1-, 2-, and 3-letter SDS codes and most recent daydream codes and (b) Holland's sign of consistency. Results indicate that for Investigative-type males, the SDS had moderately high efficiency in predicting, 7 yrs later, actual job entry, graduate major, and ideal and projected career plans. The differential predictability of Holland's 3 consistency levels was supported in 21 of the 24 tests applied. Future research is recommended on the predictiveness of other personality types and Holland's diagnostic schema. Implications for counseling and future research are indicated. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temperament, activity, and expectations for later personality development.

Temperament is assumed to be the biologically based, emotional core of personality. Adult personality is presumed to emerge developmentally from temperament. One mechanism that may link temperament to subsequent personality development involves caregiver expectancies. Stability in personality may be associated with caregiver expectancies about the meaning of temperament-based behavior. The expectancies, in combination with implicit theories of personality development, support stability and patterned change. This multimethod study examined the relations among motor activity differences, temperament, and expectations about future personality characteristics in preschool children. It was hypothesized that motor activity and temperament differences would be linked to teachers' expectations about later personality development. The hypothesis that expectations about such links would be moderated by the sex of the child was also examined. Outcomes generally corroborated hypotheses. Results are discussed in terms of personality development and age-related adaptations to social contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The therapist's therapist: A replication and extension 20 years later.

How do mental health professionals choose their own psychotherapists? This study replicates and extends a 1987 national survey of psychotherapists regarding the selection criteria and sociodemographic characteristics of their personal therapists; 608 psychologists, counselors, and social workers participated. Therapists' therapists tended to be middle aged and White (94%) but equally female and male. Their most frequent theoretical orientations were integrative, eclectic, cognitive, and psychodynamic (but rarely behavioral or systemic). Psychology was their most prevalent profession, followed by social work, counseling, and psychiatry. Topping the list of therapist selection criteria were competence, warmth, experience, openness, and reputation. The prototypical positive features of personal treatment that therapists repeated with their own patients all concerned cultivation of the therapeutic relationship. The 2007 results are tentatively compared with those obtained in 1987, thus chronicling the evolution of therapists' therapists over the years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical health 25 years later: The predictive ability of neuroticism.

Objective: Neuroticism, a personality trait related to distress and emotional stability, is often correlated with physical symptoms and disease presence. Theorists have posited that chronic emotional instability creates physiological changes detrimental to health, yet most findings are based on cross-sectional analyses. The objective of the current study was to examine neuroticism assessed in 1973 and the likelihood of reporting physical conditions 25 years later. Design: Participants included 21676 adult twins (n = 8143 intact twin pairs) ranging from 15 to 47 years old in 1973 who were assessed again between 1998 and 2002. Main Outcome Measures: Thirteen physical conditions, including chronic fatigue syndrome, ulcers, and coronary heart disease, were selected based on their prior theoretical and empirical links to personality traits. Results: Results indicate that the likelihood of having a physical condition is related to higher levels of prior neuroticism, with some associations attenuated when controlling for familial similarity. Conclusion: Familial influences are most pronounced for conditions most related to systemic pain, suggesting genetic pathways between neuroticism and these pain experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antoine Marfan and his syndrome: one hundred years later

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method is presented for the simultaneous detection of ubiquinone-9 and 10 in rat tissues such as blood, myocardium, and muscle. After liquid-liquid extraction, the ubiquinones are subsequently analyzed by HPLC with ultraviolet (UV) detection at their maximum absorbance (275 nm). Reference calibration curves in ethanol are used to determine tissular levels of ubiquinones. Because a treatment with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors is expected to decrease the ubiquinone levels, reference calibration curves are performed to ensure that the ratios (ubiquinone/internal standard) observed in such an experiment could be evaluated directly on a calibration curve. The assay is sensitive (0.0625 microgram/mL), reproducible (4% coefficient of variation for ubiquinone-9 and 6% for ubiquinone-10), and linear up to 20 micrograms/mL (or 100 mg of tissue) for ubiquinone-9 and up to 10 micrograms/mL (or 100 mg of tissue) for ubiquinone-10. The ubiquinone levels in control tissues or blood are within the ranges of those previously reported.     

40 years later: Is the Boulder model still alive?

In an effort to determine the current status of the Boulder model, as outlined at the original conference, questionnaires were sent to clinical psychology training program directors at 138 American Psychological Association approved doctoral programs and 96 terminal master's programs. Directors of 97.8% of the 90 doctoral programs and 74.1% of the 58 master's programs who responded stated that their programs follow the Boulder model. Furthermore, there appears to be considerable adherence to the propositions recommended at the conference and, also, commitment to the model in the future. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Occupations ten years later of high school seniors with high scores on the SVIB life insurance salesman scale.

From a pool of 2500 Minnesota high school seniors of the 1953 and 1954 classes, 93 students were identified who had "A" ratings on the SVIB life insurance salesman scale. Information on their current occupations was collected from 72. Of these, 10% were in the life insurance business, 32% were in other sales jobs, 12% were in business-contact jobs such as public relations, 22% were in social service persuasive jobs such as lawyer or minister, and 24% were in essentially unrelated jobs. In a further analysis, each profile was analyzed as to its appropriateness for the individual's current occupation. 64% were classified as "hits," 22% as "misses," and 14% as "indeterminate." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"But it's racism I really hate": Young masculinities, racism, and psychoanalysis.

This article addresses the issue of how discursive analyses revealing the way personal accounts of masculinities are constructed can be supplemented by theories providing plausible explanations of how individuals take up particular subject positions. It is suggested that psychoanalytic concepts are helpful in this regard. An analysis is presented of material from a participant in a study of emergent masculinities among boys in London schools. This material concerns the cross cutting of gendered and racialized identity positions. The use of psychoanalytic constructs enables the production of an account of this boy's narrative in which reasons for his adoption and defense of particular positions, despite their contradictory and conflictual character, can be proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive adaptation, psychological adjustment, and disease progression among angioplasty patents: 4 years later.

The long-term effects of the Cognitive Adaptation Theory Index (CATI) on psychological and physical health outcomes among men (n=199) and women (n=99) treated for coronary artery disease with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty were examined. The CATI reflects a positive view of the self, a positive view of one's future, and a sense of personal control over daily life. This index was created from questionnaires administered during hospitalization for the initial angioplasty. Four years later, the CATI predicted positive adjustment to disease, even when initial adjustment was taken into consideration. In addition, the CATI predicted a reduced likelihood of sustaining a subsequent cardiac event over 4 yrs. This association was more robust for men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Blood groups and milk and type traits in dairy cattle: after forty years of research

This study addresses the utility of 11 blood groups as selection aids in Holstein breeding schemes and considers issues inherent to the approach of resolving quantitative variation into components that are due to quantitative trait loci. The data consisted of predicted transmitting abilities of 22,614 bulls, first lactation information on 1,924,171 cows, and type scores on 447,800 cows. Linear models were fitted under male half-sib designs, female half-sib designs, and granddaughter designs as well as under the assumption of direct effects of the markers. The evolution of allele frequencies through time was determined, and previous research results were synthesized according to criteria of consistency of biological significance. The inconsistency of results across studies and analytical designs alludes to the importance of the intrinsic nonadditivity of genetic and biological phenomena to quantitative trait locus detection and marker-assisted selection. In our analyses, three associations met the criteria of consistency--a C blood group effect on rump angle, an L effect on milk yield and composition traits, and an S effect on milk fat yield. The M locus appears to be directly associated with effects on milk and protein yields. An enhanced understanding of the biochemical and physiological bases of quantitative genetics should be a long-term objective of this type of genetic analysis.     

Thirty years later: Attitudes toward the employment of older workers.

Replicated W. K. Kirchner and M. D. Dunnette's (see record 1955-03161-001) study on attitudes toward older workers with 71 male and 5 female hourly employees (aged 18–61 yrs) and 22 male supervisors (aged 27–63 yrs) of a nonunion manufacturing plant. Ss completed a questionnaire that was nearly identical to the one administered in the Kirchner and Dunnette study. Results are similar to those obtained in the earlier study: Hourly workers held more positive attitudes toward older employees than did supervisors, and attitude score correlated strongly with the age of hourly workers but not with the age of supervisors. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Computerized adaptive personality assessment: An illustration with the Absorption scale.

This article introduces the theory behind and applications of adaptive personality assessment based on the item response theory. Two adaptive testing strategies were compared: (a) fixed test length and (b) clinical decision. Real-data simulations, based on the item responses from 1,000 subjects who had previously taken the 34-item Absorption scale (A. Tellegen, 1982) by means of paper-and-pencil format, were used to illustrate these strategies. Results suggest that computerized adaptive personality assessment works impressively well. With the fixed-test-length strategy, a 50% savings in administered items was achieved with little loss of measurement precision. In the clinical-decision testing strategy, individuals who were extreme on the Absorption trait were identified with perfect accuracy using, on average, 25% of the available items. The implications of these results for personality research and assessment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent mothers four years later: narratives of the self and visions of the future

This study examined patterns, variations, and existential turning points in young mothers' narratives of self and their visions of the future as part of a larger hermeneutic, longitudinal study. The study was philosophically based in the phenomenology of everyday practices as inherently meaningful, situated, and historically derived and drew on dialogical views of the self. The sample consisted of 13 (of the original 16) young mothers and family members who had been interviewed 4 years earlier. For the present study, data consisted of life history accounts of the intervening 4 years, stories of caregiving routines, and recent coping episodes of parenting elicited through in-depth interviews. Findings offer a situated understanding of young mothering and highlight meaningful distinctions in the ways young mothers experience the self and project themselves into the future. The discovery of patterns and variations in the young mother's sense of self and future have implications for guiding clinical practice and are preliminary to designing programs and interventions that are tailored to the practical understanding and situated possibilities of young mothers.     

Seeming ambivalent, being prejudiced: The moderating role of attitude basis on experienced affect.

One experiment examined the potential for ambivalence toward the outgroup based on cognitive but not affective information to be functional to justify the prior expression of prejudice. To this end, the (prejudice expression vs. no prejudice expression) context of holding ambivalence toward the outgroup was manipulated before assessing all participants' cognitively based ambivalence and affectively based ambivalence toward the outgroup. Finally, all participants self-reported their positive affect. As predicted, participants whose prejudice was previously assessed, exhibited increased levels of positive affect to the extent that they were cognitively but not affectively ambivalent toward the outgroup. By contrast, replicating prior work, participants whose prejudice was not previously assessed exhibited decreased levels of positive affect to the extent that they were both cognitively and affectively ambivalent toward the outgroup. Consistent with recent, functional approaches to the conceptualization of attitude structure and prejudice, these findings provide direct evidence that cognitively based ambivalence toward the outgroup can contribute to the need to be prejudicial. The implications of these findings for ambivalence and intergroup research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patterns of marital change during the early childhood years: Parent personality, coparenting, and division-of-labor correlates.

Cluster analysis was applied to the marital reports of 99 husbands and wives (from 104 families) obtained when their firstborn sons were 10, 27, 36, and 60 months of age to identify distinct patterns of change in marital functioning. Husband-love and wife-conflict scores revealed 3 distinct change patterns—stays good, bad to worse, and good gets worse—which afforded the opportunity to address 2 distinct questions, the 1st dealing with the correlates of consistently good and poor functioning marriages and the 2nd with what distinguishes marriages that initially functioned similarly (and well) but proceeded to develop in distinctively different ways. Results show, consistent with related findings from a study of newlyweds (B. Karney & T. Bradbury, 1997), that the answer to the 1st question is found in enduring personality traits of spouses, whereas the answer to the 2nd is found in observed marital dynamics (reflecting coparenting processes). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapy and self-actualization in the later years via nontraditional approaches.

A substantial minority of older people have mental health problems, but several studies agree that less than 5% seek treatment from private practitioners or community clinics. Nontraditional therapists have devised various new approaches to circumvent this resistance: groups for the widowed, assertiveness training courses, and peer counseling programs. It is noted that few clinical psychologists have been trained to work with the aging. Training should include life-span development and community psychology. Older people are not likely to make up a large part of a psychologist's private practice, but an expressed interest in the over-50 age group could bring in referrals. Nontraditional approaches can aid the psychologist in reaching and helping older people. Psychologists can also function as trainers of volunteers, as consultants to agencies for seniors, as teachers and speakers, and as key persons in research studies of work with the aging. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Isotretinoin for acne vulgaris--10 years later: a safe and successful treatment

The purpose of this study was to assess the long-term benefit of isotretinoin in otherwise therapy-resistant acne. We also assessed risk factors which might influence the long-term outcome. We studied 88 patients (mean age 20.8 years), most of whom had suffered from acne for many years (mean 7.4 years). They received isotretinoin in an initial dose of 0.5 or 1.0 mg/kg/day. The dose was subsequently adjusted according to response and side-effects. Most patients only required 4 months' therapy to produce at least 85% clinical improvement. The patients were seen up to 10 years post-therapy (mean 9 years). Sixty-one patients were still virtually clear of disease. Of the others, 16% required further treatment with conventional antibiotics and 23% required a second course of isotretinoin. Of those who relapsed, 96% did so within 3 years of stopping therapy. The patients' age, sex, and duration of acne did not influence outcome. However, in patients with predominantly truncal acne, especially when severe, there was an increased incidence of relapse. Sebum excretion is known to correlate with acne severity, but the long-term degree of sebum suppression was found not to be related to relapse. The dose schedule, in particular cumulative dose, was an important factor in determining relapse rate. Those patients who received 0.5 mg/kg daily, or a cumulative dose of < 120 mg/kg, had a significantly higher relapse rate than patients receiving a larger dose. We did not elicit any long-term systemic or biochemical side-effects. We conclude that isotretinoin is a safe and effective therapy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Racial differences in birth outcomes: The role of general, pregnancy, and racism stress.

Objective: This study examined the role of psychosocial stress in racial differences in birth outcomes. Design: Maternal health, sociodemographic factors, and 3 forms of stress (general stress, pregnancy stress, and perceived racism) were assessed prospectively in a sample of 51 African American and 73 non-Hispanic White pregnant women. Main Outcome Measures: The outcomes of interest were birth weight and gestational age at delivery. Only predictive models of birth weight were tested as the groups did not differ significantly in gestational age. Results: Perceived racism and indicators of general stress were correlated with birth weight and tested in regression analyses. In the sample as a whole, lifetime and childhood indicators of perceived racism predicted birth weight and attenuated racial differences, independent of medical and sociodemographic control variables. Models within each race group showed that perceived racism was a significant predictor of birth weight in African Americans, but not in non-Hispanic Whites. Conclusions: These findings provide further evidence that racism may play an important role in birth outcome disparities, and they are among the first to indicate the significance of psychosocial factors that occur early in the life course for these specific health outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)