Instructor reputation: An expectancy relationship involving student ratings and achievement.

Instructor reputation, defined as student expectations of an instructor's teaching ability, was investigated to determine its influence on student ratings and achievement. Two teaching behaviors, instructor expressiveness and lecture content, were combined with reputation in a 2–3 factorial design to assess interaction effects. 198 undergraduates read an introductory statement about an instructor (reputation), viewed a videotape lecture, rated the instructor, and took a test. Results indicate that reputation interacted with expressiveness but not content, in which students rated the positive, high-expressive instructor more favorably than the negative, high-expressive instructor. Results suggest a complex relationship in which reputation interacts with some teaching behaviors and affects some student outcomes. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral reputation: A cross-age perspective.

This study examined the measurement of peer perceptions of behavioral reputation within the contexts of elementary, middle, and high school environments (Grades 2-12, N=2,812) through the systematic evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Revised Class Play (A. S. Masten, P. Morison, & D. S. Pellegrini, 1985). Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that the data did not fit A. S. Masten et al.'s original 3-factor structure. Cross-loading of items and different patterns of association between subscales across age groups (elementary, middle, and high school) contributed to the overall poor fit. Exploratory factor analyses revealed an alternative 4-factor structure as a more reliable and valid means of assessing behavioral reputation regardless of the age of the peer group sampled. Both convergent and divergent patterns of associations emerged across developmental levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mediation of interpersonal expectancy effects: Counselor's tone of voice.

Investigated the role of tone of voice as a possible factor in the mediation of naturally occurring rather than experimentally produced interpersonal expectancy effects. 10 camp counselors (aged 18–22 yrs) talked about children at camp whom they believed to have high social ability (high social expectancy), high athletic ability (high athletic expectancy), low social ability (low social expectancy), and low athletic ability (low athletic expectancy) in tape-recorded interviews. The counselors themselves were rated by experts at the camp on 8 competence dimensions. 10 judges (5 male and 5 female undergraduates) rated the tone of voice (content-filtered recording) of these interviews. Judges rated the counselors' tone of voice as warmer and less hostile when talking about children for whom they had high expectations than when talking about children for whom they had low expectations. Nonverbal expectancy effects were also detected more accurately by male than female judges and when the counselors talked about social rather than athletic abilities. Counselors who displayed less competent and more ineffective attributes were more prone to biasing effects as reflected in tone of voice, whereas counselors who displayed more competent and more effective attributes generally did not show differential expectancy effects as reflected in their tone of voice. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counselor's empathy level and client topic changes.

Tested the hypothesis that client-introduced topic changes follow a reduction in counselor's level of empathy. Empathy ratings were made by 2 experienced judges for 27 counselor statements made prior to topic change and for 27 randomly selected counselor statements. These ratings were compared with the average empathy rating for the counseling interview. In 22 of the 27 statements made prior to topic change, the empathy rating was lower than the interview average. This was true for only 13 of the 27 randomly selected statements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental health promotion in children and adolescents: An emerging role for psychology.

Reports that the results of child development research are beginning to make substantial contributions to child and adolescent health and health care. Health promotion is discussed in the context of mental health promotion. Research in developmental psychopathology suggests that particular skills, feelings, and attitudes characterize mentally healthy children. Social competence, cognitive problem-solving skills, coping with emotional stress, and perceiving oneself to have good social support from others appear to be important correlates of positive adjustment in childhood and adolescence. It is suggested that these characteristics deserve consideration in the development of children's mental health promotion initiatives. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An assessment of ergonomic educational resources. An important tool for occupational health nurses

1. Extensive ergonomic education and training resources exist at the organizations responding to OSHA's survey. However, the availability and use of ergonomic resources by employees is low and varies considerably among industry types. 2. Limited research is available about effective methods of ergonomic training to workers and their supervisors. A critical need exists to determine the best methods for the successful dissemination of ergonomic information. 3. Occupational health nurses can contribute significantly to the advancement of ergonomic knowledge and skills, and the dissemination of ergonomic information in the workplace, primarily through health education and research.     

Cultural mistrust: An important psychological construct for diagnosis and treatment of African Americans.

Although clinicians are encouraged to be more sensitive to cultural factors in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, as evidenced by the significant changes in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994), little information is provided to help them determine which aspects of culture are important to the mental health of African Americans. This article discusses the importance of cultural mistrust as a psychological construct in the lives of African Americans. The origins of the construct, the research it has generated over the past 2 decades, and implications for improving interventions with Black clients seeking mental health care are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social-skills training with institutionalized elderly: Effects of precounseling structuring and overlearning on skill acquisition and transfer.

66 institutionalized elderly patients (mean age 65.5 yrs) were assigned to 6 experimental conditions and 1 control condition. Half of the treatment Ss received a precounseling structuring session prior to training. During training, one-third of the Ss received low overlearning, one-third received medium overlearning, and one-third received high overlearning. Controls were given a combination of attention and brief instructions. Analyses of covariance with level of cognitive functioning as the covariate revealed that all treatment groups acquired the skill. Results also indicate that (a) medium overlearning enhanced skill transfer, (b) high overlearning decreased skill acquisition and transfer, and (c) precounseling structuring had no effect on acquisition or transfer. Findings suggest that the method evaluated was effective in teaching a social skill to institutionalized elderly. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Authoritarianism: A selection variable for psychotherapy.

Analyzed 3 films showing Carl Rogers, Albert Ellis, and Frederick Perls interviewing the same client to determine if (a) authoritarian clients would dislike psychotherapy more than nonauthoritarian, and (b) authoritarian clients would prefer a directive therapist whereas nonauthoritarian would prefer a nondirective therapist. After 147 undergraduates viewed the films to decide which therapists were considered to be the most and least directive, approximately 300 additional Ss were screened with the California F scale to form authoritarian (n = 22) and nonauthoritarian (n = 22) groups. Using a counterbalanced design, these 2 groups viewed the Rogers and Ellis films and all Ss rated their degree of liking or disliking for both therapists. Results do not support the 1st hypothesis but significantly support the 2nd. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

基于大学生视角的辅导员博客构建实证研究

辅导员博客作为思想教育的一种新模式,已在全国部分高校推广.以重庆市部分高校的枷名学生为被试,对辅导员博客构建进行了实证研究.结果表明:辅导员博客划分为六个维度,排序分别为:通知公告、人生指导、沟通交流、情趣引导、工作记录、自我展示.年级因素在沟通交流、人生指导、通知公告维度上存在极其显著性差异;上网途径因素在沟通交流、人生指导维度上存在显著性差异;辅导员是否开博客因素在通知公告维度上存在极其显著性差异.     

Effects of stress on methyltransferase synthesis: An important DNA repair enzyme.

Explored the relationship between stress and tumor development in 44 female Sprague-Dawley rats given the carcinogen dimethylnitrosamine. Half were randomly assigned to a rotational stress condition. Results indicate that the levels of methyltransferase, a DNA repair enzyme induced in response to carcinogen damage, were significantly lower in spleens from the stressed Ss, suggesting that stress may impair DNA repair. While it is not clear that stressors such as periodic rotation parallel the physiological effects of psychological or social stress in humans, there are epidemiological data that link distress and cancer risk in humans. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An oral contraceptive perception scale for female adolescents

This study sought to develop the initial psychometric properties of a female adolescent oral contraceptive perception scale. Based on qualitative data, a 39-item scale of perceived benefits and barriers was developed, reviewed by adolescence experts and adolescents, and voluntarily completed by 407 female adolescents enrolled in family planning clinics. After item analysis, 15 items were deleted. Maximum likelihood factor analysis with varimax rotation yielded two barrier (relationship-oriented and oral contraceptive regimen) and four benefit (relationship-oriented, pregnancy prevention related to self, pregnancy prevention related to others, personal responsibility) factors that accounted for 53% of the variance. The scale had acceptable reliability (alpha coefficients ranged from 0.71 to 0.87). The scale should be beneficial to further research in this area.     

Cross-situational consistency among problem adolescents: An application of the two-factor model.

Conducted a study to measure cross-situational consistency of the orthogonal dimensions of the 2-factor model of social–emotional functioning. According to this model, large proportions of variance in social–emotional functioning can be accounted for by 2 orthogonal, highly replicable dimensions. Ss were 206 residents of a long-term institution for emotionally disturbed and delinquent youths; they represented various ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Cross-situational correlations between school and cottage settings were found to be .52 for Factor 2 (Cooperation–Compliance vs Anger–Defiance) and .42 for Factor 1 (Interest–Participation vs Apathy–Withdrawal). Results confirm the consistency and discriminant validity hypotheses—specifically, correlations between the corresponding factors of different instruments measuring behavior in different settings were large, whereas correlations between noncorresponding factors were very low. The value of using broad, higher order factors in personality research on the trait vs situation issue is discussed. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)