The potential of on-line discussions to prompt greater reflection of course material is often stymied by a tendency of students to agree with one another rather than to formulate counter-arguments. This article describes an experiment using note starters and elaborated cases to encourage counter-argumentation and examines interactions with…

The 2004 Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Science of Psychology is awarded to Janet Taylor Spence. She is recognized for her outstanding scientific contributions that have had a profound theoretical and empirical impact on two areas of inquiry: Her early seminal research on the motivational properties of trait anxiety led the way to…

The focus of this pilot study was to explore possible patterns of formative experiences, cognitive abilities, and personality characteristics that could be labeled as "computer technology talent." Nine members of a high school computer programming club participated in a technology-based project with the researchers. As part of the project…

This paper uses an integrated model of behavior change to predict intentions to use marijuana occasionally and regularly in a US-based national sample of male and female 12 to 18 year olds (n = 600). The model combines key constructs from the theory of reasoned action and social cognitive theory. The survey was conducted on laptop computers, and…

Because of high levels of risk behavior, adjudicated adolescents are at high risk for negative health outcomes such as nicotine and drug addiction and sexually transmitted diseases. The goal of this article is to examine relationships between future orientation and impulsive-sensation-seeking personality constructs to risk behaviors among 300…

This study was a longitudinal follow-up of 697 early adolescents from 20 schools in Missouri, investigating students who, in 1997, indicated on a survey of sexual attitudes and behaviors that they had not had sexual intercourse. They completed the Reasons for Abstinence Scale (RAS) by identifying those items that were reasons why they had not had…

The present study examined how risk and protective factors were associated with adolescent victimization by testing four competing models from resiliency research - the compensatory, risk-protective, protective-protective, and challenge models. Models were tested separately by gender. The data for this study were based on a multistate project that…

The use of knife and fork common in Western cultures has influenced Japanese people not only in terms of eating habits but also Japanese personality characteristics. This influence fosters the notion of segmentation - that all areas of life, including people, can be sectioned into parts and so analyzed. Mind and body are considered two discrete…

This study explored which risk factors are associated with degrees of relational and purpose development in youth offenders. Results indicate that those with the poorest development particularly struggled with substance abuse, lack of family support, and risky behaviors to self. Several treatment recommendations and clinical strategies are…

Extending an earlier study that found high self-esteem to modify the impact of otherwise maladaptive perfectionism on depression, the current study used adult attachment theory to explore the link between perfectionism, self-esteem, and depression in college students. Results indicated that self-esteem buffered the effects of maladaptive…

Suggests that sanctions based on emotional well-being or self-esteem are insufficient for motivating moral behavior and ultimately are reduced to hedonism. Argues this is also the case in the hypothetical event that all moral action results in heightened self-esteem and all immoral actions results in lower self-esteem. (CAJ)

Objective: The study addressed the hypothesis that adults reporting sexual abuse are more likely to exhibit a general tendency to ruminate on sadness. The relations between reported abuse, rumination on sadness, and dysphoria were also examined. Method: Undergraduate students (101 women and 100 men) reported on childhood and adult sexual abuse and…

Objective: The aim of this study was to test whether alexithymia mediates the relationship between childhood maltreatment and self-injurious behaviors (SIB) in college women. Method: The sample was comprised of 100 female undergraduate students. Measures were the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire [D. Bernstein, L. Fink, Manual for the Childhood…

The reliability and validity of the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (SRPS) was examined in a noninstitutionalized offender sample of mixed gender and race. Adequate alpha coefficients were obtained for the total sample and across gender and race. The SRPS was compared to measures of trait anxiety and passive avoidance errors. SRPS total, primary,…

Three major components have been repeatedly implicated for the origin(s) of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS): system, minor sickness and surroundings. All these factors also frame infant temperament, and therefore it seems logical to suppose that the babies who either succumb to or are at risk of SIDS may present with certain behavioral…