Showing papers in "Genetic Social and General Psychology Monographs in 2003"

Individuation and relatedness: Not opposing but distinct and complementary

Abstract: In this article, the author aims to contribute to a better understanding of the association between relational and individuational self-orientations and the roles they play in the self-system. The author highlights the controversial assumptions regarding the opposite or distinct nature of the orientations' association and explores how they relate to each other and to some self- and family-related variables by a questionnaire study. On the basis of the Balanced Integration-Differentiation model (E. O. Imamoglu, 1998), relatedness and individuation were hypothesized to refer to distinct and complementary self-orientations; the former was expected to be associated more with affect-related variables (i.e., perceived parental love-acceptance, self- and family satisfaction), whereas the latter was expected to be associated more with intrinsic-motivational variables (i.e., need for cognition and negatively with perceived parental control). University students (N = 274) from Turkey participated in the study. Results indicated that (a) individuation and relatedness were not negatively correlated; (b) perceived parental love-acceptance predicted relatedness both directly and indirectly through the mediation of self- and family satisfaction, whereas perceived parental control predicted (negatively) individuation indirectly through the mediation of need for cognition, a strong predictor of individuation; and (c) being both related and individuated appeared to be associated with optimal psychological functioning, the implications of which are discussed.

Speed of phonological and orthographic processing as factors in dyslexia: electrophysiological evidence.

Abstract: The author investigated the hypothesis that speed of processing in the phonological and orthographic systems is one of the underlying variables of word-reading effectiveness. Speed of processing was assessed using measures of behavioral reaction time and electrophysiological latencies during phonological and orthographic task performance. Participants were 20 dyslexic and 20 normal-reading, male college students. An electrophysiological component complex (N1-P2-N2), as well as 2 other components (P3 and N4), was identified in both groups on each of the experimental tasks. Significant group differences were obtained only on the phonological tasks. Speed of processing during phonological judgment tasks was significantly prolonged among the dyslexic readers compared with the controls as reflected by P2, P3, and N4 latencies and reaction time. Between-task comparisons revealed significantly prolonged P2, P3, and N4 latencies on phonological compared with orthographic tasks in both dyslexic and normal readers, indicating that phonological classification of words may demand more time than orthographic classification. However, the gap score between speed of processing on the phonological and orthographic tasks was larger among the dyslexic readers and was observed mainly in P3 latency and reaction time. The highest correlation between word-reading accuracy score and the experimental measures was obtained in the dyslexic group with P3 latency gap score and in the control group with P2 latency gap score. The author proposes that slow phonological processing may cause "asynchrony" between the processing speeds within and between phonological and orthographic systems and may lead to a lack of efficient integration among the various subprocesses activated in reading, may slow down reading rate, and may impair word-reading effectiveness.

In search of the good life: a cultural odyssey in the East and West.

Abstract: In the first part of this article, the authors argue that any conception of well-being is culturally embedded and depends on how the notions of "well" and "being" are defined and practiced in different cultural communities. To support this argument, they conduct a comprehensive review of the empirical literature, which shows that members of individualistic and collectivistic cultures differ in their emotional experience of well-being. This difference has been traced to the indigenous psychology of selfhood in those cultures. In the second part of the article, the authors debunk the myth of infinite cultural variability, while retaining the basic insight concerning the cultural constitution of well-being. They develop a theoretical model of well-being, in which agency and communion are universal dimensions of well-being, and people in different cultures require different combinations of agency and communion to experience well-being. Following this theoretical development, the authors examine cultural impediments to the good life in individualistic and collectivistic cultures. The mutual incompatibility of agency and communion is ruled out as a possible cause of why it is so difficult to live the good life. Instead, the authors propose a dialectical synthesis of agency and communion as a way of dealing with this challenge of living the good life.

Two facets of self-knowledge: cross-cultural development of measures in Iran and the United States.

Abstract: Self-knowledge is an ideal not only within psychological theory and practice but also within the religious and philosophical foundations of many cultures. In 6 studies conducted in Iran and the United States, the authors sought to construct and to validate scales for measuring two facets of self-knowledge. Experiential self-knowledge was defined as an ongoing sensitivity to the self in the present. Reflective self-knowledge was described in terms of personal efforts to integrate experience within self-schemas developed in the past. Thirteen-item experiential self-knowledge and reflective self-knowledge scales were created by the authors using samples of Iranian and American university students. A confirmatory factor analysis verified this 2-factor structure in a second study, and these results were replicated in a 3rd study. Correlations with a broad array of self-report variables established the two scales as valid measures of adjustment. Both displayed adequate test-retest reliability. Correlations with peer reports suggested that the two factors had behavioral implications in both cultures. Reflective self-knowledge proved to be as important as educational abilities in predicting the academic performance of Americans who were motivated to attend class. Experiential self-knowledge and reflective self-knowledge also interacted to predict better grades. In short, the experiential self-knowledge and reflective self-knowledge scales operationalized cross-cultural personality processes that deserve additional research attention.

The incremental variance problem: enhancing the predictability of academic success in an urban, commuter institution.

Abstract: The authors identified variables that enhance the predictability of academic performance and retention in an urban, commuter college They used a longitudinal design with 2 waves of data collection: prior to 1st-semester attendance and again 6 semesters later The results support the following conclusions: (a) After controlling for precollege indices of academic ability, specific variables within demographic, personal behavior, expectations, and attitudinal domains improved the predictability of grade point average by 155% for Whites and 203% for Blacks; overall, these analyses accounted for 61% of the variance in grade point average for Whites and 47% for Blacks; (b) for retention, the comparable increment in predictability was 25% for Whites and less than 1% for Blacks; overall, the percentage of retention variance accounted for was 42% for Whites and 29% for Blacks; and (c) a paradoxical finding was the combination of a positive correlation between high school average and students' expected grades on tests and a negative correlation between expected and actual grades The paradox is resolved by citing data that demonstrate (a) a disparity between high school grades and independently measured academic accomplishment; (b) the consequent false attributions students draw about their academic abilities; and (c) the impact of these false attributions on the priority students place on their academic responsibilities

Cognitive-cultural model of identity and violence prevention for African American youth

Abstract: The author introduces a cognitive-cultural model of identity development to explain the elevated risk for violence among African American youth. The model is an extension of previous conceptual frameworks that address the dynamic interplay among cognition, culture, and self-systems. Specifically, the self is conceptualized as a cognitive structure known as schemata that contain individual and cultural elements corresponding to those aspects of identity. The model has three major components: the individual self, the cultural self, and social roles. The cognitive-cultural model posits that maladaptative behaviors such as violence are a consequence of underdevelopment or imbalance in some aspect of the self or the adoption of social roles that undermine integration of the individual self-schemata and cultural self-schemata. The implications of this cognitive-cultural model for prevention efforts, particularly Afrocentric socialization interventions targeting African American youth, are discussed. Language: en

Behavioral problems and scholastic adjustment among Bedouin-Arab children from polygamous and monogamous marital family structures: some developmental considerations.

Abstract: Families in the Bedouin-Arab community in Israel are characterized by monogamous and polygamous marriages. Such diversity in family structure occurs in other parts of the world, yet scant empirical evidence exists to refute or to support the claim that polygamous family structure can be a risk factor for children's school maladjustment and negative developmental outcomes. The purpose of the current study was to test this claim. Participants were 255 3rd-grade children from the Negev Bedouin community in Israel. One hundred fifty-three children came from monogamous families that were characterized by 1 wife (i.e., 1-wife families), and 102 children came from polygamous families consisting of 2 wives (i.e., 2-wife families). Teachers completed the Teacher's Report Form of the Child Behavior Checklist (T. M. Achenback, 1991b). A series of logistic regression analyses, after adjusting for maternal education level, revealed that 2-wife children tended to have higher levels of externalizing problems in general and higher levels of attention problems in particular than did their 1-wife counterparts. Also, 2-wife children had higher rates of school absenteeism and lower levels of overall academic achievement than did 1-wife children. Implications for the Bedouin society are discussed.

Facial appearance and judgments of credibility: the effects of facial babyishness and age on statement credibility.

Abstract: Researchers have found that facial appearance influences social judgments. For example, evidence has shown that facial babyishness and age affect perceivers' impressions of the stimulus person's veracity. In this experiment, the researchers examined whether these variables also influenced the credibility attributed to written statements purportedly made by these people in addition to several topics of interest in deception-detection research. Undergraduates (N = 270) were presented babyfaced or mature-faced photographs that depicted a child, an adult, or an older individual, in addition to a written truthful or deceptive statement purportedly made by the person in the photograph. Results showed that, as predicted, when the statements were accompanied by babyfaced pictures, participants tended to judge them as truthful, but only if the pictures did not depict children. Also, when the statements were accompanied by childen's pictures, participants tended to judge them as deceptive, but only if the pictures depicted a babyish face. Overall detection accuracy was close to chance and did not correlate with either judgmental confidence or with the respondents' estimated lie-detection accuracy. However, confidence and estimated ability were significantly correlated. Also, more confidence was placed in judgments of truthfulness than in judgments of deceptiveness. Respondents' truth bias and the existence of a veracity effect in the diverse experimental conditions were examined as well.

The depression gender gap: a view through a biocultural filter.

Abstract: That women, compared with men, are more prone to become "depressed" has been known for decades. The etiology of the depression gender gap has been a source of much discussion, with the bulk occurring within the medical model. As a complement to--rather than a competitor with--such discussion, the depression gender gap is analyzed through a biocultural lens wherein the evolutionary history of Homo sapiens becomes part of the frame of reference. Given that a "constant" is difficult to explain by the use of "variables," the very consistent 2:1 gender ratio of female to male (rates of) depression is difficult to explain by referring to cultural parameters, which are variable. It is more parsimonious to suggest that a constant becomes a better candidate to explain another constant. The constant used in this exercise is some portion of the genetic package that subtends the species Homo sapiens; in other words, everyone on the planet is human. The authors argue that the basal dynamic of H. Fisher's (1983) sex contract is a useful analytical tool in examining the contemporary gender gap in depression. They suggest that the germane clause of the sex contract is the use of psychological immobilization as an effective social instrument.

Individual differences in infant fearfulness and cognitive performance: a testing, performance, or competence effect?

Abstract: The author conducted 2 studies to examine the relations between infant fear and cognitive testing performance in 12-month-old infants. In Study 1, fear was assessed by using 2 standard temperament questionnaires and a laboratory-based, standardized stranger approach. Individual differences in cognitive development were assessed using the Object Permanence Scale of the Infant Psychological Development Scales (I. C. Uzgiris & J. M. Hunt, 1975). All 3 assessments of fear significantly predicted object permanence performance, with correlations ranging from -.32 to -.35. In Study 2, fear was assessed via a maternal report questionnaire, and habituation performance was assessed via a basic-level categorization task. Familiarity with the examiner and with the testing environment was manipulated to test for a familiarity influence on performance. Testing revealed individual differences in both fear and habituation. Results suggest that highly fearful infants required more trials to habituate and were less likely to meet the habituation criterion than infants who were less fearful. Methodological and conceptual implications of these results are discussed.

The impact of father absence on adolescent separation-individuation.

Abstract: The authors compared separation-individuation and psychological separation from fathers of 25 adolescent boys who were living with both biological parents with that of 25 boys who were living with their biological mothers in homes in which the fathers did not reside. The results showed that the boys in the 2 groups did not differ on measures of separation-individuation and that the quality of the mother-son relationship mediated several of the assessed separation-individuation manifestations. The authors' initial data analysis with regard to psychological separation showed that boys who lived in homes in which the father was a nonresident were more separated on 2 of the 4 dimensions assessed; however, when controlled for quality of mother-son and father-son relationship, these differences were not significant. The frequency of father contact in homes in which the father did not reside was positively correlated with healthy separation but negatively correlated with functional, attitudinal, and emotional independence from the father. The results of the study support the importance of the quality of a child's relationship with his or her mother and father as a mediator of several dimensions of the separation-individuation process.