Showing papers in "Psychological Bulletin in 1993"

Parenting Style as Context: An Integrative Model

Abstract: Despite broad consensus about the effects of parenting practices on child development, many questions about the construct parenting style remain unanswered. Particularly pressing issues are the variability in the effects of parenting style as a function of the child's cultural background, the processes through which parenting style influences the child's development, and the operationalization of parenting style. Drawing on historical review, the authors present a model that integrates two traditions in socialization research, the study of specific parenting practices and the study of global parent characteristics. They propose that parenting style is best conceptualized as a context that moderates the influence of specific parenting practices on the child. It is argued that only by maintaining the distinction between parenting style and parenting practice can researchers address questions concerning socialization processes. During the past 25 years, research based on Baumrind's conceptualization of parenting style has produced a remarkably consistent picture of the type of parenting conducive to the successful socialization of children into the dominant culture of the United States. Authoritativeness—a constellation of parent attributes that includes emotional support, high standards, appropriate autonomy granting, and clear, bidirectional communication—has been shown to help children and adolescents develop an instrumental competence characterized by the balancing of societal and individual needs and responsibilities. Among the indicators of instrumental competence are responsible independence, cooperation with adults and peers, psychosocial maturity, and academic success (for reviews, see Baumrind, 1989,199 la). This work on authoritative ness and its beneficial effects builds on half a century of research on parenting and parenting style. Yet, despite some impressive consistencies in the socialization literature, important questions remain unanswered. As researchers have expanded beyond samples of White, predominantly middle-class families, it has become increasingly clear that the influence of authoritativeness, as well as other styles of parenting, varies depending on the social milieu in which the family is embedded. For example, Baumrind (1972) reported that authoritarian parenting, which is associated with fearful, timid behavior and behavioral compliance among EuropeanAmerican children, is associated with assertiveness among African-American girls. Furthermore, recent studies in which the effects of authoritativeness have been compared across ethnic groups have consistently shown that authoritative parenting is most strongly associated with academic achievement among

Statistical difficulties of detecting interactions and moderator effects

Abstract: Although interaction effects are frequently found in experimental studies, field researchers report considerable difficulty in finding theorized moderator effects. Previous discussions of this discrepancy have considered responsible factors including differences in measurement error and use of nonlinear scales. In this article we demonstrate that the differential efficiency of experimental and field tests of interactions is also attributable to the differential residual variances of such interactions once the component main effects have been partialed out. We derive an expression for this residual variance in terms of the joint distribution of the component variables and explore how properties of the distribution affect the efficiency of tests of moderator effects. We show that tests of interactions in field studies will often have less than 20% of the efficiency of optimal experimental tests, and we discuss implications for the design of field studies.

Impact of sexual abuse on children: A review and synthesis of recent empirical studies

Abstract: A review of 45 studies clearly demonstrated that sexually abused children had more symptoms than nonabused children, with abuse accounting for 15-45% of the variance. Fears, posttraumatic stress disorder, behavior problems, sexualized behaviors, and poor self-esteem occurred most frequently among a long list of symptoms noted, but no one symptom characterized a majority of sexually abused children. Some symptoms were specific to certain ages, and approximately one third of victims had no symptoms. Penetration, the duration and frequency of the abuse, force, the relationship of the perpetrator to the child, and maternal support affected the degree of symptomatology. About two thirds of the victimized children showed recovery during the first 12-18 months. The findings suggest the absence of any specific syndrome in children who have been sexually abused and no single traumatizing process. Language: en

Psychological impact of biculturalism: Evidence and theory.

Abstract: A vital step in the development of an equal partnership for minorities in the academic, social, and economic life of the United States involves moving away from assumptions of the linear model of cultural acquisition. In this article we review the literature on the psychological impact of being bicultural. Assimilation, acculturation, alternation, multicultural, and fusion models that have been used to describe the psychological processes, social experiences, and individual challenges and obstacles of being bicultural are reviewed and summarized for their contributions and implications for investigations of the psychological impact of biculturalism. Emphasis is given to the alternation model, which posits that an individual is able to gain competence within 2 cultures without losing his or her cultural identity or having to choose one culture over the other. Finally, a hypothetical model outlining the dimensions of bicultural competence is presented.

Methods for dealing with reaction time outliers.

Abstract: The effect of outliers on reaction time analyses is evaluated. The first section assesses the power of different methods of minimizing the effect of outliers on analysis of variance (ANOVA) and makes recommendations about the use of transformations and cutoffs. The second section examines the effect of outliers and cutoffs on different measures of location, spread, and shape and concludes using quantitative examples that robust measures are much less affected by outliers and cutoffs than measures based on moments. The third section examines fitting explicit distribution functions as a way of recovering means and standard deviations and concludes that unless fitting the distribution function is used as a model of distribution shape, the method is probably not worth routine use.

Context, time, and memory retrieval in the interference paradigms of Pavlovian learning.

Abstract: In this article I review research and theory on the "interference paradigms" in Pavlovian learning. In these situations (e.g., extinction, counterconditioning, and latent inhibition), a conditioned stimulus (CS) is associated with different unconditioned stimuli (USs) or outcomes in different phases of the experiment; retroactive interference, proactive interference, or both are often observed. In all of the paradigms, contextual stimuli influence performance, and when information is available, so does the passage of time. Memories of both phases are retained, and performance may depend on which is retrieved. Despite the similarity of the paradigms, conditioning theories tend to explain them with separate mechanisms. They also do not provide an adequate account of the context's role, fail to predict the effects of time, and overemphasize the role of learning or storage deficits. By accepting 4 propositions about animal memory (i.e., contextual stimuli guide retrieval, time is a context, different memories are differentially dependent on context, and interference occurs at performance output), a memory retrieval framework can provide an integrated account of context, time, and performance in the various paradigms.

Psychopathology and early experience: a reappraisal of retrospective reports.

Abstract: Three potential sources of error in retrospective reports of childhood experiences are documented: low reliability and validity of autobiographical memory in general, the presence of general memory impairment associated with psychopathology, and the presence of specific mood-congruent memory biases associated with psychopathology. The evidence reviewed suggests that claims concerning the general unreliability of retrospective reports are exaggerated and that there is little reason to link psychiatric status with less reliable or less valid recall of early experiences. Nevertheless, it is clear that steps must be taken to overcome the limitations of retrospective reports and enhance their reliability.

Children's peer relations : a meta-analytic review of popular, rejected, neglected, controversial, and average sociometric status

Abstract: Two-dimensional sociometric models have had a critical role in the investigation of children's peer relations in the past decade. In a meta-analysis, fitting categorical models (Hedges, 1982), sociometric group differences on behavioral and information source typologies were assessed. The broad-band behavioral analysis showed that popular children's array of competencies makes them likely recipients of positive peer nominations, whereas high levels of aggression and withdrawal and low levels of sociability and cognitive abilities are associated with rejected peer status. A consistent profile marked by less sociability and aggression emerged for neglected status. Controversial children had higher aggressive behavior than rejected children but compensated for it with significantly better cognitive and social abilities. The moderator effects of narrow-band behavioral categories and information source were also examined.

Suggestibility of the child witness: A historical review and synthesis.

Abstract: The field of children's testimony is in turmoil, but a resolution to seemingly intractable debates now appears attainable. In this review, we place the current disagreement in historical context and describe psychological and legal views of child witnesses held by scholars since the turn of the 20th century. Although there has been consistent interest in children's suggestibility over the past century, the past 15 years have been the most active in terms of the number of published studies and novel theorizing about the causal mechanisms that underpin the observed findings. A synthesis of this research posits three "families" of factors--cognitive, social, and biological--that must be considered if one is to understand seemingly contradictory interpretations of the findings. We conclude that there are reliable age differences in suggestibility but that even very young children are capable of recalling much that is forensically relevant. Findings are discussed in terms of the role of expert witnesses.

Etiology of child maltreatment: a developmental-ecological analysis.

Abstract: This article applies a developmental-ecological perspective to the question of the etiology of physical child abuse and neglect by organizing the paper around a variety of "contexts of maltreatment." The roles of parent and child characteristics and processes are considered ("developmental context"), including an examination of intergenerational transmission. The "immediate interactional context" of maltreatment, which focuses on the parenting and parent-child interactional processes associated with abuse and neglect, is analyzed. Finally, the "broader context" is discussed with 3 specific subsections dealing with the community, cultural, and evolutionary contexts of child maltreatment. Implications for intervention are considered and future research directions are outlined.

Confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory : two approaches for exploring measurement invariance

Abstract: This study investigated the utility of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and item response theory (IRT) models for testing the comparability of psychological measurements. Both procedures were used to investigate whether mood ratings collected in Minnesota and China were comparable. Several issues were addressed. The first issue was that of establishing a common measurement scale across groups, which involves full or partial measurement invariance of trait indicators. It is shown that using CFA or IRT models, test items that function differentially as trait indicators across groups need not interfere with comparing examinees on the same trait dimension. Second, the issue of model fit was addressed. It is proposed that person-fit statistics be used to judge the practical fit of IRT models. Finally, topics for future research are suggested. Much research and debate has been motivated by the question of how to establish that a test measures the same trait dimension, in the same way, when administered to two or more qualitatively distinct groups (e.g., men and women). The question can also be posed as follows: Are test scores for individuals who belong to different examinee populations comparable on the same measurement scale? The objectives of this study were to review linear confirmatory factor analysis' (CFA; Long, 1983) and item response theory (IRT; Lord, 1980) approaches to addressing this important question and to suggest, by way of real-data application, advantages and disadvantages of each approach.

Gender differences in sexuality: a meta-analysis.

Abstract: This meta-analysis surveyed 177 usable sources that reported data on gender differences on 21 different measures of sexual attitudes and behaviors. The largest gender difference was in incidence of masturbation: Men had the greater incidence (d = .96). There was also a large gender difference in attitudes toward casual sex: Males had considerably more permissive attitudes (d = .81). There were no gender differences in attitudes toward homosexuality or in sexual satisfaction. Most other gender differences were in the small-to-moderate range. Gender differences narrowed from the 1960s to the 1980s for many variables. Chodorow's neoanalytic theory, sociobiology, social learning theory, social role theory, and script theory are discussed in relation to these findings.

Mathematical disabilities: Cognitive, neuropsychological, and genetic components.

Abstract: Cognitive, neuropsychological, and genetic correlates of mathematical achievement and mathematical disability (MD) are reviewed in an attempt to identify the core deficits underlying MD. Three types of distinct cognitive, neuropsychological, or cognitive and neuropsychological deficits associated with MD are identified. The first deficit is manifested by difficulties in the representation or retrieval of arithmetic facts from semantic memory. The second type of deficit is manifested by problems in the execution of arithmetical procedures. The third type involves problems in the visuospatial representation of numerical information. Potential cognitive, neuropsychological, and genetic factors contributing to these deficits, and the relationship between MD and reading disabilities, are discussed. Finally, suggestions for the subtyping of mathematical disorders are offered.

Dominance analysis: A new approach to the problem of relative importance of predictors in multiple regression.

Abstract: Whenever multiple regression is used to test and compare theoretically motivated models, it is of interest to determine the relative importance of the predictors. Specifically, researchers seek to rank order and scale variables in terms of their importance and to express global statistics of the model as a function of these measures. This article reviews the many meanings of importance of predictors in multiple regression, highlights their weaknesses, and proposes a new method for comparing variables: dominance analysis. Dominance is a qualitative relation defined in a pairwise fashion: One variable is said to dominate another if it is more useful than its competitor in all subset regressions. Properties of the newly proposed method are described and illustrated

Dominance statistics: Ordinal analyses to answer ordinal questions.

Abstract: Much behavioral rescarch involves comparing the central tendencies of different groups, or of the same subjects under different conditions, and the usual analysis is some form of mean comparison. This article suggests that an ordinal statistic, d, is often more appropriate. d compares the number of times a score from one group or condition is higher than one from the other, compared with the reverse. Compared to mean comparisons, d is more robust and equally or more powerful; it is invariant under transformation; and it often conforms more closely to the experimenter's research hypothesis. It is suggested that inferences from d be based on sample estimates of its variance rather than on the more traditional assumption of identical distributions

The use of causal indicators in covariance structure models: some practical issues.

Abstract: In conventional representations of covariance structure models, indicators are defined as linear functions of latent variables, plus error. In an alternative representation, constructs can be defined as linear functions of their indicators, called causal indicators, plus an error term. Such constructs are not latent variables but composite variables, and they have no indicators in the conventional sense. The presence of composite variables in a model can, in some situations, result in problems with identification of model parameters. Also, the use of causal indicators can produce models that imply zero correlation among many measured variables, a problem resolved only by the inclusion of a potentially large number of additional parameters. These phenomena are demonstrated with an example, and general principles underlying them are discussed. Remedies are described so as to allow for the evaluation of models that contain causal indicators.

Depression and immunity: a meta-analytic review

Abstract: A meta-analysis indicated that clinical depression was associated with several large alterations in cellular immunity. Analyzing only methodologically sound studies, reliable immune alterations included lowered proliferative response of lymphocytes to mitogens (effect size rs = .24-.45), lowered natural killer cell activity (r = .28), and alterations in numbers of several white blood cell populations (rs = .11-.77). Immune alterations were greater in both older and hospitalized samples. There was also evidence of a linear relation between intensity of depressive affect and indicators of cellular immunity. Estimates of sample sizes needed to detect reliable effects for each immune outcome are provided. How neuroendocrine mechanisms or health practices might link depression to immunity is discussed, and design features needed to better understand these pathways are specified.

The problem of equivalent models in applications of covariance structure analysis.

Abstract: For any given covariance structure model, there will often be alternative models that are indistinguishable from the original model in terms of goodness of fit to data. The existence of such equivalent models is almost universally ignored in empirical studies. A study of 53 published applications showed that equivalent models exist routinely, often in large numbers. Detailed study of three applications showed that equivalent models may often offer substantively meaningful alternative explanations of data. The importance of the equivalent model phenomenon and recommendations for managing and confronting the problem in practice are discussed.

Long-term consequences of childhood physical abuse

Abstract: This article reviews the literature on the long-term consequences of childhood physical abuse. Empirical research is discussed within 7 topic areas: aggressive and violent behavior, nonviolent criminal behavior, substance abuse, self-injurious and suicidal behavior, emotional problems, interpersonal problems, and academic and vocational difficulties. The studies reviewed involve primarily adult populations, although pertinent findings from literature on children and adolescents are briefly summarized. Some variables that affect the relation between physical abuse and long-term consequences are examined. These moderator variables include maltreatment characteristics, individual factors, family factors, and environmental factors. The article ends with suggestions for future research on long-term consequences and variables that may affect these outcomes.

Behavioral-correlates of individual-differences in road-traffic crash risk - an examination of methods and findings

Abstract: This article considers methodological issues relevant to the study of differential crash involvement and reviews the findings of research in this area. Aspects of both driving skill and driving style appear to contribute to crash risk. Of the former, hazard-perception latency appears to play an important role, and this may be attributable to generalized abilities to identify visual targets in a complex background and to switch attention rapidly. Of the latter, faster driving speed and willingness to commit driving violations increase crash risk, and these factors may be explicable in terms of personality and antisocial motivation. The article concludes with an examination of the practical implications and of the ways in which research in this area might usefully proceed.

Bivariate median splits and spurious statistical significance.

Abstract: Despite pleas from methodologists, researchers often continue to dichotomize continuous predictor variables. The primary argument against this practice has been that it underestimates the strength of relationships and reduces statistical power. Although this argument is correct for relationships involving a single predictor, a different problem can arise when multiple predictors are involved. Specifically, dichotomizing 2 continuous independent variables can lead to false statistical significance. As a result, the typical justification for using a median split as long as results continue to be statistically significant is invalid, because such results may in fact be spurious. Thus, researchers who dichotomize multiple continuous predictor variables not only may lose power to detect true predictor-criterion relationships in some situations but also may dramatically increase the probability of Type I errors in other situations. For many years, behavioral statisticians have chided psychological researchers for artificially dichotomizing continuous variables. Despite many such methodological pleas (e.g., Cohen, 1983,1990; Humphreys, 1978; McNemar, 1969, pp. 444449), the ubiquitous median split has retained its popularity in many areas of psychology. Indeed, some well-known psychological theories such as the Type A/Type B personality distinction, the reflection/impulsivity distinction, and the models of sex roles discussed by Bern (1977) and Spence and Helmreich (1978) are based on forming dichotomies from continuous scores obtained from psychological instruments. Studies have demonstrated that dichotomization is not just an abstract methodological issue but can in fact greatly impact the interpretation of empirical results (e.g., Block, Block, & Harrington, 1974; Lubinski, Tellegen, & Butcher, 1983; Spence, 1983; Tellegen & Lubinski, 1983). Why have researchers continued to ignore methodologists' advice not to dichotomize their measures? Certainly one obvious reason is that data analysis procedures are generally somewhat simpler for dichotomous measures than for continuous measures. A common defense on the part of researchers is that as long as they can obtain statistical significance with a dichotomous measure, why should they have to bother with the more complicated statistical technique likely to be required by using a continuous measure? Underlying this argument is an implicit assumption that the effect of artificially dichotomizing a continuous measure is necessarily to lower the power of obtaining statistical significance. In fact, various methodologists have noted that dichotomizing a continuous measure in effect throws away information because individuals within a subgroup are treated as if they were identical with respect to the attribute in question, when there is evidence to the contrary. This loss of information typically re

Memory for the time of past events.

Abstract: Laboratory and autobiographical studies of normal adults'memory for the time of past events are reviewed, and the main phenomena that have been discovered are described. A distinction is introduced among several kinds of information on which this knowledge could be based: information about distances, locations, and relative times of occurrence. The main theories of memory for time are classified in these terms, and each theory is evaluated in light of the available evidence

Automatic and effortful processing in depression.

Abstract: Automatic processes require few attentional resources, but effortful processes use attentional capacity. Research on cognitive processing by depressed individuals is reviewed and the following is concluded: (a) Depression interferes with effortful processing. The degree of interference is determined by the degree of effortfulness of the task, the severity of depression, and the valence of the stimulus material to be processed. (b) Depression interferes only minimally with automatic processes. Hypothetical causal mechanisms for interference in effortful processes by depression, whether interference in effortful processing is unique to depression or characteristic of psychopathology in general, and whether negative automatic thoughts are associated with current depression or depression proneness are also addressed. The effortful-automatic perspective has implications for understanding depressive clinical features, treating depression, and conducting future research.

Using significance tests to evaluate equivalence between two experimental groups.

Abstract: Equivalency testing, a statistical method often used in biostatistics to determine the equivalence of 2 experimental drugs, is introduced to social scientists. Examples of equivalency testing are offered, and the usefulness of the method to the social scientist is discussed.

Do people know how others view them? An empirical and theoretical account.

Abstract: Meta-accuracy is the extent to which people know how others see them. Following D.A. Kenny and L. Albright (1987), we show how the social relations model (SRM) can be used to investigate meta-accuracy. The results from 8 SRM studies involving 569 subjects are reviewed. We argue that people determine how others view them not from the feedback that they receive from others but from their own self-perceptions. Consistent with this argument are the findings that (a) people overestimate the degree of consistency in the ways that different targets view them and (b) people are better at understanding how others generally view them than how they are uniquely viewed by specific individuals.

The effects of dieting on eating behavior: A three-factor model.

Abstract: I review and critique restraint theory and develop a 3-factor model of dieting behavior. The factors--frequency of dieting and overeating, current dieting, and weight suppression--are embedded within a 3-dimensional grid that also considers mechanisms mediating the effects of dieting and the influence of weight status. I argue that the eating behavior exhibited by restrained eaters stems from their frequent dieting and overeating in the past rather than from their current state of dietary or cognitive restraint. Evidence is reviewed, indicating that current dieting and weight suppression have different effects on eating than does restraint. The 3-factor model is used to reinterpret findings consistent with restraint theory and to explain findings inconsistent with restraint theory. Finally, clinical and research implications of the 3-factor model are discussed.

Equivalence of computerized and paper-and-pencil cognitive ability tests: A meta-analysis.

Abstract: The effects of the medium of test administration-paper and pencil versus computerized-were examined for timed power and speeded tests of cognitive abilities for populations of young adults and adults. Meta-analytic techniques were used to estimate the cross-mode correlation after correcting for measurement error. A total of 159 correlations was meta-analyzed: 123 from timed power tests and 36 from speeded tests. The corrected cross-mode correlation was found to be.91 when all correlations were analyzed simultaneously. Speededness was found to moderate the effects of administration mode in that the cross-mode correlation was estimated to be.97 for timed power tests but only.72 for speeded tests. No difference in equivalence was observed between adaptively and conventionally administered computerized tests

Productivity loss in performance groups: A motivation analysis.

Abstract: This article presents a framework derived from expectancy theory for organizing the research on productivity loss among individuals combining their efforts into a common pool (i.e., the research on social loafing, free riding, and the sucker effect). Lost productivity is characterized as a problem of low motivation arising when individuals perceive no value to contributing, perceive no contingency between their contributions and achieving a desirable outcome, or perceive the costs of contributing to be excessive. Three broad categories of solutions, corresponding to each of the 3 sources of low productivity, are discussed: (a) providing incentives for contributing, (b) making contributions indispensable, and (c) decreasing the cost of contributing. Each of these solutions is examined, and directions for future research and the application of this framework to social dilemmas are discussed. For close to a century, psychologists and other social scientists have been interested in performance in groups. Traditionally, the topic of group performance has been dominated by social facilitation: the process whereby the presence of others enhances the performance of well-learned, dominant behaviors yet impairs the performance of novel, nondominant behaviors (Zajonc, 1965). The study of social facilitation can be traced back to an investigation by Triplett in 1898. Triplett demonstrated that children turned a fishing reel faster if they worked against a live competitor than if they worked alone. In the 9 decades since the initial demonstration by Triplett, hundreds of studies have investigated social facilitation, and numerous theories have been proposed to account for the phe

Cardiac psychophysiology and autonomic space in humans: empirical perspectives and conceptual implications.

Abstract: Contemporary findings reveal that autonomic control of dually innervated visceral organs does not lie along a single continuum extending from parasympathetic to sympathetic dominance. Rather, a bivariate autonomic space bounded by sympathetic and parasympathetic axes is the minimal representation necessary to capture the modes of autonomic control. We here empirically instantiate a quantitative bivariate model for the chronotropic control of the heart in humans. This model provides a more comprehensive characterization of psychophysiological response than simple measures of end-organ state and permits a differentiation of behavioral states and processes that would otherwise remain obscure. The model also illuminates and subsumes general principles such as the law of initial values and reveals a fundamental physiological rationale for the selection of heart period over heart rate as a metric for cardiac chronotropy. The present article also considers strategies for psychophysiological investigations within the autonomic space model, the limitations of these methods, and analytical tools for assessing their validity.

On resolving the enigma of infantile amnesia.

Abstract: Historical and current theories of infantile amnesia are examined. To evaluate the viability of these theories, as well as the phenomenon of infantile amnesia itself, a review of memory development from birth through the preschool years is provided, including an overview of relevant perceptual and neurological maturation. In the context of this review, extant theories of infantile amnesia are shown to falter, and it is concluded that infantile amnesia is a chimera of a previously unexplored relationship between the development of a cognitive sense of self and the personalization of event memory. This hypothesis is examined in detail and discussed in the context of related developments in language and social cognition.