Positive and negative transfer of conditioned aversive stimuli to a conditioned appetitive excitor as a function of aversive US intensity

Rats were given Pavlovian aversive (Av) conditioning in which a weak (0.5-sec, 0.7-mA) or a strong (0.5-sec, 1.4-mA) footshock unconditioned stimulus (US) was presented alone or in a positive, zero, or negative correlation with a flashing-light conditioned stimulus (AvCS+, AvCSo, or AvCS?, respectively). Thereafter, the subjects received Pavlovian appetitive (Ap) conditioning in which the flashing-light CS was positively correlated in a forward order with the delivery of a food US. As anticipated, for subjects that had been trained with the strong shock US, the AvCS+ retarded and the AvCS? facilitated Ap conditioning relative to both the AvCSo and the novel-CS treatments, which did not differ in effect. However, the exact opposite prevailed for the AvCS+ and AvCS? subjects that had been trained with the weak shock US. On the basis of these and other data, we propose an “ABC” model of transfer that stresses the importance of affective, behavioral, and cognitive factors in accounting for the divergent results that are obtained in both Av-to-Ap and Ap-to-Av transfer paradigms.     

Ethnicity and image: correlates of crowd affiliation among ethnic minority youth

Because ethnicity is a basis for defining peer crowds in ethnically diverse American high schools, some may question whether crowds foster discrimination and stereotyping or affirm minority youths' positive ties to their ethnic background. Through examination of both self- and peer ratings of crowd affiliation among 2,465 high school youth aged 14–19 years, this study assesses the likelihood that African American, Asian American, Latino, and multiethnic adolescents are associated with ethnically defined crowds. Crowd affiliations are related to friendship patterns among all groups, positive features of ethnic orientation for Asian and Latino youth, but also some aspects of stereotyping and discrimination for Latinos. Results emphasize ethnic diversity in the role that peer crowds play in minority adolescents' social experiences.     

Testing for factorial invariance of the Modified Leadership Scale for Sports: using a Japanese version

The objective of this study was to provide empirical evidence to support psychometric properties of a modified four-dimensional model of the Leadership Scale for Sports (LSS). The study tested invariance of all parameters (i.e., factor loadings, error variances, and factor variances–covariances) in the four-dimensional measurement model between two groups of student-athletes. For testing multi-group invariance of the proposed scale, 335 middle school and 320 high school student-athletes in Japan participated in this study. The modified version of the LSS consists of 35 items representing training instruction, democratic behaviour, positive feedback, and social support. A chi-square difference test was employed for model comparisons. The results supported configural, metric, scalar and factor variance–covariance invariance in the modified LSS across the two student-athlete groups.     

Developing tomorrow’s decision-makers: opportunities for biotechnology education research

Globally, science curricula have been described as outdated, and students perceive school science as lacking in relevance. Declines in senior secondary and tertiary student participation in science indicate an urgent need for change if we are to sustain future scientific research and development, and perhaps more importantly, to equip students with the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions related to scientific research. This paper argues that a good starting point would be the inclusion of more contemporary areas of science in middle school curricula. One such area with continually emerging developments is biotechnology. This paper further argues the need for research into the impact of biotechnology education that would allow students to go beyond learning about biotechnological processes and products to explore their benefits and risks through an integrated approach, where biotechnology education were extended to include subject areas beyond science, such as social sciences, health education, and English. Such an approach is important, in light of research that suggests that the general public has a limited understanding of biotechnology and that public dissemination of information is insufficient to allow individuals to make informed decisions about or to develop attitudes towards, the varied applications of biotechnology. If we are to educate students to be tomorrow’s informed decision-makers, we must start by addressing their understanding of and attitudes towards emerging sciences. Further research is needed to broaden our understanding of how to achieve these goals.     

The Teaching of Hebrew in the Reform Religious School

There are few educators today who would take issue with the assertion that research, and the findings of research, are beginning to dominate the American educational scene. The growing influence of science and the scientific method on every aspect of contemporary living has brought about significant change and innovation in the school, in the home and in the community at-large.