Sexually dimorphic extinction of a conditioned taste aversion in rats

The existence of a sexual dimorphism in the extinction of conditioned taste aversions in both fluid-deprived and nondeprived rats was investigated. When nondeprived rats were poisoned with LiCl after consuming a sucrose solution, males extinguished the subsequent conditioned taste aversion more slowly than females. There was no difference in the rate of extinction of a LiCl-induced conditioned taste aversion in fluid-deprived rats. Using marihuana extract distillate as the toxin, it was shown that the dimorphism found in the nondeprived rats is not a toxin-specific effect, and does not appear to be due to the males being made more ill. Possible explanations for the appearance of the dimorphism and its relation to the deprivational state of the organism are discussed.     

Perspectives on Childrearing Competence

Some families cannot rely on children's intellectual achievement as a prime indicator of parenting success. This study juxtaposes how well 130 parents of mildly mentally handicapped children are doing in their own estimate and the opinion of 21 key school personnel. A surprisingly high level of home‐school disagreement is identified along with implications for more effective collaboration.     

Stability and change in attachment security across adolescence

This study examined both continuity and familial, intrapsychic, and environmental predictors of change in adolescent attachment security across a 2-year period from middle to late adolescence. Assessments included the Adult Attachment Interview, observed mother-adolescent interactions, test-based data, and adolescent self-reports obtained from an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of moderately at-risk adolescents interviewed at ages 16 and 18. Substantial stability in security was identified. Beyond this stability, however, relative declines in attachment security were predicted by adolescents' enmeshed, overpersonalizing behavior with their mothers; depressive symptoms; and poverty status. Results suggest that although security may trend upward for nonstressed adolescents, stressors that overwhelm the capacity for affect regulation and that are not easily assuaged by parents predict relative declines in security over time.     

Equity among assistant professors in instructional work load

In recent years salary equity has been the focus of studies dealing with equity. This paper extends the concept of equity to include faculty instructional activities or work load. In an effort to determine to what extent instructional efforts differed between men and women at a large land-grant university, the following variables were investigated: number of weighted student credit hours, number of sections taught, number of different courses taught, and didactic hours by level of course. Because the faculty members varied in their full-time-equivalent instructional effort, it was necessary to normalize the data. When men and women were compared for equity of instructional activity (MANOVA) taking their college into consideration, there was no significant difference by sex or from the interaction of college with sex. When a balancing technique was used to review men and women by departments, again no significant differences were found in the pattern of instructional activity within the group of departments being compared.     

Both Sides Now: Examining Transformative Learning and Professional Development of Educators

The purpose of this mixed method research is to understand and support educators' continuing learning and growth better by using a lens of transformative learning to examine their experience and professional development practice and responsibility. Data from 58 participants and the course professor are analyzed to consider the occurrence of transformative learning and the related needs that emerged. This article also presents trends across the learning experiences and recommendations for practice and responsibility. Additionally, there are implications of the research for higher education professors, administrators, and developers reflecting on their concepts and planning of formal professional development.     

And Baby Makes Four: Predictors of Attachment Security among Preschool-Age Firstborns during the Transition to Siblinghood

The present study examined preschool-age firstborns' adjustment to siblinghood, as indexed by security of firstborn-mother attachment, in a sample of 194 2-parent families. Security of firstborn attachment decreased significantly after a secondborn's birth, but the size of the decrease was smaller among firstborns under 24 months relative to 2–5-year-olds. Mothers' marital harmony and affective involvement with firstborns predicted firstborn security before and after the baby's birth, whereas mothers' psychiatric symptoms predicted firstborn security only after the birth. Post-hoc analyses of select subgroups revealed that mothers of firstborns with high security scores before the newborn's birth, regardless of whether scores remained high or dropped after the birth, showed higher levels of psychosocial and behavioral functioning than did mothers of firstborns with consistently low security scores at both time points. However, substantial drops in firstborn security after a secondborn's birth were associated with higher maternal psychiatric symptom scores both prior to and following the birth. Results suggest that quality of firstborn adjustment to siblinghood can be predicted from both structural and familial aspects of the firstborn environment.     

How pre-service teachers observe teaching on video: Effects of viewers’ teaching subjects and the subject of the video

As critical component of teachers’ expertise, professional vision should be developed during teacher education. Professional vision draws on subject specific and generic knowledge, however, little is known about the knowledge interplay. This study systematically investigated pre-service teachers’ (n = 32 majoring in mathematics/science; n = 56 in social sciences/humanities) professional vision as elicited by videos of various subjects. Such a design allows studying the relevance of subject matter for professional vision. We found evidence for different professional visions among pre-service teachers majoring in different fields, indicating that—beyond knowledge acquisition—subject-specific socializations may result in distinct sets of shared beliefs and values.