The effects of group stereotypes on adolescents' reasoning about peer retribution

This study examined the effects of negative group stereotypes on adolescents' reasoning about peer retribution. The sample of adolescents was drawn from central and northern Israel and consisted of 2,604 Arab and Jewish students (ages 13-17; grades 7-11). A quasi-experimental, between-subject design was used, in which the students in each grade were assigned randomly to 1 of 4 peer retribution scenarios. The findings provide evidence that Arab and Jewish students have stereotypes about one another and that in-group bias affected their approval and reasoning about peer retribution only in specific situations. This inquiry provides evidence that it was the number of justifications endorsed within a specific domain that distinguished Arab and Jewish respondents. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Student attitudes toward cadaveric dissection at a UK medical school

A more humanistic approach toward dissection has emerged. However, student attitudes toward this approach are unknown and the influences on such attitudes are little understood. One hundred and fifty-six first-year medical students participated in a study examining firstly, attitudes toward the process of dissection and the personhood of the cadaver and secondly, the extent to which gender, anxiety, exposure to dissection, bereavement and prior experience of a dead body influenced these attitudes. Attitudes toward dissection were assessed by of levels of agreement toward eleven statements and by selection of adjectives describing possible feelings toward dissection. Students were asked about recent bereavement, whether they had seen a dead body prior to starting their course and exposure to dissection when completing the questionnaire. Validated instruments were used to measure disposition toward generalized anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) and toward death anxiety (Collett-Lester Death Anxiety Scale). Between 60% and 94% of students held positive attitudes toward the process of dissection and over 70% of students selected 2 or fewer negative adjectives. Students' attitudes toward the personhood of the cadaver were more disparate. Disposition toward anxiety (particularly death anxiety), and exposure to dissection, influenced attitudes. Female gender and recent bereavement exerted a negative influence. Students with higher levels of anxiety experienced more negative feelings and those recently bereaved were less enthusiastic about dissection. Anticipation of dissection may be worse than reality. Sensitive preparation of students prior to entering the dissecting room for the first time may be beneficial.     

'How many female scientists do you know?'

The stereotypical scientist wears a lab-coat, is often eccentric and is usually male. Images of female scientists in popular culture remain rare. Some of the first portrayals of women in science occurred in a handful of British films made during the 1950s and 1960s. These films reflected the difficulties experienced by women in science at the time, but they might also explain why representations of female scientists in film continue to downplay their role as scientists and emphasize their identity as women.     

God's beliefs versus mother's: the development of nonhuman agent concepts

Little research exists on how children understand the actions of nonhuman agents. Researchers often assume that children overgeneralize and attribute human properties such as false beliefs to nonhuman agents. In this study, three experiments were conducted to test this assumption. The experiments used 24 children in New York (aged 2,11-6,11 years), 52 children in Michigan (aged 3,5-6,11 years), and a second group of 45 children in Michigan (3,4-8,5 years) from Christian backgrounds. In the first two experiments, children participated in false-belief tests in which they were asked about human and various nonhuman agents including animals and God. Experiment 3 consisted of a modified perspective-taking task, also including nonhuman agents. The results of the study suggest that children do not consistently use human agent concepts but instead can use different agent concepts for some nonhuman agents like God and special animals. Children are not bound to anthropomorphize, but they often do.     

Children's reports of emotional,physical and sexual maltreatment by educational staff in Israel

OBJECTIVES: This paper reports on the first nationally representative study on the prevalence of emotional, physical, and sexual victimization of children by school staff in Israel. The study identifies groups of children that are at higher risk for such maltreatment. We examine the differences in staff-induced victimization by the children's gender, age group (junior high vs. high school), cultural groups (Jewish non-religious, Jewish-religious and Arab schools) and by socioeconomic status of the children's families. METHOD: The study is based on a nationally representative sample of 10,410 Israeli students in Grades 7-11 in 161 schools across Israel. Students completed questionnaires during class. In addition, we obtained data on the socioeconomic status of the families of the students in each school. RESULTS: Overall, children reported high rates of victimization by staff members. Almost a quarter of all children participating in this study reported being emotionally maltreated by a staff member, almost a fifth (18.7%) reported being a victim of at least one type of physical forms of maltreatment, and 8.2% reported on at least one sexually inappropriate behavior by a staff member. The most vulnerable groups for all types of maltreatment were males, children in junior high schools, children in Arab schools, and children in schools with a high concentration of students coming from low-income and low-education families. CONCLUSIONS: The overall prevalence rates of staff maltreatment should be considered high and unacceptable. Although rates of physical and sexual maltreatment were lower than emotional maltreatment, they were still high and are worthy of greater attention. Both cultural beliefs and low family socioeconomic status increase vulnerability to staff maltreatment. We suggest conducting an educational campaign to reduce rates of staff maltreatment. We also recommend allocating more resources to support staff in low SES neighborhoods, to alleviate their stress and to provide them with the support that would reduce maltreatment of children in the educational system.     

Evaluating conditioning of related and unrelated stimuli using a compound test

Three experiments used a compound test procedure to evaluate whether superior conditioning results from the pairing of stimuli that are related to each other. In each case, a stimulus compound was tested after its component conditioned stimuli (CSs) had been conditioned by the same unconditioned stimuli (USs) arranged such that either related or unrelated CSs and USs were paired. Experiment 1 explored auditory and gustatory stimuli conditioned by LiCl or shock, using rats. Experiments 2 and 3 used second-order conditioning in pigeons to pair stimuli that were similar by virtue either of qualitative features or of shared physical location. In each case, the compound test provided clear evidence that pairing related stimuli produces superior associative learning.     

Attributions,affect, and behavior in abuse-risk mothers: a laboratory study

OBJECTIVE: There were two main aims: first, to assess parental attributions about child behavior in abuse-risk and nonclinic parents. Second, to assess how attributions predict affective and behavioral reactions to child behavior. METHOD: Internal-external attributions relating to the causes of child behavior were compared across mothers at-risk of child abuse (n = 40) and mothers who reported no significant parental or child conduct or behavior problems (n = 20). Mothers' attributions about the causes of the behavior of their own child and an unfamiliar child were recorded in response to the presentation of videotaped excerpts of the behavior. RESULTS: Results highlighted that compared with nonclinic mothers, abuse-risk mothers had a tendency to attribute positive child behavior to more external causes and negative child behavior to more internal causes. Differences were also found between parental cognitions about clearly positive, clearly naughty, and ambiguous child behavior. In the abuse-risk group, positive child behavior predicted coercive parenting when it elicited angry feelings in the mother; ambiguous and naughty child behavior led to coercive parenting through valence ratings of "deviant" and attributions of "internality." Analyses within the abuse-risk group showed that parental attributions are predictive of parental coerciveness for unfamiliar behavior. As behavior becomes more familiar, ratings of its valence and the affect it elicits override attributional activity. CONCLUSIONS: Parental attributions about the causes of child behavior differ according to the valence and familiarity of that behavior, and discriminate between parents at risk for child abuse. Further, attributions are predictive of the affective and behavioral responses the parent makes to the child's behavior for ambiguous or unfamiliar behavior. Evidence was found for the validity of using videotaped stimuli of the behavior of known and unknown children as a method of assessing parental attributions.     

Are reading and behavior problems risk factors for each other?

Two questions were investigated. First, are children with reading problems in first grade more likely to experience behavior problems in third grade? Second, are children with behavior problems in first grade more likely to experience reading problems in third grade? The authors explored both questions by using multilevel logistic regression modeling to analyze data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class (ECLS-K). After statistically controlling for a wide range of potential confounds, they found that children with reading problems in first grade were significantly more likely to display poor task engagement, poor self-control, externalizing behavior problems, and internalizing behavior problems in third grade. They also found that children displaying poor task engagement in first grade were more likely to experience reading problems in third grade. Collectively, these findings suggest that the most effective types of interventions are likely to be those that target problems with reading and task-focused behaviors simultaneously.     

Rhesus monkeys (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Macaca mulatta</Emphasis>) select Arabic numerals or visual quantities corresponding to a number of sequentially completed maze trials

Four number-trained rhesus monkeys were trained to enumerate their sequential responses. After completing a series of computerized maze trials, the monkeys were given a same/different discrimination involving a numerical stimulus (an Arabic numeral or a visual quantity) and the letterD. The goal was to choose the numerical stimulus if it matched the number of just-completed maze trials, and to choose the letterD if it did not. There were large individual differences in performance, but one animal performed above 70% when receiving randomly intermixed series of 1, 3, 5, and 9 maze trials. This indicates that the monkey was keeping track of the approximate number of maze trials completed in each series and using that numerical cue to respond during the same/different discrimination.