Some Consequences of Early Harsh Discipline: Child Aggression and a Maladaptive Social Information Processing Style

Although a number of studies have reported a relation between abusive parental behavior and later aggressive behavior in the victim, many of these investigations have had methodological limitations that make precise interpretation of their results problematic. In the present study, we attempted to determine whether harsh parental discipline occurring early in life was associated with later aggression and internalizing behavior in children, using a prospective design with randomly selected samples to avoid some of these methodological difficulties. Structural equation modeling indicated a consistent relation between harsh discipline and aggression in 2 separate cohorts of children. This relation did not appear to be due to possible confounding factors such as child temperament, SES, and marital violence, although there was some indication in our data that the latter variables were related to child aggression. In addition, our analyses suggested that the effect of harsh discipline on child aggression may be mediated at least in part by maladaptive social information processing patterns that develop in response to the harsh discipline.     

Using Multisite Experiments to Study Cross-Site Variation in Treatment Effects: A Hybrid Approach With Fixed Intercepts and a Random Treatment Coefficient

The present article considers a fundamental question in evaluation research: “By how much do program effects vary across sites?” The article first presents a theoretical model of cross-site impact variation and a related estimation model with a random treatment coefficient and fixed site-specific intercepts. This approach eliminates several biases that can arise from unbalanced sample designs for multisite randomized trials. The article then describes how the approach operates, explores its assumptions, and applies the approach to data from three large welfare-to-work trials. The article also illustrates how to report cross-site impact findings and presents diagnostics for assessing these findings. To keep the article manageable, it focuses on experimental estimates of effects of program assignment (effects of intent to treat), although the ideas presented can be extended to analyses of multisite quasi-experiments and experimental estimates of effects of program participation (complier average causal effects).     

Balancing Emotion and Reason to Develop Critical Thinking About Popularized Neurosciences

Science & Education - Bioscientific advances raise numerous new ethical dilemmas. Neuroscience research opens possibilities of tracing and even modifying human brain processes, such as...     

Microanalysis of variable-interval performance during stimulus compounding

Additive summation is observed when more responses are emitted to the simultaneous presentation (tone-plus-light) of independently conditioned stimuli (tone and light) than to either stimulus presented alone. The current experiment sought to determine if this increased rate during tone-plus-light was a function of a new modal interresponse time (IRT) or a differential mixing of pauses with a modal IRT characteristic of the responding in tone and light alone. Three rats were trained on a three-component multiple schedule where tone and light were each associated with a variable-interval 30-sec schedule while a variable-interval 100-sec operated in the simultaneous absence of these stimuli, tone-off and light-out. Baseline response rates were 2–4 times as high in tone or light as in their absence. In testing, more responses were emitted to tone-plus-light than to tone or light by all animals, but the modal IRT was in the 0.2–0.4-sec IRT bin for all test conditions. Tone-plus-light controlled fewer long IRT values and more responses in the short modal category than tone or light alone. These results support the response mixing hypothesis of stimulus control; i.e., no “new” behavior was observed during the novel combination of stimulus elements, only a mixture of previously reinforced behavior patterns in different proportions.     

Activity-based learning of statistics: Using practical applications to improve students' learning

Many obstacles are involved in teaching statistics to undergraduates, including high attrition rates, students' anxiety, and a limited ability to grasp difficult concepts. These concerns can be addressed effectively by implementing strategies that require students to be actively engaged in the learning of statistics. First, we discuss how activity-based strategies and information technology can be an effective way to teach a statistics course. Second, we discuss how we changed a statistics course to include activity-based strategies. Finally, we discuss how cooperative learning, as a type of activity-based strategy, can increase students' understanding of statistics.     

Student Communication Motives and Interpersonal Attraction Toward Instructor

Instructional communication research has not specifically focused on the impact of student classroom communication behaviors on the student-teacher relationship. The current study investigated the relationship between student motives to communicate with instructors and interpersonal attraction toward them. Canonical correlation results indicated student levels of physical, social, and task attraction were positively related to their motivation to establish a relationship, and expressing interest in class and task attraction was inversely related to participatory, excuse-making, and sycophantic motives. Regression analyses determined students' relational motivations as the greatest predictor of social and physical attraction, while excuse-making was the greatest predictor of task attraction.     

Photography

The Portfolios of Ansel Adams (Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1977—$19.50)

Kelly Wise's Still Points (Addison House, Morgan's Run, Danbury, N.H. 03230—$8.95, paper)

Jeffrey Weiss and Herbert H. Wise, Good Lives (New York: Quick Fox, with distribution by Hyperion Press of Westport, Ct., 1977—$6.95, paper)

The Best of Photojournalism 2 (New York: Newsweek Books, 1978—$16.95/9.95)

Marious B. Peladeau's Chansonetta: The Life and Photographs of Chansonetta Stanley Emmons 1858-1937 (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Morgan and Morgan, l977—$8.95)

A.D. Coleman's The Grotesaue in Photography (New York: Ridge Press/Summit Books [Simon and Schuster], 1977—$10.00 1 paper)

Francesco Scavullo, et al. Scavullo on Men (N.Y.: Random House, 1977—$15.00)

Barbra Walz and Bernadine Morris's The Fashion Makers: An Inside Look at America's Leading Designers (N.Y. :Random House, 1978— $15.00)

Charles Klamkin and Matthew Isenberg's Photographica: A Guide to the Value of Historic Cameras and Images (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1978—$15.95)

Genoa Caldwell, ed. The Man Who Photographed the World: Burton Holmes Travelogues, 1892-1938 (New York: Harry Abrams, 1977—$25.00)

Peter Pollack's The Picture History of Photography: From the Earliest Beginnings to the Present Day (New York: Harry Abrams, 1977—$8.95, paper)     

Merging Catalogs: Creating a Shared Bibliographic Environment for the State University Libraries of Florida

The eleven state universities of Florida have long shared an integrated library system architecture, but maintained separate databases. In 2009 the deans and directors of the eleven state university libraries tasked the three largest libraries to investigate the feasibility of combining all catalogs into a single bibliographic entity. With the help of a central automation group, the three successfully negotiated the fine line between sharing data and retaining the unique work created by each of the three libraries. The groundwork laid in this initiative should prove valuable to other libraries seeking to centralize functions and pool resources.