Research on belief perseverance has demonstrated that a belief persists to the extent that there are more explanations available to the believer to support the original belief than to support alternative beliefs. This study extends earlier work (Slusher, 1988) that demonstrated the role of explanation availability in mediating belief change.…

This publication contains the following articles: (1) "A Pilot Study of the Relationship between Co-Dependency and Recreation Using Women with Histories of Domestic Violence" (Pamela E. Foti and Lori S. Gelvin); (2) "Discretionary Time Use and the Chronically Mentally Ill" (Thomas K. Skalko); (3) "Therapeutic Recreation and Family Therapy: A Needs…

Previous research provides support for two distinct models of expectation behavior in experimental games. The similarity pattern describes expectations that are similar to the actor's behavior regardless of whether the actor is cooperative or competitive. The triangularity pattern describes expectations that are both similar and dissimilar to…

While research on alcohol use among the elderly has accumulated in recent years, the drinking patterns of some segments of the elderly population have received little or no attention. A study was conducted over an 18-month period investigating drinking patterns in three retirement communities in southern California and Oregon. The extent of…

Although considerable data exist linking individual lifestyle variables to health outcomes, little is known about how the elderly differ from younger adults with respect to both their health seeking behavior and their beliefs about health. A national survey contrasted 155 persons aged 65 years of age or older with 1100 younger adults in order to…

Describing the variables of composition, offering researchers a methodology with which to investigate how the variables interact in specific writing strategies, and suggesting how teachers might make use of the variables of revision to help students learn successful writing strategies appropriate to a business setting, this book reports a research…

Two studies, labeled A and B, were conducted (1) to investigate relationships between early infant and mother behaviors over situations and over time, (2) to explore relationships between maternal experiences and behavior, (3) to compare infant-mother pairs with and without interaction problems, and (4) to compare infant-mother pairs in which…

Longitudinal research has shown that communication deficits (negative interaction) precede the development of relationship distress. To investigate the antecedents of relationship stability and adjustment 31 couples who were seriously considering marriage participated in a longitudinal study. The couples initially completed the Marital Inventories…

This pamphlet presents guidelines and tips for parents on setting limits for the behavior of young children. The need for limits and the goal of teaching children self-control are explained. Some general guidelines for limit setting are provided which include making the limits age-appropriate, recognizing the child's need for practice and…

Alcoholism research has independently focused on background characteristics and alcohol-related expectations, e.g., social and physical pleasure, reduced tension, and increased assertiveness, as important variables in identifying high risk individuals. To assess the utility of alcohol reinforcement expectations as predictors of drinking patterns,…

The seven studies reported in this paper represent successive attempts to explain the inability of observers to differentiate "good" counseling from "bad" counseling. Essentially, the researchers found that subjects, both undergraduate education majors and graduate counseling students, did not rate a videotaped counselor's performance as more…

Stimatizing attitudes and expectations toward mentally ill individuals often lead to their behavioral confirmation. To investigate attitudes and behaviors towards people described as seeking psychological counseling, 136 college students (68 males, 68 females) took part in a mixed-sex dyadic conversation. One dyad member was randomly chosen as the…

Although many studies have documented age-linked shifts in values, few studies have demonstrated the relationship between values and psychological adjustment. To explore the relationship between values, daily stressful experiences, positive experiences, and coping strategies, 100 white, middle-aged adults (ages 45-64 years) completed the Ways of…

Stress in organizations continues to be of interests to researchers in industrial psychology, organizational behavior, and human resources development. This study examined the effects on stress of an individual's social support and hardiness in a work environment. Subjects were 90 employees of an industrial firm and 50 undergraduate students who…

Two hypotheses were posed in a study that examined the communicative consequences of structured versus nonstructured tasks on subjects with varying levels of communication apprehension (CA): (1) task structure and level of CA will interact to predict behavioral disruption in dyads, and (2) CA and evaluation will interact to predict behavioral…