Teleological explanations (TEs) account for the existence or properties of an entity in terms of a function: we have hearts because they pump blood, and telephones for communication. While many teleological explanations seem appropriate, others are clearly not warranted--for example, that rain exists for plants to grow. Five experiments explore…

A simple proof to some known results on the convergence of linear recursive sequences with nonnegative coefficients is given, using the technique of monotone convergence.

Numerous studies have examined the etiology of the association between reading difficulties and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in school-age children, but little is known about the relation between prereading skills and ADHD behaviors prior to the beginning of formal reading instruction. A population-based sample of 809 pairs of…

In many practical settings, essentially the same differential item functioning (DIF) procedures have been in use since the late 1980s. Since then, examinee populations have become more heterogeneous, and tests have included more polytomously scored items. This paper summarizes and classifies new DIF methods and procedures that have appeared since…

We explored the hypotheses that adolescents have more negative obesity stereotypes than children and that age differences in obesity stereotypes are mediated by weight attributions, body esteem, and appearance idealization. Hispanic- and Caucasian-American children completed measures of appearance idealization, body esteem, and attributions about…

D. B. Rubin's model for causal inference in experiments and observational studies is enlarged to analyze the problem of "causes causing causes" and is compared to path analysis and recursive structural equations models. A special quasiexperimental design, the encouragement design, is used to give concreteness to the discussion by…

The purposes of this study were to identify factors that would ameliorate the risk for substance abuse problems among children of alcoholics (COA), and to explore mechanisms of protection, particularly the Stress-Buffering model. Protective factors for children of alcoholics were examined in a controlled study (N=386). Three possible models are…

This study compared three measures of self-efficacy and assessed the responses of self-efficacy on the basis of A. Bandura's (1997) conceptualization. The responses of 331 undergraduates to a series of inventories yielded three variables descriptive of the self-efficacy process; a causal model of the intercorrelations of these variables was…

Many theories have been proposed to explain the blaming the victim phenomena and to predict who is most likely to engage in this behavior. This study hypothesized that since behavioral blame of a victim is self-protective for an observer, this type of blaming will be evidenced more by those who are personally and situationally similar to the…

Schooling has beneficial influences on health, even late in life. This paper's contributions to the schooling/health debate include removing unobserved variable bias and the bias from self-efficacy, time, and risk preferences; discovering no racial differences; finding strong correlations between schooling and measures of frailty for those aged 65…

Examined causal attributions about aggression made by early, middle, and late adolescents. Analyses of the attribution questionnaire supported the hypothesized model of causal beliefs. The strength of endorsements of internally oriented causal factors increased with age. Findings are discussed with regard to socio-cognitive development and…

Raises conceptual and empirical questions regarding: whether physical aggression is the main individual risk factor for antisocial behavior; the prospect that language impairment is also a risk factor; the meaning of the male preponderance for antisocial behavior; findings on environmentally mediated risk; the role of biosocial interplay; the…

Problems in the measurement of latent variables (LVs) in structural equations causal models are presented, with examples from recent empirical studies. Main issues addressed are (1) two general types of increased operative variables; (2) criteria for indicators of LVs; and (3) disattenuation effects in LV models. (SLD)

Program logic models provide a method of presenting program objectives schematically. This article presents a model that explicitly recognizes the ultimate societal-level benefits and accommodates identification of outputs, performance indicators, and targets. The model is illustrated with a hypothetical agricultural technology transfer program.…

Research documents that attributions of failure resulting from lack of ability result in less punishment from others than do ascriptions to lack of effort. This paper provides a conceptual analysis of these empirical findings, guided by a taxonomy of causal thinking. Process and functional understandings of achievement strivings are distinguished.…