A multicultural study of stereotyping in English-speaking countries

Citizens of 9 different English-speaking countries (N = 619) evaluated the average, or typical, citizen of 5 English-speaking countries (Great Britain, Canada, Nigeria, United States, Australia) on 9 pairs of bipolar adjectives. Participants were drawn from Australia, Botswana, Canada, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, the United States, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. There were statistically significant similarities in the rankings of the 5 stimulus countries on 8 of the 9 adjective dimensions and a strong convergence of autostereotypes and heterostereotypes on many traits. The results relate to previous stereotyping research and traditional methods of assessing the accuracy of national stereotypes.

The role of team identification in the dissimilarity-conflict relationship

This study examined the role of team identification in the dissimilarity and conflict relationship. We tested competing predictions that team identification would either mediate or moderate the positive associations between visible (age, gender and ethnic background), professional (background) and value dissimilarity and task and relationship conflict. Data was collected from 27 MBA student teams twice during a semester. Multilevel modelling and a longitudinal design were used. Results showed that value dissimilarity was positively associated with task and relationship conflict at Time 2. Its effects on relationship conflict at Time 1 were moderated by team identification. Team identification also moderated the effects of gender, age and ethnic dissimilarity on task conflict at Time 2, and the effects of gender and professional dissimilarity on relationship conflict at Time 2. No support was obtained for the mediating role of team identification on the associations between dissimilarity and conflict, or for changes in the effects of dissimilarity over time.

The etiology of social phobia: Empirical evidence and an initial model

Research into the etiology of social phobia has lagged far behind that of descriptive and maintaining factors. The current paper reviews data from a variety of sources that have some bearing on questions of the origins of social fears. Areas examined include genetic factors, temperament, childrearing, negative life events, and adverse social experiences. Epidemiological data are examined in detail and factors associated with social phobia such as cognitive distortions and social skills are also covered. The paper concludes with an initial model that draws together some of the current findings and aims to provide a platform for future research directions. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A genetically informed study of the association between harsh punishment and offspring behavioral problems

Conclusions about the effects of harsh parenting on children have been limited by research designs that cannot control for genetic or shared environmental confounds. The present study used a sample of children of twins and a hierarchical linear modeling statistical approach to analyze the consequences of varying levels of punishment while controlling for many confounding influences. The sample of 887 twin pairs and 2,554 children came from the Australian Twin Registry. Although corporal punishment per se did not have significant associations with negative childhood outcomes, harsher forms of physical punishment did appear to have specific and significant effects. The observed association between harsh physical punishment and negative outcomes in children survived a relatively rigorous test of its causal status, thereby increasing the authors' conviction that harsh physical punishment is a serious risk factor for children.

Social cognitive predictors of sun protection intention and behavior

The authors investigated sunbathing behavior and intention prospectively using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Before summer, 85 young adults who intended to sunbathe completed a TPB questionnaire. After summer, 46 of them completed a second questionnaire about their summertime sunbathing behavior The proposed model was successful in predicting both behavior and intention to use sun protection, with 45% of the variance of self-reported sunscreen use and 32% of the variance in intention explained by the TPB. Items designed to measure self-efficacy and perceived control loaded onto different factors and demonstrated discriminant validity. Self-efficacy predicted both intention and behavior (after controlling for all other TPB variables), but perceived behavioral control did not. The authors discuss the implications of the findings for potential interventions to improve sun protection behavior.

Evaluation of universal, indicated, and combined cognitive-behavioral approaches to the prevention of depression among adolescents

A cluster, stratified randomized design was used to evaluate the impact of universal, indicated, and combined universal plus indicated cognitive-behavioral approaches to the prevention of depression among 13- to 15-year-olds initially reporting elevated symptoms of depression. None of the intervention approaches differed significantly from a no-intervention condition or from each other on changes in depressive symptoms, anxiety, externalizing problems, coping skills, and social adjustment. All high-symptom students, irrespective of condition, showed a significant decline in depressive symptoms and improvement in emotional well-being over time although they still demonstrated elevated levels of psychopathology compared with the general population of peers at 12-month follow-up. There were also no significant intervention effects for the universal intervention in comparison with no intervention for the total sample of students in those conditions.