To explore imagery and emotional involvement in reading, a study examined readers' imagery and emotional responses through the use of ratings for each paragraph in a story. Subjects, 40 undergraduate volunteers recruited from education classes, read a 2100-word excerpt from the novel "Buffalo Chief" by Jean and Paul Annixter. Students…

While prior research has focused on death anxiety in general, more recent studies have recognized the need for multilevel measures for assessing the fear of death. A 12-item questionnaire was used to produce three factors: evaluation of death in general, belief in the hereafter, and death anxiety related to self. The study sample consisted of 901…

A major area of concern in divorced families is compliance with child support payments. Aspects of the former spouse relationship that are predictive of compliance with court-ordered payment of child support were investigated in a sample of 58 divorced persons all of whom either paid or received child support. Structured interviews and…

The role of affect in information processing has recently received attention, and several possible influences of affect have been suggested. The informational and directive effects of affect were investigated with subjects (N=61) who either described events in their recent past that made them feel good, described events that made them feel bad, or…

Although fear of death is recorded in the writings of the oldest major religions, the study of death and the fear of death have only occurred for the last few decades. Death education courses have grown in number since the early 1970's. College students participated in an investigation of the effects of death education on death anxiety by…

A total of 73 university freshman and 93 grade 7 and 8 students took part in a study of the differences in the affective meaning of color and black-and-white pictures. Subjects rated black-and-white and color slides on nine seven-point semantic differential scales and a red-blue scale. Results indicated that differences in affective meaning…

Using a population of 126 disadvantaged youth enrolled in Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) programs, the goal of a study was to develop an instructional model and guidance system based on critical affective work competencies previously identified by Kazanas and others. Participants were carefully reviewed with respect to a number…

This paper describes the results and implications of an investigation, based on dissonance theory, into attitude formation in introductory college science courses. The results of the study show that students who learned in ways they preferred registered a more positive attitude toward the course than did those who learned in ways they did not…

This study explored the relationship between young children's affective states and general expectancies for rewarding or punishing events. Subjects were 24 children, ages 4 and 5, from middle-class families. Positive, neutral, or negative affect was induced by having the children think happy, neutral, or sad thoughts for a short period. Two tasks…

EncStat (Encouraged about Statistics) is a multimedia program being developed to identify and assist students with statistics anxiety or negative attitudes about statistics. This study explored the validity of the assessment instruments included in EncStat with respect to their diagnostic value for statistics anxiety and negative attitudes about…

The Perception of Parental Reciprocity Scale (POPRS) was originally developed with a late adolescent population to assess the extent of perceived reciprocity in adolescent-parent relations. This study examined the reliability and validity of using POPRS with younger adolescents. Subjects, 655 males and 636 females ranging in age from 13 to 18,…

Research indicates that a secure relationship with the custodial parent buffers children from some of the negative consequences of divorce. To test the hypothesis that the quality of open communication between mothers and children as well as their perceptions of acceptance and rejection moderate children's appraisals of divorce and their…

Although middle-aged women, those most likely to have an elderly parent, comprise the fastest growing segment of the labor force, little is known regarding how these women's increased labor force participation affects their relationships with their aging parents. To explore this issue, a study was conducted which compared the mother-daughter…

In research on media depiction of violence against women, two variables that have been identified as important in predicting affective and attributional responses are the sex of the subject and the victim's affective reaction to the outcome of sexual aggression. In most previous research the act of sexual aggression has involved rape. In this…

The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used to assess the level and intensity of burnout in 165 California State University at Long Beach college seniors preparing for the human services professions, specifically teaching, nursing, criminal justice, and social welfare. A comparison group of 80 engineering seniors was also assessed. The 40-item…