Multidimensional scaling (MDS) offers a rigorous approach to many problems in perception, emotion, personality, and cognition, where the stimuli are too complex to be quantified by other means. In these procedures similarity ratings of the stimulus objects are modeled as points in multidimensional space, such that perceived similarity is…

Describes some of the theoretical bases for the Affective Sensitivity Scale and reports research data on revisions that have been added since 1970. Proposes theoretical constructs to explain the role of affective sensitivity in the process of empathy. (Author/ABB)

In this study, the authors determined the individual learner characteristics of educators enrolled in online courses that influenced social presence (affective social communication). Findings reveal that the number of online courses taken, followed by computer-mediated communication proficiency, are significant predictors of social presence.…

Although Sense of Community (SOC) is usually defined as a multidimensional construct, most SOC scales are unidimensional. To reduce the split between theory and empirical research, the present work identifies a multifactor structure for the Italian Sense of Community Scale (ISCS) that has already been validated as a unitary index of SOC. This…

This article outlines a theory for understanding the impact of a crisis on individuals and organizations. Crisis in context theory (CCT) is grounded in an ecological model and based on literature in the field of crisis intervention and on personal experiences of the authors. A graphic representation denotes key components and premises of CCT,…

This report describes a follow-up project based on prior research which demonstrated a possible link between post-funeral rituals and grief work. It notes that, while the degree of association between rituals and grief work was marginally statistically significant, the degree to which ritual directly influences "successful" grief work…

A test was developed for measuring the ability of college students to analyze emotional and nonemotional subject matter. Results of convergent and discriminant validation indicated that responses to emotional items appeared to change at an increasing rate with years in college, while responses to nonemotional items did not. (Author/RC)

Compared 10 male and 10 female adolescent delinquents with 10 male and 10 female nondelinquents on structured self-reported affective empathy task, unstructured affective empathy task, and cognitive role-taking measure. Differences between groups were found only on the unstructured empathy task, with delinquents performing more poorly than…

Examined the relationship between a general measure of self esteem and specific measures of agentic and communal self esteem. Agentic measures accounted for a greater proportion of the variance in the general self esteem scores of male than of female undergraduates. (Author/MK)

Middle class children and adults (n=632) from eight age levels (mean ages 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 17, 19 and 33 years) were tested with the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity (the PONS test) to measure accuracy in decoding nonverbal cues. The prediction that nonverbal skills would increasingly differentiate over ages was confirmed. (RH)

Love is a multidimensional construct that has proven difficult to define and challenging to measure. A variety of available instruments purport to measure aspects of love, nine of which are reviewed and discussed in this article. Researchers and practitioners are advised to study definitions of the love construct as well as psychometric properties…

This study explored the affective factors influencing students' learning of Catalan across different year levels in a multilingual school community in Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain). Questionnaires were distributed to 176 students, from 12 to 17 years of age, registered in a public secondary school, the majority of whom were not born in Catalonia.…

This article presents a summary of the concerns and the demographic data collected from clients at the Student Counselling Service (SCS) at the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa, during the period of March 2001 to April 2003. First-time presenting clients who are enrolled students, were asked to ill out an anonymous questionnaire, of…