Anger and Positive Reactivity in Infancy: Effects on Maternal Report of Surgency and Attention Focusing in Early Childhood

We examined two aspects of temperamental approach in early infancy, positive reactivity and anger, and their unique and combined influences on maternal reports of child surgency and attention focusing at 4 years of age. One hundred and fourteen infants were observed for their positive reactions to novel stimuli at 4 months, and their anger expressions during arm restraint at 9 months. Child surgency and attention focusing at age 4 years were assessed by maternal report. Infants who expressed more anger to restraint were rated higher in surgency during early childhood relative to infants who expressed less anger. The effects of positive reactivity to novelty on attention focusing were moderated by anger to restraint. These findings suggest that infant temperamental approach tendencies are multifaceted and have both unique and combined influences on later maternal report of attention and social behavior.     

Combining Parallel and Exploratory Factor Analysis in Identifying Relationship Scales in Secondary Data

Common methods used in the literature to identify factors within exploratory factor analysis have been shown to be potentially problematic. This brief report illustrates a state of the art approach in identifying factor structure by adding parallel analysis before exploratory factor analysis. Parallel analysis enables researchers to have a high degree of confidence of the number of factors to extract before exploratory factor analysis. The procedure is illustrated by using items from the National Survey of Families and Households used to identify relationship scales.     

How many people have lived on the earth?

A simple formula is proposed for estimating the number of people who have ever lived. Using assumptions that seem reasonable, an estimate of 69 billion (1960) is obtained. The present world population is about 4 percent of this number.     

Geriatric enrichment: guaranteeing a place for aging in the curriculum

Two years ago, the School of Social Work embarked upon a new and challenging initiative to create sustainable structural changes that enrich gerontological learning experiences for all our BSW and MSW students, faculty, fieldwork instructors and community practitioners. We envisioned that participation in this initiative would enable us to expand and embed geriatric content in the undergraduate and graduate curriculum, to increase our geriatric fieldwork placement opportunities, to evaluate and enhance our teaching and learning resources on aging, and to develop two new aging specific courses. Having reached our third year of operation, we find ourselves reflecting on what have been our successes, what could we have done differently, and where do we go in the future. This article will describe our process of developing a model of curriculum change that will guarantee a place for aging in both our undergraduate and graduate curricula.     

Personality predictors of career exploration: A meta-analysis

In this meta-analysis, correlations of personality traits and career decision-making self-efficacy with self and environmental career exploration were estimated across 71 samples and a pairwise sample of 19,846. Traits included the Big Five personality traits, shyness, locus of control, vocational decision styles, and stress. Many measures of career exploration were based on scores of self and environmental exploration on the Career Exploration Survey. Results varied by characteristics with the largest effects for locus of control, vocational decision style: thinking-feeling and self-efficacy. Environmental exploration and self-exploration were moderately correlated and demonstrated different relations with traits that were consistent with theory. Self-exploration was related to openness to experience and unrelated to extraversion, while environmental exploration was correlated with extraversion. Both were similarly correlated with conscientiousness such that conscientious individuals were more likely to engage in career exploration.