David J. Armor

Oral, obsessive and hysterical personality patterns: Replication of factor analysis in an independent sample

IN A previous study1 factor analysis was used to explore 3 personality patterns derived from psychoanalytic theory : oral, obsessive, and hysterical. The study demonstrated that the personality traits defining these 3 patterns could be reliably measured from items rated by patients; that the traits thus measured formed 3 clusters by factor analysis; and that the 3 clusters corresponded closely to the psychoanalytical descriptions of the oral, obsessive, and hysterical personality patterns. One limitation of the previous study lay in the patient sampling. These patients had been selected by resident psychiatrists as being typical of at least 1 of the 3 personality patterns. The question arose whether the results of the previous study would be replicated in a broader patient sample. The present paper reports a replication of the original study on a new sample. Using consecutive female admissions to a psychiatric hospital rather than preselected ‘typical’ patients, we investigated whether factor analysis would produce patterns with similar results.

White Flight and the Future of School Desegregation

Among the many debates that have raged over school busing, few have engaged social scientists with more intensity than the “White flight” debate. Although the White flight phenomenon has a long history in both public and social science discussions, it did not become a truly controversial issue in sociology until Coleman, Kelly, and Moore’s (1975) well-publicized work on the subject, which concluded that school desegregation was a significant cause of declining White enrollments in public schools.

The Effectiveness of School Desegregation Plans, 1968-1991

A major debate in school desegregation policy is whether voluntary, market-based mechanisms (such as magnet schools) result in more school desegregation than command-and-control approaches (such as mandatory reassignment). Using data obtained from a national probability sample of 600 school districts, we explore the effects of different types of desegregation plans on White flight, racial imbalance, and interracial exposure from 1968 to 1991 Based on the results of multiple regression analyses, we find that (a) voluntary plans result in lower levels of White flight and higher levels of change in interracial exposure than mandatory-reassignment or controlled-choice plans (which fall between the two approaches) and (b) voluntary plans are not disadvantaged in comparison to mandatory-reassignment or controlled-choice plans in the achievement of racial balance.

Race and Gender in the U.S. Military

The issues of race and gender representation in the military have been raised recently, the first because of the Persian Gulf War and the second because of the change in combat job restrictions. The history of these interrelated issues is reviewed, recent trends in enlistment and applicant rates are presented, and current policies regarding race and gender representation are evaluated. The article suggests that recruiting ceilings for women could be eliminated without adverse consequences, while representation goals for racial and ethnic groups might be appropriate, which would have the effect of reducing black but increasing Hispanic representation.

Changing Minority Representation in the U.S. Military

The Department of Defense has always sought a socially representative enlisted force, especially with respect to African American and Hispanic minorities. Ideally, in a democratic society a military force should be representative of the nation it defends. African American overrepresentation was a major concern during the first decade of the All-Volunteer Force (AVF), while Hispanics were underrepresented. During the 1980s black representation stabilized and Hispanics began to increase, especially with respect to enlistments. Starting in the 1990s, black representation began to decline, followed more recently by declines among Hispanics. This article examines changes in minority representation since the inception of the AVF in 1973 and argues that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have played a significant role in recent changes.

On Family Size and Intelligence.

iors to the local environment or by manipulating their environment to facilitate their strengths. This definition of intelligence parallels the logic that Sulloway (1996) proposed regarding later-born disadvantage and the personality characteristics that later-boras adopt to increase parental investment. It is possible that, given the methodological issue at hand, it may not be intelligence per se that covaries with birth order but the ways in which intelligence is used. Intelligence may be used by siblings to develop personalities that best utilize their niche. Perhaps this is why within-family designs yield differences in personality but not intelligence as a function of birth order. Within-family designs may identify only the absence of a relationship between birth order and intelligence. Further research could profitably address (a) the ways in which intelligence is used in personality and (b) confounds not previously included in either between-family or within-family studies of birth order.

Support for torture over time: Interrogating the American public about coercive tactics

Abstract In this study, we examine what influences public attitudes toward torture and whether the publics attitude affects or is affected by shifts in presidential policy on torture. We employed ten surveys over five years that looked at approval of torture, as well as two surveys that asked questions about specific methods. We find that public support for torture has risen mildly, but a resilient ambivalence best describes the publics attitude. The public was not affected by the change in government from an administration that strongly supported enhanced interrogation techniques to one that opposed them, and labeled them torture. Public opinion also seemed unaffected by the increased criticism of torture generally. Large majorities oppose most specific methods of interrogation, while at times a majority supports torture in general. We also find support for torture and specific methods is affected most strongly by partisanship and ideology.

Developments in data analysis systems for the social sciences

program packages, collections, or systems (not to mention hundreds of individual programs) have emerged by now and are in use by social scientists at universities and research centers all across the country. It is probably safe to say that the bulk of these systems and programs represent the individual efforts of a small group working at one institution, often operating under a relatively restricted set of research and computing assumptions. This parochial tendency has left students and researchers with the often bewildering and always time-consuming problem of learning new procedures for processing their data each time they change institutions (or each time the institution changes computers). ’ ’

Impact of Family vs. School Factors on Cross-National Disparities in Academic Achievement: Evidence from the 2006 PISA Survey

This paper investigates whether international differences in math and science achievement, and specifically the lower US scores, can be explained by school programmatic, institutional, and resource differences after controlling for family SES factors. Using 2006 PISA student-level data for the 10 largest developed OECD countries, the results show that, while family SES has a strong impact on students’ achievement, it does not explain the US achievement gap with other developed OECD countries. In contrast, a substantial number of school variables not only have significant impacts on math and science achievement, but they contribute more to these gaps than SES differences. Of particular importance for policy purposes are the lower amounts of time devoted to studying math and science in the US, as well as student-centered pedagogical techniques which are emphasized in the US but not in such high-scoring countries such as Korea.

PROFESSORS' ATTITUDES TOWARD THE VIETNAM WAR

Are college professors really radicals and leftists as shown by their Vietnam War attitudes? To what extent are they interested in and informed about the war? How do their attitudes compare with those of the public at large? And why do they have the opinions they do? This paper gives the surprising results of a sample survey of professors in seventeen colleges in the Boston area. David Armor is Assistant Professor of Sociology in the Department of Social Relations, Harvard University. His associates in this study are graduate students at Harvard University.