Mark Schittekatte

Effects of Partially Shared Information and Awareness of Unshared Information on Information Sampling

The present study examines the effects of two conditions on the information flow during unstructured discussion in small groups. The experimental work of Stasser and colleagues on information sampling was our starting point. The results of their research suggest that groups often fail in effective information exchange. An experiment with a 2 x 2 factorial design was set up to look for conditions that could facilitate the exchange of unshared information. Video-recorded group discussions were analyzed on the mentioning of items during discussion. The reactions to and repetition of items were also studied. The researchers introduced partially shared information and made group members aware of the unique information that they could contribute. A significant increase in the dissemination of unshared information was found under these conditions. An empirical basis was laid so that guidelines for effective information sampling by Stasser could be reformulated.

The Association of Cognitive Ability with Right-wing Ideological Attitudes and Prejudice: A Meta-analytic Review

The cognitive functioning of individuals with stronger endorsement of right–wing and prejudiced attitudes has elicited much scholarly interest. Whereas many studies investigated cognitive styles, less attention has been directed towards cognitive ability. Studies investigating the latter topic generally reveal lower cognitive ability to be associated with stronger endorsement of right–wing ideological attitudes and greater prejudice. However, this relationship has remained widely unrecognized in literature. The present meta–analyses revealed an average effect size of r = −.20 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) [−0.23, −0.17]; based on 67 studies, N = 84 017] for the relationship between cognitive ability and right–wing ideological attitudes and an average effect size of r = −.19 (95% CI [−0.23, −0.16]; based on 23 studies, N = 27 011) for the relationship between cognitive ability and prejudice. Effect sizes did not vary significantly across different cognitive abilities and sample characteristics. The effect strongly depended on the measure used for ideological attitudes and prejudice, with the strongest effect sizes for authoritarianism and ethnocentrism. We conclude that cognitive ability is an important factor in the genesis of ideological attitudes and prejudice and thus should become more central in theorizing and model building. Copyright

Facilitating information exchange in small decision‐making groups

The present study examined the effects of several conditions on the information flow during unstructured discussion in small groups. We build on the experimental work of Stasser and his colleagues on information sampling. The results of their research suggest that groups often fail to exchange information effectively. Three experiments with a 2 x 2 factorial design were set up to look for conditions that could facilitate the exchange of unshared information in particular. In a first study, we replicated the experiment of Stasser and Titus (1987). The main results of the original study were confirmed ; additional discussion content analysis of video-recorded material made further differentiation possible. Apart from the mere mentioning of items during discussion, the reactions to and the repetition of the items were analysed. In the second experiment we introduced partially shared information and we made group members aware of the unique information that they can contribute. In the third experiment the nature of the task was manipulated and an attempt was made to prevent an information bias in favour of decision-supporting items. Conditions that significantly enhance the dissemination of unshared information were found. An empirical basis was gathered so that the guidelines for effective information sampling as they were laid down by Stasser (1992) could be reformulated.

Sexual standards and behavior during adolescence and psycho-social development in young adulthood.

Research undertaken with Belgian adolescents reveals that todays young people adopt freer norms in the field of sexuality and that they are more experienced than a few decades ago. In addition, it is well established that most cultures have a pluralistic nature, and this certainly goes for the population of adolescents, in which several different groups of young people can be distinguished. In connection with these findings the following questions can be raised: how do adolescents experience their greater sexual freedom? Do they feel there is a distinction between various forms of intimacy and between degrees of attachment in relationships? Are there intracultural differences in the way this is experienced by boys and girls, students and working adolescents, 15/16-year-olds and 18/19-year-olds? A further set of questions concerns the later psycho-social development of these adolescents in young adulthood. Is there a greater or smaller likelihood that permissive adolescents will later have psycho-social problems, as compared with those adolescents who adhered to stricter norms and had less experience? A longitudinal study, spanning eight years and carried out with more than 800 adolescents, attempts to formulate an answer to the two sets of questions mentioned.

The Netherlands and Flemish-Speaking Belgium

Publisher Summary The Wechsler tests is one of the most used, individually administered, standardized measures for assessing intelligence in children and adults. The primary purpose of intelligence testing is to classify individuals based on their overall level of cognitive functioning. The Dutch version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Third Edition (WISC-III) has been published recently after a research project of nearly two years. It concerned a joint adaptation process for the Dutch speaking population in the Netherlands and in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. The objectives were to develop new norms, actual test items in which new technological and social developments are taken into account., and attention to be paid to the factor structure of the WISC-III since research indicated that four factors had been found in the U.S. tests and a new subtest Symbol Search had been added.

Gedragsproblemen van kinderen met obesitas

SamenvattingObject van dit onderzoek is het vergelijken van 32 obese kinderen die zijn aangemeld voor een gewichtsreductietraining (de klinische groep) en 31 obese kinderen die geen enkele vorm van behandeling ondergaan (de niet-klinische groep) met betrekking tot gedragsproblemen. Met een door ouders in te vullen kindergedragsvragenlijst, de Nederlandse versie van de Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) kan alleen worden aangetoond dat de klinisch obese meisjes vaker gedragsproblemen vertonen dan zowel niet-klinisch obese meisjes als niet-obese meisjes in het algemeen. Bij de jongens worden geen verschillen gevonden. In de discussie wordt vooral ingegaan op de consequenties van deze bevindingen voor de behandeling van obesitas bij kinderen.

Werk in uitvoering: de non-verbale DECOMET

Een terugkerende vraag is of en in hoeverre de instrumenten voor de meting van cognitieve vaardigheden die in Nederland en Vlaanderen beschikbaar zijn, toe te passen zijn bij culturele of etnische minderheden. Verreweg de meeste tests veronderstellen een Nederlandstalige cultuur en voldoende kennis van het Nederlands. Het leek daarom aangewezen na te gaan of een nieuwe en actuele, geheel non-verbale test zou kunnen worden ontwikkeld, die snel een eerste, maar voldoende “breed” beeld zou geven van cognitieve vaardigheden. Momenteel is de eerste versie van de DECOMET (Delft Cognitive and Memory Test) ontwikkeld, met acht subtests, waarin tegemoet is gekomen aan de bovengenoemde specificaties. In dit hoofdstuk wordt ingegaan op de theoretische basis, de testopzet, de eerste resultaten en de verdere ontwikkeling van deze test.