Positive Assertion Research Articles

Anymore, this feature varies: An experimental study of non-polarity <i>anymore</i>

The non-polarity “positive” anymore construction (NPAM; e.g., I write letters anymore, ‘I write letters nowadays’) is a vernacular feature found in the Midland dialect region. Analyses have suggested that while its negative polarity counterpart (I don’t write letters anymore) is associated with a positive presupposition and a negative assertion, NPAM contributes a negative presupposition and a positive assertion. This paper presents an experiment testing this hypothesis. The results provide initial support for the negative presupposition—positive assertion analysis of NPAM, but suggest that regional exposure is not necessary to know this feature does not share the same meaning as NPI-anymore.

<em>You say yes, I say no</em>: Investigating the link between meaning and form in response particles

Response particles, like English ‘yes’ and ‘no’, are used to respond to polar questions or assertions and are found in all languages. However, the number of particles and the specific meanings they convey vary across languages. For example, in some languages particles mainly convey whether the response itself is positive or negative, while in others they convey whether the response is agreeing or disagreeing with previous discourse. Further, some languages have two response particles, while others have three, or even four. Recent work suggests that how meanings tend to be mapped to forms cross-linguistically might nevertheless be constrained. Roelofsen & Farkas (2015) suggest that indicating disagreement with a negative question or assertion (e.g., A: ‘Ally doesn’t eat meat.’ B: ‘Yes, he does.’) is more marked than indicating agreement with a positive assertion (e.g., A: ‘Ally eats meat.’ B: ‘Yes, he does’.). This difference in semantic markedness is argued to lead to a difference in form: more marked meanings are mapped to more specialized forms. Here we investigate this hypothesis in a series of behavioral experiments. Across our experiments, we find that participants are indeed sensitive to the differences in meaning that particles can convey. However, not all of the differences implicated by the hierarchy hypothesized in Roelofsen & Farkas (2015) are supported by our results, and we find evidence highlighting an unexpected special role for Positive Agreement—the least marked meaning.

Short version of the Scale for Interpersonal Behavior: Slovak translation and psychometric analysis.

Assertiveness is a social communication skill and is related to the effectiveness of expressing oneself while respecting others. A lack of assertiveness is associated with various mental illnesses; hence the importance of being able to measure it reliably. The aim of the study was to translate the short version of the Scale for Interpersonal Behavior (s-SIB) into Slovak and subsequently test its factor structure and other psychometric properties. Our convenience sample consisted of 590 respondents from Slovakia, 22.71% of whom were men and 77.29% women. The data analysis consisted of a descriptive analysis, reliability analysis, factor structure analysis, Mokken analysis, and percentile norms. The scale showed good psychometric properties. Unlike the 4-factor solution for distress and performance in the original work, our findings showed that the general factor loadings were very good and that the bifactor model had the best fit in both cases (distress and performance). Mokken analysis indicated that the total scores for distress and perfromance and their constituent subscales can be used as proposed. In conclusion, the Slovak version of the s-SIB can be used as to measure the total score for assertiveness as well as the separate factors - Positive Assertion, Negative Assertion, Expression of and Dealing with Personal Limitations, and Initiating Assertiveness.

Controlled Evaluation of a Sport-Specific Performance Optimization Program in a Biracial Black and White Athlete Diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder and Agoraphobia

There are a very limited number of sport-specific mental health and sport performance interventions available for athletes of color. This study examined The Optimum Performance Program in Sports (TOPPS) in a biracial adolescent athlete who was diagnosed with Agoraphobia and Social Anxiety Disorder. A multiple-baseline across behaviors case trial design was used to evaluate outcomes. A battery of psychological measures specific to mental health and sport performance was administered at baseline, post-intervention, and a 3-month follow-up. Social skill sets (i.e., positive assertion and negative assertion) were systematically targeted sequentially in a virtual format using HIPAA compliant video-conferencing technology to safeguard against contracting COVID-19. Results demonstrated improvement in negative and positive assertion skills when targeted by the intervention. Severity of concurrent symptoms associated with Social Anxiety Disorder and Agoraphobia Symptoms, general psychiatric functioning, relationships with coaches, teammates and family, and factors interfering with sports performance improved from pre- to post-intervention. These improvements were maintained at the 3-month follow-up. Athlete ratings indicated their satisfaction with TOPPS was high, and intervention components were implemented with high integrity.

A Controlled Evaluation of a Sport-Specific Performance Optimization Program in an Athlete Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder Within the Context of COVID-19.

Adolescent athletes with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) experience unique challenges that impact their sport performance, such as making errors due to poor concentration. The current multiple-baseline across behaviors case trial (i.e., positive assertion and negative assertion) is an evaluation of The Optimum Performance Program in Sports in an adolescent athlete diagnosed with ADHD and ODD. Intervention skill sets were targeted sequentially in a virtual format to safeguard against COVID-19 contraction. A battery of psychological measures was administered at baseline, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up. Results indicated negative and positive assertion skills improved, but only when targeted, and severity of ADHD and ODD symptom severity, general mental health symptoms, and factors interfering with sport performance decreased from pre- to post-intervention and these improvements were maintained at 1-month follow-up. Similar improvements occurred in relationships with coaches, teammates, and family. Treatment integrity and consumer satisfaction were high.

The everyday skills that get us by: Non-representational theories for a linealogy of quotidian cultures

In this article, I have three key aims. Firstly, I want to offer a particular definition and a bold defence of ‘non-representational theories’, indicating the importance of their anti-rationalist and anti-structuralist tendencies, and also pointing to their positive assertion of the primacy of practices or movement. Although a non-representational theoretical approach is closely associated today with contemporary geographic thought, I make a case here for an understanding of non-representational theories as a far broader cross-disciplinary project. Secondly, in the light of non-representational theories, I will be revisiting an old debate between culturalists and structuralists on matters of experience and representation. I consider, in a spirit of re-evaluation, Stuart Hall’s now classic essay on two paradigms in the development of cultural studies, as well as a selection of related interventions made by Hall. Thirdly, I will look to potential future directions for empirical research that is informed by a non-representational theoretical approach, in an area which I call ‘quotidian cultural studies’. My recommendations are for work that might explore, for example, acquired habits or ways of the hand in the uses of new media technologies (among other skills of tool use), and paths that are trodden along the ground on foot and through narrative or other media settings. A critical appropriation of Tim Ingold’s writings in anthropology leads me to describe such work as ‘linealogical’ investigations of everyday life.

Cereal consumption and marketing responses by rural smallholders under rising cereal prices

PurposeInternational commodity prices have escalated to an unprecedented level since 2008. Although commodity prices have declined recently, prices are still high compared to the pre-2008 levels. Combining this market phenomenon with Bangladesh Government’s Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) data sets HIES 2005 and HIES 2010, and applying the seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) estimation process, the purpose of this paper is to examine paddy rice marketing, and the cereal and non-cereal food expenditure behavior of rural smallholders in Bangladesh under rising commodity prices.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses information collected by the Government of Bangladesh and applies two-step Heckman-type selection model estimation procedure, first to estimate total rice production by the rice production self-sufficiency status of the household. Second, the study estimates the paddy marketing behavior by the households by their rice self-sufficiency status under rising commodity price regime applying SUR estimation process combing with Heckman’s selection model estimation procedure.FindingsEmpirical findings demonstrate that there was no positive assertion between higher paddy rice prices and paddy rice marketing by the rural smallholders. Rather, under the rising commodity price regime, smallholders significantly reduced consumption expenditure on high food value-enriched non-cereal food items to adjust to the market shocks.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a Bangladesh-based case study. Individual country-level case studies should be conducted in order to generalize the findings of the present study.Originality/valueThe present study warns that the market volatility may discourage farm households to market their cereals more due to uncertain future. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to explore the cereal marketing behavior of the farm households in Bangladesh under commodity price hikes by the rice production self-sufficiency status of the farm households.

Muffled Voices. Making ways for Impact Statements in Criminal Justice System in India

Victim Impact Statement (VIS) is a crucial aspect in the process of dispensation of justice. It reinforces the participatory model of criminal justice system, wherein both the accused and the victim are significant and interwined in justice delivery mechanism. VIS has received little support from pro-accused activists who assert that the acceptance of such statements would make way for emotional blackmail and consequent enhancement of quantum of sentence. The claim has, however, been assailed by victimologists the world over, who have hailed the same as a positive assertion of the rights of the victim in the sentencing process. Simply speaking, a victim impact statement is a written or verbal statement made as part of the judicial legal process, which allows a victim of crime the opportunity to speak during the sentencing of the accused. It offers an opportunity to the victim or his/her family members to elaborate the trauma and hardships faced as a result of the crime committed. The present status of the victim or family, including the inconveniences faced, also become clear to the judge and allows him to make a decision. While VIS has been considered as significant and included as part of the criminal justice process in several nations across the world, India has remained rather unmoved and untouched. Several victimological approaches have been included in recent years in the criminal procedure of the land, yet impact statements seem to have eluded the legislators. This is particularly of significance in light of Indian judgments where the courts have reiterated that punishment must respond to the “society’s cry for justice”.

Was John Paul II an Apologist of Christianity?

The paper tries to answer the question whether John Paul II was an apologist of Christianity. Moving along scholastic methodology, the paper progress along three stages, exploring a negative statement (videtur quod non), justifying a positive assertion (sed contra), to formulate a conclusion (ergo). Through this methodology the paper argues that Pope John Paul II was the defender of Christianity. This methodology allows thorough study of the highlights of the pontificate of this Great Pope and on the basis of counter-points to bring out a more clear answer to the research question.

Wireless Sensor Networks – A potential tool to probe for water on Moon

A Wireless Sensor Network for in situ probing of lunar water/ice is proposed. The mission scenario in single and multi-tier architectures for probing water in a permanently shadowed region of the Moon and different scenarios of exploration are discussed. The ideas presented in the paper are a positive assertion of feasibility for the sensor node hardware, given current levels of technological advancements.

Cross-cultural validity of the scale for interpersonal behavior

The Scale for Interpersonal Behavior (SIB) is a 50-item multidimensional measure of difficulty and distress in assertiveness. The SIB assesses negative assertion, expression of and dealing with personal limitations, initiating assertiveness and positive assertion. The SIB was originally developed in the Netherlands. The present study attempted to replicate the original factors with an Italian student sample (n = 995). The four distress and four performance factors were replicable across two methods of analysis (the multiple group method of confirmatory analysis and Tucker's coefficient of congruence (phi). The corresponding scales were internally consistent and showed predicted patterns of correlations with a measure of self-efficacy. Sex and age differences in assertiveness were generally negligible. Italian students had higher positive assertion-performance scores than the Dutch and comparable scores on other performance scales; by contrast, the Italian subjects had significantly higher scores on all SIB distress scales than their Dutch equivalents. This was ascribed to the stronger pressure on people in Italian society to behave assertively (Hofstede's National Masculinity score = 70) as opposed to the Dutch society (National Masculinity score = 14).

Review of Going Sane: Maps of Happiness.

Reviews the book, Going Sane: Maps of Happiness by Adam Phillips (2005). This book is a kind of psychic travelogue exploring the many different kinds of good life--and pitfalls--to be encountered along the way. It will be of interest to any clinician engaged by a thoughtful examination of what is meant by mental health. The book is divided into three parts, the first offering intellectual and historical background and initial attempts at definition. The last assesses the current psychological climate. The middle section bores deeply into an examination of what the implications of sanity are across several everyday arenas, money and sex being perhaps the most provocative. A preface alerts the reader that this is going to be a multidisciplinary analysis of the subject, contextualized within culture. Phillips establishes early on that although madness has captivated both the professional and the lay imagination for centuries, resulting in often definitive, if oddly subjective and impressionistic ideas of what it means and looks like to be out of one's mind, sanity, by comparison, has failed to enthrall. Sanity, more often than not, remains the desirable choice between the two but functions more as an uneasy default position we don't quite understand than as an accomplishment to be proud of. The security of sanity, Phillips illustrates throughout, is predicated on our not being too curious about it and rests on the positive assertion of the negative, "not mad." Going Sane addresses the question of its meaning and of what use, if any, it has for us today. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Introduction

Introduction Diane Ravitch Throughout their history, American public schools have always had critics. In some periods, such as the 1950s and 1980s, criticism of education quality reached a crescendo. But critics have prospered for most of the past 150 years. The schools seldom, if ever, have matched the expectations that society holds for them. According to the religious tradition that dominated education in the early years of our republic, the schools were supposed to shape the character of the rising generation; the lingering effects of this tradition make it easy to blame the schools (and to add a new course to the high school curriculum) for whatever ails society, including divorce, teen pregnancy, alcohol and drug abuse, and traffic accidents. Since the time of Horace Mann in the 1840s, the public schools have been counted on to supply social and economic equality. To the extent that these goals remain unachieved, the schools can be reproached for having failed. There is some comfort in remembering that our disappointed hopes have a long history. We may like to think reverentially of a golden age that has disappeared, but we need only read Richard Hofstadter's Anti-Intellectualism in American Life to be reminded that "the educational jeremiad is as much a feature of our literature as the jeremiad in the Puritan sermons." Writing more than forty years ago, Hofstadter charged that the schools seemed to be dominated by "athletics, commercialism, and the standards of the mass media." He recited a litany of complaints that included not only "underpaid teachers, overcrowded classrooms, double-schedule schools, [and] broken-down school buildings" but also "the cult of athleticism, marching bands, high-school drum majorettes, ethnic ghetto schools, de-intellectualized curricula, the failure to educate in serious subjects, [and] the neglect of academically gifted children."1 Critics today, whatever their ideology, would very likely echo Hofstadter's complaints and add a few more of their own. The educational jeremiad is alive and well. [End Page 1] In an effort to examine the other side of the proposition, the 2004 conference of the Brown Center on Educational Policy at the Brookings Institution was devoted to examining hopeful signs of change in American education. Implicit in the topic was the assumption that hopeful signs of change do exist. Yet to counter an excess of optimism, the format of presentation and critique guaranteed that every positive assertion would be met by a critical response. Why examine such a topic at all? As editor, I made the decision to seek out reasons for hope about the future of our schools. I did so for both professional and personal reasons. Since the publication of the landmark federal report A Nation at Risk in 1983, the nation's schools have experienced two decades of sustained examination and reform.2 No state or community or school has been untouched by the efforts to improve schools. The upheavals of these past two decades have by no means ended, and it is too soon to assess which reforms have succeeded (though not too soon to recognize that some have failed). Since we are still in the midst of major changes in how we organize, finance, and manage schools, it seems a good time to look for reforms that are especially promising, if only because some sense of success is necessary if we are to continue to pursue important goals and perform difficult tasks. We cannot persist in our efforts to improve our schools if we become convinced that nothing helps, nothing changes, and the status quo always wins. Faint heart never won fair lady, and defeatism never produced success. In addition, I had personal reasons for deciding to look for hopeful signs of change in American education. I launched the first annual meeting of the Brown Center on Educational Policy in 1997, from which came the first Brookings Papers on Education Policy (1998). That first conference concentrated on the question of student performance: How well were American students doing, as compared with the past and with their peers in other nations? Which policies and practices seemed to be most important in raising or lowering student performance? In subsequent years, the Brown Center organized conferences on...

Normative studies with the Scale for Interpersonal Behaviour (SIB): III. Psychiatric inpatients

The Scale for Interpersonal Behaviour (SIB), a multidimensional self-report measure of difficulty and distress in state assertiveness, was psychometrically evaluated in a large sample comprising 1242 unselected psychiatric inpatients. In addition to an overall measure of assertion, the SIB contains four factorially-derived dimensions: (I) negative assertion, (II) expression of and dealing with personal limitations, (III) initiating assertiveness, and (IV) positive assertion. The factors were originally interpreted in data of 703 members of a society for phobic individuals. Evidence is presented on the factorial constancy of the SIB measuring constructs across samples, biological sex, age, and educational level. Outstanding internal consistency figures are also given. Construct validity is established in a subset of the inpatients in relation to the Assertion Self-Statement Test-Revised. Both descriptive and specialized norms are presented for psychiatric inpatients.

Value and Parity

Previous articleNext article No AccessDiscussionsValue and Parity*Joshua GertJoshua Gert Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Ethics Volume 114, Number 3April 2004 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/381697 Views: 108Total views on this site Citations: 34Citations are reported from Crossref © 2004 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Chris Tucker Parity, Moral Options, and the Weights of Reasons, Noûs 11 (Apr 2022).https://doi.org/10.1111/nous.12410Erich H. Rast The Multidimensional Structure of ‘better than’, Axiomathes 32, no.22 (Oct 2020): 291–319.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10516-020-09525-4Michael Rabenberg Imprecision in the ethics of rescue, Analytic Philosophy 5 (Feb 2022).https://doi.org/10.1111/phib.12260Daniel Muñoz Three paradoxes of supererogation, Noûs 55, no.33 (Feb 2020): 699–716.https://doi.org/10.1111/nous.12326Will Fleisher What's Fair about Individual Fairness?, (Jul 2021): 480–490.https://doi.org/10.1145/3461702.3462621Federico L. G. Faroldi Towards a Logic of Value and Disagreement via Imprecise Measures, Bulletin of the Section of Logic 50, no.22 (May 2021): 131–149.https://doi.org/10.18778/0138-0680.2021.07Martin Peterson INTERVAL VALUES AND RATIONAL CHOICE, Economics and Philosophy 35, no.11 (Jun 2018): 159–166.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266267118000147Jacob Bronsther VAGUE COMPARISONS AND PROPORTIONAL SENTENCING, Legal Theory 25, no.11 (Mar 2019): 26–52.https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352325219000016Anna Mahtani Vagueness and Imprecise Credence, (Sep 2019): 7–30.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15931-3_2JOHAN E. GUSTAFSSON Does the Collapsing Principle Rule Out Borderline Cases?, Utilitas 30, no.44 (Apr 2018): 483–492.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0953820818000079Mozaffar Qizilbash ON PARITY AND THE INTUITION OF NEUTRALITY, Economics and Philosophy 34, no.11 (Dec 2017): 87–108.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266267117000281Luke Elson Incommensurability as Vagueness: a Burden-Shifting Argument, Theoria 83, no.44 (Aug 2017): 341–363.https://doi.org/10.1111/theo.12129Wlodek Rabinowicz From values to probabilities, Synthese 194, no.1010 (Feb 2015): 3901–3929.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-015-0693-5Michael Messerli, Kevin Reuter Hard cases of comparison, Philosophical Studies 174, no.99 (Oct 2016): 2227–2250.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-016-0796-yMauro Rossi THE FITTING-ATTITUDE ANALYSIS OF VALUE RELATIONS AND THE PREFERENCES VS. VALUE JUDGEMENTS OBJECTION, Economics and Philosophy 33, no.22 (Mar 2017): 287–311.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266267116000286RUTH CHANG Hard Choices, Journal of the American Philosophical Association 3, no.11 (May 2017): 1–21.https://doi.org/10.1017/apa.2017.7MAURO ROSSI Value and Preference Relations: Are They Symmetric?, Utilitas 28, no.33 (Sep 2015): 239–253.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0953820815000369Erich Rast Modeling Value Disagreement, Erkenntnis 81, no.44 (Sep 2015): 853–880.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10670-015-9772-8Ruth Chang Parity, Imprecise Comparability and the Repugnant Conclusion, Theoria 82, no.22 (Apr 2016): 182–214.https://doi.org/10.1111/theo.12096Joshua Gert Parity, Preference and Puzzlement, Theoria 81, no.33 (Mar 2015): 249–271.https://doi.org/10.1111/theo.12069Miriam Schoenfield DECISION MAKING IN THE FACE OF PARITY, Philosophical Perspectives 28, no.11 (Dec 2014): 263–277.https://doi.org/10.1111/phpe.12044Sergio Tenenbaum Minimalism about Intention: A Modest Defense, Inquiry 57, no.33 (Apr 2014): 384–411.https://doi.org/10.1080/0020174X.2014.894275Mauro Rossi Sur la symétrie présumée entre valeurs et préférences1, Les ateliers de l'éthique 9, no.22 (Sep 2014): 82–98.https://doi.org/10.7202/1026679arWlodek Rabinowicz Value, Fitting-Attitude Account of, (Feb 2013).https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444367072.wbiee311Wlodek Rabinowicz VALUE RELATIONS REVISITED, Economics and Philosophy 28, no.22 (Aug 2012): 133–164.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266267112000144Attila Tanyi Desires as additional reasons? The case of tie-breaking, Philosophical Studies 152, no.22 (Nov 2009): 209–227.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-009-9475-6Chrisoula Andreou Choosing Well: Value Pluralism and Patterns of Choice, (Jan 2011): 48–63.https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230305885_4 by Joshua Gert Color Constancy and the Color/Value Analogy, Ethics 121, no.11 (Jul 2015): 58–87.https://doi.org/10.1086/656042Justin Klocksiem In Defense of the Trichotomy Thesis, Acta Analytica 25, no.33 (Nov 2009): 317–327.https://doi.org/10.1007/s12136-009-0067-zYitzhak Benbaji Parity, Intransitivity, And A Context-Sensitive Degree Analysis of Gradability, Australasian Journal of Philosophy 87, no.22 (Jun 2009): 313–335.https://doi.org/10.1080/00048400802257754Wlodek Rabinowicz I—Wlodek Rabinowicz: Incommensurability and Vagueness, Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volume 83, no.11 (Jun 2009): 71–94.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8349.2009.00173.xWLODEK RABINOWICZ Value Relations, Theoria 74, no.11 (Mar 2008): 18–49.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-2567.2008.00008.xGeorg Brun, Gertrude Hirsch Hadorn Ranking policy options for sustainable development, Poiesis & Praxis 5, no.11 (Jul 2007): 15–31.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10202-007-0034-yNIEN-HÊ HSIEH IS INCOMPARABILITY A PROBLEM FOR ANYONE?, Economics and Philosophy 23, no.11 (Mar 2007): 65–80.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266267107001228

The Rhetoric of Black Abolitionism

In a span of thirty years, from 1832 to 1862, American abolitionists were able to reverse public opinion in the North on the question of slavery.Despite the dramatic political shift, the emergent hostility to “slave power” did not lead to an embrace of racial equality. Abolitionists, in the face of America’s long history of racism, sought to link opposition to slavery with a call for civil rights. For black abolitionists, this was not only a strategic problem, it was a matter of self-definition. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the meanings of liberty, labor, and independence were the basis of contentious republican politics. Black abolitionists used this rhetorical raw material to fashion “fighting words” with which to generate solidarity and deliver their moral claims to the nation. This research employs an innovative strategy for the analysis of the discursive field, in an exploratory content analysis of five black newspapers in antebellum New York State. Computerized content analysis coded for themes, rhetoric, and ideology in a sample of more than 36,000 words of newspaper text. Although the discourse of black abolitionism is a social critique, it also contains a positive assertion of what free blacks would become. As important as the theme of “slavery” was to the discourse, so too were “colored” and “brotherhood.” This analysis consistently showed the key features of political antislavery argumentation to be most common in the Douglass newspapers (theNorth StarandFrederick Douglass' Paper).

Normative studies with the Scale for Interpersonal Behaviour (SIB): II. US students: A cross-cultural comparison with Dutch data

The Scale for Interpersonal Behaviour (SIB), a multidimensional, self-report measure of state assertiveness, was administered to a nationwide sample of 2375 undergraduates enrolled at 11 colleges and universities across the USA. The SIB was developed in the Netherlands for the independent assessment of both distress associated with self-assertion in a variety of social situations and the likelihood of engaging in a specific assertive response. This is done with four factorially-derived, first-order dimensions: (i) Display of negative feelings (Negative assertion); (ii) Expression of and dealing with personal limitations; (iii) Initiating assertiveness; and (iv) Praising others and the ability to deal with compliments/praise of others (Positive assertion). The present study was designed to determine the cross-national invariance of the original Dutch factors and the construct validity of the corresponding dimensions. It also set out to develop norms for a nationwide sample of US students. The results provide further support for the reliability, factorial and construct validity of the SIB. Compared to their Dutch equivalents, US students had meaningfully higher distress in assertiveness scores on all SIB scales (medium to large effect sizes), whereas differences on the performance scales reflected small effect sizes. The cross-national differences in distress scores were hypothesized to have originated from the American culture being more socially demanding with respect to interpersonal competence than the Dutch, and from the perceived threats and related cognitive appraisals that are associated with such demands.

Social problem-solving skills training for incarcerated offenders. A treatment manual.

This article describes a social problem-solving skills intervention for incarcerated adult offenders. The program includes pragmatic, progressive skill building through the use of direct instructions, role-plays with performance feedback, modeling, behavior rehearsal, and positive reinforcement. In addition to these treatment components, the empirically derived approach employs standardized assessment measures to identify deficits and to evaluate treatment outcome. Assessment data are directly used to determine behavior change in such areas as conversational skills, positive and negative assertion, anger management, problem solving, empathy, and stress inoculation. Social skills training is included to modify verbal, nonverbal, and paralinguistic behavioral components. In addition, training elements related to anger reduction and stress management are utilized.

Biracial Japanese American identity: an evolving process.

This qualitative study explored the complexity of biracial identity development in Japanese Americans. It is based on the constant comparable method of analysis, or grounded theory. The study focused on how Japanese Americans perceived themselves in relation to other individuals, groups, and their environment. The data consisted of 15 extensive semistructured interviews with 8 men and 7 women (ages 20 to 40 years), each with 1 Japanese parent and 1 non-Asian parent. Findings relate to participants' initiating explorations of identity and perseverance in pursuing a biracial identity, which depended on the degree of support or negative experience within their social networks. Participants explored identity options attempting to develop their own meaning of identity, to develop a confident sense of themselves, and to secure a positive ethnic identity. Identity development among participants varied. It was a long-term process involving changes in the individual-environment relationship, which differed in the way individual participants influenced or selected from environmental opportunities, even creating or recreating some aspects. Within a given setting, as youths, the potential for social experiences were relatively fixed and changed only gradually. As adults, there were opportunities for participants to select their own social and geographic settings, providing opportunity for change. In their new environments, participants were exposed to new contacts and role models, acquired new behavioral repertoire, and underwent role transitions. Depending on this, new and different aspects of biracial identity developed. Participants indicated it was an emotional and conflictual process to positive assertion of identity. Before reaching this, all of the participants experienced periods of confusion. Most asserted biracial identity gradually, through a process of racial identity development consisting of the individual's changing or maintaining certain reference group perspectives, identifications, and allegiances as they passed through a series of life experiences. Instead of staying marginalized, they integrated both cultures, recognizing positive values of both, thus developing an integrated identity. Although the participants' experiences and perceptions were varied, the overarching themes of self-evaluation, confusion of categorization, belonging, infusion/exploration, situational use of identity, and resolution/acceptance/self-verification were presented. On the basis of the research, a model of ethnic identity for biracial individuals is proposed.

Normative studies with the Scale for Interpersonal Behaviour (SIB): i. Nonpsychiatric social skills trainees

The Scale for Interpersonal Behavior (SIB) ( Arrindell and Van der Ende, 1985) is a multidimensional self-report measure of state assertiveness. The SIB measures both discomfort (anxiety) associated with self-assertion in specific situations and the likelihood of engaging in a specific assertive response (performance). This is achieved with an overall measure and four factorially-derived scales: (I) Display of negative feelings (Negative assertion), (II) Expression of and dealing with personal limitations, (III) Initiating assertiveness and (IV) Praising others and the ability to deal with compliments/praise of others (Positive assertion). To enhance its application, the SIB was psychometrically evaluated in a sample comprising 562 female and male junior and senior executives (managers) who had voluntarily applied for social skills training in a (nonpsychiatric) commercial guidance center. Findings on factorial invariance and measurement reliability were outstanding. Normative data and sex differences were presented. Compared to their male counterparts, female managers reported higher mean levels of assertive responding on the dimensions of Positive assertion, Expression of and dealing with personal limitations and General assertiveness. While not large in magnitude, these differences were judged to be of some practical importance.