Variation In People Research Articles

Perceived contingency of skill and chance events: A developmental analysis.

Outcomes in skill-controlled activities are contingent on people's attributes and behavior. Outcomes of chance activities are inherently noncontingent. In this study, we explored age differences in recognition of this distinction between skill and chance. Kindergarteners, fourth graders, eighth graders, and college students took part in one game of chance and one game of skill. After each game, subjects predicted winnings of other players who differed in certain attributes (e.g., intelligence) and behavior (e.g., effort) that would influence only skill outcomes. Two developmental trends emerged: (a) On both chance and skill tasks, older subjects expected variations in attributes and behavior to have less impact on task outcomes than did younger subjects; and (b) older subjects were more adept at making predictions that reflected contingency of skill and noncontingency of chance. Kindergarteners showed no ability to make skillchance distinction. Fourth graders were aware of distinction at a gross qualitative level, but their predictions showed that they were unaware of some of most important logical implications of that distinction. Eighth graders and college students were aware of skill-chance distinction and most of its logical implications; yet their predictions revealed a lingering belief that chance outcomes could be influenced slightly by variations in people's attributes and behavior. This last finding is interpreted in light of Rosch's (Rosch & Mervis, 1975) model of category formation. To make accurate judgments about what we can and cannot control, we must accurately judge contingency of outcomes. If an outcome (e.g., rain, a roll of dice) is not contingent on people's behavior, then we will be unable to control it. (For more details on determinants of control, see Weisz & Stipek, 1982.) There is mounting evidence that such noncontingency is very difficult for young children to detect. Piaget (1930) reported that children younger than 6 or 7 years show primitive psychological causality, that is, the belief that any desire whatsoever can influence objects, belief in obedience of external things (p. 303). The young child, as described by Piaget, has illusion that diverse physical events in

Economic development and social change in two different communities in North Norway

The article is based on a project aimed at describing the economic and demographical development of two small communities in different geographical situations in North Norway. Variations in development are related to variations in people's living conditions. A historical survey of the social and economic development of the two communities is presented. It is shown how this development in various ways has resulted in social differentiations in the two communities today.

Studies on Human Adaptability to Climatic Conditions Reprt 7

This study was undertaken to investigate the level of basal metabolic rate (BMR) and its seasonal variation in people living in Okinawa. Determination of BMR was conducted in summer and winter during 1972 and 1973 on the same subjects consisting of 39 natives of Okinawa and 22 natives of the Japanese mainland. The results obtained were as follows:1) It was observed that the skinfold thickness and fat tissue mass were lower in the subjects native of Okinawa than in those native of the Japanese mainland (Table 1, 2). Whereas, BMR in natives of Okinawa was almost the same as that in natives of the mainland, and both were compatible with the Japanese BMR standard reported by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (Fig. 1).2) In agreement with the results of past experimental studies on Japanese, BMR of residents in Okinawa showed seasonal variations, being low in summer and high in winter (Fig. 1, Table 3). The mean variation rate of all the subjects in terms of the annual mean of BMR was 3.2%.3) Seasonal variation rate was higher in office workers with uncomplete cooling system than in those who worked and lived in airconditioned rooms (Maritime Self-Defence Force personnel) or in those receiving hard physical training (Police school students). (Table 6).4) The seasonal variation range of the outdoor temperature was about 27.99°C∼16.76°C in Okinawa and 27.16°C∼6.43°C in the Japanese mainland according to the data of the Weather Bureau. The seasonal variation range in the present study was compared to those obtained in mainland as follows;From the results reported recently in Sasebo and Nagasaki, both in mainland, by Yosida and Chen, respectively, the variation range of BMR in two months with the temperature comparable to the summer mean (27°C)and the winter mean (17°C) in Okinawa, was calculated by the present auther as ±2.6% This figure is almost the same as the value of 3.2% in summer and winter for the residents in Okinawa, obtained by the author.In view of the results of the present study, it is suggested that the range of seasonal variation of BMR for the Southwest Japanese people is controlled by the annual range of the outdoor temperature and their living environmental temperature, irrespective of Okinawa and the Japanese mainland.

Family patterns of medical care utilization: Possible influences of family size, role and social class on illness behavior

1NTRODUCTION THE USE of clinical records in epidemiological studies may raise the questions of whether illness or a response to illness is being studied. An individual’s utilization of available clinical services, a prerequisite to an entry in the records, is dependent upon a number of variables besides the presence or absence of a given disorder. It depends upon his own or someone else’s sensitivity in the recognition of the disorder, his own or someone else’s judgement that medical care is indicated, and his own or someone else’s initiative toward the acquisition of medical care. An epidemiological study based upon clinical records may, then, in some circumstances properly be considered as a study of medical care and include questions relating to both the prevalence of disease and the utilization of services. One such question concerns the definition of an illness. If an illness is operationally defined as a disorder for which people think medical care is indicated, then the severity and type of disorder which is considered to be an illness may vary with individuals and over time. Variation in people’s definitions of illness would lead to variations in their rates of medical consultation which would be, to a certain extent, independent of the prevalence of disorder. Little attempt has been made to relate familial patterns of medical care utilization to familial patterns of illness behavior. It has been pointed out that in addition to the presence of disorder a variety of psychological, emotional, cultural, and social factors influence decisions to seek medical aid [l-4]. It seems likely that such factors may operate within families to produce a tendency for their members to agree as to which problems are to be defined as illnesses and occasions for the adoption of a sick role and which are not. Such variations in definitions of illness would produce variations in consultation rates. It may be of interest to examine, with this idea in mind, some aspects of an epidemiological investigation of families based on the records of a Scottish general practice. The cost of medical services is not a factor which could have influenced their