annoted bibliography

Langer, E.J. Rodin, J.(1976) the effects of choice and enhance personal responsibility for the age: A field experiment in an institutional setting. J Pers Soc Psychol. 34(2):191-8.

The literature presented in this article evaluates the effects of enhanced personal responsibility and choice on a group of nursing home residents. The authors hypothesized that the reason why many of the older residents were debilitated was a result of living in an environment where they didn't have the power or ability to make decisions. The researcher also believed that the debilitating effects of the decision-free environment could be reversed if residents were given choices. To prove this hypothesis the researchers evaluated Residents who were in the experimental group. They were presented with a communication that detailed the fact that they were responsibility for themselves. However the second group evaluated were given communication that emphasized the idea that the staff was responsible for them. To increase the communication, the experimental group was also given the freedom to make decisions and asked to take care of a plant, while the second group was not given such responsibility. The researchers found there was noticeable improvement in the experimental group when compared to the second group. These improvements were related to behaviors such as active participation, alertness,, and a sense of well-being. For the purpose of this research the authors took an interesting approach to explaining and ultimately proving why debilitation occurs among an elderly population in a nursing home setting. The findings of the research can be utilized to better the conditions of people living in retirement homes. Overall the article is informative and provides detailed information related to the population studied.

Harkins, S.G., Jackson J.M. (1985) the role of evaluation in eliminating social loafing. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 11, No. 4, 457-465

The authors describe social loafing as the process by which people working alone exert more effort into completing a task than do people who are placed in groups. The article explains that social loafing occurs when carrying out a myriad of tasks including everything form physical tasks to shouting. According to the author loafing occurs in groups because individual responsibly is taken out of the equation. That is participants in a group are neither praised or blamed if the outcome is bad. For this reason the authors and other researchers believe that if individual outputs are evaluated social loafing would be reduced and greater individual effort would be exerted. The researcher examined the outcomes of four person groups that were presented with brainstorming tasks. The results found that when individuals in the groups knew that they would be evaluated independently and compared to coworkers their performance improved. In addition, when participants knew they were not going to be evaluated or compared to group members their performance did not increase. The results of this research illustrate that social loafing can be controlled when evaluation of individuals within the group is present. This particular article is well written and the authors took the time to carefully define social loafing and to cite several oter studies related to the subject. In addition the article is important because it provides insight into how people in groups can work together more effectively if everyone within the group is evaluated at an individual level.

Price JH, Telljohann SK, Dake JA, Marsico L, Zyla C. (2002) Urban elementary school students' perceptions of fighting behavior and concerns for personal safety. Journal of School Health. 72(5):184-91.

In this article Price and colleagues attempts to explore the ways in which school violence effects students at an urban elementary school. The research evaluated urban elementary school students' experience as it pertained to the carrying of weapons and overall violence in their school. The researcher wanted to explore how the presence of weapons and violence affected their feelings of personal safety and their beliefs of passive and direct interventions in ending fights. A total of 1,912 fourth and fifth grade students completed a survey. The results of the survey revealed that 1 in 12 students had carried a weapon at least one time during the previous month, in addition a third of the participants revealed that they would fight if provoked. In addition a quarter of those surveyed felt unsafe when coming to and from school. Another 23%-43% of students surveyed were concerned that they would be involved in physical assault at school. In addition the survey revealed that there were meaningful correlations between the independent variables of gender, age, race, and grades and the dependent variables of possess of weapons, fighting with peers, safety concerns, and solutions or direct interventions for peer fighting that were not aggressive. This article explores an important issue that could be beneficial to administrators and other responsible for school safety.

Beckert, T.E.; Strom, Paris S.; Strom, Robert D.; Darre, Kathryn; Weed, Ane

Single mothers of early adolescents: Perceptions of competence

Raising children who are in early adolescents can be a difficult task. This article explores some of the issues that single mother face when raising adolescent children. The research was performed to evaluate the disimilarites and similarities of single mothes raising adolescents. The study also evaluated the beiefs of adolescents as it pertained to the competencies of parents using a developmental assets approach. The study involved a total of 58 individuals (29 parents and 29 adolescents. Te Adolescents ranged in age from 10 to14-years old. All participants were asked to complete the Parent Success Indicator. The results of the Indicator were compared between the parents and the adolescents. The result of the survey were compared and the independent variables were also evaluated. The study found that three were significant differences on the responses between the parents and the children on 90% of the questions that involved the mothers desire to have more information. The study also found that when an adult was in the home when the child came home from school there was significant differences in the response of both parents and adolescents. This significant difference was also correlated with the amount of time that the father spent with the child every week. Overall the research focused on the point-of-view of both parents and adolescents as it pertained to the parenting styles. The information contained in the article is important and significant because it reveals the dynamics of family structure and how certain structure influence parenting.

Prestwich a, Perugini M, Hurling R. Can implementation intentions and text messages promote brisk walking? A randomized trial. Health Psychol. 2010 Jan;29(1):40-9.

Text messaging has become the most popular form of communication amongst young people. At the same time obesity has become a major problem in society. The authors of this article attempt to examine the manner in which implementation intentions and text messages can affect exercise such as brisk walking. For the purpose of evaluating whether or not the aforementioned factors promoted brisk walking the resarchers used two theory-based interventions. These interventions combine implementation intentions and text message reminders that are consistent wit the walking-related goals established by the participants. Overall 149 people participated in the study. The participants were randomized to one of the following three conditions: implementation intention + SMS plan reminder, implementation intention + SMS goal reminder, and control. The participants also engaged in a four-week follow-up following the implementation of the conditions. . All participants had to finish a goal recall task. The study found that in both group the amount of brisk walking was increased. The increase in walking did not affect the amount of time that participants spent engaged in other types of physical exercise. In addition the group that received texts reminding them of their goals were able to lose more weight than the other participants. Overall this article illustrates that text messaging can be utilized for purposes that are quite different from the original intent of the technology. Some of the terminology used in this particular article was quite technical and could have been explained more thoroughly. However the article provides readers with valuable information concerning the use text massaging to encourage walking. Chien-Ming Yang, Chih-Hsing Wu, Ming-Hui Hsieh, Ming-Hsiung Liu, Feng-Hwa Lu. (2003) Coping with sleep disturbances among young adults: A survey of first-year college students in Taiwan. Behavioral Medicine 29(3): 133-138

Insomnia is a significant problem amongst all age groups. Young adults are particularly vulnerable to experiencing sleep disturbances. The inability to slessp can lead to a myriad of physical and social problems. As a result many researchers have studied the impact of sleep disturbances on young people. This is also the case with Yang et al. (2003) as they studied the ways in which this particular population copes with insomnia and other sleep disturbances. Te study also examined the effectiveness of young adults coping strategies on daytime tiredness and sleep quality. A total of 1,922 college freshmen participated in the study. Of the participants 44% indicated that they had sleep disturbance issues. The most common the disturbances was insufficient sleep. The study found that the adjustment of sleep schedules and naps were the types of coping strategies that were correlated with higher qualities of sleep. However, those participants that chose to ignore sleep disturbances, engaged in sleep-promoting activities, or attempted unsuccessfully to overcome sleeping problems had poor sleep quality. The study also found that regardless of the coping strategy used daytime sleepiness still persisted. Yang et al. set out to establish the coping mechanisms used by young adults as it pertained to sleeping disturbances.. The research confirms that sleep disturbances lead to daytime sleepiness. This information is useful for colleges and for students because it presents the opportunity to educate students concerning how they can cope with sleep problems. The article is articulate and informative.