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Illustrates a technique designed to help adolescents and young adults become aware of the relationships between certain classic determinants (e.g., prestige, salary, career prospects) and their vocational preference system, the strong and weak points in their information systems, and the internal structure of their occupational representation. Presents and analyzes an example of extension to the family. (Author/PVV)

The way Togolese people estimate the risk of becoming HIV-infected as a result of sexual contact was examined. The participants were presented with scenarios depicting a number of sexual acts, use of protective devices, and the probability that the partner is infected. Findings support the appropriate use of protective behavior information, as well as the appropriate use of probability information. Number of sexual acts was, however, perceived to have minimal impact on risk. Togolese people should be made aware, through systematic information campaigns, of the relationship between number of sexual acts and risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the cross-cultural differences in conceptualizations of forgiveness, using a modified version of the Conceptualizations of Forgiveness Scale. In the Congolese (collectivistic) culture, forgiveness was expected to be mainly conceived as an 'interpersonal' construct, and in the French (individualistic) culture as an 'intrapersonal' process. The findings supported these views. The Congolese more than the French conceived forgiveness as aimed at reconciling with the offender and extensible to people outside the offended--offender dyad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: When making decisions, people are known to try to minimize the regret that would be provoked by unwanted consequences of these decisions. The authors explored the strength and determinants of such anticipated regret in a study of physicians' decisions to order prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests. METHODS: 32 US and 33 French primary care physicians indicated the likelihood they would order a PSA for 32 hypothetical men presenting for routine physical exams. They then indicated how much regret they would feel if they found advanced prostate cancer in 12 other patients for whom they had chosen not to order PSAs several years before. The latter patients differed according to age (55, 65, or 75 years), a prior request or not for PSA testing, and no or some irregularity of the prostate on the earlier rectal exam. RESULTS: ANOVA found that regret was higher when the patient had requested a PSA, the prostate was irregular, and the patient was younger. Shape had less effect when the patient had requested a PSA. US physicians had more regret than the French, patient request had a greater impact on the Americans, and increasing patient age reduced regret more among the French. In a 1-way correlation, the regret score was associated with the likelihood of ordering PSAs for both the French (r = 0.64, P < 0.005) and the Americans (r = 0.42, P< 0.02). In a regression analysis too, the regret score was the most important predictor of the likelihood of ordering a PSA (beta = 0.37, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Regret over failing to diagnose aggressive prostate cancer is associated with a policy of ordering PSAs. This regret appears to be culturally sensitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was aimed at characterizing the exact algebraic structure of the love schema in order to trace possible changes in the conceptualization of love throughout the adult life cycle, notably as regards the weight attributed to the three components of love: passion, intimacy, and commitment. The methodological framework was the Functional Theory of Cognition. Irrespective of the gender and age of the participants (from 18 to 93), the structure of the love schema was shown to obey an equal-weight-averaging rule; the love schema was conceived as a strictly compensatory schema. Irrespective of age and gender, passion was the most important factor (w = .51), followed by intimacy (.29) and commitment (.20). The relationship between overall love value and degree of passion (or intimacy or commitment) was not conceived as a linear one, but as an exponential one. The weight of passion was shown to decline over age, and the weight of commitment was shown to increase over age. This change was, however, very limited and observed in elderly participants only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: To understand why many primary care physicians in the United States and France order prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests routinely for their asymptomatic male patients despite 'evidence-based' recommendations. METHODS: Thirty-two U.S. general internists and family practitioners and 33 French generalists judged, for 32 hypothetical male patients seen for routine preventive care, the probability that the patients had asymptomatic prostate cancer and the likelihood that they would order PSA tests. They were also asked about beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge related to prostate cancer. RESULTS: The significant predictors of ordering more PSA tests in the scenarios were physicians' higher ratings of regret if untested patients were found to have advanced cancer, their greater discomfort if they suspected that patients had illnesses but could not know for sure, and their perceptions of official recommendations as favoring routine testing. IMPLICATIONS: Nonrational factors can impede physicians' adoption of 'evidence-based' recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to systematically examine the variations of the effects of (1) transitional anxiety states and enduring anxiety dispositions, and (2) worldviews (hierarchic, egalitarian, individualist, and fatalist), as a function of the type of hazard considered. Ten risk factors were identified. Transitional anxiety contributed significantly to the prediction of four of these risk factors. The more anxious the respondents, the higher were their scores for the Common Individual Hazards, Pollutants, and Outdoor Activities factors, and the lower were their scores for the Public Transportation and Energy Production factor. Enduring anxiety contributed significantly to the prediction of the Psychotropic Drugs factor. The more anxious the respondents, the lower were their scores. The four worldview factors contributed significantly to the prediction of three of these risk factors. The more fatalistic the respondents, the lower were their scores for the Pollutants factor, and the higher were their scores for the Public Transportation and Energy Production factor; the more egalitarian the respondents, the higher were their scores for the Pollutants factor; the more hierarchic the respondents, the lower were their scores for the Public Transportation and Energy Production factor; and the more individualistic the respondents, the higher were their scores for the Pollutants and Deviance, Sex, and Addiction factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]