Wish You Were Queer: Exploring the Potential of Queer Play Parties to Arouse Social Change

Abstract

This article explores how the practice of BDSM sex parties within the queer community can inspire social structure alternatives conducive to sustainability. Drawing from the notion that the dominant social order of neoliberal hetero-patriarchy undermines our ability to address sustainability challenges as a collective, I demonstrate how the same culture disproportionately alienates the queer community. Taking from the theory of subaltern counterpublics, I highlight how social structures created at BDSM queer sex parties challenge dominant cultures and create spaces of inclusivity and radical participation, specifically through communication. These are key criteria called for in commons management, relevant for sustainable futures.     

Subcultures,Narratives and Identification: An Empirical Study of BDSM (Bondage,Domination and Submission,Discipline, Sadism and Masochism) Practices in Italy

I present a subcultural analysis of the Italian Bondage, Domination, Sadism and Masochism (BDSM) community based on recent empirical findings. The research involved over 1 year of participant observation into the BDSM community of Milan and 43 interviews with members or key witnesses. Throughout the article, I explore the heuristic value of the category of subculture in highlighting important features of BDSM groups. Subcultures are intended as formed by: (1) norms, behaviours, narratives, and artefacts that circulate in a group, and (2) a sense of identification, or subcultural participation in a community. I then present four ideal types of BDSM practitioners based on the degrees of subcultural identification with the group and of display of BDSM-identification throughout practitioners’ everyday life. Some empirical examples are provided. In addition, I describe the formation of the BDSM subculture in Italy in the last 40 years as recollected by long-term members and key witnesses. Besides, I discuss its most recent developments. A subcultural analysis of BDSM groups allows the identification of group elements like power structures and shifting roles, and the different degrees of emotional and cultural involvement of social actors in the group.     

Impaired social learning in patients with major depressive disorder revealed by a reinforcement learning model

Background/objectivePatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) have altered learning rates for rewards and losses in non-social learning paradigms. However, it is not well understood whether the ability to learn from social interactions is altered in MDD patients. Using reinforcement learning during the repeated Trust Game (rTG), we investigated how MDD patients learn to trust newly-met partners in MDD patients.MethodSixty-eight MDD patients and fifty-four controls each played as ‘investor’ and interacted with ten different partners. We manipulated both the level of trustworthiness by varying the chance of reciprocity (10, 30, 50, 70 and 90%) and reputation disclosure, where partners’ reputation was either pre-disclosed or hidden.ResultsOur reinforcement learning model revealed that MDD patients had significantly higher learning rates for losses than the controls in both the reputation disclosure and non-disclosure condition. The difference was larger when reputation was not disclosed than disclosed. We observed no difference in learning rates for gains in either condition.ConclusionsOur findings highlight that abnormal learning for losses underlies the social learning process in MDD patients. This abnormality is higher when situational unpredictability is high versus low. Our findings provide novel insights into social rehabilitation of MDD.     

Women’s Introduction to Alternative Sexual Behaviors through Erotica and Its Association with Sexual and Relationship Satisfaction

Women’s interests in bondage, discipline, dominance/submission, and sadism/masochism (BDSM) behaviors are one of the most poorly understood research topics, even though erotica novels—typically read by women—are increasingly including these activities. The present study explored potential links between women’s engagement in BDSM behaviors, consumption of erotica literature, relationship communication and satisfaction, and overall well-being using a multi-study approach. Results from three exploratory studies using multiple methodologies revealed a positive association between erotica, BDSM behaviors, and physical satisfaction, but brought attention to the relatively little information available for women who are interested in practicing alternative sexual behaviors. Practical suggestions for social scientists and mental health professionals are provided.     

Cessation of alcohol and drug use among adolescents: A social learning model

This investigation tests the ability of Akers’ (1977) social learning theory of deviance to account for the cessation of alcohol or drug use among adolescents. For each of five substances, two‐group discriminant function analyses showed that social learning variables were successful in discriminating adolescents who ceased using from their counterparts who continued to use. Peer associations were generally most discriminating with normative definitions and social rewards or punishments also contributing to differentiation. Positive or negative effects of the substances as well as imitation bore little relationship to cessation. Social learning theory was as explanatory for stronger drugs as it was for alcohol and marijuana. Policy and program implications are suggested.     

A Theoretical Examination of Immigrant Status and Substance Use among Latino College Students

ABSTRACT

Drawing on survey data from a sample of Latino college students, we examine the generalizability of social learning theory, general strain theory, social bond theory, and self-control theory to a Latino population and consider how these four theories can elaborate on the relationship between immigrant status and substance use. We find that social learning and general strain provide the most robust explanations of substance use across four outcomes. Also, third-plus generation respondents generally reported more substance use than first-generation respondents. Our findings suggest that this latter trend is due mostly to varying effect sizes in social learning by immigrant status.     

Workaholism in organizations: The role of personal beliefs and fears

Abstract

This research examined potential individual difference correlates of workaholism in organizational settings. Data were collected from 530 women and men in managerial and professional roles using anonymous questionnaires. Workaholism types were determined using measures developed by Spence and Robbins (1992) Journal of Personality Assessment 58, 160–178. Three personal beliefs and fears identified by Price (1982) Journal of Occupational Behavior, 3, 109–130 in her cognitive social learning model of Type A behavior were assessed as well, some suggesting a possible overlap between particular Type A components and workaholism. Two of the three beliefs and fears were positively and significantly related with workaholism type.     

Dismantling Gender

Abstract

While it may seem at first that a vast chasm separates ancient gnostics, those “heretical” early Christians active in the Greco-Roman world of the first centuries CE, and modern queer BDSM practitioners, one should note that what these two groups have in common is crucial: both believe gender to be oppressive and both act upon this belief in strikingly similar ways. This article presents a comparative study of the rituals employed by both groups, which were and are constructed in order to prescribe a way to gradually undermine the normative process of gendering. The comparison focuses on three interrelated issues: the motivation in each case to take part in the ritual, the transcendence towards which each ritual aspires, and the positioning of the subject performing the ritual in relation to the ritual objectives and efficaciousness. This comparison is meant to shed more light on these two extremely complex phenomena.     

The impact of different sources of social support on academic performance: Intervening factors and mediated pathways in the case of master's thesis

IntroductionAcademic failure and dropout are pervasive challenges at all levels of the education system. Research so far pointed out different aspects of this large phenomenon. On the one hand, some scholars have argued that social support is a key factor to foster learning and persistence. On the other hand, some other scholars have rather highlighted the role of student motivation and engagement itself in improving performance on academic tasks. In this article, we tested theoretical models that combine the two approaches in a whole process.AimsWe aimed at clarifying (1) the specific contribution of several sources of perceived social support to academic performance, and (2) the mediation role of motivation and engagement in the relationships between perceived social support and performance.MethodThe sample consisted of 226 last year university students. Structural equation modeling analyses were used to test the hypothesized associations.ResultsStructural equation modeling analysis revealed that institutional and supervisor support were associated with motivation, which in turn predicted greater behavioral, cognitive and emotional engagement. Further, behavioral engagement was the unique contributor of academic performance at the master's thesis.ConclusionThe results clarify the specific contribution of different sources of perceived social support and underline the importance of the supervisor and the institution. They also underline the importance of considering different sources of perceived social support at the same time. Finally, theoretical assumptions concerning the mediational role of motivation were confirmed.     

BDSM,Interaction Rituals and Open Bodies

In this article, based on ethnographic fieldwork in Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, Sadism and Masochism (BDSM) communities in Sweden, I explore the ritual aspects of BDSM. Drawing on Douglas and Collins’ theories of interaction rituals, I analyse the creation of emotional energy during humiliation practice through connection and intimacy between the participants. The article examines how the ritual aspect of BDSM sessions can be understood as an enabler of expressions and emotional energy. BDSM becomes a free zone in which bodies are allowed to be open in a Bakhtinian sense, that is, transgressive and beyond control.     

Looking at My (Real) World through Mathematics: Memories and Imaginaries of Math and Science Learning

Abstract

Critical math and science educators have argued for pedagogies that focus on equity, social justice, and the identities of learners. To inform debates about the purposes and values of math and science pedagogy, we need to better understand how different kinds of curriculum and instruction are taken up by learners over time. This study examines the ways one Latinx immigrant learner, Calvin (a pseudonym), constructed the values and purposes of his earlier math and science learning experiences, as an adult hoping to pursue a career in science. Narrative analysis is used to explore the ways Calvin made sense of his learning of math and science in high school, in community colleges, and on his own. Drawing on the construct of appropriation, we examine the conceptual tools Calvin took up from different math and science pedagogies (reform, critical, and traditional) in narrating his desire to explore and understand scientific phenomena. Narrative frames position Calvin with greater or lesser agency as he navigates different learning environments, imagines possible futures, and constructs the purposes of science and mathematics. The narratives of Calvin’s learning illustrate the conceptual tools he appropriates from reform and social justice pedagogies: real-to-my-life mathematics, learning as connecting and imagining, harder-but-easier math for a purpose, and the ways reading and writing the world can be applied to imagining planets and the universe. The analysis suggests the usefulness of restorying as a way to explore how our pedagogies interact with learners’ subjectivities, desires, values, and purposes for learning.     

Social anxiety,disengagement coping,and alcohol-use behaviors among adolescents

Background and Objectives: Although research indicates that social anxiety (SA) is associated with problematic drinking, few studies have examined these relations among adolescents, and all alcohol-related assessments have been retrospective. Socially anxious youth may be at risk to drink in an effort to manage negative affectivity, and a proclivity toward disengagement coping (e.g. avoidance of aversive stimuli) may enhance the desire to drink and learning of coping-related use. Design: Adding to research addressing adolescent SA and alcohol use, the current study examined (1) proportional drinking motives (subscale scores divided by the sum of all subscales), (2) current desire to drink in a socially relevant environment (introduction to research laboratory), and (3) the indirect effect of retrospectively reported disengagement in social stress contexts on proportional coping motives and desire to drink. Method: Participants were 70 community-recruited adolescents who reported recent alcohol use. Level of SA, disengagement coping, drinking motives, and desire to drink following laboratory introduction were assessed. Results: Proclivity toward disengagement in prior socially stressful contexts accounted for significant variance in the positive relations between SA and both proportional coping motives and current desire to drink. Conclusions: These data complement existing work. Continued efforts in building developmentally sensitive models of alcohol use are needed.     

Observation as a method to enhance collective efficacy: An integrative review

ObjectivesThis review provides an integrative argument for the use of observation as an intervention to manipulate individual collective efficacy beliefs in sports teams.DesignAn exploration of the conceptual and empirical evidence underpinning observation-based interventions for increasing collective efficacy.MethodA presentation of reflections on the following. First, we reflect on existing techniques used to increase self- and collective efficacy beliefs. Second, we consider collective efficacy in the context of observational learning and the various modeling techniques employed in the sports and motor performance literature. Third, we highlight relevant literature from neuroscience, outlining the analogous neural pathways evident for social cognition (i.e., collective efficacy) and observation.ResultsThis review presents a case for the use of observation interventions to manipulate collective efficacy, drawing upon social psychological frameworks of human behavior, the observation-based literature, and contemporary understanding of brain and behavior.ConclusionsObservation-based interventions are suited for collective efficacy manipulation in sport. There is a need to advance understanding of this relationship in order to maximize improvements in collective efficacy across group contexts.     

If all acts of love and pleasure are Her rituals,what about BDSM? Feminist culture wars in contemporary Paganism

Since the 1970s, some religious practitioners of the contemporary Pagan movement (a.k.a. Neo-Paganism) have embraced spiritual BDSM, or “sacred kink,” as a spiritual discipline relating to their tradition. The “sex wars,” debates around pornography, prostitution, and sadomasochism, have appeared in the history of Wicca and contemporary Paganism. Pagan feminists have brought theological questions to the same debates. They have focused on the Wiccan Rede (“harm none”) and the affirmation of pleasure in Doreen Valiente’s Charge of the Goddess that states that, “All acts of pleasure are [the Goddess’s] rituals.” While support for BDSM has become the dominant public perspective in twenty-first-century Paganism, the movement’s late twentieth-century history includes instances of anguish as individuals wrestled with their personal sexual desire and their feminist principles.     

High school student-athletes’ perceptions and experiences of leadership as a life skill

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to gain student-athlete perceptions of: (1) the definition of leadership for high school student-athletes; (2) the process of leadership development in high school sport; and (3) the factors that have helped or hindered leadership transfer between high school sport and other life domains.DesignThis study was grounded in an interpretivist ontological perspective and used focus group interviews to gather insights of student-athletes’ leadership experiences.MethodPurposeful sampling identified 33 high-school student-athlete leaders who were members of student advisory councils for high school state athletic associations in the United States. The 15 females and 18 males participated in focus-group interviews. Reflexive thematic analysis of the interview data was then conducted.ResultsResults revealed that student-athlete leadership was viewed as a skill-set and a mindset, driven by individual agency. As an on-going developmental process, student-athletes gained awareness of leadership skills, increased self-expectations and self-confidence in their use and application of leadership skills, and developed a transformational leadership mindset, as they encountered and engaged with critical learning opportunities in high school sport and gained support from coaches and peers. Leadership application outside of sport was a multidimensional psychological process, including both conscious and implicit elements, and facilitated or constrained by environmental opportunities and social influences.ConclusionsHigh school sport offers a unique context where self-agentic youth leadership development in sport and life can occur through experiential learning opportunities. To this point, future research directions and recommendations for practitioners will be provided.     

Fifty Shades of Sexual Health and BDSM Identity Messaging: A Thematic Analysis of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fifty Shades</Emphasis> Series

The Fifty Shades book series is immensely popular, highly sexually explicit, and may offer an opportunity for sexual health education among readers. Past research has examined some of the messaging in the series from a variety of frameworks, but has not examined messages specific to sexual and reproductive health. Utilizing thematic analysis, the current paper aimed to examine the sexual health and BDSM (Bondage, Dominance, Sadism/Submission, Masochism) identity messaging presented within the Fifty Shades series in relation to optimal sexual well-being in the context of partnered sexual relationships. Sexual scenes (n = 44) revealed the following sexual health messages: sexual desire, orgasm, approach and avoidance goals, sexual and intimate communication, consent, contraception, and sexual/physical exploration. Trauma induced stigma and psychopathology were two additional themes identified specific to BDSM identities and practices. The findings are discussed within the context of the current sexuality literature, and opportunities for using the series as sexual health education are explored.     

Effects of a Structured Camp Experience on Locus of Control Orientation

Summary

Inner-city teenagers (n = 261) experienced a structured camp program for a week. It was predicted and found that this experience led to a change toward internality, in the locus of control orientation of these youngsters. The trend toward internality continued in a group of youngsters (n = 27) who returned for an additional week. Item analyses revealed the specific items on which the changes occurred and indicated that a rather general change of orientation had occurred. The results were discussed in terms social learning theory and suggestions were made to improve future programs of this sort.     

Observation of elite gymnastic performance: Processes and perceived functions of observation

ObjectivesThe purpose of the study was firstly to examine the nature of the information individuals extract from observations of their own performance and the reasons they give for choosing this information. Second, we aimed to investigate how individuals treat observed information and the strategies they use. Identification of the reasons for the use of each of the strategies was also discerned.DesignA protocol inspired by Ericsson and Simon's (1993) Think-Aloud-Procedure.MethodTen French female elite gymnasts were invited to “think-aloud” as they viewed a video sequence of their own performance.ResultsFindings revealed that the gymnasts paid attention mainly to spatial information and rarely reported kinematics information. The participants reported four main reasons for observing their own performance: (i) to improve self-assessment; (ii) to increase performance of technical execution; (iii) to increase imagery; and (iv) to increase visual perceptions. Gymnasts used different strategies to code the information, such as imagery, self-talk, imagery associated with self-talk, observing others and listening to the coach's feedback. These strategies of retention were perceived to be a means to improve performance.ConclusionsThe results are discussed in relation to Bandura's [(1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall; (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company] social cognitive theory of observational learning.     

Behavioral-systems marital and family therapy: Integration and clinical application

Abstract

This paper describes our integration of two of the more prevalent approaches to marital and family therapy: the behavioral (social learning) and the family systems (communication theory) approaches. A discussion of the development of family rules from a behavioral point of view is presented as an example of conceptual integration. However, the major intent of the paper is to present a rather detailed explication of the authors' multivaried strategies for intervention, which are designed to integrate and innovate upon the major behavioral and family systems treatment techniques.     

Learning to cheat: The interaction of moral‐development and social learning theories

A possible interaction between moral‐development levels and social learning variables is tested with self‐report data on test cheating from 175 college students. Among those at lower developmental levels, peer reactions best explain cheating behavior. For those at middle development levels, internalized definitions are most explanatory. Among those with more autonomous moralities, no pattern of social variables emerges to explain cheating.