Parental Alienation Among College Students

A sample of 50 college students responded to a questionnaire measuring perceptions of alienating behaviors on the part of their parents and their current relationship with each parent. Data revealed a higher degree of alienating behavior by divorced parents when compared to non-divorced parents. Mothers and fathers were rated about equally likely to engage in such behaviors. A higher incidence of alienated parent-child relationships in divorced homes approached, but did not reach, statistical significance. Students who were alienated from one parent report higher levels of alienating behaviors on the part of their parents. The results suggest that parental alienating behaviors, and the phenomenon of a child becoming alienated from a parent after divorce, are departures from the norm and worthy of attention and concern.     

Why Frankenstein is a Stigma Among Scientists

As one of the best known science narratives about the consequences of creating life, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818) is an enduring tale that people know and understand with an almost instinctive familiarity. It has become a myth reflecting people’s ambivalent feelings about emerging science: they are curious about science, but they are also afraid of what science can do to them. In this essay, we argue that the Frankenstein myth has evolved into a stigma attached to scientists that focalizes the public’s as well as the scientific community’s negative reactions towards certain sciences and scientific practices. This stigma produces ambivalent reactions towards scientific artifacts and it leads to negative connotations because it implies that some sciences are dangerous and harmful. We argue that understanding the Frankenstein stigma can empower scientists by helping them revisit their own biases as well as responding effectively to people’s expectations for, and attitudes towards, scientists and scientific artifacts. Debunking the Frankenstein stigma could also allow scientists to reshape their professional identities so they can better show the public what ethical and moral values guide their research enterprises.     

Alienation Among the Visually Impaired: Some Important Predictors

We evaluated the effectiveness of a nondiet approach designed to reduce restrained eating behaviors and improve self-acceptance and self-esteem. This approach also encourages participants to address eating and exercise behavior separately. Subjects were Conoco employees who participated in the Wellness Department's Eat For L.I.F.E. (Long-term change; Image of self; Fun; Enjoyment of eating) program and completed pre-participation and 3-year follow-up questionnaires (N = 79). Pre- and postsurvey data were used to assess participants eating behavior, dieting behavior, self-acceptance, self-esteem, level of physical activity, and demographic information. Mastery of the internally directed eating style was assessed during the program at 3 months, at the conclusion of the 6-month program, and at the 3-year follow-up. Analysis of variance indicated that Eat For L.I.F.E. participants were able to significantly decrease their restrained eating behavior and increase self-acceptance, self-esteem, and level of physical activity. Participants also were able to adopt many aspects of the nonrestrained, internally directed eating style and decrease their frequency of weighing-in behavior. These results indicate that strategies fostering internally directed eating behaviors may be more centrally related to an individual's well-being than programs supporting externally directed eating behaviors.     

Facilitating Ethical Reflection Among Scientists Using the Ethical Matrix

Several studies have indicated that scientists are likely to have an outlook on both facts and values that are different to that of lay people in important ways. This is one significant reason it is currently believed that in order for scientists to exercise a reliable ethical reflection about their research it is necessary for them to engage in dialogue with other stakeholders. This paper reports on an exercise to encourage a group of scientists to reflect on ethical issues without the presence of external stakeholders. It reports on the use of a reflection process with scientists working in the area of animal disease genomics (mainly drawn from the EADGENE EC Network of Excellence). This reflection process was facilitated by using an ethical engagement framework, a modified version of the Ethical Matrix. As judged by two criteria, a qualitative assessment of the outcomes and the participants’ own assessment of the process, this independent reflective exercise was deemed to be successful. The discussions demonstrated a high level of complexity and depth, with participants demonstrating a clear perception of uncertainties and the context in which their research operates. Reflection on stakeholder views and values appeared to be embedded within the discussions. The finding from this exercise seems to indicate that even without the involvement of the wider stakeholder community, valuable reflection and worthwhile discourse can be generated from ethical reflection processes involving only scienitific project partners. Hence, the previous assumption that direct stakeholder engagement is necessary for ethical reflection does not appear to hold true in all cases; however, other reasons for involving a broad group of stakeholders relating to governance and social accountability of science remain.     

Perceptions of Religious Discrimination Among U.S. Scientists

Academic scientists in the United States are relatively nonreligious, at least compared to the general population, and some evidence suggests that the professional culture of academic science may foster perceptions of discrimination among scientists who are religious. We examine perceptions of religious discrimination among biologists and physicists in the United States. The analysis shows that Protestant, Muslim, and adherents of “other” traditions report higher rates of religious discrimination in both biology and physics relative to those who do not identify with a religion. Jewish and Catholic adherents report higher rates of discrimination in biology but not in physics. Most of the religious identity effects among biologists are not explained away by measures of beliefs, practices, or professional and demographic characteristics. On the other hand, religious identity differences in perceptions of religious discrimination among physicists are mediated by measures of religious practice. On the whole, these findings suggest that religious identity itself is more stigmatized in biology than in physics. Results have implications for how university professors—and academic scientists in particular—relate to the broader public.     

临床医学家的特点及其创造性研究

医学科学家尤其是临床医学科学家在创造性活动中,有着与其它学科的学者既相同又不尽相同的行为和思维特点,依据301医院百名医学家亲自撰写的巨著《名医手记》和关于创造性的理论,试图从能力、个性心理、思维三个方面对临床医学家的创造性特点做一点初浅的概括。     

Overcoming Barriers to Collaboration Between Basic Behavioral Scientists and Public Health Scientists in Research on Mental Disorders

The behavioral and public health sciences both have a long and rich history supporting basic, translational, and applied research aimed at improving human lives and reducing human suffering. Through the complementary expertise of these disciplines, investigators have contributed to significant, worldwide improvements in mental and physical health. Further gains can be achieved through collaborative research among scientists in these 2 fields. Unfortunately, there are a number of barriers to such collaboration originating in different intellectual traditions, research methods, and the structure and values of academia. We identify these barriers and potential strategies for overcoming them. Several areas for future collaborative research appear promising, especially comorbid mental and physical disorders, adherence to interventions, stigma, and emotional processes. Theory-guided preventive interventions may represent especially fertile areas of collaborative effort.     

Humans as Scientists: Scientists as Humans

This article discusses how constructivist psychology might contribute to studies of the history and philosophy of science. I suggest that this would be a fruitful topic for graduate research and provide a brief analysis of what would be required to model the construct systems involved in the Priestley-Lavoisier controversy over the roles of phlogiston and oxygen in calcification. I also suggest that the rich literature and conceptual frameworks of science studies can contribute significant enhancements to constructivist psychology.     

The Conflict Between Religion and Science in Light of the Patterns of Religious Belief Among Scientists

Recent summaries of psychologist James H. Leuba's pioneering studies on the religious beliefs of American scientists have misrepresented his findings and ignored important aspects of his analyses, including predictions regarding the future of religion. Much of the recent interest in Leuba was sparked by Edward J. Larson and Larry Witham's commentary in Nature (3 April 1997), “Scientists Are Still Keeping the Faith.” Larson and Witham compared the results of their 1996 survey of one thousand randomly selected American scientists regarding their religious beliefs with a similar survey published eighty years earlier by Leuba. Leuba's original studies are themselves problematical. Nonetheless, his notion that different fields of science have different impacts on the religion‐science relationship remains valid. Especially significant is his appreciation of religion as a dynamic, compelling force in human life: any waning of traditional beliefs does not mean a decrease in religious commitment but calls for a new spirituality in harmony with modern scientific teachings. Leuba's studies, placed in proper context, offer a broad historical perspective from which to interpret data about religious beliefs of scientists and the impact of science and scientists on public beliefs, and opportunity to develop new insight into the religion‐science relationship.     

The Political Consequences of Combat: Post‐Traumatic Stress and Political Alienation Among Vietnam Veterans

On average, veterans are more civically and politically engaged than civilians. Previous research on the effects of military service, however, did not account for differences in veterans’ combat experiences. Using survey data from a representative sample of Vietnam veterans, this study presents evidence that veterans who were exposed to severe combat trauma and veterans who exhibited attitudes and fears associated with post‐traumatic stress had significantly lower levels of political efficacy and trust. The negative consequences of combat exposure and post‐traumatic stress are not mitigated when veterans have quality social support or when they seek professional counseling. These findings inform political psychology and hold implications for claims regarding the empowering influence of service in the U.S. military, increased political engagement, in particular. Among Vietnam veterans, exposure to severe combat trauma and post‐traumatic stress were both associated with reduced political efficacy and trust.     

高中生人际信任、疏离感和公民责任意识的关系研究*

探讨高中生的人际信任、疏离感、公民责任意识三者之间的关系。以《高中生人际信任量表》、《青少年学生疏离感量表》和《公民责任意识问卷》为测试工具,在天津市中学随机抽取316名在校学生为被试,进行调查研究。统计结果表明：高中学生人际信任、疏离感和公民责任意识之间存在显著相关。对这三个变量进行中介效应分析,结果发现,疏离感分别部分中介了人际信任的三个维度人品信任、能力信任、行为一致性与公民责任意识之间的关系。人际信任的三个维度既可以直接地影响公共责任意识,也可以通过疏离感来间接地影响高中生的公民责任意识。     

Personal Characteristics that Distinguish Creative Scientists from Less Creative Scientists

What are the personal characteristics that distinguish the creative scientist from the less creative scientist? This study used the concept of implicit theory in a four‐part study of scientists and graduate students in science. In the first part, we collected 1382 adjective words that describe the personal characteristics of the creative scientist from 354 scientists. In the second part of the study, 542 additional scientists assessed these adjectives. We determined that the personal characteristics of the creative scientist fit into four factors: personality, thinking ability, research ability, and uniqueness. In the third part of the study, we found that the concepts of thinking ability and uniqueness would positively predict 221 graduate students' self‐perceived creativity, and research ability would positively predict their creative motivation. The last part of the study involved having 283 creative scientists and 264 less creative scientists from 30 research institutions rated by three colleagues on the above four factors. A logistic regression found that thinking ability was best able to identify creative scientists while personality best predicted less creative scientists.     

Education for Life Scientists on the Dual-Use Implications of Their Research

Advances in the life sciences are occurring with extreme rapidity and accumulating a great deal of knowledge about life’s vital processes. While this knowledge is essential for fighting disease in a more effective way, it can also be misused either intentionally or inadvertently to develop novel and more effective biological weapons. For nearly a decade civil-academic society as well as States Parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention have recognised the importance of dual-use biosecurity education for life scientists as a means to foster a culture of responsibility and prevent the potential misuse of advances in the life sciences for non-peaceful purposes. Nevertheless, the implementation of dual-use biosecurity education for life scientists has made little progress in institutions of higher learning. Professional societies and academic organizations have worked from the bottom-up in developing online dual-use biosecurity education modules that can be used for instruction. However, top-down help is needed from goverments if further progress is to be made in implementing biosecurity education for life scientists.     

工作疏离感研究述评

工作疏离感指的是工作情境不能满足员工的需要或与期望不符导致的员工与工作分隔的心理状态。首先分析了工作疏离感的概念内涵, 介绍了相应的测量工具, 然后着重分析了工作疏离感的影响因素, 包括人口学变量与个人特质、组织与工作特征、上级领导方式以及社会文化等, 并探讨了工作疏离感的影响效果。最后指出了以往研究的缺陷以及未来在中国组织情境下的研究方向, 比如以家文化为背景, 由工作疏离感扩展分析中国员工对组织的疏离感。     

宗教裁判所为什么迫害自然科学家

在科学史上,许多著名的科学家如伽利略、布鲁诺、塞尔维特等一批著名的自然科学家都惨遭“宗教裁判所”的审判,伽利略受到了侮辱,布鲁诺受到了“火刑”,他们在那样的时代,为了科学的进步都付出了昂贵的代价,甚至是生命的代价在他们所处的时代,他们为什么会不顾个人的安危来从事并没有任何功利性的科学事业呢?要想了解宗教裁判所为什么迫害自然科学家