Sadomasochistic relating: what's sex got to do with it?

The sexuality in sadomasochistic relating is most often viewed as defensive, functioning to erotize the repetition of earlier trauma, as a defense against painful affect, or as masking early, nonerotic needs for recognition and autonomy. However, this emphasis on the nonerotic dimension of so-called sexualized experience leads to symbolic interpretations of sexuality; this "deliteralization of sexuality" requires some embodiment in the concrete and literal, or metaphor is delinked from that which it is derived. Without discounting the validity of such formulations, this paper aims to put the drive (libido) back into formulations of sadomasochistic relations, and discusses the erotic dimension in sadomasochistic relations as an irreducible, hidden structure that both threatens and sustains the destructive attachment. It is suggested that sexuality is a driving force behind sadomasochistic interplay, while aggression may be recruited for defensive, concealing purposes. Through a case illustration, this paper demonstrates how sadomasochistic relating is symbolically penetrating, teasing, withholding, and intensifying in hate-inducing ways, all of which are designed to gratify and simultaneously harden the other. In many cases, sadomasochistic sexuality may be viewed as aggressivized, paradoxically, to maintain safety under the regressive pull of sexual and preoedipal longings.     

Inhibitory tagging in visual search can be found if search stimuli remain visible

Klein (1988) reported that inhibitory tagging (i.e., inhibition of return in visual search) made reaction times for the detection of small probes increase at locations where there had previously been rejected items in serial visual search. It is reasonable that the attended and rejected locations are inhibited. However, subsequent studies did not support Klein's idea. In these studies, inhibitory tagging was tested after removing the items from the search tasks. The paradigms in these studies were not appropriate for testing an object-based inhibitory effect because the objects (i.e., items) were removed from the display. In the present study, we found that evidence of inhibitory tagging could be observed only when the items of the search tasks were maintained until the responses for the small probes were made. This appeared to be an object-based effect.     

A functional relation between learning and organization in free recall

It is well known that multitrial free recall is accompanied by increased organization of output over learning trials, even when the order of presentation is randomized. We compared the relation between learning and organization in 30 young and 30 older adults as they learned categorized materials to a criterion of 100% recall. The importance of this age manipulation was that it allowed us to examine, using two groups that differ significantly in their learning ability, whether organization and learning follow the same function. As was expected, older adults showed less organization on any given learning trial. However, when equated for degree of learning, the older adults showed approximately the same level of organization as the young. This finding suggests that the organization-learning relation remains invariant in the face of significant differences in participants’ mnemonic abilities.     

Repeated assessment of the Tower of Hanoi test: reliability and age effects

The purpose of this research was to analyze the effects of repeating an executive function test. Three versions of the Tower of Hanoi (TOH) test were repeated three times each, with test-retest intervals of 2 months. Two groups of children participated in the research (7.7 and 11.6 years, n = 22 and n = 28). Repeating the assessment improved the performance and decreased the total performance time in both of the groups. The older participants improved their performance faster than the younger ones. The reliability of all the scores, besides the error scores, seemed to be satisfactory after the first few assessments. The stability of the scores was maintained through all the assessments. The planning time did not explain the variations of the achieved score. The reasons for the initially low reliabilities are discussed, and modifications for the test administration and scoring are suggested.     

Frontal-Lobe Involvement in Spatial Memory: Evidence from PET,fMRI, and Lesion Studies

Many studies have identified the prefrontal cortex as the brain area that is critical for spatial memory, both in humans and in other primates. Other studies, however, have failed to establish this relation. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to review the literature regarding the role of the human prefrontal lobe in spatial memory. This was done by examining the evidence obtained from neuropsychological patients and from studies using brain-imaging techniques (PET and fMRI). Evidence supporting the notion that the prefrontal cortex is extensively involved in spatial working memory was found. The majority of these studies, however, suggests that frontal-lobe involvement is not related to the type of material that is being processed (e.g., spatial vs. nonspatial), but to process-specific functions, such as encoding and retrieval. Theoretically, these functions could be linked to the central executive within Baddeley's working-memory model, or to recent theories that emphasize the various processes that play a role in working memory. Also, methodological issues were discussed. Further research is needed to enhance our understanding of the precise interaction of domain-specific and general processes.     

Beyond IQ: broad-based measurement of individual success potential or "emotional intelligence"

Individual-difference correlates of life success were studied using 302 participants aged 17-46 years (107 men, 195 women) and 31 individual-difference measures. Factor 1 (Relaxed Temperament) included Trait Pleasure-Displeasure (+), Anxiety (-), Depression (-), Optimism (+), Self-Esteem (+), Covert Index of Employee Reliability (+), and Functional Flexibility (-). Positively loading scales on Factor 2 (Arousable Temperament) were Trait Arousability, Emotional Empathy, Emotional Thinking, and Affiliative Tendency. Factor 3 (Disciplined Goal Orientation) included Delay of Gratification (+), Impulsivity (-), Procrastination (-), Patience (+), Integrity (+), Adaptive Coping (+), and Intelligence (+). Positively loading scales on Factor 4 (Dominant Temperament) were Trait Dominance-Submissiveness, Social Competence, Achieving Tendency, and Self-Actualization. Factors 1, 3, 4, and intelligence exhibited positive relations with all peer-rated criterion measures of life success. Trait Arousability, representing Factor 2, correlated negatively with relationship, physical, work, and overall success. Physical attractiveness correlated positively with all success measures except emotional success. When success measures were regressed against intelligence and personality scales or factors, intelligence did not account for variance beyond that explained by personality.     

相对主义,理性主义和知识社会学

在过去近 30年中 ,国外学者在科学知识社会学 (SSK)的研究方面取得了令人瞩目的成就 ,引起了相当大的影响 ,其范围已经超出了社会学领域 ,对传统的科学史及哲学研究提出了挑战。SSK代表了国外学术界在认识论、社会哲学以及科学社会学等方面研究的新方向 ,引起了不同领域学者的广泛关注。有鉴于此 ,我们挑选了 SSK正反两方面有代表性人物的论文 ,组成“科学社会学 :理论与争论”专栏 ,分期刊出 ,希望对国内学者有所启示。读者若想了解更详细的情况 ,请注意东方出版社不久将推出的《知识与社会译丛》。     

给一位苏联哲学家的信

本文作者于一九六一年访问苏联,与苏联哲学研究所穆施文尼拉茲教授作了会说,双方约定以公开信的形式陈述各自的观点,达里译出的是作者写给穆施文尼拉茲的公开信。作者否认存在和意识问题是哲学的根本问题,甚至认为“不该把它看作一个有意义的问题”。普通语义学的根本问题牵涉到精神健全的性质,它指示出在创立一门关于人的科学以及在促进健全思想方面必须遵循的方向。作者佯称承认客观世界的存在乃是普通语义学的基础,但又否认这个承认构成了“哲学根本问题的一个解决”。他把这种承认简单地看作是一个公理,一种约定,一个方便的起点,或者是为了使哲学讨论能够平静地进行而大家同意保持的一个契约。