THE CLIMATE FOR WOMEN IN ACADEMIC SCIENCE: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE CHANGEABLE

Deficits theory posits that women scientists have not yet achieved parity with men scientists because of structural aspects of the scientific environment that provide them with fewer opportunities and more obstacles than men. The current study of 208 faculty women scientists tested this theory by examining the effect of personal negative experiences and perceptions of the workplace climate on job satisfaction, felt influence, and productivity. Hierarchical multiple regression results indicated that women scientists experiencing more sexual harassment and gender discrimination reported poorer job outcomes. Additionally, perceptions of a generally positive, nonsexist climate, as well as effective leadership, were related to positive job outcomes after controlling for harassment and discrimination. We discuss implications for the retention and career success of women in academic science.     

Therapy for prophecy nightmares

Conceptions reported by various authors concerning omen dreams and prophetic nightmares are described followed by five brief case reports. Therapeutic approaches were primarily insight-oriented and educational but also included direct testing of associated superstitions and interactions with dream images in the awake state.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Dreams, Ottowa, Canada, June 1986.     

A critique of the microcounselling approach to problem understanding

Microcounselling approaches involve teaching the component behaviours of effective counselling or interviewing within a problem-solving framework. Egan, Ivey and Carkhuff, as proponents of this view, stress that later action stages of the problem-solving cycle should be based on an adequate understanding of the client's problem. The relationship between the skills which comprise the microcounselling approach and the goal of problem understanding is examined. It is argued that the approach lacks any explanation of how problem understanding is reached, and that it concentrates instead on the communication techniques involved in the discovery and modification of the client's understanding. This omission leaves counsellors without a rationale for the modification of their clients' views and without a means to regulate their use of the various microskills. Information theory and recent research on complex problem-solving are introduced to explain the skills involved in reaching a high-quality understanding of a client's problem. Given that these complex cognitive processes are not addressed in the microcounselling approach, suggestions are made for its modification.     

Successive discrimination training with equated reinforcement frequencies: failure to obtain behavioral contrast

In two experiments, pigeons were trained on two-component multiple schedules in which responding in one component (S₁) was always maintained by a variable-interval schedule. In Experiment I, low response rates were reinforced in the second (S₂) component for six master subjects. This schedule was adjusted to equate reinforcement frequencies in the two components. These subjects were compared to yoked partners, for which reinforcement in the S₂ component was made available on a variable-interval schedule whose value was determined by the master subjects. A similar procedure was used in Experiment II, where the S₂ schedule for master subjects made reinforcers contingent on the absence of responding. No evidence was found in either experiment for a behavioral contrast effect in the S₁ component attributable to response reduction in the S₂ component. A reliable contrast effect was obtained from a group of pigeons given extinction conditions in the S₂ component, which was compared to a group maintained throughout on a multiple variable-interval schedule. The results suggest that previous indications of behavioral contrast in similar situations were probably caused by uneven reinforcement distributions or reflect uncontrolled fluctuations in response rates.     

Behavioral contrast without response-rate reduction

Behavioral contrast was obtained in two experiments, which both employed a standard free-operant successive discrimination (a multiple variable-interval extinction schedule), without the occurrence of reductions of response rate in the extinction component. In Experiment I, one group of four pigeons was trained on a multiple schedule in which one stimulus was associated with a variable-interval schedule and the second stimulus with response-independent reinforcement on a free variable-interval schedule. Though by the end of this training three pigeons were responding very little to the second stimulus, when this stimulus was associated with extinction all subjects showed a contrast effect. In Experiment II, eight pigeons were trained extensively to respond to a single stimulus on a variable-interval schedule, before a second stimulus associated with extinction was introduced. This second stimulus was dissimilar to the initial stimulus and five pigeons never responded in its presence. Nevertheless, all pigeons showed a contrast effect and there was no evidence that the effect was smaller in errorless subjects or smaller than in a subsequent discrimination where all subjects made many errors. Both experiments indicated that response reduction in one component of a multiple schedule is not a necessary condition for the occurrence of contrast.     

Perception of two-component electrocutaneous stimuli

Electrocutaneous stimuli varying in strength (6, 8, 10 V) and frequency (9, 27, 81 Hzj were presented in pairs. Subjects were asked to give a numerical score to represent their perception of overall difference in a pair. To assess their ability to use numbers and their performance on unfamiliar stimuli, no guidance on the nature of the stimuli or the range or scale of the scores was given. Dimensional analysis indicated that perception of differences in one component was influenced by the absolute level of the other component, if this was constant in the pair, or by the difference. Considerable variation among subjects in the nature and extent of this interference effect was observed. Individual differences scaling (INDSCAL) enabled a satisfactory consensus model to be obtained. An empirical relationship expressing the observed twocomponent difference scores in terms of one-component scores was derived. Increasing voltage level diminished perception of frequency difference. Higher frequency levels augmented perception of voltage difference. This relationship is a modification of the combinatorial model proposed by Krantz and Tversky (1975). Individual differences in the combinatorial process are allowed for by application of the subject weightings from the INDSCAL solution.     

Hospitalized psychiatric and medical patients and the clergy

Earlier research suggested that persons in a community with significant psychiatric disorders seek relief from their clergy as often as from trained mental-health professionals. In this research, contacts with clergy about current hospitalization by matched samples of inpatient psychiatric (N=51) and medical/surgical (N=50) patients were compared, as were responses to structured interviews about the importance of religion, religious affiliation, and participation, spiritual needs, and spiritual well-being. The findings suggest that the two groups were similar in demographics, the degree to which religion was a source of strength and comfort in their lives, and percentages reporting as having a clergy person; the group of hospitalized psychiatric patients was significantly less likely, however, than the sample of medical/surgical patients to have discussed their current hospitalization with their clergy persons. Possible causes for this difference as well as areas of further research are discussed.     

Commentary: Tending the Garden of Personality

ABSTRACT In this Commentary for the special issue of the Journal of Personality, we discuss the uses and limitations of taxonomies in personality, drawing on the role of taxonomic efforts in other sciences. We endorse Mc Adams's concept of several “levels” (perhaps three: traits, motives and cognitive structures, and core unity themas or identity) for ordering and arranging the major variables of personality. We argue that these levels should be considered independent and distinct: Each level has its own range of convenience, and no level can be reduced to any other level. We suggest that the concept of conflict—within and across levels—is a useful way to understand certain problematic cases. Finally, we argue that the social macrocontext (gender, class, race, culture, and history) has unfortunately been neglected in most personality theories and taxonomies of variables. We illustrate the importance of social macrocontext with a brief discussion of the case of Maya Angelou.     

The social competence of very-low-birthweight children: Teacher,peer, and self-perceptions

Whether very-low birthweight (VLBW 1500 gm) children differ from normal birthweight (NBW > 2500gm) children with respect to social (as opposed to intellectual) competence has been a relatively neglected issue. The social competence at school age of 183 VLBW children was therefore compared with that of 183 NBW children born at the same hospital matched for age, gender, social class, parity, and maternal age. A multi-informant, multidefinilional approach to social competence was adopted involving teacher, (same-gender) peer, and self-ratings of the 366 children's levels of social maladjustment, social skill, and peer acceptance. VLBW children from the upper, middle, and lower social classes received significantly higher mean sadness/unhappiness scores (even with IQ covaried) than their NEW counterparts. Mean scores for the VLBW group were also higher for social withdrawal, and lower for both social skill and peer acceptance. Possible antecedents and consequences of such group differences in affect and sociability are suggested.This study was supported by grants from the Department of Health and Social Services, the Chest, Heart and Stroke Association, the Perinatal Trust Fund (all of Northern Ireland), and the Medical Research Council (U.K.) for the investigation of The cognitive, social, and behavioral adjustment of very-low-birthweight infants at school age. The resources provided by the Northern Ireland Department of Economic Development ACE scheme arc also gratefully acknowledged. The authors wish to thank all 15 research assistants on the Very Low-Birthweight (VLBW) Team, and especially those parents, children, and school personnel who participated so willingly in the NI VLBW project.