THE STATUS OF THE ANOMALY IN THE FEMINIST GOD-TALK OF ROSEMARY RUETHER

Abstract. Scripture, the creeds, and tradition have provided the raw material that theology has attempted to refine. The contribution of much recent theology comes from new insight into these materials by women, blacks, and the Third World, often as examined by analytic tools derived from post-Christian ideologies. The theology of Rosemary Ruether stands out because of her choice of sources, among which she includes documents excoriated as heretical by what she calls the patriarchal orthodoxy of the early Christian church. Because of this it is useful to examine this type of theology in relation to other theological inquiries of recent years. The thesis of this paper is that, in her ability to incorporate source material hitherto regarded as heretical, Ruether has demonstrated the scientific character of this kind of theology.     

Beyond Rhetoric: Techniques for Using the Black Aesthetic in Group Counseling and Guidance

This article presents a small sample of the kinds of things that can be done in group work with Blacks seeking to advance our fight for freedom and dignity. We have used these techniques in a variety of settings, and we go beyond rhetorical assertiveness in saying that, “It does indeed work.” Black children, adolescents, and adults all benefit greatly from guidance stemming from a philosophical orientation anchored in an African way of life. These techniques are a practical extension of the prophetic wisdom of the Black artist, coupled with the expressive styles of Black people. Just as we searched and found a philosophical base in the cultural artifacts of Black life, we have, too, searched and found cathartic, curative, and educational aids in music, drama, poetry, folklore, expressive movement, and graphic expression, making our methods consistent with the creative Black spirit. The techniques that follow are not meant to be complete in any sense, but, rather, are offered to stimulate readers to unleash their creative potential as they seek to assist Blacks with their problems to enable them to persist in struggle.     

Assessing treatability in mentally disordered offenders: A conceptual and methodological note

The assessment of treatability in mentally disordered offenders has rarely been addressed through empirical research, despite its frequent use in clinical and legal decision-making. We describe four necessary steps for establishing the requisite research base for treatability evaluations: (a) criterion specification, (b) the development of reliable measures, (c) the validation of these measures with treatment outcome data, and (d) the incorporation of environmental and base rate information.     

Type A personality, self-control, and vulnerability to stress

Type A behavior (hard-driving, competitive, time-urgent, hostile-irritable) has been linked to high stress levels and the risk of eventual cardiovascular problems (i.e., coronary heart disease, CHD). However, this pattern of behavior closely resembles the traditional masculine instrumental (goal-oriented) orientation, and, if kept within limits, may be viewed as adaptive in success-oriented, middle-class college students. Hypothetically then, Type A behavior may be displayed by a broad group of individuals, and only in those cases when it is allowed to reach extreme proportions is stress sufficient enough to confer risk. This article considers two lines of reasoning. Is greater self-control required for college women to be Type As, because it involves crossing into traditional male role behavior? Type A women displayed significantly better self-control then Type B women; the opposite result was disclosed for college men with Type As displaying poorer self-control than Type Bs. The question of whether risk-conferring Type A behavior would result from poorer self-control was answered in the affirmative. Self-control assumed moderator status; poorer self-control in both male and female Type As was associated with high levels of day-to-day stress relative to Type As with better self-control. Self-control did not influence stress level in Type Bs. This moderator effect suggests that only Type As who cannot contain their behavior within adaptive limits will be vulnerable to excessive stress and at risk for CHD.     

Reinforcement strength in classical conditioning of leg flexion,freezing, and heart rate in cats

Stable leg-flexion CRs were successfully elaborated in cats receiving tone-strong shock pairings, but not in cats receiving tone-weak shock pairings. Both shock USs elicited reliable flexion URs in the presence of the CS, thus satisfying the contiguity requirement basic to the Pavlovian paradigm. Elaboration of the flexion CRs required a large number of trials relative to the conditioned freezing and decelerative heart rate responses which appeared after only a very few trials in the strong-US cats. As with flexion CRs, freezing and heart-rate responses never developed with the weak-shock US. When the weak-US cats were later switched to the strong US, freezing and heart-rate CRs quickly appeared and flexion CRs appeared after fewer strong-US trials than in cats receiving the strong shock originally. The results were interpreted as supporting a reinforcement conception of classical defense conditioning and as indicating the importance of using a US capable of eliciting emotional responses.     

Stimulus correlates of tachistoscopic discrimination-recognition performance: Compactness,jaggedness, and areal asymmetry

The utility of three physical dimensions (compactness, jaggedness, and areal asymmetry) of four-sided random forms on discrimination-recognition performance was examined. Six experimental conditions were defined by constructing discrimination-recognition problems wherein forms were paired on the basis of a high or low value on each of the three physical dimensions. Twenty-six Ss were randomly assigned to each experimental condition and were tested on five problems, four times at each of five single form duration times. Each problem presentation consisted of selecting which of two forms had been previously exposed at the selected duration. Analyses of the number of correct responses indicated support for the existence of a selective attention process and the utility of the compactness physical dimension.