College Atmosphere and Eating Disorders

The authors investigated whether different campus environment factors were related to eating disorder symptomatology at two distinctly different colleges. The first campus was conservative, placing an emphasis on appearance and dress, whereas the second campus was liberal, placing an emphasis on political activism and intellectual talent. As hypothesized, the two schools did not differ in regard to overall levels of eating disorders, yet different factors were associated with eating disorder symptomatology at each school. Implications for eating disorder interventions on college campuses are discussed.     

The effect of variable delays on self-control

Five pigeons served as subjects in an experiment that examined the effects of variable as opposed to fixed delays on preference in a self-control paradigm (choice between larger, more delayed and smaller, less delayed reinforcers). Nonindependent concurrent variable-interval schedules were used to measure choice. When delays to the larger, more delayed reinforcers were variable as opposed to fixed, the subjects showed an increased preference for that alternative (the self-control alternative). A series of regressions revealed that the hyperbolic decay model and incentive theory provided poor fits to the data, but a modified version of the generalized matching law provided an adequate fit. Together, consistent with a general prediction made by discounting models, the data supported the conclusion that variable delays can increase self-control. However, specific discounting models were not able to explain the present data well.     

Book reviews

The Tao and the Logos: Literary Hermeneutics, East and West. Zhang Longxi, 1992 Duke University Press xviii + 239 pp., ISBN 0 8223 1218 2, pb $14.50

Ibn Sinā and Mysticism: Remarks and Admonitions. Shams C. Inati, 1996, London, Kegan Paul International, 114 pp., ISBN 0 7103 0482 X, hb £30.00

Ethics in Early Buddhism. David J. Kalupahana, 1995, Hawaii, University of Hawaii Press, ix+ 171 pp., ISBN 0 8248 1702 8, hb $27.00

On Understanding Buddhists. Essays on Theravāda Tradition in Sri Lanka. John Ross Carter, 1993, Albany, State University of New York Press, xiv+215 pp, hb $16.95

To See the Buddha. A Philosopher's Quest for the Meaning of Emptiness. Malcolm David Eckel, 1994 (1st edn 1992), Princeton, Princeton University Press, x + 262 pp., ISBN 0 691 03773 6, pb US$ 16.95     

EFFECTS OF REINFORCER QUALITY ON BEHAVIORAL MOMENTUM: COORDINATED APPLIED AND BASIC RESEARCH

The high-probability (high-p) instructional sequence has been an effective treatment for noncompliance. However, treatment failures have also been reported. We hypothesized that the efficacy of the high-p treatment may be improved by using higher quality reinforcers for compliance to high-p instructions. The resistance of compliance to change was tested by varying reinforcer quality in two applied studies and a basic laboratory experiment. Experiment 1 tested the hypothesis that an increase in reinforcer quality for high-p compliance will increase the effectiveness of the high-p treatment when it fails to increase compliance. Experiment 2 assessed the effects of reinforcer quality on resistance of compliance to change by presenting successive low-p requests following the high-p treatment. A basic laboratory study (Experiment 3) was conducted to further isolate the relation between reinforcer quality and behavioral momentum. Two different liquid reinforcers (sucrose and citric acid solutions) were presented in a two-component multiple variable-interval variable-interval schedule followed by a single extinction test session. Results of all three experiments showed a generally consistent relationship between reinforcer quality and behavioral momentum.     

The effect of transgressor's and victim's sex on children's punish-help judgments

The present investigation, expanding upon a study by Miller and McCann, sought to determine whether children's reactions to the perpetrators and victims of antisocial behavior are influenced by the sex of the individuals involved. Third- and fifth-grade children were asked their opinions of a series of stories in which one child (boy or girl) was described as having intentionally harmed another child (boy or girl). The results indicate that the relative importance that children attribute to punishing transgressors and helping victims is mediated by the sex composition of the transgressor-victim dyad.     

Measuring desire for control of health care processes

We conducted three known-groups studies to obtain discriminant validity information among potential self-report measures of the construct desire for control over health care processes. In the first study we looked at types of preparation for childbirth; in Studies 2 and 3 we investigated choice of a place in which to die and signing a Living Will. With none of the measures could we adequately distinguish those who had signed a Living Will (or intended to) from those who did not intend to sign one. The best discriminator of a choice of a place to die (hospital vs. home or hospice) and type of preparation for childbirth (Lamaze vs. other types of classes vs. no classes) was the Information subscale of Krantz's Health Opinion Survey (KHOS; Krantz, Baum, & Wideman, 1980). With the Behavioral Involvement subscale of the KHOS and our newly designed situation-specific measure of desire for control, we could only inconsistently discriminate among the groups. The generalized measure, Burger and Cooper's (1979) Desire for Control Scale, did not help us to discriminate among these groups. Correlations of these measures with demographic variables are provided and discussed.