Text-contingent color aftereffects: A reexamination

Five experiments reexamined color aftereffects contingent on the semantic properties of text (Allan, Siegel, Collins, & MacQueen, 1989). The influence of different assessment techniques and the effect of eye movements and overlapping contour information on the induction of color aftereffects by word and nonword letter strings were determined. Experiment 1 showed that no aftereffect was found when a traditional method of assessing color aftereffects was used. Experiments 2 and 4 demonstrated color aftereffects forboth words and nonwords, but only when subjects fixated the same locus during induction and testing and only when assessed with the technique described by Allan et al. (1989). If, however, eye movements were made during induction, no color aftereffect was obtained (Experiment 3). Induction to nontext patterns with properties similar to those of text but with fewer overlapping contours resulted in a strong color aftereffect (Experiment 5). These results suggest that the color aftereffect contingent on text is very weak and is not dependent on semantic factors, but that it is a product of induction to local color and orientation information.     

Personal advertisements of male-to-female transsexuals,homosexual men,and heterosexuals

Transsexuals, because of their attempts at gender reversal, offer a unique opportunity to study self-presentation, social roles, and stereotypes. The present study is a content analysis of personal advertisements of male-to-female transsexuals (TM, N =99), homosexual (HoM, N =64) and heterosexual men (HM, N =99), and heterosexual women (HW, N =99). Advertisements were coded for the presence or absence of 11 characteristics either offered or sought, based on the 1984 work of Deaux and Hanna. The content of TM personal advertisements was significantly different from those of HW, HM, or HoM. TM mentioned physical characteristics and sincerity, and requested friendship most often; HoM mentioned sexuality most often; HM offered financial security and status in the form of occupation, and listed marital status most often; and HW offered personality characteristics and attractiveness most often. Several factors may contribute to the pattern of differences observed, including the fact that TM were more likely to be seeking friendship than sexual partners, in contrast to the other three groups.     

Physician-assisted suicide: the role of mental health professionals

A review of the literature was conducted to better understand the (potential) role of mental health professionals in physician-assisted suicide. Numerous studies indicate that depression is one of the most commonly encountered psychiatric illnesses in primary care settings. Yet, depression consistently goes undetected and undiagnosed by nonpsychiatrically trained primary care physicians. Noting the well-studied link between depression and suicide, it is necessary to question giving sole responsibility of assisting patients in making end-of-life treatment decisions to these physicians. Unfortunately, the use of mental health consultation by these physicians is not a common occurrence. Greater involvement of mental health professionals in this emerging and debated area is advocated. Beyond describing mental health professionals' role in the assessment of patient competency or decision making capacity, other areas of potential involvement are described. A discussion of ethical principles relevant to this area follows, along with comments on the training necessary to adequately serve patient needs.     

Depression and coping in candidates for kidney transplantation: Racial and ethnic differences

Subjects were 288 adolescents and adults with end-stage renal disease who were candidates for kidney transplantation, a group identified at risk for noncompliance. The purpose was to examine racial and ethnic variations in coping—variables that may underlie noncompliance and impact upon health outcome. Secondarily, the relationship between depression and particular styles of coping was investigated. Race/Ethnicity was divided into three categories: Black/Non-Hispanic, White/Non-Hispanic, and Hispanic. Coping and depression were assessed using the COPE and Beck Depression Inventory, respectively. Results indicated that Hispanic and Black subjects were more likely to use maladaptive styles of coping and less likely to use adaptive coping than were White subjects and that Black subjects reported more physical symptoms of depression. These findings point to possible mechanisms underlying the occurrence of noncompliance and resulting poorer health outcome for individuals of different racial and ethnic groups.     

Arbitrariness of frustration: Inhibition or instigation effects on aggression

The purpose of the present research was to assess the relative influence of instigation or inhibition in mediating retaliation after arbitrary or non-arbitrary frustration. Sixty-four men were asked to learn a concept that was being taught by a peer. Although all men were frustrated, half were deliberately frustrated while the other half were not deliberately frustrated by the teacher. Following the task, the learner was given the opportunity to prevent the teacher from gaining employment under conditions where his evaluation was either anonymous or to be made public. The results of a 2 × 2 analysis of variance yielded several significant effects. The data revealed that subjects rejected the teacher more when the frustration was arbitrary than when it was non-arbitrary. Moreover, when the evaluation was anonymous, subjects rejected the teacher more than when the evaluation was to be made public. Furthermore, the difference in the amount of rejection expressed between arbitrary and non-arbitrary conditions was greater when the evaluation was anonymous than when it was public. These results were interpreted as demonstrating the greater contribution of instigatory rather than inhibitory factors in expressing aggression following deliberate or non-deliberate frustration.     

Career stages: A partial test of Levinson's model of life/career stages

This study purports to test a theory of life and career stages developed by Daniel Levinson and his associates. The theory suggests four distinct stages between ages 20 and 45 each with their own developmental tasks and related behaviors and attitudes. Subjects (759 managerial, professional, and technical employees) were selected randomly from levels and departments of a major public sector employer in the midwest United States. The measure of career stage asked respondents to indicate whether they had passed through, were still in, or had not yet reached each stage as operationalized by a short vignette. Attitudinal and behavioral measures were abstracted from previously developed instruments. Only moderate support for the theory was found with little or no evidence to support the age-linked notion of these stages. Stages were found to be discriminable in terms of certain attitudes (upward mobility, career and overall job satisfaction, and job commitment) as predicted. Suggestions are given for improvements in measurement, research design, and theory refinement.     

Reward behavior by male and female leaders: A causal inference analysis

This research investigated causal inferences between leader reward behavior (positive and punitive) and subordinate goal attainment, absenteeism, and work satisfaction over a 3-month period in a merchandise distribution center (n = 252). Four groups were studied: (a) male supervisors-male subordinates, (b) male supervisors-female subordinates, (c) female supervisors-female subordinates, and (d) female supervisors-male subordinates. Using the techniques of tests of mean differences and corrected cross-lag correlations, the results revealed that: (a) No significant differences attributed to sex were found between the four groups with the perceptions of leader reward behavior or subordinate outcome measures, and (b) the causal inference analysis suggested that the relationships between leader reward behavior and subordinate attitudes and behavior were independent of the effects of sex of supervisor or subordinate. Implications for research on sex stereotypes and leadership were discussed.