Women as cues for men's approach or distancing behavior: A study of interpersonal sexist discrimination

The purpose of this study was to investigate interpersonal sexist discrimination, operationally defined as distancing behavior. A heterogeneous sample of participants were approached at four train stations and completed two paper and pencil simulated seating measures, a sex role attitudes measure, and provided demographic information. It was predicted that in the neutral situations presented in the seating measures where there is a choice to sit either next to a man or a woman, men would more often choose to sit next to a man but women were not expected to make seating choices based on the gender of the person seated. Men's seating choices were found to be influenced by the gender of target persons whereas women's choices were not, but men either distanced from or approached women target persons. Self-reported sex role attitudes were found not to be related to distancing behavior.We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Alyson Andrews, Nicholas Geraci, Scott Marino, Stacy Schiff, Robert Victoria, and Lisa Zamara, seniors at the University of Rhode Island, who served as investigators in this study and also assisted in the coding of data. Portions of this paper were presented at the national conference of the Association for Women in Psychology in Oakland, CA, on March 6, 1994.Requests for reprints may be sent to any of the authors at the University of Rhode Island, Department of Psychology, Kingston, RI 02881.     

Operant conditioning of goats

A procedure is described for establishing an operant response in goats. The operanda are two lucite panels which can be transilluminated. The goats press the panels with their muzzles and are reinforced with whole oats. All six subjects showed reliable and accurate performance in brightness discrimination, including cessation of responding during time-out periods.     

Issues in cognitive-behavioral interventions in academic skill areas 1

In this paper, conceptual and methodological issues within three phases of CBM interventions in academic skills are analyzed: Acquisition, evaluation, and generalization. The goal of such analysis is threefold: To enhance understanding of observed problems, clarify specific conceptual issues, and highlight areas that need more conceptual clarification and more research.     

Shame,Early Abuse,and Course of Depression in a Clinical Sample: A Preliminary Study

This study of 35 depressed patients was designed to replicate findings from a community sample of a relationship between childhood abuse and bodily shame, and bodily shame and chronic or recurrent depression. In addition, we investigated whether characterological and behavioural shame would also be related to early abuse and depression course. The relation between bodily shame and childhood abuse was replicated. When the other types of shame were considered, bodily shame was the most powerful correlate of early abuse, with behavioural shame showing no relationship. However, all three types of shame appeared to be related to chronic or recurrent course of depression.     

Temporal Fluctuations in Suicide Calls to a Crisis Intervention Service

Suicide-related calls received by a crisis intervention center were analyzed for temporal variations. The overall number of calls, calls concerning personal suicidal ideation, and calls concerning third-person suicide potential varied by both month and day of the week. Ideation calls and calls involving a suicide attempt varied by day of the month. Month and day of the week variation in third-person calls paralleled variations in completed suicides. Fluctuations were large enough to be useful in scheduling crisis center staff. The possibility that third-person calls represent a greater suicide threat than first-person calls is discussed.     

From the Editors

Journal of Medical Humanities -     

A Comparison of Sexual Aggression Risk Factors Between the United States and the Philippines

Sexual violence against women is a global problem, prompting the need to investigate the risk factors among males in non-Western, non-industrialized countries. Using the expanded Confluence Model, this study examined and compared risk factors of sexual aggression between male college students in the Philippines and the United States. Using path analysis and multiple group analysis, results indicated that the expanded Confluence Model was generally invariant between countries. Direct paths from hostile attitudes toward women and impersonal sex to sexual aggression were non-significant, but indirect effects from hostile attitudes toward women, alcohol consumption, and impersonal sex to sexual aggression via the frequency of misperceiving a woman’s sexual intent were observed. Additional risk analysis indicated that the number of elevated risk factors were associated with higher self-reports of sexual aggression.