Marxism and radical democracy 1

Whether or not Marxism leads straight to authoritarianism and the destruction of individual liberty is a question which has long exercised both theorists and politicians. This paper deals with a narrower, though related issue: Is Marxism actually reconcilable with radical democracy, the type of democracy advocated by those, including Marxists, who berate the iniquities and hypocrisy of parliamentary liberalism? The answer, according to my paper, is no. The Marxist tradition contains four characteristic features which tend to contradict the participatory procedures most Marxists profess to desire. These features are: (1) the view of Marxism as a science, yielding objective solutions to social and political dilemmas; (2) the messianic aspiration for a society of perfect unity; (3) the belief that human rights are not independent moral norms but so much bourgeois ’ideological nonsense’ (Marx), expressing the antagonistic relationships of the capitalist regime; and (4) hostility to the market mechanism, which results in a preference for a totally planned economy. Marxism, unless revised beyond recognition, would seem, paradoxically, to be more congruous with the élitist, constricted type of democracy we have in the West than with the more egalitarian mode of decision‐making defended in the writings of Marx himself.     

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Eating Disorders: Rationale and Literature Review

Empirical studies using Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and its components to treat eating disorders (EDs) were reviewed. Evidence suggests that emotional avoidance is a major component in the onset and maintenance of EDs. Acceptance and commitment therapy targets emotional avoidance and control strategies with six core processes. These core processes have been applied to EDs and demonstrated improvement in subjects’ functioning and reduction in disordered eating. There are several advantages of using ACT for treating EDs: ACT fundamentally equalizes the therapeutic relationship; experiential techniques in ACT may facilitate lasting treatment gains; ACT navigates the ego-syntonic nature of EDs; the ACT conceptualization based on experiential avoidance and cognitive rigidity in EDs is consistent with current literature. The six core processes of ACT can be further modified to fit the challenges of treating EDs. Specifically, concerns about client motivation for treatment can be addressed by emphasizing creative hopelessness and a values construction process earlier in treatment.     

The insidious (and ironic) effects of positive stereotypes

The present research demonstrates that positive stereotypes – though often treated as harmless, flattering and innocuous – may represent an especially insidious means of promoting antiquated beliefs about social groups. Specifically, across four studies (and one replication), the authors demonstrate that exposure to positive stereotypes towards African Americans (i.e., they are superior athletes) are at once both especially unlikely to arouse skepticism and emotional vigilance while also especially likely to produce antiquated and harmful beliefs towards members of the target group (compared to both baseline conditions and exposure to negative stereotypes), including beliefs in the biological (or “natural”) underpinnings of group differences and, ironically, the application of negative stereotypes.     

Developmental Study of the Reversed Stroop Effect in Chinese-English Bilinguals

Chinese-English bilinguals in Grades 2, 4, 8, 10, and in college read Chinese and English color words in black or in colored print in the corresponding language. Subjects were more efficient in reading Chinese than English. This superiority effect of reading Chinese gradually decreased as subjects' familiarity with English increased. Furthermore, skilled readers were less susceptible than less skilled readers to the introduction of conflicting colors of ink. This result indicates that the pattern of the reversed Stroop (1935; Dunbar & MacLeod, 1984) effect is related to the proficiency of word processing.     

A Mathematical Approach to Difference Limen

This article sums up a series of mathematical studies on sensory-difference limen with a stimulus-effect model designed according to a basic assumption of evolution. The ability of human sensory receptors to control biophysical effects in the brain has been translated into mathematical language, which provides a characteristic function for receptor sensitivity. Experimental evidence is taken from published literature exclusively. The article ends in a modified expression of Weber's law, which agrees with experiments at all levels of stimulus intensity in which human receptors have proper sensation.     

Concordance Between the Quality of Maternal and Paternal Parenting Behavior Within Couples

There is compelling evidence that the quality of maternal and paternal parenting behavior bears critical importance for child development. Yet, less is known of the degree of similarity between maternal and paternal parenting behavior in families, and especially little is known about the factors that may explain variation in degrees of similarity. This article aims to examine (a) the concordance (similarity) between the quality of mothers’ and fathers’ interactive behavior with their child and (b) the sociodemographic determinants of this concordance. The sample included 74 families (mother, father, and their child). The quality of maternal and paternal interactive behavior was assessed independently, and rated with the Maternal Behavior Q-Sort (mother–infant, 12 months; D. R. Pederson et al., 1990) or the Mutually Responsive Orientation scale (father–toddler, 18 months; N. Aksan et al., 2006). The results indicated that the overall correlation between the quality of mothers’ and fathers’ behavior was moderate. The concordance was greater among higher socioeconomic status families or when interacting with a boy, but did not differ according to the presence or absence of siblings in the family.     

Warmth and Contingency and Their Relationship to Maternal Attitudes Toward Parenting

In this study, the authors addressed the question of whether maternal parenting behaviors in terms of sensitivity, warmth, and contingency with respect to small infants were equally represented in attitudes toward parenting. Sixty mothers from central Germany with middle-class socioeconomic backgrounds were videotaped with their 1st born 3-month-old infant in a free-play and a caregiving episode in their home. The different maternal parenting components were behaviorally analyzed. Maternal attitudes toward parenting were assessed with self-report measures. The results showed that behavioral sensitivity was significantly associated with attitudes related to contingency, whereas behavioral warmth and contingency were not associated with maternal attitudes. The authors interpreted differential associations as a reflection of intuitive and explicit parenting strategies, with only sensitivity being explicitly represented.     

The Question of Higher Education for the Blind

Building on the theory of reasoned action (I. Ajzen & M. Fishbein, 1973, 1980; M. Fishbein & I. Ajzen, 1975) and expectancy theory, the authors examined the mediating role of alcohol expectancies in adolescent drinking behaviors by testing whether alcohol expectancy outcomes and valuations (the extent to which these outcomes are perceived as good or bad) mediate the association between peer influences and lifetime alcohol use. Early adolescents (N = 904) from 2 public middle schools in western Michigan completed a battery of questionnaires. Overall, results showed that alcohol expectancies and valuations partially mediated the relations between peer influences (peer use and peer approval) and lifetime alcohol use. The findings suggest that associating with peers who are perceived as using alcohol and approving of drinking may influence adolescents’ alcohol expectancies. The authors briefly discuss future research directions and implications for prevention.