What is to be done? future research on the assessment and behavioral treatment of sex offenders

Much progress has been made in the assessment and treatment of sexually aggressive men. There remains, however, a great deal of work to be done. Future research should move on three fronts simultaneously: the extension and refinement of assessment methods which will serve to discriminate sex offenders from other persons and different sorts of sex offenders from each other, the further development of, and comparison among, treatment techniques designed to change sex offenders on relevant dimensions, and long-term followups of sex offenders who have been treated with different methods. Basic research concerning not only sex offenders but also the development of human sexuality is also required for the formulation of a theory which will guide future research.     

Book reviews

Sun at Midnight. The Rudolf Steiner Movement and the Western Esoteric Tradition by Geoffrey Ahern The Aquarian Press, Wellingborough 1984 ISBN 0–85030–338–9 (H/B) £7.95

Religion and Medicine World Religions and Medicine (4th Volume of Essays in the IRM Religious and Medicine Series) (ed) D. Goodacre. Institute of Religion and Medicine, St Giles Oxford. £1.95

Believing and Belonging: The Practice of Believing in The Church by Anthony E. Harvey SPCK £2.50 pp.136 p/b

E. Milingo: The World In Between: Christian healing and the Struggle for Spiritual Survival Edited, with introduction, Commentary and Epilogue by Mona Macmillan London: C Hurst & Co, 1984. pp vi+138. Price: hard covers ‐ £7.95; soft covers ‐ £3.95

Hinduism in England edited by David G. Bowen The faculty of Contemporary Studies, Bradford College, 1981     

Introversion-extraversion: the Bell-Magendie law revisited

Evidence from several sources, including psychophysical, electrodermal and evoked potential measures, indicates that introverts display an enhanced response to sensory stimulation. There is also evidence, primarily from psychophysical studies, which suggests that extraverts may be disposed to emit short, strong bursts of motor activity which facilitate performance on tasks that involve gross motor activity but which impede performance on tasks which require refined motor control. The present paper develops an argument in which the differences between introverts and extraverts in the response to sensory stimulation and in the expression of motor activity may be referred to differences at the level of the sensory and motor nerve.     

Values interpretation: A new model for hospital ministry

The importance of values in clinical settings is a topic of increasing discussion in the medical literature, but the nature of values and the process of interpreting them have received little attention. The hospital chaplain or religious professional is an underused resource in addressing values issues. This paper summarizes the current models of the hospital chaplaincy in historical context, and then develops a new model drawn from the disciplines of pastoral care and clinical medical ethics in order to address problems involving values in clinical settings. The model construes the chaplain as values interpreter who provides both consultation and liaison functions in clinical situations. We present a clinical case to illustrate the role of the values interpreter. We conclude that the religious professional can make an important contribution to both clinical decision making and medical education through such a model.The authors thank Don S. Browning, Ph.D., and Thomas H. Jobe, M.D., for their critical readings of earlier versions of this paper.     

Mysticism and psychedelics: The case of the dark night

This study uses a model of consciousness derived from LSD-assisted psychotherapy to illumine an enigmatic set of painful experiences that occur on the mystic's path known in Western circles as the dark night. It argues that the dark night experiences described in John of the Cross's classic workDark Night of the Soul can be conceptualized in terms of Stanislav Grofs category of perinatal experience. The discussion examines the implications of this reconceptualization in three areas: (1) our understanding and evaluation of mysticism, (2) assessing LSD's potential for fostering genuine spirituality, and (3) reassessing the ancient claim that the capacity to experience transcendental states of being is innate.     

Organizational and family systems factors in stress among ministers

Forty-one Protestant ministers completed measures of stress-related symptoms, family of origin contact, church governing body density, history of pastor-parish conflict in the church, and a measure of Bowen's (1959b/1985) concept of emotional triangles. A denominational executive provided ratings of each church's history of pastor-parish conflict. Path analysis using multiple regression showed support for a model in which governing body density and history of conflict predicted emotional triangles, and emotional triangles predicted stress symptoms. Contact with the pastor's family of origin moderated the relationship between emotional triangles and stress symptoms. Results suggest that the organizational and family ecology of the ministerial role can be important in understanding occupational stress among ministers.     

The simultaneous and independent measurement of penile circumference and length

It has been recently shown that in the early stages of erection, the human penis undergoes a substantial length change that is not detected using circumferential measurement devices. The present report introduces a relatively simple device that can assess changes in both length and circumference. The device promises to provide a low-cost alternative to the precision and sensitivity associated with plethysmography.     

Selective perception of events

Two hundred and twelve subjects were given one of two interpretive sets prior to viewing an event. Following observation, the first interpretation was discredited, and subjects were asked to interpret the event they had seen under the contrasting set. Some subjects were only provided with the alternate interpretation, while others were also given an opportunity to view the event a second time. Both the perceptual segmentation and the subjects' impressions of the participants in the event were assessed. Results disclosed that (1) the two sets produced both differing perceptual organization and differing impressions of the participants; (2) reversing the sets produced a reversal of the impressions of the participants only when accompanied by a second viewing; and (3) the reversal of the impressions was accompanied by a shift in the perceptual organization of the event. It was concluded that observers may differ in their initial perception of an event as the result of differences in prior expectations, and that the resulting biased sample of information they acquire may limit their retrospective reinterpretation of the event.