The Body Esteem Scale: construct validity of the female subscales

The female subscales of the Body Esteem Scale (BES) have demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity in two previous studies. However, relationships between BES dimensions, weight, and other body-image measures have not been adequately examined. In this study, 200 women with a mean age of 27.6 years completed the BES, the Eating Disorder Inventory, the Self-Consciousness Scale, the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, a figure rating task, a phototechnical body-size estimation procedure, and items concerning weight satisfaction and attractiveness. BES Weight Concern was most closely related to weight variables and other body image measures where BES Sexual Attractiveness and Physical Condition were more strongly associated with less specific self-perceptions and attitudes. Results support the construct validity of the BES female subscales and their utility for research in populations at increased risk for body-image or eating-disorder disturbances.     

Evidence for cortical dysfunction in spasmodic dysphonia: regional cerebral blood flow and quantitative electrophysiology

Cortical function was evaluated in 26 subjects with spasmodic dysphonia. Quantitative topographic electrophysiologic mapping (QTE) was employed to provide quantitative analyses of EEG spectra and auditory and visual long-latency evoked potentials. Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) of the cerebral transit of Xenon-133 was used to evaluate regional cerebral blood flow. Left hemispheric abnormalities in cortical function were found by both techniques in 10 subjects and by at least one technique in 18 subjects. Right hemispheric abnormalities were observed by both techniques in 8 subjects and by at least one technique in 18 subjects. Most patients with cortical dysfunction in one hemisphere had cortical dysfunction in the other, while only 4 subjects had unilateral lesions as found by one of the two techniques. Eight subjects were normal by all measurements. Underlying structural abnormalities were detected by magnetic resonance imaging in 5/24 subjects. However, functional abnormalities (SPECT or QTE) were not observed at sites of structural abnormalities. SPECT and QTE were significantly related in identification of left hemispheric dysfunction (p = .037) with a trend in the right hemisphere (p = .070), and a significant congruence of SPECT and QTE findings occurred in the left anterior cortical quadrant (p = .011). These findings indicate that dysfunction of cortical perfusion and/or cortical electrophysiology is associated with spasmodic dysphonia in the majority of subjects studied.     

Detectability of motion as a factor in depth perception by monocular movement parallax

A display of two objects at different distances was presented to 10 observers, who were requested in two experiments to match the width of the more distant (comparison) object to the width of the nearer (standard) one under conditions permitting monocular observation and lateral head motion. The matched width of the comparison object was considered a measure of the effectiveness of movement parallax. The effectiveness of movement parallax decreases with increasing angular separation of the objects and with increasing background distance. A background without visible texture leads to a better perception of depth between two objects than a textured background The results can be explained by postulating that, whenever the detectability of motion is enhanced, i.e., the threshold for the detection of motion is lowered, the effectiveness of movement parallax as a cue to depth is increased.     

Reward vs. Reciprocity as Related to Attraction1

Groups of six subjects participated in a study to investigate the effect of obligation upon attraction. Each subject received offers of monetary aid from other members of the group. Amount of aid offered was varied along with the obligation attached to the aid. The effect of the offer upon the recipient's attraction to the donor was assessed. Both attraction and desire for coalition were greatest when the offer of aid was high and the obligation to return the benefits received was low.     

An experiment control computer system time shared by several laboratories

An experiment control computer system, operational for more than 2 years, is discussed. The system is multiprogammed, using a vendor supplied real-time operating system. Individual experiments employ multitasking—fast response functions are implemented in core resident tasks while interactive and other slow response functions are implemented in tasks that operate under time sharing. The areas of psychological research currently supported are concept formation studies, EEG evoked response studies, monitoring the autonomic nervous system, perception studies, and family interaction studies.     

Infant search strategies with containers that move but do not alter the location at which contents can be found

A number of hypotheses about infants' delayed search accuracy have been based upon the notion that a location associated with repeated retrieval of the object attains privileged status. Infants may need strong cues to search at a new location. However, a test is reported in which performance of 12- and 15-month-old infants was shown to be indifferent to the location. The results were reliable at an individual level. The data accord with previous research upon the canonicality effect in infant spatial search, an effect which is taken to index an experiential constraint on spatial discrimination. The experimental design thus serves as a discriminative test between three approaches: the original privileged location hypothesis, a newer spatial-contrast hypothesis, and a wider approach which focuses on experiential constraints on learning, including the canonicality effect.     

Rapport pitfalls of beginning testers

Based on observations of school psychology students enrolled in a testing practicum, common pitfalls of beginning testers in the area of rapport were delineated. These pitfalls are described and illustrated with verbatim examples taken from observation notes. The authors concluded that trainees in testing often cannot translate guidelines provided in the literature into effective rapport in the testing session and that observation of test administration in a realistic setting is an essential component of supervision in testing.     

Book reviews

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World. John L. Esposito (Ed.), 1995. New York, Oxford, Oxford University Press. 4 vols, £295.00, ISBN 0 19 506613 8.

Deciphering the Signs of God: a phenomenological approach to Islam. Annemarie Schimmel, 1994. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press. 302 pp., hb. £39.50, ISBN 0 7486 0460 X.

The Rainbow of Faiths. John Hick, 1995. London, SCM Press. 160 pp., pb. £9.95, ISBN 0 334 02608 3.

Scholarly Approaches to Religion, Interreligious Perceptions, and Islam. Jacques Waahdenburg, (Ed.), 1995. Bern, Berlin, Frankfurt a. M., New York, Paris, Vienna, Peter Lang. 464 pp., hb. Sf76. (= £38), ISBN 3 906752 93 3.

Tariqat al‐Tahin al‐Balaghi wa al‐Tafsir. Roland Meynet, Louis Pouzet, Naila Farouki & Ahyaf Sinno, 1993. Beirut, Lebanon, Dar al‐Mashriq. 306 pp., pb. n.p., ISBN 2 7214 5003 4.

Religious Polemic and the Intellectual History of the Mozarabs, c. 1050–1200. T. Burman, 1994. Leiden, E. J. Brill. 407 pp., hb. np., ISBN 90 04 09910 7.

Justice, Courtesy and Love: theologians and missionaries encountering world religions, 1846–1914. Kenneth Cracknell, 1995. London, Epworth Press. 459 pp, pb. £20, ISBN 0 7162 0501 7.

Mission and Dialogue. Michael Nazir‐Ali, 1995. London, SPCK Press. 152 pp, pb., £8.99, ISBN 0 281 04810 X.

Early Mamluk Diplomacy (1260–1290): treaties of Baybars and Qalawun with Christian rulers. P. M. Holt, 1995. Leiden, E. J. Brill. 161 pp., hb. NLG 100, ISBN 90 04 10246 9.

The Search for Fundamentals: the process of modernization and the quest for meaning. Lieteke Van Vucht Tljssen, Jan Berting & Frank Lechner (Eds), 1995. Dordrecht, The Netherlands, Kluwer Academic Publishers. 293 pp., £80.00, 0 7923 3542 2.

Religion und prosoziales Verhalten Ein Symposion. Walter Kerber, (Ed.), 1995. Munchen, Kindt Verlag. 224 pp., hb. DM.36.00, ISBN 3 925412 18 2.

Nationalism, Ethnicity and Cultural Identity in Europe. (Comparative Studies in Migration and Ethnic Relations 1). Keebat von Benda‐Beckman & Maykel Verkuyten (Eds), 1995. Utrecht, European Research Centre on Migration and Ethnic Relations (ERCOMER). 199 pp., £11.95, ISBN 90 75719 01 9.

‘Das Projekt Weltethos’ in der Erziehung: Referate und Ergebnisse des Nurnberger Forums 1994. Johannes Lahnemann (Ed.), 1995. Hamburg, E.B. Verlag. 410 pp., pb. n.p., ISBN 3 923002 86 6.

Fundamentalism and Intellectuals in Egypt, 1973–1993. David Sagiv, 1995. London, Frank Cass. 188 pp., hb. £35, ISBN 0 7146 4581 8.

Being Human in Africa: toward an African Christian anthropology. Augustine C. Musopole, 1994. New York, Peter Lang. 261 pp., pb. n.p., ISBN 0 8204 2304 1.

Russians in the Former Soviet Republics. Paul Kolstoe with a contribution by Andrei Edemsky, 1995. London, Hurst & Company. 340 pp., hb. £35.00, ISBN 1 8065 206