The scapegoat archetype

Summary Relying on some of the principles of Jung's analytical psychology, the writer has presented a hypothesis of the primordial image of the scapegoat, tracing its origins in antiquity and in the collective unconscious of man, its associations with the God-image and its development in the history of Judaeo-Christian religion, of the administration of justice and of the treatment of mental illness. The conclusion is reached that the scapegoat is an anachronism that the human race has outgrown, a luxury we can no longer afford to keep, and that a realization of this fact is important for the times in which we live.     

Conditioned reinforcement in second-order schedules

Pigeons responded under a schedule in which food was presented only after a fixed number of fixed-interval components were completed. Two such second-order schedules were studied: under one, 30 consecutive 2-min fixed-interval components were required; under the other, 15 consecutive 4-min fixed-interval components were required. Under both schedules, when a 0.7-sec stimulus light was presented at completion of each fixed interval, positively accelerated responding developed in each component. When no stimulus change occurred at completion of each fixed interval, relatively low and constant rates of responding prevailed in each component; a similar result was obtained when a 0.7-sec stimulus change occurred at completion of each fixed interval except the one which terminated with primary reinforcement. The 0.7-sec stimulus correlated with food delivery was an effective conditioned reinforcer in maintaining patterns of responding in fixed-interval components despite low average frequencies of food reinforcement.     

Book reviews

The Word Speaks to the Faustian Man. Som Raj Gupta. Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass. 455+xvi pp., Rs. 500

A History of Indian Buddhism, From Sākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna. Hirakawa Akira, translated and edited by Paul Groner, 1990. Asian Studies at Hawaii, No. 36. Honolulu, HI, University of Hawaii Press. xix +402, £33.25

The Doctrine of the Upanisads and the Early Buddhism. Hermann Oldenberg, translated by Shridhar B. Shrotri, 1991. Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass. Rs. 225

Evil and the Mystics’ God: Towards a Mystical Theodicy. Michael Stoeber. London, Macmillan. x+225 pp., £40     

Contributions of survey research to the understanding of memory

This article reviews the results of survey methodological research that illustrate phenomena of potential interest to investigators of memory, and also reviews psychological research designed to explore some of these phenomena under controlled laboratory conditions. We classify the phenomena reviewed into broad categories of remembering what events occurred, remembering when events occurred, and estimation and reconstruction processes used in reporting recurring events. We delineate the contributions of this research for our understanding of memory phenomena and show where this research has revealed gaps in our existing theories and knowledge. These findings present challenges for future collaboration between cognitive psychologists and survey methodologists.     

Evaluating student achievement with a relational database

Commercial database programs such as dBase and Paradox, although developed originally for business applications, are versatile and powerful tools that can be used for an academic purpose such as evaluating student performance. They can be used to write and store test questions, assemble and print classroom or on-line laboratory tests, and calculate grades, test statistics, and so forth. Databases are flexible, unlike textbook “ancillary” test bank programs that are inextricably bound to the strictly linear format and brief shelf life of specific textbook editions. A prototypical relational database program is described, with which an instructor can produce tests based on generic terms adapted from Boneau’s (1990) study of psychological literacy, as well as on behavioral learning objectives adapted from Bloom’s (1956) taxonomy of educational objectives. As a relational database, the program integrates terms, objectives, questions, tests, and test scores, and avoids unnecessary data duplication and waste of computer storage space.     

Singles ads: Gender,social class,and time

The contents of 800 singles ads were examined. They were compared by the gender of the advertiser, the year of appearance (1991 and 1986), and the SES of the target readership (affluent and general). There were very few advertisers who listed themselves as black, so these ads were not included in the study. Gender differences were most important. Men were more likely to offer financial security and seek attractiveness. Women were more likely to offer attractiveness and seek financial security. The gender differences were in agreement with those reported for over a decade and from many geographical areas, although less than half of the advertisers mentioned either finances or attractiveness. Contrary to our hypotheses, the contents of mens' and womens' ads were more different in 1991 than they had been in 1986 and more in conformity with sexual stereotypes. Ads in a paper with an affluent readership were more likely to mention educational and financial status while ads in a paper with a readership throughout the metropolitan area were more likely to mention physical characteristics.     

Grading the ‘cultural literacy’ project

The essay examines the argument advanced by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., for instituting ‘cultural literacy’ as a fundamental priority of schools. A number of confusions and equivocations in Hirsch's reasoning are identified, and the propensity of his project to indoctrinate is exposed. Among the features of Hirsch's argument shown to be troubling are his shifting construal of ‘language’, his inconsistency about the requirements of cultural literacy, and his uncritical relation to traditional images of the American past and present. The upshot is to raise the question why Hirsch's project has elicited wide support and praise.