Beauty and the attributions of the beholder

Four studies used an attributional approach to examine interpersonal attraction. Underlying causal dimensions were predicted to influence differentially two components of attraction, dating and complimenting. In the first study, 24 subjects indicated whether they would date physically attractive stimulus persons. Complimenting was examined in the second and third studies, with 24 subjects rating the likelihood of complimenting attractive opposite-sex stimulus persons and 32 subjects rating the likelihood of complimenting same-sex stimulus persons. For these studies the reason for the stimulus person's attractiveness varied in controllability (volitional versus nonvolitional) and stability (temporary versus permanent). Consistent with predictions, controllability influenced likelihood of complimenting but not dating. In addition, compliments were more likely when the reason for attractiveness was unstable than when stable. Conversely, dating was more likely when attactiveness was stable than when unstable. However, stability had less influence on men responding to women than on either men responding to men or women responding to both sexes. Similar results were obtained in a fourth study in which 56 subjects recalled incidents where they complimented or dated others for their physical attractiveness.     

STM Experimenter: Using HyperCard and MacRecorder in short-term memory experiments

We describe a Macintosh program for the presentation of spoken word lists in short-term memory (STM) experiments. The program was developed with the use of HyperCard and MacRecorder. Parameters such as rate of item presentation, number of items per trial, and number of trials per block may be adjusted by the experimenter. The program features high-quality digitized sound, trial-to-trial word list randomization, and data logging. Computer-based experimentation offers several advantages over traditional approaches that involve tape recordings or lists read aloud by the experimenter. Methodological improvements afforded by computer-controlled item administration are discussed.     

Computer-aided instruction in a physiological psychology course

A simulation/tutorial sequence was introduced into an undergraduate physiological psychology class (N=32) to provide a laboratory experience. The college computer center managed the IBM-PC-compatible networked facility. The sequence included neuroanatomy, stereotaxic surgery, histology, electrical self-stimulation, and use of the polygraph. All the software was off the shelf except for the stereotaxic surgery/histology/self-stimulation package, which was written by the authors using ToolBook running under Windows.     

Single-word reading in college dyslexics

Recent studies of single-word processing in dyslexic populations have focused on the differential predictions made by ‘delay’ and ‘deviance’ models. Many experiments in this area have sought to determine whether the reading process in dyslexia is idiosyncratic or similar to processing in younger non-dyslexic readers. Most relevant research has, however, failed to take account of recent developments in theoretical models of reading. Furthermore, relatively little research has examined the reading behaviour of ‘highly compensated’ subjects, who achieve high-level academic qualifications despite their developmental dyslexia. The present paper examines such a population, and concludes that its single-word reading is governed by the same spelling-to-sound word characteristics as reading by other groups. The implications of the results for the deviance/delay hypothesis and for models of word naming are discussed.     

Motfis of passage into worlds imaginary and fantastic

In this paper I match phenomena associated with the passage into otherworlds as reported during out-of-body and near-death experiences, with imagery associated with the passage into otherworlds as depicted in classic modern fantasies and fairy tales. Both sources include sensations of consciousness separating from the body, floating and flying, passage through fluidic spaces or dark tunnels toward bright lights, and emergence into supernatural worlds inhabited by souls of the deceased and by higher spiritual beings; and both describe comparable psychophysical intiatory factors. I introduce a metaphysically neutral depth psychology to explain these parallels, examine two metaphysically opposed extensions to this depth psychology, and consider several implications of a transcendental perspective.Mr. Greene is a free-lance writer whose principal interests have been parapsychology, religion, and metaphysics     

NATURE, HISTORY, AND GOD: TOWARD AN INTEGRATED CONCEPTUALIZATION

Abstract. In this paper I attempt to bring the ancient symbol God into a meaningful and illuminating conceptual relationship with modern understandings of the development of the cosmos, the evolution of life, and the movements of human history. The term "God" is taken to designate that reality (whatever it may be) which grounds and undergirds all that exists, including us humans; that reality which provides us humans with such fulfillment or salvation as we may find; that reality toward which we must turn, therefore, if we would flourish. I suggest that the cosmos can quite properly be interpreted today in terms of two fundamental ideas: (1) a notion of "cosmic serendipitous creativity," (2) the expression of which is through "directional movements" or "trajectories" of various sorts that work themselves out in longer and shorter stretches of time. In a universe understood in these terms, the symbol "God" may be taken to designate the underlying creativity working in and through all things, and in particular working in and through the evolutionary-historical trajectory on which human existence has appeared and by which it is sustained. The symbol "God" can thus perform once again its important function of helping to focus human consciousness, devotion, and work in a way appropriate to the actual world and the enormous problems with which men and women today must come to terms; but the ancient dualistic pattern of religious piety and thinking in which God is regarded as a supernatural Creator and governor of the world—so hard to integrate with modern conceptions of nature and history—is thoroughly overcome.     

Need fulfillment in the career development of women

To test Harmon's proposal that Maslow's needs theory can explain differences in women's career decisions, need importance scores of 481 college graduate women of 1968 were contrasted. Since full-time homemakers are dependent upon another person for fulfillment of basic needs (Maslow's security-safety and social needs), it was hypothesized that these needs would remain prepotent and, therefore, would be higher for homemakers than for women employed outside the home. Esteem and self-actualization needs of employed women were expected to be higher for employed women than for homemakers. The results of the analyses generally supported the hypotheses. The major resulting discriminant function contrasted negative weights on basic needs with positive weights on high-level needs. Homemakers scored highest on security-safety and social needs, while professional-managerial and clerical-sales workers scored highest on the esteem need. In an unexpected finding, self-actualization was found to be the highest-ranked need for all groups of women in the study.     

Lexical decision for open- and closed-class words: failure to replicate differential frequency sensitivity

Bradley and her colleagues (D. C. Bradley, Computational distinctions of vocabulary type, unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1978D. C. Bradley, M. E. Garrett, &; E. B. Zurif, in D. Caplan (Ed.), Biological studies of mental processes, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1980) have reported a marked difference in frequency sensitivity between open- and closed-class words on a lexical decision task. This effect was obtained with normal subjects, but not with Broca's aphasics. Their results have already influenced experimental and theoretical investigations of syntactic processing. However, in three lexical decision experiments with normal subjects, modeled on those of Bradley et al., we failed to find such a theoretically interesting difference between the two classes. Instead, both classes showed similar reaction time frequency sensitivity for word frequencies less than approximately 316/million (H. Kucera &; W. N. Francis, Computational analysis of present-day English, Providence, RI: Brown Univ. Press, 1967, count); above 399/million, the closed class had an almost-flat function of reaction time versus the logarithm of the frequency, while the open class may have had too few members for meaningful assessment. Because reaction time may be a nonlinear function of log frequency, and because there is relatively little overlap between the frequency ranges of the two classes, comparisons of the members of the two classes which might straddle the function's inflection point must be made with extreme caution.     

Family/school strategies in dealing with the troubled child

Often a troubled child will exhibit problem behaviors in school. In many cases, these behaviors can be controlled and quickly curtailed by the teacher. In other cases, parents may have to intervene with rules and consequences. Sometimes, however, both teacher and parents fail, and the child's school problems escalate until they have reached crisis proportions. At this point, a therapist often becomes involved. The therapist can greatly enhance his or her range of possible therapeutic strategies by temporarily including the child's teacher in the hierarchical reorganization of the family. The expansion of the family hierarchy to include the teacher expedites the problem-solving process. The phases of problem escalation and proposed hierarchical reorganization are offered by way of clinical principles and case illustrations to demonstrate this viewpoint.Barbara E. DiCocco, L.C.S.W., is the Clinical Coordinator of the RICA II Satellite Program, a bio-psycho-educational day program in Frederick, Maryland and is a private practicing fmaily therapist. Ellen B. Lott, Ph.D., Counseling Psychology, is a family therapist and psychometrician in the RICA II Satellite Program. Boththerapists are grateful to Jay Haley for his suggestions and support of this work.     

Re-empowering a disabled family network

In this paper, we will present a case history of a disabled network which includes a multiproblem family and the social service agencies serving it. We will describe a five-step model for effective intervention into the entire system. Social service agents frequently become overwhelmed and therefore impotent in their attempts to help multiproblem families. In such cases, agents reflect the family's dysfunction by becoming dysfunctional themselves and their actions serve to increase the family's alienation from its community by reinforcing its stigmatized self-image. Our model focuses on building boundaries and creating hierarchies which encourage individuation within the family and empowers the network to effectively meet family needs.