The role of behavioral experience in judging risks.

This study used conditional risk assessments to examine the role of behavioral experiences in risk judgments. Adolescents and young adults (ages 10-30; N = 577) were surveyed on their risk judgments for natural hazards and behavior-linked risks, including their personal experiences with these events. Results indicated that participants who had experienced a natural disaster or engaged in a particular risk behavior estimated their chance of experiencing a negative outcome resulting from that event or behavior as less likely than individuals without such experience. These findings challenge the notion that risk judgments motivate behavior and instead suggest that risk judgments may be reflective of behavioral experiences. The results have implications for health education and risk communication.     

Family,gender, and attitudes toward retirement

The relationships between marital status, proximity of children, and attitudes toward retirement of 432 men and 373 women on the verge of retirement were studied. Three dimensions of attitudes were examined: attitudes toward losses associated with retirement, toward gains in entering retirement, and toward gains in leaving work. Women hold significantly more positive attitudes toward both types of gains; there are no gender differences concerning attitudes toward losses. The married of both sexes perceive more gains in entering retirement. Proximity of children is curvilinearly related to gain in entering retirement, especially among women. Attitudes toward losses and gains in leaving work are not associated with familial state. The meaning of work and the myth of the primacy of family for women are discussed.This paper draws on research supported by Grant Number 1 R01 AG 05206-01 from the National Institute on Aging.     

The contemplation of suicide: Its relationship to irrational beliefs in a client sample and the implications for long range suicide prevention

This study investigated differences in irrational belief systems between clients in psychotherapy who reported they were contemplating suicide and those who reported they were not. The sample included over 95% of all persons aged 16 and over seen for psychotherapy over a six-year period (90 males and 117 females). Those contemplating suicide (N=85) were significantly more irrational on a number of basic dimensions. The general composite picture was that of an individual who sees him/herself as a helpless victim of past and present circumstances who must, nevertheless, perform well, be approved of, and never have anything go wrong; any kind of failure would be awful for it would prove one to be a worthless person. Findings are consistent with other cognitive-behavioral research on suicide. Other approaches to the explanation of suicide are reviewed and criticized, especially those that in Rational-Emotive Therapy terms have made an A-C error.Paul J. Woods, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology at Hollins College, an associate fellow and a certified supervisor of training of the Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy in New York City, and is engaged in part-time private practice in Roanoke, VA.Geri E. Muller is a graduate student in the Master's program in psychology at Hollins College.     

Gender differences in moral development

Sixty-nine Midwestern middle-class children and adolescents were tested on justice and care orientations when reasoning abstract and interpersonal moral dilemmas. Nona Lyons' (“Two Perspectives on Self, Relationships and Morality,” Harvard Educational Review, 1983, 53, 125–145) scoring method was used to score subjects' responses. A 2(sex)×2(age) analysis of variance run on the total justice and care scores, as well as each individual dilemma, supported Carol Gilligan's (In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Development, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1982) theory that two distinct ways of thinking about moral problems exist — justice and care — and are differentially related to gender. Girls emphasized the morality of care significantly more than justice. Contrary to Gilligan (1982) and Lyons (1983), however, boys in both age groups emphasized the morality of justice and care equally. Data from the interpersonal dilemmas using Lyons's (1983) coding scheme are consistent with J. Piaget (The Moral Judgement of the Child, New York: Free Press, 1966) and Lawrence Kohlberg [“The Cognitive-Developmental Approach,” in D. A. Goslin (Ed.), Handbook of Socialization Theory and Research, Chicago: Rand McNally, 1969]: older subjects became more justice oriented and younger subjects emphasized the morality of care. Sex differences on Kohlberg's stage theory were not significant and the protagonist's gender in the Heinz dilemma had no effect on moral reasoning.     

'Fear of panic': an investigation of its role in panic occurrence, phobic avoidance, and treatment outcome

The concept of 'fear of fear' has recently received empirical attention regarding its role in panic occurrence and phobic avoidance. Overall, the results of such studies have indicated that anticipation of panic is positively correlated (albeit weakly) with self-reports of avoidance. The present study examined the relationship of panic anticipation--panic occurrence, phobic avoidance and treatment outcome, using a more direct measure of this fear than has been used in previous studies. Results indicated that anticipation of panic was slightly correlated with breadth and severity of avoidance, and moderately correlated with overall clinical severity. In addition, anticipation of panic was found to decrease significantly throughout treatment, but appeared to be independent of actual panic experience. These results may suggest the operation of an intervening variable which accounts for the reduction of both anticipated and actual panic events. Implications for assessment and treatment are discussed.     

Effects of eating abnormalities and gender on perceptions of desirable body shape

Men and women differ when choosing the figure drawings that most resemble (a) their own current figures (CURRENT), (b) their ideal figures (IDEAL), and (c) the figure thought most attractive to the opposite sex (OPPOSITE) (Fallon & Rozin, 1985). In the present experiment, women with high Eating Attitude Test (EAT) scores, indicating abnormal eating patterns, choose differently from those with low scores. All women's IDEAL and OPPOSITE figures are thinner than their CURRENT figures, whereas men rate all three nearly identically. Only the high-scoring women choose an IDEAL figure thinner than their OPPOSITE. This suggests that whereas men are satisfied with their figures, women desire to be thinner than they think they are, and women with abnormal eating behaviors desire to be even thinner than what they think men find attractive.     

The psychological reactions to infertility: Sex roles and coping styles

The purpose of this study was to determine if sex roles would predict the extent to which people experience problems in coping with infertility. Based on questionnaire responses of 164 medical patients, it was found that patients scoring higher in masculinity or androgyny reported fewer problems in coping with infertility, as measured by self-esteem and body image. It was also found that groups of infertile, formerly infertile, and fertile patients were no different in levels of coping. It was suggested that physicians might be able to identify patients at risk for poorer coping with infertility by screening new referrals for self-esteem and historical-background variables.