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.     

Book reviews

Studies in Religious Fundamentalism. Ed. L. Caplan The Macmillan Press Ltd, 1987 ISBN 9 78033 419748 £29.50(h/b).

Trying Trialogues: Pluralism and Prejudicial Pluralism. David Kerr and Dan Cohn‐Sherbok (editors). Christians, Muslims and Jews, Conference of Christians, Muslims and Jews, Birmingham, 1984, no price given. pp.IV, 384     

Unavoidable gridshock without scrambling circuitry from a faradic source of low-radio-frequency current

A high-voltage radio-frequency stimulator was used as a source of motivational footshock in studies of conditional suppression. The circuit of the stimulator is presented schematically, then discussed in terms of affect induced by, gross behavioral response to, and electrical characteristics of, the stimulus. Near daily use of the stimulator across 6 months of formal assessment revealed that nonscrambled presentations of footshock via a grid of aluminum bars invariably resulted in stimulation of rat Ss and generated highly efficient conditional suppression of operant responding. While the stimulator was primarily designed to permit unconfounded presentation of gridshock in a 2,450-MHz microwave field, its simplicity and reliability suggest application in other situations requiring motivational shock.     

Consistency between motor activity and perceived direction of rotation

Three experiments were conducted to test the proposition that engagement in motor activity in a given direction favors the perception of stimulus movement consistent with that direction. Ss simultaneously turned a crank and viewed a stimulus capable of apparent reversal of direction.Experiments 1A and 1B demonstrated that the perceived initial direction of rotation was more stable when it was consistent with the motor activity of the viewer than when it was inconsistent. Experiment 2 demonstrated that when Ss were instructed to perceive a particular direction of rotation for a period of time they tended to engage in motor activity consistent withthatdirection.The results were interpreted as supporting an efference theory of perception.     

Book reviews

Nervous and Hormonal Mechanisms of Integration: Symposia of the Society for Experimental Bilogy, No. 20. Edited by G. M. Hughes. London: Cambridge University press. 1966. Pp. viii + 553. 75s.

Essential Works of Pavlov. Edited with an Introduction by Muchael Kaplan. New York: bantam Books. 1966. Pp. xiii + 392. $1.25.

Psycholinguistic Papers. Proceedings of the Edinburgh Conference 1966. Edited by J. Lyons and R. J. Wales. Edinburgh University Press. 1966. Pp. 243. 42s.

On Human Communication. By Colin Cherry. 2nd edition. London and Cambridge, Mass.: M.I.T. Press. 1966. Pp. xiv + 337. 80s.

Psycholigical Principles Appropvite to Socal and Cinical Problems. By John C. Raven. London: H. K. Lewis. 1966. Pp. xx + 187. 25s.     

An infrared device for detecting locomotor activity

An electronic device for detecting locomotor activity in the home cage of small animals is described. The system involves a dense array of infrared (IR) beams designed to function as switches and capable of penetrating plastic walls of standard rodent cages without operational decrement. The device is reasonably inexpensive, is simple to calibrate, can be used with groups of animals, may be used for extended periods without maintenance, and is reliable with different cages.     

Book reviews

Metaphysics in Midwestern American by M.B. Wagner Ohio State University Press, S17.50 ISBN 0–8142–0346–9. pp229

The Religious Roots of Rebellion. Christians in the Central American Revolution by Philip Berryman. SCM Press, London. 1984, pp452, ISBN 334 00206 0 £12.50