Multidimensional locus of control and Machiavellianism in Italian and West German students: similarities and differences

In recent decades, the relationship between Machiavellianism and locus of control has received increasing attention in psychological literature. Presented below are the results of various studies conducted to determine correlations between these variables, complete with statistical information concerning gender-specific differences.     

Are There Gender‐Specific Risk Factors for Suicidal Activity among Patients with Schizophrenia and Depression?

Are there gender‐specific risk factors for suicidal activity among patients with schizophrenia and depression? A total of 74 schizophrenia patients (51 men, 23 women) and 77 unipolar nonpsychotic depressed patients (26 men, 51 women) from the Chicago Follow‐up Study were studied prospectively at 2 years posthospitalization and again at 7.5 years. Poor early posthospital global functioning is significantly associated with later suicidal activity only for men in both our schizophrenia and depressive samples. Early display of psychotic symptoms is associated with later suicidal activity among male schizophrenia patients. Early cognitive impairment is not significantly associated with later suicidal activity for any of the four groups of patients. The study results must be seen as exploratory and will hopefully spur future research on this important topic.     

Differential effects of social support and social network on physiological and social outcomes in men and women with type II diabetes mellitus

Patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) were advised to comply with a complex behavioral regimen of diet and exercise. The relationship between social support satisfaction and social support network size was evaluated using the Social Support Questionnaire for 32 men and 44 women with a confirmed diagnosis of NIDDM. Control of diabetes, as measured by the glycosylated hemoglobin assay, was significantly correlated with social support satisfaction for women but negatively correlated with social support satisfaction for men. Social support network size differentially predicted success in a program for men and women. For women, network size was significantly correlated with failure to attend sessions and with failure to complete a diary. For these women, network size was not significantly correlated with weight loss, which was the goal of the program. For men, network size was correlated with increases in weight, cholesterol, and triglycerides over an 18-month period. We conclude that social support network size and satisfaction have different functions for men and women faced with a serious chronic illness. Network size adversely affects success in a program, whereas social support satisfaction has some benefits for women. The direction of the influence of social network may be determined by the similarity or dissimilarity of network norms to the desired behavior.     

The problem with descriptive correctness

In the 1980s and early 1990s, the normativity of meaning was thought to be more-or-less ‘incontestable.’ But in the last 25 years, many philosophers of mind and language have contested it in several seemingly different ways. This, however, is somewhat illusory. There is an unappreciated commonality among most anti-normativist arguments, and this commonality, I argue, poses a problem for anti-normativism. The result, however, is not a wholesale rejection of anti-normativism. Rather, an insight from the anti-normativist position can be harnessed to reveal an unappreciated position in the normativity of meaning debate.