Forms of Authority and the Real Ad Verecundiam

This paper provides a typology of appeals to authority, identifying three distinct types: that which is based on a command; that which is based on expertise; and that which is based on dignity. Each type is distinguished with respect to the reaction that a failure to follow it ordinarily evokes. The rhetorical roots of Locke's ad verecundiam are traced to the rhetorical practices of ancient Rome.     

Gifted Achievers and Underachievers: A Comparison of Patterns Found in School Files

Underachievement in gifted students has perplexed educators and parents for decades. Researchers are continually looking for information about the nature and patterns of gifted underachievers that will enlighten those concerned. Counselors are particularly involved, because they often are asked to provide illumination and interventions. This study demonstrates how information in the cumulative school file, accessible to the school counselor, is a rich resource for understanding the patterns of achievement and underachievement among students identified as gifted and for use in planning interventions for students at risk for underachievement. Participants were gifted students (N = 153) who were determined to be either achievers or under-achievers, based on their grade point average at graduation. High and moderate achievers and moderate and extreme underachievers were compared on information found in the school file, such as attendance, tardiness, course selection, and onset and duration of underachievement. Results indicate that there are differences between achievers and underachievers on a number of variables found in the school files. Profiles of these groups are presented with suggestions for actions by counselors.     

The PsyCLE project: Developing a psychology computer-based learning environment

PsyCLE is a 3-year project involving over 30 United Kingdom universities to develop multimedia resources for introductory psychology courses. Our goal is to support active learning and encourage students to form a sound understanding of concepts under study. The developments focus on interactive tasks, illustrative case study material, and tools to support critical thinking and analysis. We discuss the rationale for the approach adopted and describe the developed resources and their evaluation and use.     

Stress,coping resources,and injury risk

Over the last two and a half decades, researchers have tried to determine if psychological variables predispose or buffer athletes from injury. They have found that sport participants who experience many recent stressors, and who do not have the resources and skills to cope with the stress, seem most at risk for injury. This article reviews that research as well as efforts to identify mechanisms that might explain why the stress-injury relationship occurs and interventions that will hopefully reduce the injury risk. Because the multicomponent stress-injury model of Andersen and Williams (1988) helped provide the impetus and theoretical base for much of that research, it serves as the foundation for organizing and summarizing the findings. Although the research has focused largely on sport injuries, the findings have relevance for understanding and potentially preventing many accidents and injuries that occur outside the realm of sport participation.     

Individualized behavior therapy for alcoholics: a third year independent double-blind follow-up.

An independently conducted double-blind study providing third year follow-up data for 53 of 70 male alcoholics who served as subjects in an experiment evaluating “Individualized Behavior Therapy (IBT)” techniques is reported. In the original study, subjects were initially assigned to either a controlled drinking or non-drinking (abstinence) treatment goal, and were then randomly assigned to either an experimental group receiving IBT or a control group receiving conventional state hospital treatment oriented towards abstinence. Previously reported results showed that IBT subjects functioned significantly better than control subjects throughout the first year of follow-up. Second year follow-up results found that IBT subjects treated with a controlled drinking goal functioned significantly better than their respective control subjects on a variety of measures, including drinking behavior. Differences between IBT subjects treated with a non-drinking goal and their control subjects did not retain statistical significance during the second year of follow-up. The independently determined follow-up data showed that during the third post-treatment year, subjects in the experimental groups generally functioned better than their respective control subjects. Comparison of the controlled drinking experimental group with its control group showed the significantly better functioning of subjects in the experimental condition on a number of drinking and other life functioning measures. Comparison of the non-drinking groups indicated only one possible difference on the drinking related measures involving a trend for subjects in the experimental condition to abstain more than those in the non-drinker control group. On other life functioning measures, however, subjects in the non-drinking experimental condition showed consistent improvement over their respective control subjects. Both of the controlled drinking groups reported more controlled drinking days than the non-drinking groups throughout the third year follow-up period.     

Une contribution Sovietique essentielle au debat sur l'unite de la geographie

Sans résumé     

Social interactions among teachers, handicapped children, and nonhandicapped children in a mainstreamed preschool

The emotional tone and social integration of two mainstreamed preschool classes were studied to determine whether or not the findings of an earlier study would be repeated. Although most variables showed no differences between handicapped and nonhandicapped children's peer-directed and teacher-directed behaviors, result did suggest that, particularly in one class, nonhandicapped children tended to selectively interact with other nonhandicapped (as opposed to handicapped) children when engaging in more complex (associative) social play. Handicapped children did not show the same tendency to interact more within their own group. At the same time, handicapped children received more help and affection from peers, and were more effectionate towards peers, than nonhandicapped children. Teachers refused handicapped children's requests and corrected their behavior more often; however they also gave them more help and more affection than nonhandicapped children. The results were generally congruent with those of an earlier study but did show more segregation on the part of nonhandicapped children.     

Sexual preference,feminism, and women's perceptions of their parents

In an attempt to clarify the relation between parental variables, sexual preference, and sex-role attitudes, three groups of women were studied: lesbian feminists, heterosexual feminists, and heterosexual traditional women. The women were asked about their perceptions of their parents when they were in high school. The groups differed more from each other with respect to their perceptions of their fathers than their mothers. The perceived attitudes of the father were much more important in differentiating lesbian feminists from heterosexuals than in differentiating heterosexual feminists from heterosexual traditionals. Both the heterosexual groups (feminist and traditionals) reported having a more affectionate and involved father who also encouraged them more in the expression of anger than the lesbian feminists reported. The results suggest women's father relationships must not be obscured in research and support Johnson's hypothesis that the father relationship is more central than the mother relationship in sex typing and especially in the specifically sexual aspects of sex typing.     

Smoking cessation with behaviour therapy or acupuncture—A controlled study

Five hundred and fifty-eight cigarette smokers (mean 31 cigarettes/day) were randomized in four groups: Acupuncture, Behaviour Therapy, Placebo Medication and Waiting-list Control. The life-table analysis of smoking cessation showed, at a 12-month follow-up, no difference between Acupuncture, Behaviour Therapy and Placebo. Differences appeared only in an analysis of the abstinent subjects at each data point. Behaviour Therapy and Acupuncture accounted for significantly more abstinent subjects than Placebo at the end of the 2-week therapeutic phase. However at 9 and 12 months Acupuncture had a statistically-significant greater number of abstinent subjects than Behaviour Therapy, but there was no difference between Acupuncture and Placebo. The percentage decrease in smoking from baseline appeared significantly greater at 12 months in the first three groups than in the Control conditions. However, as in most smoking-cessation studies, the overall effect was small and non-specific. The results reflect the importance of maintenance programmes and of the prevention of addiction.