Compassion: An east‐west comparison

Compassion is an emotion that occupies a central position in Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy while it is often a neglected subject in contemporary western philosophy. This essay is a comparison between an Eastern view of compassion based upon Mahāyāna Buddhist perspectives and a western view of the same emotion. Certain principles found in Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy such as the Bodhisattva Ideal, and suffering (dukkha) to name two, are explored for the information they contain about compassion. An essay by Lawrence Blum is taken as representative of a Western view (but not exclusively) and it is analyzed for its shortcomings in light of the Buddhist view. The conclusion briefly describes the value of understanding an eastern view on compassion as a means of filling the void one finds in western medical ethics discourse which focuses so heavily, and redundantly, upon issues such as patient autonomy and paternalism.     

20岁至90岁成人的某些记忆活动的变化

本工作是我们过去关于记忆年老化研究的继续。记忆材料为自行设计并与全国若干单位协作编制的“试用临床记忆量表”。受试为健康成人210名.分为7个年龄组,各组性别、文化匹配。每组有20名并作韦氏成人智力量表检查。结果:1.成年至老年记忆变化总的趋势是,50岁组开始有明显减退,70岁后又有更显著的减退。2.在智力匹配条件下记忆年老化趋势相同(20、40、50、60、70岁年龄组)。3.无意义图形再认和有关联想学习年龄差异最小,无关联想学习和人像的姓氏,爱好特点回忆年龄差异最大,表明老年人建立无关的全新的联系困难。据此,作者指出老年记忆障碍可能是编码储存和提取困难相互作用的结果。     

Behavioural family therapy and the influence of a systems framework

A family approach using the techniques of behaviour modification, to a family presenting with problems of encopressis in a five-year-old boy, is described. The usefulness of taking a broader analysis of the context of the behaviours targeted for modification under the impact of systems theories is emphasized. A one-year follow-up after treatment demonstrated both symptomatic and family changes.     

氯丙嗪对猕猴脑电图的影响

本文研究了正常猕猴脑电图特征,将16只动物按其年龄分为哺乳期、未成年期和成年期3组。并对其中12只动物进一步观察氯丙嗪对脑电图的影响,其主要结果如下: 猕猴脑电图自发电位频率随年龄的增长而增加;振幅随年龄的增长而降低。对光刺激所呈现的“节律同化”现象,在未成年期最明显,成年期次之。 氯丙嗪能引起猕猴不同程度的脑电图变化,主要表现为全皮层高振幅慢波。氯丙嗪能改善对光脉冲刺激所呈现的“节律同化”现象。     

Human figure drawings of gender-problem children: A comparison to sibling,psychiatric, and normal controls

The Draw-a-Person test was used to evaluate a number of questions regarding children referred for potential problems in their gender-identity development (N = 36). Sibling (N = 31), psychiatric (N = 23), and normal (N = 30) children served as comparison groups. The major results included the following: (1) The gender-referred children were more likely to draw an opposite-sex person when requested to "draw a person" than were the other three groups; (2) the gender-referred children who drew an opposite-sex person were more likely to play with opposite-sex toys and dress-up apparel on a free-play task than were the gender-referred children who drew a same-sex person; (3) the gender-referred children drew taller opposite-sex persons than same-sex persons; (4) using Koppitz's (1968) criteria, the normal children had a smaller proportion of emotional disturbance indicators in their same-sex drawings than did the other three groups. These findings were discussed with regard to psychometric and interpretive issues in the assessment of children with atypical gender-role behavior.     

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.     

The Role of Psychological Reactance in Drinking Following Alcohol Prevention Messages1

Two experiments tested whether a dogmatic alcohol prevention message may, by arousing psychological reactance (the motivation to reassert a threatened freedom) result in more subsequent alcohol consumption, compared to a neutral message. In Study 1, 535 college students received either a high-threat (dogmatic) or low-threat (neutral) message recommending either abstinence or controlled drinking. Results indicated that high-threat messages were rated more negatively and resulted in more drinking intentions compared to low threat. The negative effect of high threat on message ratings was most pronounced for habitually heavy drinkers and an abstinence-espousing message. In Study 2, under the guise of a “memory study,” 74 college students received either a high- or low-threat message recommending abstinence from alcohol. Then, under the guise of a “perception study,” all subjects participated in a taste-rating task in which their beer consumption was unobtrusively measured. Results indicated that the effect of high threat was most negative for male heavy drinkers, who drank significantly more beer compared to low-threat controls. These results suggest that the persuasive ability of alcohol prevention efforts depend to a considerable extent on the reactance-arousing properties of the materials and that dogmatic alcohol prevention materials may have counterproductive effects for some college students.     

当代美英法律心理学研究概况

本文概述了当代美英法律心理学研究的状况,着重论述了它的主要研究领域:证人证言,讯问与供述,法庭心理学,陪审团研究,犯罪心理学,被害人心理学以及司法程序心理学,这些内容对于深化我国的法律心理学研究,具有积极意义。     

A faith for all seasons

A FAITH FOR ALL SEASONS:ISLAM AND WESTERN MODERNITY. By Shabbir Akhtar. London: Bellew Publishing, 1990. 251pp. Hb. £25.00. ISBN 0–947792–41–4.