Animal research in psychology: declining or thriving?

From Dialog's PsychINFO database the number of studies with 6 species reported in the Psychological Abstracts was calculated for each year from 1967 to 1988. Also, the number of studies with an additional 11 species were calculated for each year from 1973 to 1988. A hand search in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior and Learning and Motivation was also conducted to explore trends in studies on 12 species from 1970 to 1987. The numbers of studies on many species (e.g., baboons, bats, chimpanzees, dolphins, gerbils, guinea pigs, gorillas, hamsters, lemurs, mice, pigeons, rats, seals, and snakes) have remained stable. There has, however, been a steady decline in the numbers of studies on selected species (e.g., cats, dogs, and rabbits). Possible reasons for changing trends in studies on selected species include: increased costs, the cognitive emphasis in psychology, and arguably, animal rights activism.     

A demonstration of gaze following in 3- to 6-month-olds

An adult, with a puppet held at shoulder height on either side (within the infant's visual field), interacted with 3- to-6-month-olds, turning her head intermittently to talk to a puppet. Seventy- three percent of infants' first eye-turns were in the direction of the adult head-turn.     

Notes on the Tenacity of Therapeutic Presuppositions in Process Research: Examining the Artfulness of Blamings in Family Therapy

In their recent contribution to the Journal of Family Therapy , Frosh et al . apply discourse analytic methods to the study of 'process' in family therapy. While we welcome this contribution, we suggest that the authors' reading of the data has been affected by a number of fundamental presuppositions, which have led them to neglect the skilful rhetorical work taking place in the session. In this paper, we have undertaken an alternative analysis of the data, examining its rhetorical features and suspending judgement on the efficacy of the therapeutic project and on the truth status of statements made by participants in the session. While acknowledging that our microanalytic method has some shortcomings, we contend that attention to the situated and strategic nature of 'therapy talk' has exposed the primacy of notions of responsibility and blame in family work, and has shown how these issues are artfully negotiated by therapist and family in the cut and thrust of the therapeutic interview.     

Form symbolism, analogy, and metaphor

Simple forms, such as a square and a circle, can be symbolic; for example, a square can be deemed to behard and a circle to besoft. The relation between form symbolism and the comprehension of metaphors and analogies was studied in three experiments. Subjects were asked to rate matches between terms such assoft andhard andcircle andsquare as symbols (Experiment 1), metaphors (Experiment 2), and analogies (Experiment 3). The results show that a highly rated symbolic relation could be a poorly rated metaphorical relation. Ratings of analogies were similar to ratings of symbols. We argue that apt metaphors, analogies, and symbolic forms claim that the vehicle and the topic of the comparisons have common features, but that metaphoric representation entails more common features than does either symbolism or analogy, because metaphor requires that the vehicle be an especially apt example of a superordinate class. Thus, metaphor is a particularly strong claim about common features shared by the topic and the vehicle.     

The Association of Disease Severity, Functional Status, and Medical Utilization with Relationship Satisfaction among Asthma Patients and Their Partners

The association of relationship satisfaction to asthma-related illness factors was examined among 46 couples in which one person had asthma of mild-to-moderate severity. The asthma-related illness factors included measures of disease severity, functional status, and medical utilization. More asthma severity and greater use of asthma medications accounted for 27% of the variance in relationship satisfaction. These results diverge from the general notion that more illness should be associated with more relationship distress. The findings are discussed in the context of the potentially buffering effects of the relationship satisfaction among the couples in the present sample against the stress of a chronic illness.     

Building and Maintaining Clinical Programs

This paper describes the basic elements of practice development and management within the academic medical setting. These include assessment of the market environment, both in the community and within the medical setting, product development, marketing, budget basics, quality, managed care negotiations, and finding time to do research in a financially-driven health care system.     

The Future of Psychology in Departments of Psychiatry

Health care reform has put increasing pressure on faculty of medical schools to become self-supporting. Opportunities for clinical revenue will decrease, but psychologists who are able to generate research funding will become increasingly competitive, albeit as mercenaries, i.e., capable of paying their own way plus generating a profit to support departmental operations and educational programs. Changes in the health care system signal an end to psychiatry's paternalistic relationship to psychology and present opportunities for psychology proactively to influence its future role in health care. Research, political action, and revised scientific mission, models, and roles represent important strategies in the redefining of psychology as a basic science and major profession in health care.     

The Challenges and Responsibilifies of Contextual Theology

Reading from this Place: Social Location and Biblical Interpretation , Fernando F. Segovia and Mary Ann Tolbert (eds)
Local Theology: Church Community in Dialogue , John Reader
Models of Contextual Theology , Stephen B. Bevans     

Book reviews

Modern American Religion, Vol. 3. Under God, Indivisible, 1941–1960 Martin E. Marty, 1996 Chicago: University of Chicago Press 548 pp. + xii. £27.96, US$34.95 ISBN 0–22–50898–6

Perspectives on New Religious Movements John A. Sauba, 1995 London: Geoffrey Chapman 240 pp., £12.99 (pb), £35.00 (hb) ISBN 0–225–66787–8 (pb),’ ISBN 0–225–66786‐X (hb)

New Religions and the New Europe Robert Towler, ed., 1995 Aarhus: Aarhus University Press 246 pp., £19.95 ISBN 87 7288 433 9

A New Dictionary of Religions John R. Hinnells, ed., 1995 Oxford: Blackwell 760 pp., US$74.95 (hb) ISBN 0–631–18139–3

Den Fremden verstehen: Eine Praktische Hermeneutik Theo Sundermeier, 1996 Göttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht 260 pp. ISBN 3–525–01619–0

Religion and Mass Media: Audiences and Adaptations Daniel A. Stout & Judith M. Buddenbaum, eds, 1996 Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications 294 pp., £37.00 (hb), £18.50 (pb) ISBN 0–8039–7173–7 (hb), 0–8039–7174–5 (pb)

Contemporary Mainstream Religion: Studies from Humberside and Lincolnshire Peter G. Forster, ed., 1995 Aldershot: Avebury xxxvii +135 pp., £30.00 ISBN 1–8562–919–2

One Earth Many Religions: Multifaith Dialogue and Global Responsibility Paul F. Kntiter, 1995 Maryknoll, New York: Orbis xiv + 218 pp., US$17.00 ISBN 1–57075–037–8

A Wider Vision: A History of the World Congress of Faiths 1936–1996 Marcus Braybrooke, 1996 Oxford: Oneworld Publications 192 pp., £10.99, US$16.95 ISBN 1–85168–119–1

The Phenomenon of Teilhard: Prophet for a New Age David H. Lane, 1996 Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press xvi +192 pp., US$21.95 ISBN 0–86554–498–0

The Wisdom of the Wyrd: Teachings for Today from our Ancient Past Brian Bates, 1996 London: Rider xiii +306 pp., £12.99 ISBN 0‐712E‐7277‐X

Desinformation als Methode. Die Bahā'ísmus‐Monographie des F. Ficicchia Udo Schaefer, Nicola Towfigh, Ulrich Gollmer, 1995 Hildesheim Georg Olms Verlag xiii + 685 pp., DM 65.00 (hb) ISBN 3–487–10041‐X

The New Latin American Mission History (Latin American Studies Series) Erick Langer & Robert H. Jackson, eds, 1995 Lincoln & London: University of Nebraska Press 212 pp., £15.95 (pb), £32.95 (hb) ISBN 0–8032–7953–1 (pb), ISBN 0–8032–2911–9 (hb)

Gender Rituals: Female Initiation in Melanesia Nancy C. Lutkehaus & Paul B. Roscoe, eds, 1995 New York Routledge 265 pp., £13.99 (pb), £37.50 (hb) ISBN 0–415–91107–9 (pb), ISBN 0–415–91106–0 (hb)

Daughters of Anowa: African Women and Patriarchy Mercy Amba Oduyoye, 1995 Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books 229 pp., US$18.00 (pb) ISBN 0–88344–999–4

Christianity in Africa: The Renewal of a Non‐Western Religion Kwame Bediako, 1995 Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press; Maryknoll: Orbis Books 276 pp., £16.95 ISBN 0–7486–0625–4

The Christian Heritage in the Holy Land Anthony O'Mahony with Goran Gunner & Kevork Hintuan, eds, 1995 Epping, Essex: Scorpion Cavendish xi + 320 pp., £15.95 ISBN 1–900269–06–6 (pb)

Patterns of the Sacred: English Protestant and Russian Orthodox Pilgrims of the Nineteenth Century Ruth & Thomas Hummel, 1995 Epping, Essex: Scorpion Cavendish ix + 76 pp., £10.00 ISBN 1–900269–08–2 (pb)

Pilgrimage Past and Present: Sacred Travel and Sacred Space in the World Religions Simon Coleman & John Elsner, 1995 London: British Museum Press 240 pp., Illus., £20.00 ISBN 0–7141–1738–2