Humility as a psychotherapeutic formulation

Humility training is conceptualized as an appropriate treatment for persons who occasionally describe themselves, but are most frequently described by others as overbearing, insensitive and deceitful. Procedures are outlined to identify unrecognized fears and improve interpersonal skills. Humility is presented as a counterpoint to assertiveness and aggression/anger control interventions.     

Work behavior correlates of interviewer job compatibility

Forced-choice scales were developed to measure the compatibility between worker preferences for job characteristics and actual characteristics of the job for purposes of predicting turnover and performance. The data confirmed the construct and criterion-related validity of the compatibility scores, but also indicated that the relationship between compatibility and voluntary termination was moderated by employee characteristics. Discussion centers on the implications of these findings for future job compatibility scale development and the application of this methodology to work settings where relatively homogeneous subgroups of employees differ with respect to personal and work circumstances.The authors thank the Public Opinion Laboratory of Northern Illinois University for supporting this research and Paula Howard, Robin Bebel, Alan Nordwall, and Barbara Zaitzow for their administrative assistance on this project. We also thank Gregory Sekowski and T.R. Biddle for their assistance on various aspects of the project. Finally, we thank all of the participants of the study without whom this research would not have been possible.     

Agricultural policy and strategic investment in information technology

In this article the perspective shifts to the “upstream” end of the agricultural knowledge and information system (AKIS). Because knowledge policy and strategic decision-making are not the prerogative of the public sector, organizations such as cooperative unions and multinational companies are included. After considering the influence of the changing environment on the nature of the AKIS, the role of knowledge management and policy in the emerging knowledge and information market is examined. Special attention is given to public and private R&D. The article then looks where information technology (IT) fits in and what considerations determine strategic investment in IT projects and sustained services. Some of the European experiences with this strategic investment are evaluated.     

Cognitive-behavior therapy and physical disability

This article attempts to assist the cognitive understanding of children and adults with significant physical disability. A discrimination is offered between disability and handicap. Common cognitive schemes and irrational beliefs of people with physical disabilities are explored. The development of belief systems from a social learning perspective and several cognitive assumptions of parents and families of children who have physical disabilities are presented. Finally, certain self evaluative beliefs specifically related to physical disability are examined in terms of how they relate to self image and, concomitantly, behavior. The article offers information arrived upon from the author's clinical practice as well as the author's personal experience as a person with a physical disability.Dr. John D. Sweetland, received his Ph.D. in Clinical and School Psychology from Hofstra University in 1979. His doctoral dissertation involved the application of a Rational Emotive Education program specifically for severely physically disabled children. He is a licensed psychologist in New York State, a school psychologist with the Port Washington Public Schools and in private practice with offices in Merrick and Massapequa, Long Island. Dr. Sweetland had polio and is semiambulatory. He was also a gymnast and a nationally ranked competitive acrobat.     

Ethics,AIDS, and community responsibility

In the discussion of the responsibilities of society to the HIV infected and uninfected, a serious question seems to have been left out of the picture: To what extent are people who are not infected, have no special relationship to the infected and have no professional responsibilities for the care of AIDS patients under an obligation to come to the aid of people with the HIV? In this paper, I shall examine our responsibilities, as members of society, for the welfare of others to whom we may or may not have a special relationship. I shall argue that those responsibilities flow from the conditions that structure our transactions with others; conditions that make such transactions possible.     

Body proportions as information for age and cuteness: Animals in illustrated children’s books

Growth systematically changes the body proportions of both humans and animals so that the ratio of head height to body height decreases with age. Prior studies have demonstrated that body proportions provide effective information for age perception. To test the proposal that illustrators incorporate this information into their drawings, measurements were made of the head and body heights of 100 pairs of animals appearing in children’s picture books. In 93 pairs, the animal intended to be perceived as older had a smaller head-to-body ratio than did the younger animal. Ratings collected for 25 of these pairs showed that both perceived age and cuteness are significantly correlated with body proportions. The magnitudes of the correlations were only modest, suggesting that other aspects of the drawings influenced perceived age and cuteness. In addition, observers reported that body proportions are only one of a variety of factors influencing age and cuteness perception. As has been found in other studies, perceived age and cuteness were negatively correlated.