CONVERSATIONAL MEMORY

While there has recently been a notable increase in attempts by memory researchers to focus on more naturalistic stimuli little attention has been paid to conversations. Conversations represent stimuli that are distinctly different in a number of ways from most other stimuli that people are required to remember. Conversations are jointly created, constantly updated, and necessarily are readily accessible by participants. The present study, exploring people's memory for natural conversations in which they participate, finds that even after only five minutes people are able to recollect only about 10% of what was said in a social exchange. Further, the mode of recall (written versus oral) and the presence and type of memory goals affected what and how much of the interaction was recalled. Subjects also remembered more of their partner's comments in the interaction than their own. Finally, oral communication anxiety affected both the production of discourse in the conversations and recall of the interactions, while writing apprehension impacted subjects' written recalls of their conversations.     

Ethnicity of Dating Partner,Pressure for Thinness,and Body Dissatisfaction

Two studies explored the relation between ethnicity, attitudes toward body weight, dating behavior, and female body satisfaction. Study 1 found that White men expressed a lighter female ideal weight, more resentment about their girlfriend's weight, and more pressure for their partner's thinness than did Black men. Study 2 found that regardless of their own ethnicity, women who dated White men had lower body mass index (BMI), lower ideal weights, and reported experiencing lower levels of body acceptance by their dating partners. This lack of acceptance was associated with lower levels of body satisfaction. These results support the view that the differing aesthetic preferences of Black and White men contribute to differing levels of body satisfaction among Black and White women.     

Therapy Outcomes: Client Perception and Similarity with Therapist View

This study examined clients' perceptions of therapy outcome and how those perceptions related to therapist views. Additionally, the effects of client and therapist gender and ethnicity, and the match on these variables (e.g., female therapist-female client) were examined. Results showed that clients generally improved from both the client and therapist perceptions, although therapists' views were influenced by client ethnicity. There was no difference between gender or ethnicity matches on perception of outcome. Further examination showed that gender and ethnicity interacted to influence both client and therapist perceptions of outcome. The authors discuss the research and practice implications of these findings.     

Family Microtransitions: Observing the Process of Change in Families with Adolescent Children

To read this article in Spanish, please see this article's Supporting Information on Wiley InterScience (http://interscience.wiley.com/journal/famp). To read this article's abstract in both Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, please visit the article's full‐text page on Wiley InterScience ( http://interscience.wiley.com/journal/famp ). The aim of the study is to explore the process of microtransitions in families with adolescent children. Original methodological procedures were designed in order to have families as the objects of study and to analyze data with particular attention to the family process of change. A family interview focused on the adolescent and family change was conducted with 12 families having an adolescent child. As indicators of change, we used coordination and oscillation. Our results highlight different patterns of family interactions, illustrating various ways through which families deal with change. Conclusive remarks focus on the theoretical relevance of the study, the method and the implications for family practice and policy.     

SHAPING YOUR OWN LIFE

Abstract: A distinction is made between imagination in the narrow sense and in the broad sense. Narrow imagination is characterised as the ability to “see” pictures in the mind's eye or to “hear” melodies in the head. Broad imagination is taken to be the faculty of creating, either in the strict sense of making something ex nihilo or in the looser sense of seeing patterns in some data. The article focuses on a particular sort of broad imagination, the kind that has to do with creating, not a work of art, a scientific theory or a political vision but one's own life. We shape our lives through our actions, and these actions not only influence our future—a commonplace—but also determine our past, which is a new and more controversial perspective.     

Whether to Adopt Statements on Homosexuality in Two Denominations: A Research Note

Some of the most contentious issues in American religion today concern homosexuality. In 1998, we asked 2,300 clergy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Episcopal Church whether their denomination should adopt official statements on homosexuality. A year later, we asked the same question of 1,600 church members in 60 of those clergy's congregations. In this research note, we analyze the attitudes of clergy and church members about beginning the process to compose formal denominational statements on homosexuality. We find great differences between the two denominations, reflecting established conflict in the Episcopal Church and a lack thereof in the ELCA. The attitudes of both clergy and church members, shaped by denominational context, reflect their general attitudes toward gay rights and the public involvement of the denomination. Clergy exhibit particular concern about how a denominational statement might affect their own congregation, and church members take significant cues from their clergy.     

An Immodest Proposal: Foucault,Hysterization, and the “Second Rape”

This article places Foucault's 1977 suggestions regarding the reform of French rape law in the context of ongoing feminist debates as to whether rape should be considered a sex crime or a species of assault. When viewed as a disciplinary matrix with both physical and discursive effects, rape and the rape trial clearly contribute to the “hysterization” of women by cultivating complainants' confessions in order to demonstrate their supposed lack of self-knowledge.     

Healthy Death

The concept of healthy death is introduced and explored. A review of literature on the subject of death and dying reveals efforts that have sought to make death a “good” and “meaningful” experience. The article concludes with a summary definition of healthy death.     

Recognizing and Combating Sexist Job Interviews

This article is a self-help guide that outlines for women job-seekers clues to recognizing sexist job interviews and interviewers. It provides suggestions to women readers and their vocational counselors for overcoming sexist tactics and the job discrimination that may result. The sexist clues discussed in the article are common ones found in the standard personnel practices of many employers. Studying the points outlined will make women job-seekers more aware of their rights as workers and will equip them to compete on their job-related qualifications rather than personal ones. Counselors will find the article helpful in coaching women prior to interviews.