Program Context,Sensation Seeking,and Attention to Televised Anti-Drug Public Service Announcements

This study examined effects of message and program sensation value, sensation seeking, and drug use on visual attention to televised anti-drug public service announcements (PSAs) among 318 18–22-year-olds, who were placed individually in a simulated home environment with the opportunity to read from print media selections and/or watch a half-hour TV program including two presentations of the test PSA. The TV program was high or low in sensation value. High sensation seekers paid greater attention to high sensation value programming and to PSA embedded in such programming, whereas low sensation seekers paid greater attention to PSA embedded in low sensation value programs. Ongoing attention to a program may help to sustain attention to a subsequent PSA. The findings relate to an activation model of information exposure and indicate that program sensation value and sensation seeking are important factors to be considered in the placement oftelevised drug abuse prevention messages.     

Feminist Archeology: Uncovering Women's Philosophical History

A History of Women Philosophers, Volume I: Ancient Women Philoophers, 600 B.C. - 500 A.D., edited by Mary Ellen Waithe, is an important but somewhat frustrating book. It is filled with tantalizing glimpses into the lives and thoughts of some of our earliest philosophical foremothers. Yet it lacks a clear unifying theme, and the abrupt transitions from one philosopher and period to the next are sometimes disconcerting. The overall effect is not unlike that of viewing an expansive landscape, illuminated only by a few tiny spotlights.     

Communication With Older Adults The Influence of Age Stereotypes,Context, and Communicator Age

Forty young, 40 middle-aged, and 40 older adults rated their beliefs about the vocal style that they would use in addressing two older targets—one fitting a negative (Despondent) and one a positive (Golden Ager) stereotype. Participants also gave oral messages to the two targets in either a hospital or community context. Supporting a stereotype-sensitive model of the communication and aging process, participants' beliefs and messages revealed a greater tendency to use patronizing talk with the Despondent target than with the Golden Ager. In addition, the extent and type of patronizing talk (overly nurturing or directive) to the targets was affected by the context in which the target was presented and the age of the communicator. In particular, the number of directive/patronizing messages to Golden Ager targets increased significantly in the hospital context. Finally, older participants were less likely to give patronizing messages to all targets than were younger participants.     

Involvement with Local Television News Cognitive and Emotional Dimensions

This study considered involvement as audience activity, as an indication that audience members are participating in mass media content. On the basis of previous communication research, involvement is viewed as audience activity with both cognitive and affective dimensions. Cognitive involvement reflects attention to, recognition of, and elaboration on media content. Emotional involvement reflects internal feelings. The purpose of this study was to check the validity of this view of involvement in the context of local television news by (a) testing the relationship between the strength of news viewing motivation and involvement intensity, (b) testing the relationship between the type of news viewing motivation and involvement orientation, and (c) testing the relationship between cognitive and emotional involvement. Adult local news viewers (N = 305) completed pertinent questionnaires. Pearson and canonical correlation partly supported the proposed view of media involvement. Utilitarian viewing motivation was associated with higher cognitive involvement and feelings of anger while watching local news. Diversionary motivation was associated with feeling happy while watching news. There were links between cognitive and emotional involvement with news. The discussion focuses on the importance of involvement and motivation in media effects research.     

The Effect of Tomm's Therapeutic Questioning Styles on Therapeutic Alliance: A Clinical Analog Study

10 suggests that circular and reflexive questions tend to elicit feelings of freedom/acceptance whereas lineal and strategic questions usually trigger feelings of judgment/constraint. Employing an analog methodology, each of Tomm's four questioning styles was portrayed in the form of a 5-minute videotaped intake scenario. Forty family triads with a mother, father, and adolescent son were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions with ten families each. Each condition involved viewing one of four questioning style scenarios. All participants (N = 120 individuals — 40 mothers, 40 fathers, and 40 adolescent sons) completed the Family Therapy Alliance Scale (FTAS; 9 ) and a validity-check instrument. The results indicated that circular and reflexive questioning styles elicited significantly higher (p < .001 ) alliance scores on the FTAS than did either lineal or strategic questions. Implications for the use of different types of questions in family therapy are discussed.     

Reflection on Religiousness and Mental Health

A short clinical vignette is discussed in terms of the theoretical concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientations (G.W. Allport & J.M. Ross, 1967) faith development (J.W. Fowler, 1981), and transcendence (W. James, 1936). The author discusses the therapeutic value of a client's religious orientation, faith development, and transcendence in helping to promote constructive change.