Prosocial behavior in hyperactive boys: Effects of stimulant medication and comparison with normal boys

To clarify the effects of stimulant medication on hyperactive (ADHD) children's prosocial as well as aversive behaviors toward peers, 19 hyperactive boys, aged 7–12, were observed as they acted as leaders for groups of 2–4 unfamiliar younger children. In a doubleblind crossover design, subjects were observed twice, once on placebo and again on a moderate (0.6 mg/kg) dose of methylphenidate (Ritalin). Thirteen comparison boys, without problems in attention and behavior, were also observed in the same leader roles. Relative to comparison boys, hyperactive boys on placebo were more socially engaged, used more aversive leadership techniques, and were rated as less likable by the younger children in their groups. Aversive social behaviors were the strongest predictors of being disliked by the younger children. No differences were found between comparison and unmedicated hyperactive boys for any aspect of prosocial behavior. Stimulant medication had a general dampening effect on social behavior, significantly reducing social engagement and increasing (mild) dysphoria relative to the placebo condition. The implications of these findings for understanding and treating the peer relationship difficulties of hyperactive children are discussed.This study was conducted at the Fernald Child Study Center, UCLA, and we very much appreciate the contributions of the many staff members of the program, especially those of Alice Huber-Dressler and Tracy Heller. We also are very grateful to staff and children of Corinne A. Seeds University Elementary School for their participation in this study.     

Goodness as transcendental: The early thirteenth-century recovery of an Aristotelian idea

In this paper I investigate the philosophical developments at the heart of what appears to be the earliest systematic formulation of the doctrine of the transcendentals by comparing the first questions of Philip the Chancellor'sSumma de bono (the so-called first treatise on the transcendentals — ca. 1230) with its immediate ancestor, a small group of questions from William of Auxerre'sSumma aurea (ca. 1220). I argue that Philip's innovative position on the relation between being and goodness, the centerpiece of his doctrine of the transcendentals, is motivated by an Aristotelian conception of theoretical knowledge that grounds inquiry in metaphysical classification and definition understood in terms of Aristotle's doctrine of the categories. The concerns about taxonomy and definition that Philip introduces into the early thirteenth-century discussion of the metaphysics of goodness lead him to the theses that are the foundations of the medieval doctrine of the transcendentals, among them that being and goodness are conceptually distinct but the same in reality.I am grateful to Jorge Gracia for comments on a draft of this paper. I should also like to acknowledge with gratitude the support for my work on this project that was provided by an American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship for Recent Recipients of the Ph.D. (1988) and a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend (1988).     

Negative priming for obsessive-compulsive checkers and noncheckers

Negative priming--the slowing of a response to an item that was recently ignored--was investigated in three groups: obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) checkers, OCD noncheckers, and nonclinical control participants. All groups performed both a standard negative priming task, selecting targets based on a perceptual feature (i.e., color), and a modified negative priming task, selecting targets based on a semantic feature (i.e., referent size). All three groups demonstrated significant negative priming in both tasks, although the negative priming was much larger in the novel, semantic task than in the common, perceptual one. The findings suggest that patients with OCD do not demonstrate impairments in negative priming, contrary to earlier claims (Enright & Beech, 1990, 1993a, 1993b; Enright, Beech, & Claridge, 1995).     

An epidemiological study on work and family stress among Chinese in Hong Kong

Hong Kong, with a population of over six million in a modern city, has been shown to be a very stressful place to live in. However, epidemiological data from a big-scale study in this regard are lacking. The present territory-wide survey, from a sample representative of the general population, was aimed to investigate the work and family stress of Chinese adults in the community with respect to the impact on their psychological well-being. The psychosocial context was considered as an important source of stress. The results showed that coping with work demands and rearing children were reported as the highest stress responses. Moreover, workers in Hong Kong took an instrumental attitude, i.e., one emphasizing material rewards, in order to reduce the job stress arising from interpersonal conflicts in the workplace.     

Ambivalence and Unprotected Sex: Failure to Predict Sexual Activity and Decreased Condom Use1

Using a prospective design, we assessed whether ambivalence toward sexual activity is associated with decreased condom use. Undergraduates predicted whether they would have intercourse and use condoms in the next week. A week later, they reported their sexual and contraceptive behavior. Among 65 individuals who had intercourse and planned to use condoms, ambivalence toward sexual activity was negatively associated with condom use. Moreover, whether intercourse was planned mediated the relationship between ambivalence and condom use, such that ambivalence was negatively associated with accuracy in planning sex, and unplanned sex was less likely to be protected. Individuals who are ambivalent about sex may intend to use condoms, but fail to do so because they cannot predict when they will have intercourse.