Philosophy of Science in Iran

First steps are taken in the following toward the study of present‐day philosophy of science in Iran, by choosing various examples in the hope of showing that philosophy of science in Iran has emerged predominantly as an apologetic and ideological discourse. I start by pointing out the complexities of method in such a study. I then criticise two writing samples by two well‐known Iranian scholars, which exemplify the first Iranian reaction to logical positivism. The study continues with a survey of the mistakes in the Persian translation of T. S. Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, a study of the status of research in philosophy of science in Iran, and a critique of attempts by Iranian scholars at indigenising philosophy of science through the reconciliation of modern science with Islamic faith.     

The role of a mentoring group for family therapy trainees and therapists of color

This article discusses the development, process, and impact of a mentoring group for family therapists of color. A within-group process for trainees of color in a predominantly White institution can provide a valuable resource for support, validation, empowerment, and collective action. The article examines how such mentoring promotes the effectiveness of therapists of color, as well as the practices and goals of social justice and diversity within training institutions and the field in general. Reflections and recommendations for implementing such a group are offered, as well as a personal narrative of a group member's experience of finding her voice in the group.     

Microinjections of the dopamine D2 receptor antagonist sulpiride into the medial prefrontal cortex attenuate glucocorticoid-induced impairment of long-term memory retrieval in rats

We recently reported that blockade of dopamine (DA) D2 receptors attenuated deficits in long-term memory retrieval induced by a systemic injection of corticosterone, but the anatomical sites of such interaction were not known. In this study, we investigated whether the DA D2 receptors located in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) may play a role in the impairing effects of glucocorticoids on the memory retrieval process. Young adult male rats were trained in a one trial inhibitory avoidance task (0.5 mA, 3s footshock). On the retention test given 48 h after training, the latency to re-enter the dark compartment and the time spent in light compartment of the apparatus were recorded. Systemically administered corticosterone (1mg/kg) given to rats 30 min before retention testing impaired their memory retrieval. Bilateral microinjections of the DA D2 receptor antagonist sulpiride (10 or 100 ng/0.5 microl per side) into the mPFC 30 min before corticosterone administration attenuated the glucocorticoid-induced impairment of memory retrieval. Furthermore, applied doses of sulpiride alone were ineffective in modulating memory retrieval. These findings indicate that D2 receptors located in the mPFC play an important role in mediating the impairing effects of glucocorticoids on memory retrieval.     

Social Determinants of Attitudes towards Women’s Premarital Sexuality among Female Turkish University Students

This paper explores the effects of demographic and attitudinal variables on attitudes toward women’s premarital sexuality in a sample of 277 undergraduate female students at Istanbul University, Turkey. The results of the research demonstrated that sexual attitudes best predicted the dependent variable in regression analysis. Once the variable sexual attitudes was excluded from the equation, mother’s education and personal religiosity were the best predictors of attitudes toward women’s premarital sexuality. For a more extensive version of this study, see     

Are Religious People More Prosocial? A Quasi-Experimental Study with Madrasah Pupils in a Rural Community in India

Using quasi-experimental data, this article examines the relationship between religiosity and prosocial behavior. In contrast to previous studies that identify religious people by how often they attend religious services or by their self-reported religiosity, this study compares the behavior of highly devout students who are preparing to enter the clergy to the behavior of other students in a public goods game and in the dictator game. The results show that religious students were significantly more cooperative in the public goods game and significantly more generous in the dictator game than other students.     

Difficulty in evoking odor images: The role of odor naming

Many studies report that people have difficulty in evoking odor images. In this article, we explore whether this results from another commonly observed phenomenon, difficulty in naming odors. In Experiment 1, participants both named and attempted to imagine either odors or their common visual referents. More-difficult-to-name odors were reported as being more difficult to evoke as olfactory images, in comparison with the visual condition. In Experiment 2, participants received training prior to forming odor images and naming the same set of odors. As in Experiment 1, more-difficult-to-name odors were harder to imagine, but participants who had learned the odor names during training were significantly better, by their own report, at imagining many of these stimuli, relative to participants who were either exposed to the odors, exposed to their names, or who received no pretraining. In sum, these experiments suggest that odor naming may account for some of the difficulty reported by participants when attempting to evoke odor images; we discuss an associative basis for this effect.     

Gender differences in depressive response: The role of social support

The present study investigated the possibility that women's ruminative response style to stressful events is due in part to differential advice that women and men receive from their social support networks. Undergraduates (60 men, 136 women) of various ethnic backgrounds (e.g., 21.4% English, 16.8% West Indian, 12.8% Chinese, 10.7% Italian) indicated the extent to which they would endorse various statements of advice for a stimulus person described as experiencing a negative life event. As predicted, subjects endorsed more ruminative advice for female stimulus persons than for male stimulus persons (p< .02). These findings imply that, since females in stressful situations seem more likely to receive ruminative advice than do their male counterparts, women's greater vulnerability to depressive symptoms may be partly the result of the concomitant dangers of stressful events and potentially harmful advice.     

应激对大鼠行为和部分脑区谷氨酸含量的影响

以旷场试验法测定动物在急、慢性躯体性和心理性应激时的行为变化,以快速断头冷冻匀浆法,用ＨＩＴＡＣＨＩ－８３５氨基酸分析仪测定应激各期视皮层、海马、下丘脑、小脑谷氨酸含量。并对正常动物经侧脑室微量注射Ｌ－ＡＰ４后观察行为变化。结果显示,急性应激期动物行为活动增加,慢性应激期减少：应激时,大鼠部分脑区的谷氨酸含量与对照组相比在不同时期呈显著性差异;侧脑室微量注射Ｌ－ＡＰ４提示行为活动减弱可能与脑内Ｇｌｕ系统的活动有关。