Pain as purgation: The role of pathologizing in the life of the mystic

Since Descartes, man has been defined in terms of body and spirit only. Yet there is a third term that is of crucial importance for the founding of a psychology of suffering. The realm of psyche, or soul, is a middle ground between the spirit and the body in which the psychological forces of one's life find expression. A psychological approach to the anguish of the suffering soul can be found within the writings of the early desert fathers as well as in the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch. The penitent must learn patience in the face of his suffering, before he can experience the joy of spiritual maturity.A famous anchorite came to take counsel on high things with the abbot Pastor, but the old man turned away his head, and the anchorite went away aggrieved. His disciple asked Pastor why he had refused to talk with a man so great and of such reputation in his own country, and the old man said that his visitor could speak of heavenly things, but that he himself was of earth. If he had spoken to me of the passions of the soul I could have answered him: but of the things of the spirit I am ignorant.Mr. Fischer is a member of the Psychology Department, University of Dallas, Irving, Texas 75060.     

The general model and the particular decision: decision makers' awareness of their cue weightings

This paper examines the accuracy with which decision makers can predict the effects of the characteristics of a research study on their evaluations of its usefulness to their work. It draws on survey data from a sample of 155 decision makers in mental health: each of them predicted the effects of 26 research characteristics on usefulness and rated each of two research studies on usefulness and the extent to which each characteristic described the study. The principal finding is that decision makers' predictions of the effects of characteristics on usefulness correspond much more closely to the effects actually observed when these effects are calculated across individuals than when they are taken for a single individual rating one (or two) studies. After examining several alternative explanations, it is suggested that an individual decision maker uses multiple evaluation functions to judge research, weighting the characteristics differently in each, and that investigators should consider the possibility of such variation whenever they attempt to model individuals' evaluation functions.     

A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF CHANGES IN GOAL SETTING ON EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION1

Two hundred and forty-five working level scientists and engineers participated in a longitudinal study in which their managers had been trained in a Management by Objectives program. Subjects completed two questionnaries, the latter being completed 21 months after the first designed to assess perceptions of their managers' goal setting behavior along four dimensions derived using factor analytic procedures (Goal Clarity and Planning, Subordinate Freedom, Feedback and Evaluation, Participation in Goal Setting) and their reported intrinsic, extrinsic and total satisfaction. Dynamic correlations (Vroom, 1966) were computed between changes in the goal setting factors and changes in the satisfaction variables and significant positive relationships were observed. In addition, results indicated that job task (research vs. development) demonstrated a moderating influence on the goal setting-satisfaction relationships. An unexpected finding was that there was a significant decrease in perceived managerial behavior on the Goal Clarity and Planning factor over the 21 months. However, a significant increase occurred on the Feedback and Evaluation factor. Since no control group was available for comparison, little can be said about whether these changes were a result of the MBO program. Significant differences between the development and the research subjects were also observed on two of the goal setting factors.     

Sensitivity to laterality as a function of handedness

This study tested the hypothesis that left-handed individuals are more aware than right-handed individuals of others' handedness. 18 left-handed and 18 right-handed college students were shown a drawing of 8 children at a party. Seven children held objects in the left hand, while one held an object in the right hand. After 2 1/2 min. the drawing was removed and subjects answered 15 questions about its contents. Included were 2 questions asking how many children were holding something in the right or left hand. Compared with right-handed subjects, left-handed subjects reported significantly more children holding something in the left hand and significantly fewer holding something in the right hand. The two groups did not differ on any other questions.     

Toxic "atrophie cerebelleuse". (problems associated with permanent cerebellar damage due to chronic diphenylhydantion intoxication)

The authors report two cases with roentgenomophologically established cerebellar atrophy caused by chronic diphenylhydantoin overdosing. Exact neuropsychiatric testing of epileptics treated with diphenylhydantoin for a long period of time is demanded, and it is recommended that in the case of long-time therapy a maximum daily dose of 0.3 g of diphenylhydantoin be not exceeded.     

Relative costs and statistical power in the extreme groups approach

The relationship between variables in applied and experimental research is often investigated by the use of extreme (i.e., upper and lower) groups. Recent analytical work has provided an extreme groups procedure that is more powerful than the standard correlational approach for all values of the correlation and extreme group size. The present article provides procedures to optimize power by determining the relative number of subjects to use in each of two stages of data collection given a fixed testing budget.The opinions or assertions contained herein are those of the writers and are not to be construed as official or reflecting the views of the Navy Department.Edward F. Alf, Jr. is also affiliated with the Department of Psychology, San Diego State University.     

An alternative perspective on sex differences in organizational settings: The process of legitimation

This article takes a sociological approach to a problem that has usually been considered as a psychological phenomenon. It addresses the problem of male—female interactions in work situations utilizing the organizational concepts of division of labor and legitimacy. Traditional explanations evoking sex-role socialization are reviewed and rejected for purposes of experimentation and intervention. An alternative argument, focusing on the structural arrangements of organizational settings, is presented as an explanation for behavioral effects previously attributed to inherent sex differences. The results of a pilot study are briefly described, and directions for further experimentation and possible intervention strategies are suggested.The bibliographic search and initial conceptualization of this research was supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation under the auspices of the Center for Research on Women at Stanford University. We are grateful to Miriam Rosen for much of the bibliographic work. The pilot study was supported in part by funds from the Guggenheim Foundation and by a grant from the Spencer Foundation. We also wish to thank Richard Torres and Christie Timberlake for their invaluable assistance on this project.