An anatomy of hope

This paper speaks of hope as a state of being that originates in conditions of despair and is transformed as a function of its participation in transcendent relationships. In transcendence of self, one establishes the dynamic awareness of that peace which enlarges the self to accommodate life's anguish.He is President of the Chicago Association of Temple Administrators and a member of the Executive Board of the National Association of Temple Administrators.     

A digital frequency discriminator for biofeedback research

The design and construction of a digital frequency discriminator, useful in various research and clinical applications of biofeedback, is presented. The module may be constructed for approximately $25 (excluding power supply and mounting hardware).     

Articulatory organization in digit perception and recall

In two experiments, tape-recorded strings of seven recall digits were preceded by a redundant stimulus prefix containing either one or three digits. The prefix and recall digits (1) were articulatorily continuous, or (2)were made discontinuous by tape-splicing, or (3)were made discontinuous by deliberately spoken prosodic contour. Subjects were instructed to ignore the redundant prefixes and report only the recall digits. The main results were: (1)Compared to strings preceded by no prefix, all prefix conditions reduced recall. (2)Three-digit prefixes reduced recall less than one-digit prefixes. (3) In most cases, spliced prefixes reduced recall less than intact prefixes. Acoustic waveform measurements are presented to provide a partial account for the results.     

Differences in locus of control between obese adult and adolescent females undergoing weight reduction

Rotter's (1966) Internal-External (I-E) Scale was administered to 65 adult and adolescent females in two outpatient obesity treatment programs. The adults were significantly higher in internal locus of control (LOC) and the adolescents higher in external LOC. These differences suggest that although the adults felt limited control over their weight and eating behavior, this did not reflect a lack of perceived control over other factors in their lives. In contrast, the adolescents appeared to feel that they had limited control over an array of factors in their lives.     

Authorial intentions and metaphor comprehension

Three experiments investigated the role of authorial intentions in metaphor comprehension. In these studies, subjects read metaphoric (e.g., A family album is like a museum), literal (e.g., An art gallery is like a museum), and anomalous (e.g., A tortoise shell is like an art gallery) comparisons and rated their degreeof meaningfulness (Experiment 1), made speeded decisions as to whether each phrase was meaningful or not (Experiment 2), or wrote out interpretations of each comparison statement (Experiment 3). The subjects were tolt that the comparisons were written either by famous 20th century poets or by a computer program that randomly generated the statements from a list of words. Our general hypothesis was that knowing that intentional agents (the poets) authored the different comparisons should facilitate subjects' comprehension of the metaphors. Experiment 1 showed that subjects rated both metaphoric and literal comparisons as being more meaningful in the poet condition than when these statements were supposedly written by computer. Experiment 2 demonstrated that subjects were faster in making their meaningfulness judgments for metaphors in the poet condition than in the computer context, but that subjects were also slower in rejecting anomalous comparisons when these were supposedly written by the poets. Experiment 3 indicated that subjects produced more meanings or interpretations for comparisons presumably written by poets than by computer. These results highlight the improtance of implied, authorial intentions in understanding metaphorical statements. We discuss the implications of this work for psycholinguistic theories of figurative language comprehension, as well as for theories of literary interpretation.     

Divergent selection for duration of tonic immobility and social reinstatement behavior in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) chicks

Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) were selected over 8 generations for long or short duration of tonic immobility (TI) weighted for independence from social reinstatement (SR) behavior (as measured in a treadmill) and for high or low levels of SR behavior weighted for independence from duration of TI. Divergent selection for long or short duration of TI and for high or low levels of SR behavior resulted in immediate and significant responses that continued throughout the 8 generations. There was no evidence of a plateau in the response to selection in any of the lines. SR responses did not vary in lines selected for duration of TI and vice versa. Selection for short duration of TI led to in an increase in the number of inductions required to induce TI. Selection for low levels of SR behavior led to a decrease in the tendency to move toward conspecifics but not to an increase in the tendency to move away from conspecifics.     

Cognitive appraisal of daily hassles in college students displaying high or low irrational beliefs

It is argued that Lazarus' construct of cognitive appraisal in life stress might usefully be related to Ellis' ABC model. To test the hypothesized role of cognitive appraisal in Lazarus' model of life stress, 240 male and female undergraduate students completed the Hassles Scale and the Irrational Beliefs Test (IBT). Based upon their scores on the IBT, subjects displaying high irrational beliefs differed significantly from subjects displaying low irrational beliefs in reported hassles frequency (higher for high irrational belief subjects) and reported hassles intensity (greater for high irrational belief subjects). Results are interpreted specifically as supportive of the cognitive appraisal construct in Lazarus' life stress model and generally as quite consistent with RET theory. An attempt is made to relate the cognitive appraisal construct to the ABC model in RET theory.Susan Mills Harran is a graduate of the M.S. Psychology program at Villanova University and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in clinical psychology at Hahneman University.Daniel J. Ziegler is Professor of Psychology, former Chair of the Psychology Department, and current Dean of the Graduate School at Villanova University.