Gendered Reason: Sex Metaphor and Conceptions of Reason

Reason has regularly been portrayed and understood in terms of images and metaphors that involve the exclusion or denigration of some element—body, passion, nature, instinct—that is cast as “feminine.” Drawing upon philosophical insight into metaphor, I examine the impact of this gendering of reason. I argue that our conceptions of mind, reason, unreason, female, and male have been distorted. The politics of “rational” discourse has been set up in ways that still subtly but powerfully inhibit the voice and agency of women.     

The overjustification effect

After reviewing the literature on overjustification (defined as any situation in which an external reinforcer is tied to an activity that would have been performed without that reinforcer), it was concluded that reattribution cannot adequately account for response decrements following the removal of reinforcers. An alternative explanation was proposed involving the concept of “reward contrast,” in which it is argued that individuals compare their actual or expected outcomes following a response with previous outcomes. When this comparison is favorable, the response is strengthened; when unfavorable, the response is weakened. Based upon the notion of reward contrast, an experiment was performed in which 16 albino rats were permitted to wheel-run for 33 days. After 11 acquisition and 5 baseline days, rats in the experimental group were reinforced for running at their baseline rate, while control rats continued to run for no reinforcement. Following 5 days of reinforcement, experimental animals were put into extinction. As hypothesized, albino rats displayed typical over-justification effects during extinction. As also hypothesized, these effects were temporary, with a gradual return to baseline over repeated extinction trials.     

Midlife Educational,Career, and Family Outcomes of Women Educated at Two Single-Sex Colleges

We examined midlife educational, career, and family outcomes of women who attended prestigious women's colleges in the 1960s. One college had a coeducational learning environment (CLE), the other was a single-sex environment (SLE). We hypothesized that in CLEs, exposure to men's standards of achievement might have resulted in greater educational and career status outcomes but more discrimination; in SLEs, there might have been fewer opportunities to engage with men intellectually, which could lead to lesser educational and career status outcomes, but the environment might have felt more supportive. Graduates of both colleges were very accomplished 30 years after graduation; however, those who had experienced a CLE reported more sexism and more active involvement in the women's movement than SLE graduates.     

Commitment First,Communication Later: Dealing with Barriers to Effective Couples Therapy

Teaching communication techniques to couples is a common way for therapists to begin treatment. In many cases, couples then use these newly acquired skills to express negative or even hostile information to each other, sometimes doing more harm than good to the relationship. Based upon years of clinical experience with hundreds of couples in treatment, this article presents the idea that having the couple see themselves as an entity first, not as two individuals, may be necessary before clear communication can be maximally therapeutic. The article outlines the Couple Power model of treatment, suggesting that four basic tasks—commitment, cooperation, communication and community—need to be accomplished in that order, postponing the teaching of communication skills until later in therapy. Theory behind the tasks and suggestions for effective techniques to achieve the “Four C’s” of Couple Power are presented and discussed.     

Who gets a mentor? A longitudinal assessment of the rising star hypothesis

This study assessed the rising star hypothesis, which proposes that individuals who are on the fast track to career success are more likely to gain mentors than others. The study used a sample of employees who had never been mentored and examined the relationship between rising star attributes measured at Time 1 and the attainment of a mentor a year later. In support of the hypothesis, individuals who were on the fast-track for promotion, had higher advancement expectations, and engaged in more proactive career behaviors were more likely to gain a mentor than individuals lacking these attributes. Implications of these results for the theory, research and practice of mentoring are discussed.     

Does viewing justified violence lead to devaluing others?

Viewing violent media has been shown to increase aggressive behavior, affect, and cognition. Viewing “justified” violence (the target is believed to be deserving of the violence) further increases the risk of aggression. The present study investigated whether viewing justified violence primes thoughts of devalued others, an inflated sense of self, or both. Participants viewed one of three eight-minute video clips depicting either justified violence, non-justified violence, or no violence. Participants' reaction times to four types of computer-presented sentences were then measured: sentences either valued the self, valued others, devalued the self, or devalued others. Viewing justified violence resulted in reaction time patterns that devalued others, but had no effect upon reaction times to self-relevant sentences. The possibility that viewing justified violence, by priming devaluing thoughts of others, may impact interpersonal behavior in non-conscious and automatic ways is discussed.     

Short- and Long-Term Impact of Receiving Genetic Mutation Results in Women at Increased Risk for Hereditary Breast Cancer

Forty-seven unaffected women from high-risk breast cancer families who had received results for hereditary breast/ovarian predisposition genes between 1 month and 5 years ago were interviewed regarding their experiences. Women responded to open-ended questions. The initial emotional turmoil reported by most was generally short lived. However, the impact of genetic testing went beyond the individual to the extended family and social context, particularly in the short-term. A common theme was the difficulty associated with divulging a result to family members, who were also adjusting to their own result. The majority of carriers reported advantages that were both physical (options for surveillance programs and prophylactic surgery) and emotional (reduced uncertainty, increased awareness of options and knowledge about risk, preparation time). Most carriers reported no change in lifestyle although some reported discovering their mutation status as a positive life-changing experience. Implications for genetic counseling and further research are discussed.     

Alternative Employment Arrangements: A Gender Perspective

In this study we drew on national-level data to investigate the gendered nature of two alternative employment arrangements (independent contractors and temporary agency help), preferences for such arrangements, and the extent to which such arrangements accommodate work/family career quandaries of contemporary workers. Multivariate analyses revealed the perpetuation of gender schema and gendered structures, but this varied by type of alternative employment arrangement. Greater preference for temporary agency employment by married women than by married men derived from women not having to be the primary source of family income, rather than from an effort to balance work and child-rearing responsibilities. There were also gender differences in the tendency of married men and women to be independent contractors; women were less likely to be contractors. However, this alternative employment arrangement offers potential for both men and women to satisfy or challenge other gendered family structures and schema.