Attributions of responsibility for date and stranger rape

This study examined the effects of the victim-perpetrator relationship on college students' attributions of responsibility for rape. In addition, the rape specificity of these attributions was investigated. College females and males read one of six scenarios that depicted a rape or a proposition, and that varied according to the victim-perpetrator relationship (steady dating partners/acquaintances on a first date/strangers). Then they rated seven responsibility attributions for the rape or proposition. Results indicated that most forms of victim responsibility were stronger for the rape and proposition on a date than for the incidents between strangers, and the findings concerning the perpetrator's responsibility were mixed. The pattern of both victim- and perpetrator-responsibility attributions suggests that both a rape and proposition on a date, compared to incidents between strangers, elicit stronger sex role and sexual attributions. Moreover, male subjects, in comparison to female subjects, gave higher ratings to several responsibility attributions, and these, also, are linked to sex role and sexual considerations. Further, the data revealed that only the perpetrator-responsibility attributions were stronger for the rape than the proposition.This research was supported by the University of Connecticut Research Foundation Grant No. 1171-000-22-00215-35-760. The authors thank Laurin Hafner for his help with the data analysis.     

The division of labor within the home: Have gender roles changed?

The purpose of this paper was to examine more recent time-use data regarding the division of labor in the home and compare those findings with that of previously reported data. A 1981 national sample of married Canadian men and women's time use was examined. Generalized least squares regression was employed to examine and predict time use by married men and women as a function of spouse's labor force status, number of children, age of youngest child, and day of the week data were collected. As compared to previous studies, results indicate that over time married women have reduced the amount of time spent in meal preparation while increasing time spent with children. Men increased the amount of time spent in food preparation and child care, although their participation appeared limited primarily to weekend days and invariant to wife's labor force participation.

     

The written summary in group psychotherapy revisited

This paper addresses the use of the weekly written summary with patients in group psychotherapy. In an effort to stimulate group process and effect cotherapist communication, the authors instituted this group recording in an ongoing psychodynamically oriented mixed adult group. While the utilization of this device did, in fact, stimulate the group process and became an important part of the group's life, the therapists additionally saw significant effects upon their working alliance. These included increased focused dialogue upon group dynamics, more purposeful planning for group interventions, and heightened awareness of the significance of interventions in the group.Ms. Bosman-Clark is formerly Clinical Instructor, Department of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine.     

Suicide attempts in runaway youths

This study explored suicidal behavior in 291 adolescents who were using runaway shelters in St. Louis. Thirty percent of the runaways reported having attempted suicide in the past. The suicide attempters had significantly more behavioral and mental health problems, and reported having more family members and more friends with problems, than nonattempters. A logistic regression showed that youths' substance use, behavior problems, family instability, and sex all helped to explain their suicide attempts. Most of the attempters made their first attempt by their midteens. One-quarter made their latest attempt shortly before entering the shelter, and one-fifth stated that they would still consider suicide. The great majority of attempts were not preplanned, but one-third followed troubles or arguments at home and feelings of confusion and depression. Remarkably, half of the teenage suicide attempters never received any professional help following their attempt.     

Computers and commitment to a public management decision: An experiment

Based on results of an experiment, hypotheses are tested concerning the effects of computer use on decision commitment. The experiment required subjects to make an adoption decision regarding a hypothetical government agency's innovation. Subjects could choose from a variety of information sets, some computer based, some not, before making the decision. After their decision the subjects were given “new evidence” that contradicted their initial position. Two experimental treatments included more difficult access to the computer-based information and higher cost for the computer-based information. Results indicate that access difficulty diminishes confidence in decisions and leads to lesser commitment. However, the cost of the computer information seems to have little bearing on decision commitment. Barry Bozeman is director of the Technology and Information Policy Program of the Maxwell School of Public Affairs, Syracuse University, Syracuse NY 13244-4010. There he is professor of public policy and administration and affiliate professor of engineering. His research has focused on organization theory and public management, science and technology policy, and the use of technical information in decision-making. R.F. Shangraw, Jr. is vice president of Independent Project Analysis, Inc., Great Falls, Virginia. Previously, he was assistant professor of public administration at Syracuse University. His research interests include information management, decision-making, and public policy applications of expert systems.     

Errors in the quantification of uncertainty: A product of heuristics or minimal probability knowledge base?

The use of intuitive heuristics (e. g. representativeness and availability) has been put forward as an explanation for peoples' assignment of probabilities (Tversky and Kahneman, 1971). This phenomenon is seen as robust since experts as defined by education (professional psychologisis), despite advanced training in statistics and methodology, rely on the same heuristics as novices (lay people). Both experts and novices, as defined by education, were studied in a series of experiments and further classified as experts and novices according to their probability knowledge base, prior to receiving (or not) a brief (15-minute) training session. Immediately following training, subjects completed a probability test which consisted of ten Tversky and Kahneman (e. g. 1974) problems. The training significantly increased the number of problems correctly solved on the probability test and eliminated the expert/novice education classification. The results of a follow-up test 5 weeks after the experiment indicated that the training group maintained its superior performance. It is proposed that failure to use proper methods of probability assignment may not be due to intrinsic human inference biases or heuristics, but is a result of a minimal probability knowledge base.     

From eating disorders to women's situations: Extending the boundaries of psychological inquiry

This paper seeks to extend feminist critiques of the prevalent psychiatric approaches to the eating disorders. It also includes a critique of feminists' writings that make assumptions similar to, and hence suffer from some of the same theoretical weaknesses as, the prevalent clinical literature. The main purpose is to contribute to the development of a social-historical approach to the study of the relentless pursuit of thinness among women. The social-historical approach is contrasted with individualistic psychological, family systems and multidimensional accounts of anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Potential directions suggested by feminist and social-historical analyses of the relentless pursuit of thinness among women are briefly described.