The Religious Dynamics of Decision Making on Gay Rights Issues in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1993–2002

In recent decades, homosexuality has emerged as a truly national political issue. As a result, the U.S. Congress is increasingly called upon to consider and set policy on an array of issues related to the status of gay men and lesbians. This article investigates legislator decision making pertaining to gay issues in the U.S. House of Representatives. Specifically, we examine the effect of several indicators on legislator support for progressive gay policies, including ideology, partisanship, and the characteristics of district religious affiliation. We use additive indices of legislator support for progressive gay policies, and use logit and ordered logit to derive estimates of influence. The findings indicate that even while legislator partisanship and ideology largely structure decision making, legislators are also highly responsive to the presence of conservative Protestants and (to a lesser extent) Roman Catholics in their constituency .     

Human Relations Skills Training in Teacher Education: The Link to Effective Practice

Brandt, R. (1985). On teaching and supervising: A conversation with Madeline Hunter. Educational Leadership, 42, 61–66. Hunter, M. (1985). What's wrong with Madeline Hunter? Educational Teacher Leadership, 42, 57–60. Ligon, S.A. (1984). A strategy for helping students with their problems. Teacher Educator, 19, 28–32. Manning, B.H., & Payne, B.D. (1984). Student teacher personality as a variable in teacher education. Teacher Educator, 20, 2–12. Sadker, M., & Sadker, D. (1985). Is the O.K. classroom O.K.? Phi Delta Kappan, 66, 358–361. Smith, B.O. (1985). Research bases for teacher education. Phi Delta Kappan, 66, 685–690.     

Adult attachment style and partner choice: Correlational and experimental findings

Three studies were conducted to assess the role of attachment style in partner selection using both correlational and experimental methods. Study 1 (n = 83 couples) assessed correlations between partner ratings on attachment-style dimensions and the relations between own and partner attachment style and relationship satisfaction. In Study 2 (n = 226) and Study 3 (n = 146), participants who varied in terms of attachment style rated the desirability of potential partners who also differed in terms of attachment style. Results of all three studies generally suggested that individuals were most attracted to partners with similar attachment styles. For example, anxious individuals tended to be dating anxious partners in Study 1, and they preferred anxious partners over secure and avoidant partners in Studies 2 and 3 (combined data). Thus, not all individuals preferred secure partners. Second, unlike previous studies that looked primarily at partner correlations, there was no evidence of anxious/avoidant matching. In fact, anxious individuals seemed particularly averse to avoidant partners. Finally, ratings of parental caregiving styles (especially ratings of mothers) were associated with adult attachment dimensions and partner choices. For example, individuals who rated their mothers as more cold and ambivalent were less attracted to secure partners. Clinical and research implications are discussed.     

Gender Dilemmas and Myth in the Construction of Marital Bargains: Issues for Marital Therapy

Marital therapists are regularly confronted with issues of equality and fairness when working with couples. This article examines the social-contextual factors that influence couples' negotations about these issues. A common solution for couples, "the myth of equality," is identified, together with the processes that maintain it. The role of the therapist in relation to gender equality is addressed.     

Early Childhood Special Education: New Employment Opportunities in Education

The passing of federal Public Law 94–142 has created new job opportunities for teachers trained in both early childhood and special education.     

Mueller-Lyer illusion and size estimation performance in schizophrenics compared to normal controls

A size estimation (SE) paradigm and the Mueller-Lyer (ML) illusion were used to examine perceptual disturbances in schizophrenics. 35 reliably diagnosed (DSM III-R) schizophrenics were compared to 20 subjects with no history of psychiatric illness. Perceptual distortions found in previous studies of schizophrenics were only to a certain extent confirmed in the present results. More overestimators were found among the schizophrenics than among the normals on the SE task. The schizophrenics, first of all the chronic patients, also proved to be more prone to the Mueller-Lyer illusion. A reason why the very clear differences between schizophrenics and normals found in previous examinations were not confirmed in the present study, might be that a reliable diagnostic instrument was for the first time used in this kind of study.