Ways of Taking a Meter

Philosophical Studies -     

Mothers' representations of their 13-month-old twins and child-raising attitudes

The purpose of this study was to describe maternal representations of the twin sibling relationship and of the children's differences and similarities. Mothers' mental representations were also analyzed with regard to two aspects of their child-raising attitudes: individualization of childcare routines, and the question of differentiation by “external signs of twinship” (dress, toys, and first names). Data from interviews with 44 mothers of twins conducted 13 months after the birth were analyzed in terms of 8 categories—complicity, rivalry/jealousy, agonistic relations, dominance, imitation, physical appearance, development, and personality. A multiple correspondence analysis of the data pointed out that the first dimension describing the mothers' representations concerns the contrast between the “unalike” representation of dizygotic twins and the “alike” representation of monozygotic twins. The second dimension corresponds to the casual, twinship-minimizing representations generated by the twin condition. Two other dimensions express the issues of aggression and dominance. The relationship between the child-raising behavior of the mothers and their representations of the twin couple turned out to be more complex than expected. The results are discussed in terms of the specificity of the psychological issues facing mothers of twins. Defense mechanisms used by some mothers to cope with the exceptional nature of the twin phenomenon are also suggested. © 1998 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health     

A comparison of noncontingent reinforcement,other competing stimulation,and liquid rescheduling for the treatment of rumination

Modified versions of three popular nonaversive treatments for rumination in a person with profound developmental delay were evaluated using an alternating treatments design (ATD) as a component of an ABAB design. Results showed that the most effective intervention involved noncontingent feeding every 20 s for the 30 min immediately following a meal. Further analysis demonstrated that no significant increase in rumination occurred during the 60 min after the treatment procedure had expired, thus indicating that rumination was not merely postponed. Results are discussed in terms of their relation to currently popular (satiation) interventions for the treatment of rumination in individuals with developmental disability. Future research needs are proposed from an analysis of known behavioral and physiological variables and their possible interactions. ©1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predicting having a best friend in young children: individual characteristics and friendship features

In this study, the authors investigated the characteristics that predict best friend status in young children. One hundred and twenty-four preschool, kindergarten, and first-grade children identified their "best friend" and up to four "other friends" in their class. Teachers completed a questionnaire about each friendship to determine positive and negative features of the relationships. First, the authors used individual characteristics to predict if a child had a best friend. The variables age, gender, and peer acceptance predicted that a child would have a best friend. Second, positive friendship features positively predicted best friendships in analyses of all friendship pairs. Best friendships are meaningful relationships to children even at this young age and offer children more positive experiences than do other friendships.     

Looking Ahead: Questions for and About Behavioral Scientists and Practitioners

In this article Robin B. Jarrett reflects on the early years in which female investigators were a minority in the field and on her participation in the Trailblazers' panel discussion at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies on November 29, 2009. Dr. Jarrett writes these reflections in the form of a letter to current and future professionals (of all demographics) dedicated to behavioral science and its practice; she poses questions about what the future may hold.     

Health Programming for Clergy: An Overview of Protestant Programs in the United States

The health of clergy is important, and clergy may find health programming tailored to them more effective. Little is known about existing clergy health programs. We contacted Protestant denominational headquarters and searched academic databases and the Internet. We identified 56 clergy health programs and categorized them into prevention and personal enrichment; counseling; marriage and family enrichment; peer support; congregational health; congregational effectiveness; denominational enrichment; insurance/strategic pension plans; and referral-based programs. Only 13 of the programs engaged in outcomes evaluation. Using the Socioecological Framework, we found that many programs support individual-level and institutional-level changes, but few programs support congregational-level changes. Outcome evaluation strategies and a central repository for information on clergy health programs are needed.     

Goals-feedback conditions and episodic memory: Mechanisms for memory gains in older and younger adults

Research has established that challenging memory goals always lead to score increases for younger adults, and can increase older adults' scores under supportive conditions. This study examined beliefs and on-task effort as potential mechanisms for these self-regulatory gains, in particular to learn whether episodic memory gains across multiple trials of shopping list recall are controlled by the same factors for young and old people. Goals with feedback led to higher recall and strategic categorisation than a control condition. Strategy usage was the strongest predictor of gains over trials for both age groups. Age, goal condition, and effort also predicted scores across the entire sample. Older adults' gains, but not younger adults' gains, were affected significantly by the interaction of self-efficacy beliefs and goal condition, and condition interacted with locus of control to predict younger adult gains. These results emphasise the importance of self-regulatory effort and positive beliefs for facilitating goal-related memory gains.     

WANDERING AMONG SHADOWS: THE DISCORDANCE OF TIME IN LEVINAS AND BERGSON

One of the earliest examples of articulating the “discordance of time”—a theme that serves as a guiding thread woven throughout much of the re‐engagement with time that is characteristic of continental philosophy—can be found in a series of essays written by Levinas in the aftermath of World War II. I show how these essays derive from a set of key texts by Bergson and how Bergson already anticipated the distinctive ways of conceptualizing the movement of time that are advanced by Levinas in his early essays. Nevertheless, as I will show, Levinas chooses not to acknowledge this Bergsonian anticipation of his theory of time, despite his recognition, repeated throughout many texts and interviews, of the influence of Bergson on the formation of his own thought. I conclude by reflecting on the complexity of the Bergsonian inheritance in Levinas's philosophy of time.