Exercise dependence and the drive for muscularity in male bodybuilders,power lifters,and fitness lifters

Researchers have hypothesized differences in exercise dependence and drive for muscularity between bodybuilders and power lifters, while others have not found the predicted differences. This study assessed 146 weight lifters (bodybuilders, n = 59; power lifters, n = 47; fitness lifters, n = 40) on the Exercise Dependence Scale, Bodybuilding Dependence Scale, and the Drive for Muscularity Scale. Results showed that bodybuilders and power lifters were significantly higher than fitness lifters on EDS Total, 7 EDS scales, and the 3 BDS scales. In contrast, power lifters were found to be significantly higher on DMS Total and DMS Behavior scales than bodybuilders. The regression results suggest that exercise dependence may be directly related to the drive for muscularity.     

Beyond resilients,undercontrollers, and overcontrollers? an extension of personality prototype research

Prototypes of personality were investigated in two studies. In study I, clusters of Big‐Five‐based prototypes were examined using a general population sample of 1908 German adults. Convergent evidence suggested the appropriateness of a five‐cluster solution, which corresponds to previously identified temperament based prototypes. In study II, the five‐cluster solution was cross‐validated in a sample of 256 prisoners. Moreover, it was shown that a population‐based approach (using discriminant functions derived from study I) was superior over the traditional sample‐based cluster approach (using Ward followed by k‐means). The authors argue that future typological research can be sufficiently grounded on a five‐prototype conception rather than on a three‐prototype conception, and suggest a new and flexible assignment procedure. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Including Early Modern Women Writers in Survey Courses

There are many reasons to include texts written by women in early modern philosophy courses. The most obvious one is accuracy: women helped to shape the philosophical landscape of the time. Thus, to craft a syllabus that wholly excludes women is to give students an inaccurate picture of the early modern period. Since it seems safe to assume that we all aim for accuracy, this should be reason enough to include women writers in our courses. This article nonetheless offers an additional reason: when students are exposed to philosophical texts written by women, they learn that women have been, are, and can be philosophers. Given how underrepresented women are in philosophy, this finding is significant. If we aim to change the face of philosophy—so that it includes more women—we must include texts written by women in our syllabi. The article considers various obstacles faced by those who work to respond to this call to action.     

Prevention of school bullying: The important role of autonomy‐supportive teaching and internalization of pro‐social values

Background. This study examined students’ perceptions of autonomy‐supportive teaching (AST) and its relations to internalization of pro‐social values and bullying in class. Aims. We hypothesized that: (1) teachers’ AST, which involves provision of rationale and taking the student's perspective, would relate positively to students’ identified internalization of considerateness towards classmates, and would relate negatively to external regulation (considerateness to obtain rewards or avoid punishments); (2) students’ identified regulation would relate negatively to self‐reported bullying in class, whereas external regulation would relate positively to bullying; and (3) the relation between teachers’ AST and student bullying would be mediated by students’ identification with the value of considerateness towards others. Sample. The sample consisted of 725 junior high school students (50% females) in Grades 7 and 8 from 27 classes in four schools serving students from lower‐middle to middle‐class socioeconomic backgrounds. Method. The participants completed questionnaires assessing the variables of interest. Results. Correlational analysis supported the hypotheses. Moreover, mediational analyses using hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) demonstrated that identified regulation mediates the negative relation between AST and self‐reported bullying in class. The mediational hypothesis was supported at the between‐class level and at the within‐class level. Conclusions. The findings suggest that school policy aimed at bullying reduction should go beyond external control that involves external rewards and sanctions and should help teachers acquire autonomy‐supportive practices focusing on students’ meaningful internalization.     

Object recognition in Williams syndrome: uneven ventral stream activation

Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic disorder associated with severe visuospatial deficits, relatively strong language skills, heightened social interest, and increased attention to faces. On the basis of the visuospatial deficits, this disorder has been characterized primarily as a deficit of the dorsal stream, the occipitoparietal brain regions that subserve visuospatial processing. However, some evidence indicates that this disorder may also affect the development of the ventral stream, the occipitotemporal cortical regions that subserve face and object recognition. The present studies examined ventral stream function in WS, with the hypothesis that faces would produce a relatively more mature pattern of ventral occipitotemporal activation, relative to other objects that are also represented across these visual areas. Using functional magnetic imaging, we compared activation patterns during viewing of human faces, cat faces, houses and shoes in individuals with WS (age 14-27), typically developing 6-9-year-olds (matched approximately on mental age), and typically developing 14-26-year-olds (matched on chronological age). Typically developing individuals exhibited changes in the pattern of activation over age, consistent with previous reports. The ventral stream topography of individuals with WS differed from both control groups, however, reflecting the same level of activation to face stimuli as chronological age matches, but less activation to house stimuli than either mental age or chronological age matches. We discuss the possible causes of this unusual topography and implications for understanding the behavioral profile of people with WS.