Symbolic subject,subjected symbol: Mizuko Kuyo,gender and the social order in Japan

The term mizuko kuyo describes a relatively new (mid‐19th century) Japanese ritual performed by women who have had abortions or have lost infants in childbirth. The ritual, which takes place in Shinto, Buddhist, new‐ and new‐new‐religious settings, involves propitiatory offerings to the bodhisattva Jizo, believed to be the protector both of the pregnancy‐childbirth process, and of fetuses and infants themselves. This study classifies the existing literature on mizuko kuyo according to Robert Wuthnow's (1981) consistency‐coherence typology. Following a re‐examination of English‐language primary source literature based on Caroline Walker Bynum's (1986) gendered structural‐symbolic methodology, it offers a reinterpretation of the ritual process, which suggests that mizuko kuyo rituals do not signal a more egalitarian relationship between the sexes, but rather serve to reinforce traditional Japanese gender roles.     

Perfectionism,life events,and depressive symptoms: A test of a diathesis-stress model

The present research tested the hypothesis that perfectionists who experience stress are vulnerable to depression, in part because negative life events represent a failure to maintain control over negative outcomes. In Study 1, 215 subjects completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) and control measures. The MPS assesses self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism. It was confirmed that self-oriented and other-oriented perfectionism were associated with both higher desire for control and greater perceived personal control. Study 2 examined whether trait levels of perfectionism moderate the link between life stress and symptoms of depression. In addition, prospective analyses investigated whether perfectionism accounts for changes in levels of depressive symptomatology over time. Two samples comprised of 374 students (Sample 1) and 173 students (Sample 2) completed the MPS and measures of major life stress and depression symptoms. Subjects in Sample 2 completed these measures at two timepoints separated by a three-month interval. Regression analyses indicated that self-oriented perfectionism and life stress interact significantly to produce higher levels of depressive symptomatology. Moreover, in Sample 2, self-oriented perfectionism at Time 1 was associated with increases in depression symptoms three months later for those individuals who had experienced a major life event. The results provide support for diathesis-stress models, which maintain that perfectionists exposed to life stress are vulnerable to symptoms of depression. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the study of personality, stress, and vulnerability to symptoms of depression. This research was supported by grants #410-89-0335, #410-91-8056, and #410-93-1256 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada awarded to the authors.     

Can we measure out a life in coffee spoons?

Public policy decisions in medicine and other fields necessitate careful weighing of choices and consequences. Cost-benefit analyses have been offered as one way to facilitate such decisions. In "Quantifying the value of human life," L. Eugene Arnold asserts that mathematical models such as his offer greater clarity in making public policy decisions than is possible with the "intuitive" or "emotional" approach. In our opinion, problems associated with this quantitative analysis demonstrate a need for caution in applying such mathematical models to public policy decisions....     

Social Psychology and the Stimulation of Recycling Behaviors: The Block Leader Approach

Recycling has been touted as an important part of the solution to solid waste problems, yet most citizens still do not recycle, even when recycling is made easy by curbside pickups. This field experiment was designed to increase participation in a city-sponsored curbside recycling program. Citizens who consistently recycled with the city program were approached and asked to be "recycling block leaders." Those who agreed were instructed to give approximately 10 nonrecycling neighbors a persuasive communication advocating recycling and special recycling bags. A second treatment group (of nonrecycling households) had bags and the communication left at their door. Results indicated that the curbside recycling of the two experimental groups differed significantly from one another (with the block leader group recycling more), and both differed significantly from a control group receiving no treatment. A discussion of past recycling intervention research and its feasibility for community application is included.     

The relationship of interparental conflict and global marital adjustment to aggression,anxiety, and immaturity in aggressive and nonclinic children

Although there is agreement that marital problems are associated either directly or indirectly with particular child behavior problems, there is disagreement about the types of marital conflict associated with these problems and the differential effects on boys and girls in clinic and nonclinic samples. We examined the relationships among mothers' ratings of marital adjustment, parenting disagreements, and three child problem factors (aggression, anxiety, and immaturity) after the child's age and family socioeconomic status were controlled. These relationships were compared with samples of boys and girls (3 to 8 years of age) from clinic and nonclinic populations, revealing that parenting disagreement predicted aggression in all groups and that both marital adjustment and parenting disagreement predicted anxiety in boys. Neither marital variable predicted immaturity. Possible reasons for the results (including methodological limitations of the present data) are discussed.Thanks to Merryl Reville and Kath Faulkner, Monica Smith and Dr. Bill Bor of Queensland Division of Child Guidance, and Pat Roberts of the Lady Gowrie Child Centre for their help with subject recruitment. Part of this study was supported by a Social Science Research Grant from the University of Queensland.     

Self-help research and the public mental health system

Discusses views of self-help leaders, researchers, and policy makers from the public mental health system about collaborative research with self-help groups. Topics include assumptions underlying collaborative research, barriers to collaborative research, and the potential benefits of collaborative research. Special attention is given to the rationale and methods for including minorities in self-help research. Initial discussions were held at a meeting convened by the NIMH-funded Center for Self-Help Research and Knowledge Dissemination at the University of Michigan.     

Belief, knowledge, and uncertainty: A cognitive perspective on subjective probability

This paper presents a cognitive analysis of subjective probability judgments and proposes that these are assessments of belief-processing activities. The analysis is motivated by an investigation of the concepts of belief, knowledge, and uncertainty. Judgment and reasoning are differentiated, Toulmin's (1958) theory of argument being used to explicate the latter. The paper discusses a belief-processing model in which reasoning is used to translate data into conclusions, while judgmental processes qualify those conclusions with degrees of belief. The model sheds light on traditional interpretations of probability and suggests that different characteristics of belief—likelihood and support—are addressed by different representational systems. In concluding, the paper identifies new lines of research implied by its analysis.     

Brain imaging techniques in the diagnosis of dementia

Various recently developed brain imaging techniques used to assist in the diagnosis of dementia are reviewed. The methods reviewed are x-ray computed tomography scan imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and the older techniques of pneumoencephalography and radioisotope cisternography. It was concluded that while these techniques often offer excellent diagnostic information, none of them provides a definitive characteristic image for Alzheimer's disease.