Three female roles in television commercials

We analyze 307 television commercials' depiction of three female roles. The maternal and housekeeping roles encase women in the family. The aesthetic role of beautification enhances women's individuality. The imagery of commercials suggests effects of the technological rationalization of housework and the hedonistic consumer ideology: Women's autonomy is reduced as men become the technical experts on housework, the role of the mother as moral socializer is eroded, and children become self-centered consumers without family responsibilities. The family rarely appears as a close social unit, but is shown as a loose-knit collection of people held together by the wife-mother who supplies their separate wants. Commercials portray generational and sex-role differentiation greater than exist in the real world.This article is a revision of a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco, September 1978. The authors are indebted to Milton C. Albrecht, E. Barbara Phillips, Ida Harper Simpson, Gaye Tuchman, and an anonymous reviewer for comments on earlier drafts, and to Ann R. Tickamyer for assistance.     

Respiratory phase and visual signal detection

Previous studies have implicated respiration as a source of intra-S variation in visual signal detection tasks. In the present study, pneumographic respiration records were obtained on 22 female undergraduates during a visual signal detection task. The analysis of signal detection with respect to respiration phase showed that signals presented during exhalation were detected more frequently than those presented during inhalation. These findings suggest that the intra-S variation in signal detection performance may be partially accounted for by respiratory behavior at the moment of signal presentation.     

Localization of receptors for the dipsogenic action of angiotensin II in the subfornical organ of rat.

The proposal of the subfornical organ (SFO) as a site of receptors for drinking induced by angiotensin II (AII) was investigated with several mutually confirmatory experiments. Intracranial injections of physiological doses of AII elicited drinking if and only if applied directly to the SFO (Experiment I). Ablation of the SFO selectively (Experiment 2) and permanently (Experiment 4) eliminated drinking elicited by physiological doses of intravenously infused AII. Animals in which SFO had been ablated responded normally to cellular dehydration but reduced responding to the extracellular thirsts of beta-adrenergic activation and hyperoncotic colloid dialysis (Experiment 3). Infusion of saralasin, an AII antagonist, directly into the SFO selectively and reversibly antagonized intravenous AII drinking (Experiment 5). The hypothesis that the SFO contains dipsogenic receptors for circulating AII is strongly supported.     

The discriminative validity of the Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking

An attempt was made to assess the discriminative validity of the WIST with a sample of psychiatric inpatients. Through the use of a standardized structured interview and a diagnostic system for schizophrenia based on the use of discriminant function analysis with nonpathognomic symptom combinations, a reliable and valid system was used to establish the criterion diagnosis. Approximately 63% of patients reliably diagnosed as schizophrenic were detected via the WIST while only 14% of nonschizophrenic patients scored in the schizophrenic range on the WIST. The assets and liabilities of using the WIST to diagnose schizophrenia are discussed.     

Getting a little closure for closure

Synthese - In this paper, I’ll survey a number of closure principles of epistemic justification and find them all wanting. However, it’ll be my contention that there’s a novel...     

Integrating Exposure and Response Prevention With a Mobile App to Treat Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Feasibility,Acceptability, and Preliminary Effects

Many individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) do not receive evidence-based care (specifically exposure and ritual prevention; EX/RP) due to barriers such as a lack of EX/RP-trained clinicians, geographic obstacles, and the cost and time associated with the treatment. Offering an integrated treatment model consisting of brief in-person therapy coupled with a mobile application (app) might be one way to increase access to and reduce the time burden (to clinicians and patients) of EX/RP. This pilot trial evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and clinical effects of such a treatment program for adults with OCD. Thirty-three participants enrolled in the 8-week open trial. The integrated treatment program consisted of 3 to 5 in-person sessions followed by weekly phone calls supported by a mobile app (nOCD). Participants were evaluated by trained raters and completed self-report measures at baseline, midtreatment, posttreatment and 2-month follow-up; the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was the primary outcome. This integrated treatment program was feasible and acceptable to participants. Of the 33 study entrants, 14 (42%) responded to treatment (Y-BOCS decrease ≥ 35% with CGI- of 1 or 2), and 8 (24%) achieved minimal symptoms (i.e., Y-BOCS ≤ 12). At 2-month follow-up (n = 20), 7/20 (35%) met criteria for treatment response, and 3/20 (15.0%) met criteria for treatment remission. Although preliminary, this model warrants further study as an efficacious and resource-efficient way to deliver EX/RP for some patients with OCD.     

Aesthetics Makes Nothing Happen? The Role of Aesthetic Properties in the Constitution of Non‐aesthetic Value

The relationship between aesthetic value and other moral and cognitive values has been a key theme within contemporary aesthetic discussion. In this article, I explore once again the implications of this relationship, but from what I think might be a different angle. With few exceptions, notably Dominic Lopes, most of the contributions to this issue have dealt with the impact that moral or cognitive values could possibly have on the overall aesthetic value of a work of art. In this article, I explore instead how aesthetic properties or merits could play a role in explaining moral and cognitive properties. To do so, I first offer some examples that I think may reasonably exemplify the phenomenon we are considering. Second, I argue that a proper account of interactionism should meet at least two constraints: the relevance constraint and the autonomy constraint. Finally, I try to clarify how it is possible that aesthetic properties substantially contribute to other values by appealing to the notions of expression and the affective character of aesthetic properties.     

Educational Reform: A Deweyan Perspective: In Response to Barbara Stengel

Studies in Philosophy and Education -     

Patterns of memory performance in children with controlled epilepsy on the CVLT-C.

Decreased memory skills have been reported in children with epilepsy. However, standardized instruments to evaluate learning and memory in children have been unavailable until recently. The present study was designed to assess memory patterns in children with epilepsy based on the California Verbal Learning Test-Children's Version (CVLT-C). The test was administered to 44 children with complex partial seizures and 21 children with generalized seizures between 8 and 13 years of age. Children in the study had been treated for epilepsy for at least 6 months, had well-controlled seizures on monotherapy, and had no evidence of anticonvulsant toxicity. Children with head injuries, learning disabilities, or hyperactivity were excluded. Test results did not reflect differences in memory performance based on seizure type. Scores for the entire sample indicated intact new learning, decreased intrusions and perseverative responses, and better short-term than long-term delayed recall. Recognition skills were stronger than long-term delayed recall skills and suggested that memory performance may be improved for these children when a multiple-choice format is available in academic settings.     

Differential disgust responding in people with cancer and implications for psychological wellbeing

Objectives: Evidence suggests that disgust responses, known to negatively affect psychological wellbeing, may differ in people with cancer. We performed the first quantitative investigation of three discrete types of disgust trait – disgust propensity, sensitivity and self-directed disgust – in people diagnosed with a broad range of cancers (versus cancer-free controls), and explored their associations with psychological wellbeing.

Design: In a cross-sectional survey design, 107 participants with heterogeneous cancer diagnoses, recruited from cancer charities and support groups, were matched with cancer-free controls by age and gender.

Outcome measures: Measures of the three disgust traits were taken alongside measures of anxiety and depression.

Results: Disgust sensitivity and physical self-disgust were significantly higher in the cancer than control sample, while disgust propensity and behavioural self-disgust were lower. The disgust traits had a different pattern of associations to psychological wellbeing across the two groups, with disgust sensitivity predicting depressive symptoms to a significantly greater extent in the cancer than control group.

Conclusions: People with cancer differ from matched controls in their disgust responses and these responses have significant predictive relationships with aspects of their psychological wellbeing. The results suggest that emotion-based interventions may be useful for improving psychological wellbeing in people with cancer.