Empowerment praxis in community coalitions

Community coalitions address a wide variety of community problems, espousing a community development processes that promotes individual and collective self-determination. They offer a promising venue for the study of empowerment of individuals and organizations. This study utilizes data from members of 35 community coalitions organized for the prevention of alcohol and other drug problems to address the following questions: What individual characteristics are related to the psychological empowerment of coalition members? What organizational characteristics are related to the collective empowering of members? What organization characteristics are related to a coalition being organizationally empowered to succeed in achieving its objectives? At the individual level, psychological empowerment was most strongly related to individuals' participation levels, sense of community, and perceptions of a positive organizational climate. At the group level, the strongest predictors of collective empowering (our operationalization of the empowering organization) were net benefits of participation, commitment, and positive organization climate. Psychological empowerment and positive organizational climate were the two predictors of organizational effectiveness (the empowered organization). Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.     

Book reviews

Early Behavior: Comparative and Developmental Approaches. Edited by H. W. Stevenson, E. H. Hess, and H. L. Rheingold. London and New York: Wiley. 1967. Pp. xii + 303 75s.

Current Research in Motivation. Edited by Ralph Norman Haber. London and New York: HOlt, Rinehart and Winston. Pp. xii + 800. £5

Language and Thought. Edited by Donald C. Hildum. London: Van Nostrand, Insight Book No. 37. 1967. Pp. vi + 2 00. $1.95. 16s.

Hormones and Behavior. Edited by Richard E. Whelan. London: Van Nostrand. Insight Book No. 39. I967. Pp. vi + 266. $2.95. 24s.     

Profiles of mod revivalists: a case study of a reemerging adolescent group

This exploratory study examined the characteristics and interpersonal relations of a relatively small group of adolescents who identified themselves as members of a revived "mod movement." In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 members (45%) of this peer group in order to: identify the main features of the members, determine their similarity to earlier British mods, and assess gains from group affiliation. Results suggested that adolescents who joined this unique and somewhat extreme group were more similar than dissimilar to their contemporaries in their efforts to establish an identity and be accepted as individuals. Implications for interacting with members of such adolescent groups, and suggestions for future research are presented.     

Role of amygdala-prefrontal cortex circuitry in regulating the expression of contextual fear memory

The basolateral amygdala (BLA) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are inter-connected regions involved in fear memory expression. The reciprocal nature of projections between these areas differs along the rostrocaudal extent of BLA. This study investigated the role of functional interactions between BLA and the prelimbic (PL) subregion of mPFC in mediating contextual fear memory. Freezing served as the measure of conditioned fear. Experiments 1–3 examined the effects of left, right or bilateral infusion of bupivacaine into anterior BLA (aBLA), posterior BLA (pBLA) or PL on fear memory expression. Reversible inactivation of left, right or bilateral aBLA impaired fear memory expression. Bilateral inactivation of pBLA or PL also disrupted the expression of fear memory, although left or right inactivation alone had no significant effects in either region. Experiment 4 examined the effects of functionally disconnecting pBLA and PL on contextual fear memory by infusing bupivacaine unilaterally into pBLA and PL in the ipsilateral or contralateral hemisphere. Fear memory expression was impaired by asymmetric inactivation of pBLA and PL; however, a similar effect was also observed with symmetric inactivation of these regions. Bupivacaine infusion did not affect behavior in the open field, likely ruling out non-specific effects of inactivation on innate fear and locomotor activity. These results demonstrate different roles for rostral and caudal BLA in mediating the expression of contextual fear memory. They also raise the possibility that pBLA–PL circuitry is involved in subserving fear memory expression via complex processing mechanisms, although further research is needed to confirm this preliminary finding.     

Phenomenological differences between familiar and unfamiliar odours

Unfamiliar odours are harder to discriminate than familiar odours. We explored the phenomenal basis of this difference. In experiments la and 1b, participants profiled odour quality for two sets of familiar and unfamiliar odours. In both cases unfamiliar odours were redolent of more odour qualities than familiar stimuli. In experiment 2, participants received (i) a set of familiar and unfamiliar odours and learnt their names, and (ii) a further set of familiar and unfamiliar odours to which they were exposed. Participants then profiled these stimuli as well as a further unexposed set of familiar and unfamiliar odours. Exposure, but not naming, led to a significantly smaller difference between the familiar and unfamiliar stimuli, in terms of their redolence to other odours, when compared to unexposed control stimuli. Unfamiliar exposed odours were also judged as less redolent than unexposed unfamiliar odours. These observations are consistent with a mnemonic basis for odour-quality perception.