PERCEPTIONS OF FEMALE/MALE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES: Familial and Personal Situations

A factor mediating attitudes toward female/male political candidates may be the potential effect of a candidate's private life. The impact of a familial situation on attitudes towards a hypothetical presidential candidate was investigated in Study 1. Although main effects for candidate sex and familial situation were found, our data did not support differential effects by candidate sex. In Study 2 the potential impact of a candidate's personal problem was examined. A male with past psychological problems was perceived as more electable than three of four female candidates. In both studies, male candidates were perceived as more likely to win the election than were female candidates.     

Intracerebral scopolamine administration attenuates Pavlovian heart rate conditioning in the rabbit

Scopolamine hydrobromide was injected into the a) septum, b) dorsal hippocampus, or c) lateral ventricles of conscious rabbits via bilateral chronic indwelling cannulas. The cardiac orienting reflex (OR) and heart rate (HR) classical conditioning were assessed. A fourth group of animals received injections of the vehicle solution into these same brain areas and were otherwise similarly trained. Scopolamine had no effect on the cardiac OR produced by unreinforced tone stimuli. The OR consisted of pronounced bradycardia that habituated over successive trials in all groups. The HR change during classical conditioning also consisted of bradycardia. However, these conditional HR changes were attenuated by scopolamine injected into the septum and lateral ventricles, but were not affected by injections into the dorsal hippocampus. These results suggest that centrally applied scopolamine may affect a central nervous system associative process, and not a mechanism directly involved in primary bradycardia.     

Dimensions of distress tolerance and the moderating effects on mindfulness-based stress reduction

Background and Objectives: This study examined the relationship between distress tolerance and psychosocial changes among individuals participating in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). The objective of the analysis was to discern whether individuals with lower distress tolerance measured before MBSR showed larger reductions in perceived stress following MBSR. Design and Methods: Data were collected from a sample of convenience (n?=?372) using a quasi-experimental design. Participants completed self-report measures immediately prior to course enrollment and following course completion. Results: Perceived stress, distress tolerance, and mood states showed favorable changes from pre- to post-MBSR in the current study. Baseline distress tolerance significantly moderated reductions on perceived stress, supporting the primary hypothesis that individuals with lower baseline distress tolerance evidenced a greater decline in perceived stress following MBSR. For a one-unit increase on the self-reported baseline Distress Tolerance Scale, reported perceived stress scores decreased by 2.5 units (p?Conclusions: The finding that individuals with lower baseline distress tolerance evidenced a greater decline in perceived stress may offer hints about who is most likely to benefit from MBSR and other mindfulness-based treatments. Identifying moderators of treatment outcomes may yield important benefits in matching individuals to treatments that are most likely to work for them.     

Influence Attempts When Competing Views Are Gender-Related: Sex as Credibility

A study was conducted to examine the effect of sex of subject, sex of majority and minority influence source, and male or female relatedness of the issue on conformity, Male and female subjects indicated their agreement (or disagreement) with male and female related statements following an influence attempt by either four male or four female confederates. The sex of the majority opinion was juxtaposed with a minority opinion held by an opposite-sexed confederate. Two major findings were obtained. First, for male related issues, subjects conformed more when the majority influence source was male than when female. Likewise, on female-related issues, subjects conformed more when the majority influence source was female than when male. Second, male subjects conformed more than female subjects on the female related issues whereas on male related issues they tended to conform less. The theoretical and practical significance of these findings is discussed.     

The Writing Process: Three First Grade Teachers and Their Students Reflect on What was Learned

The purpose of this study was to describe what three first grade teachers and their students in a Midwestern school learned when engaged in the writing process. The teachers and their students were observed for one year while engaged in the writing process via a workshop environment. Different data sources were collected over time, i.e., individual interviews (teacher and student), student writing samples and anecdotal observational notes. From an analysis of the data, three categories emerged that described what the teachers and students learned: (a) First grade children can and do want to write; (b) Learning is a messy process that takes time; and (c) Empowerment is important for all. This study supported what is known about the importance of professional development that allows for individual learning over time. The teachers had time to reflect on their learning in a collaborative teaching environment. Their successes greatly affected the students' interest and engagement in their writing programs.