FEMINIST PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION AND THE PROBLEM OF EPISTEMIC PRIVILEGE

There have been a number of developments within religious epistemology in recent years. Currently, the dominant view within mainstream philosophy of religion is, arguably, reformed epistemology. What is less well known is that feminist epistemologists have also been active recently within the philosophy of religion, advancing new perspectives from which to view the link between knowledge and religious experience. In this article I examine the claim by certain feminist religious epistemologists that women are both epistemically oppressed and epistemically privileged, and I consider whether or not this justifies the specific re‐conceptualisations of religious terms that such epistemologists have proposed.     

Relationships Among Multicultural Training,Moral Development,and Racial Identity Development of White Counseling Students

Sixty‐eight counselor education students responded to the Defining Issues Test (J. Rest, 1986) and the White Racial Identity Attitude Scale (J. E. Helms & R. T. Carter, 1990) to determine relationships among multicultural training and moral and racial identity development. Results of this exploratory study indicate that multicultural training can be helpful in changing modes of information processing related to racial attitudes but does not seem to promote the cognitive complexity needed for moral development. The discussion includes a recommendation for students to discuss ethical dilemmas and participate in active problem solving specific to multicultural issues.     

What's in a Name? The Effects of the Labels “Fat” Versus “Overweight” on Weight Bias1

This research examined the effects of the labels “fat” vs. “overweight” in the expression of weight bias, with the prediction that the label “fat” biases individuals to respond more negatively than does the label “overweight.” In Study 1, participants' attitudes toward people labeled as fat were less favorable than were their attitudes toward people labeled as overweight. In Studies 2 and 3, although participants chose similar‐sized figures to depict fat and overweight targets, weight stereotypes and weight attitudes were more negative toward people labeled as fat than those labeled as overweight. In addition, the endorsement of weight stereotypes mediated the biasing effect of the “fat” label on weight prejudice. Implications of this work for prejudice researchers and for public attitudes are discussed.     

Adverse work experiences and marital outcomes in middle years: Role of self‐esteem

This study assesses the decade‐long influence of adverse work experiences on husbands' and wives' problem‐solving behaviors and marital quality through self‐esteem using structural equation modeling with a sample of 308 dual‐earning couples. Analyses controlled for earlier marital quality, allowing for assessment of the residual change in marital quality over 10 years. Adverse work experiences directly affected marital quality and indirectly affected decreases in marital quality through lower self‐esteem; lastly, individuals' self‐esteem was positively related to increased problem‐solving behaviors. In addition, there was a crossover association, with wives' and husbands' self‐esteem influencing one another's problem‐solving behaviors. These results contribute to a deeper understanding about the processes responsible for the detrimental impact of adverse work experiences.     

Competition,Recognition, and Approval-Seeking

Here I support my position in “Do Good Feminists Compete?” against the suggestion that competing with others weakens rather than strengthens one's sense of self.     

VALIDITY GENERALIZATION: A REVIEW AND CRITIQUE OF THE CORRELATION MODEL

This paper presents a review and critique of the validity generalization research based on the correlation model. Emphasis was placed on integrating the applied validity generalization studies as well as the computer simulation studies which have tested the accuracy of the various validity generalization procedures in estimating the mean and variance of true validity coefficients. In general, this review indicated that the validity generalization procedures are fairly accurate in estimating the mean and variance of true validities, that the preponderance (e.g., 90%) of corrected validity coefficients for a single predictor-criterion relationship, based on a series of cumulative studies, when placed in distributional form are positive, and that a substantial proportion of observed validity coefficient variation can be attributed to statistical artifacts with sampling error accounting for the majority of the artifactual variance. Moreover, potential problems with validity generalization/meta analysis based on criterion-related validity coefficients were discussed. It was concluded that validity general-ization/meta-analysis is an important development in summarizing cumulative research, however, caution should be exercised in utilizing and interpreting the findings of such analyses. Directions for future research aimed at establishing trait-performance relationships were discussed.     

Assessing Individual Family Members' Constructions of Family Problems

Much contemporary family therapy theory and practice takes into account clients' cognitive constructions of their family problems. Recent calls for therapists to elicit and work with clients' causal explanations and narratives parallel accumulating evidence in the social-clinical literature about the predictive importance of attributions in family relationships. In this article, we introduce the Constructions of Problems Scale (CPS), provide preliminary evidence of its reliability and validity, and suggest ways in which it can be used clinically to reveal new areas for questioning and to generate new ideas. The CPS is a brief questionnaire that can be used to create a profile of each individual family member's private constructions. To complete the CPS, each family member writes a free-form narrative of the presenting problem and then rates his or her perceptions of the contributing causes. The CPS profiles can be used to compare the perspectives of different family members and to assess cognitive constructions at different points in treatment. We discuss its potential for these and other clinical uses.     

Definition and the Question of “Woman”

Within recent feminist philosophy, controversy has developed over the desirability, and indeed, the possibility of defining the central terms of its analysis—"woman,”“femininity,” etc. The controversy results largely from the undertheorization of the notion of definition; feminists have uncritically adopted an Aristotelian treatment of definition as entailing metaphysical, rather than merely linguistic, commitments. A “discursive” approach to definition, by contrast, allows us to define our terms, while avoiding the dangers of essentialism and universalism.     

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT INTERVIEWS: REPLICATION AND EXTENSION1

Eight performance review interview characteristics were related to 7 interview outcomes. Several of these individual variables had been examined in previous research. Two hundred seventy nursing personnel described their last review interview. Five of the interview characteristics were related to most of the outcomes, replicating earlier research as well as adding new findings. Implications for improving the conduct of appraisal interviews in organizations are offered.