God Versus Party: Competing Effects on Attitudes Concerning Criminal Punishment,National Security,and Military Service

We explore how images of God interact with political party to predict attitudes concerning the appropriate role of government in both criminal punishment and national security. Using the second wave of the Baylor Religion Survey (2007), we analyze the extent to which beliefs regarding God's moral judgment moderate the influence of party affiliation on opinions about the death penalty, fighting terrorism, punishing criminals, serving in the military, and U.S. involvement in the Iraq War. Specifically, we find that Democrats who believe in a judgmental God tend to support more conservative policies. In fact, attitudes converge such that the effects of party membership are erased if rival partisans both believe in a judgmental moral authority.     

The American Girl: Playing with the Wrong Dollie?

This essay explores the American Girl Just Like You doll through a variety of feminist lenses. It was inspired by my experiences chaperoning my friend Grace (aged eleven) to the American Girl Store in New York City, and returning to the store to shop for my own doll. I returned to the store because I was not sure why I was so extremely disturbed by this doll. The doll is not emaciated, not overtly sexy, and marketed along with outfits that supposedly send girls the message that they can achieve their goals. She comes in a variety of skin, eye, and hair colors, and the line is therefore marketed as racially and ethnically sensitive. I argue that although the Just Like You line appears to be empowering and racially sensitive on a superficial level, an in‐depth feminist analysis indicates that it is not. In fact, the Just Like You line is highly problematic from a feminist perspective.     

The hijab as a protective factor for body image and disordered eating: a replication in French Muslim women

We examined differences in body image and disordered eating between Muslim women who do and do not wear the hijab in France, a nation marked by religious-based sartorial censorship. In an online survey, 450 French Muslim women completed measures of hijab use, weight discrepancy, disordered eating, body image-related constructs, religiosity, perceived support from Allah, and perceived discrimination. Controlling for religiosity and support from Allah, women who wore the hijab reported significantly lower weight discrepancy, body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, social physique anxiety, internalisation of the thin and muscular ideals, and pressure to attain ideals from peers and the media, though they also reported significantly higher perceived discrimination than those who did not wear the hijab. Further analyses showed that use of the hijab was significantly associated with weight discrepancy and disordered eating. Our results suggest that use of the hijab may offer a protective element for French Muslim women.     

Sex differences in trauma symptoms,body image and intensity of pain in a Polish sample of patients suffering from chronic pain

The main goal of the current study was to investigate sex differences in the relationship between the level of trauma symptoms appearing in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and intensity of pain in a sample of 300 Polish patients suffering from chronic pain, specifically rheumatoid arthritis and lower back pain. We also focused on participants’ body image with body esteem as a mediator. To assess the intensity of pain among participants, we used the Numerical Rating Scale. The level of trauma symptoms was assessed with the PTSD Factorial Version Inventory. To measure body image among participants, we used the Body Esteem Scale. The results of our study suggest that trauma symptoms and body image dimensions were significant predictors of pain intensity among men suffering from chronic pain. Moreover, trauma symptoms and age were significant predictors of pain intensity among women suffering from chronic pain. Finally, we demonstrated that sex differentiates the reaction to chronic pain.     

Comparing the body to superior others: Associations with daily exercise and body evaluation in men and women

ObjectivesThis study tested the link between daily body-related upward social comparisons (BUSCs) and exercise behavior, and examined how appearance evaluation and gender may impact this association.MethodIn a weeklong assessment, 87 participants (54% women) completed daily retrospective measures of social comparisons and exercise behavior, and a one-time trait measure of appearance evaluation.ResultsBased on findings from hierarchical linear modeling, men with more negative appearance evaluations reported higher exercise engagement on days when they made more (compared to less) BUSCs. Meanwhile, women with more negative appearance evaluations reported less exercise engagement on days when they engaged in more (compared to less) BUSCs.ConclusionsAmong individuals who experience negative appearance evaluations, upward body comparisons are associated with more exercising among men, and lower exercise among women. BUSCs have an important role in promoting adaptive exercise behaviors and managing negative body image.     

Introducing an instrument to measure body and fitness-related self-conscious emotions: The BSE-FIT

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to develop a new self-report instrument to assess experiences of shame, guilt, authentic pride, and hubristic pride in a fitness context.Design and methodIn Study 1, 41 potential items were developed and assessed for item quality and comprehension. In Study 2, a panel of experts (N = 8; M = 10.55, SD = 6.49 years of experience) assessed the scale and items for validity evidence based on content. Participants in Study 3 (N = 435) completed the Body-related Self-Conscious Emotions Fitness instrument (BSE-FIT) and other established self-report measures of body image, personality, emotion, and behavior. A subset of participants (n = 38; 38% male) in Study 3 completed a 2-week follow-up.ResultsThe BSE-FIT subscale scores demonstrated evidence for internal consistency, temporal stability over a 2-week period, concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validity. A 4-factor conceptualization of the instrument was supported.ConclusionsOverall, the final 16-item BSE-FIT instrument shows promise as a new instrument for assessing shame, guilt, and authentic and hubristic facets of pride in fitness contexts.     

Reverse-engineering ‘esotericism': how to prepare a complex cultural concept for the cognitive science of religion

The article introduces a framework for preparing complex cultural concepts for the cognitive science of religion (CSR) and applies it to the field of Western esotericism. The research process (‘reverse engineering') rests on a building block approach that, after problematic categories have been deconstructed, seeks to reconstruct new scholarly objects in generic terms that can be operationalized in interdisciplinary contexts like CSR. A four-step research process is delineated, illustrated by a short discussion of previous work on ‘Gnosticism,' ‘magic,' and ‘religion,' before applying it to ‘esotericism.' It is suggested that the implicit scholarly objects of esotericism scholarship can be reconstituted in generic terms as concerned with processes of creating and disseminating ‘special knowledge.' Five definitional clusters are identified in the literature; these provide a basis for formulating research programs on the psychological and cognitive level, drawing on metarepresentational processes, event cognition, and psychological dispositions for altering experience.     

Differences in the micromechanical properties of dendrites and interdendritic regions in superalloys

Statistical analysis of white-light interferometry (WLI) experiments performed on Ni-based single-crystal superalloys (SX) have revealed a different height distribution between the dendritic cores (DCs) and the interdendritic regions (IRs) of the polished samples. The micromechanical property difference is largely ascribed to the uneven distribution of the alloying elements. In this context, possible reasons for this difference are discussed by comparing with different experiment results obtained by previous researchers, and a proposal forecasting the hardness ratio of IRs/DCs is put forward.     

男性身体意象失调:大众媒体的影响及作用机制

近年来,男性身体意象失调越来越普遍,大众媒体被认为是一种重要的影响因素。大量研究证实了媒体对男性身体意象的消极影响,主要表现在对身体意象的认知、情绪情感和行为调控等方面。研究者基于社会文化理论提出三重影响模型(Thompson,Heinberg,Altabe,Tantleff-Dunn,1999),用以解释媒体影响男性身体意象的作用机制。该模型假设社会文化因素,即家庭、同伴、媒体是身体意象失调的三个最初影响源;外貌比较和"瘦理想"或"肌肉理想"内化是社会文化和身体意象失调之间的中介变量。未来研究应关注被试群体的多样化,将实验室研究和纵向研究相结合,并考虑其他变量的影响作用,对三重影响模型进行丰富和拓展,同时运用脑科学技术探究其神经机制。此外,还应从干预的角度展开研究。