Conflict of experience: A categorization model for studying verbal interaction

In order to describe communication between people, some new concepts are introduced. These are derived from a model using 'conflict of experience' as its main theoretical reference. Such conflict presumably occurs when different interpretations of "the same" reality confronts each other. How such a conflict is handled is seen as depending upon factors in the situation, and on motive states of the person. A dialogue from Ibsen's play "John Gabriel Borkman" is analyzed in terms of the model in order to demonstrate its possible fruitfulness for describing and understanding verbal interaction. Psychotherapeutic concepts are discussed in relation to the theoretical points of veiw presented.     

Critical Whiteness Theories and the Evangelical “Race Problem”: Extending Emerson and Smith's Divided by Faith

In their 2000 book, Divided by Faith, Michael Emerson and Christian Smith use the case of evangelical Christians to demonstrate how uncompromising individualist ideals get in the way of clear thinking and decisive action about racial inequalities in contemporary American society. We use insights developed from whiteness studies and critical race theory to sharpen and further extend this analysis. More specifically, we suggest: (1) that anti‐black stereotypes may be subtler, more pervasive, and more functionally necessary than Emerson and Smith assume; and (2) that the individualistic ideals Emerson and Smith focus on are not race neutral but, instead, are part of a taken‐for‐granted and vigorously defended majority white culture and identity. These points are developed through a theoretical reconstruction of Emerson and Smith's argument and a reevaluation of their methodological approach and data. Finally, we present data from a recent national survey of race and religion in American life that provide preliminary quantitative support for our revisionist claims.     

Rate-dependent effect of methylphenidate(Ritalin) on fixed-interval behavior in rats

The behavioral effects of 1.0–18.0 mg/kg methylphenidate (Ritalin) injections on leverpressing reinforced under a fixed-interval (FI) 60-sec schedule for water in Mäll-Wistar rats were studied. Effets of methylphenidate were dose-dependent: it increased response rates early in the FI 60-sec adn reduced the higher response rates later in the FI, without changing the average response rate. There was no systematic effect of the drug upon locomotor activity. The local response-rate change during the FI 60-sec are in accord with the rate-dependency hypothesis (Dews, 1958). the bidirectional response-rate changes withing the FI explain why methylphenidate did not affect the average response rate.     

Exploring Curiosity:A curiosity-exhibitionism inventory, and some empirical results

To develop an instrument for a broad exploration of curiosity and exhibitionism, a questionnaire was constructed. This questionnaire contained 7 subscales, 5 scales reflecting exhibitionism and curiosity according to different degree of neutralization and 2 scales focusing on curiosity and exhibitionism during childhood. The complete questionnaire and the MAS was administered to 55 Norwegian Ss. In accordance with psychoanalytic theory, positive correlations between the different scales measuring different kinds of curiosity and exhibitionism emerged. The correlations between these scales and the MAS were mostly low and insignificant. The questionnaire was later administrated to 92 Norwegian Ss. The main results from the first study were replicated.     

"Warmup" and "cooldown" in Sidman avoidance behavior of rats: A dual-process interpretation

The present experiment investigated relations between "warmup" in unsignalled Sidman avoidance in rats and the intensity of shock. Magnitude of shock-rate change was quantified by comparing the rat's behavior during the initial third and the final two thirds of the same session. Warmup was said to occur whenever the shock rate during the initial 20 min was higher than the shock rate during the final 40 min of a 60 min session. "Cooldown" was defined as lower shock rate during the initial 20 min than during the final 40 min. Warmup was observed when shocks were intense, cooldown was observed when shocks were low intensity, and neither was observed when medium-intensity shocks were administered. Response-rate changes were correlated with shock-rate changes, but were smaller. The results are interpreted within the framework of a dual-process theory of habituation.     

Component analyses differentiate between exploratory behaviour of spontaneously hypertensive rats and Wistar Kyoto rats in a two-compartment free-exploration open field

The present study investigated behaviour in a two-compartment free-exploration open field by means of a component analysis. Seven spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and six normotensive Wistar Kyoto control rats (WKY) were tested repeatedly on eight behaviour parameters in this apparatus. A two-compartment free-exploration open field evokes less fear than the standard one-compartment forced-exploration open field, because it permits the rat to enter the field from its home cage. The data were subjected to principal component analysis and multivariate analysis of variance. The results showed that the recorded behaviour grouped into two independent components, encompassing behaviour in the cage and in the field, respectively. These components are interpreted as reflecting different kinds of exploration: (i) distant exploration when the rat explores from its home cage, and (ii) close exploration when the rat explores by entering the novel field. The SHR scored highest on both, although they mostly used close exploration. In the WKY rats, which mainly stayed in their cages, distant exploration was predominant. The present free-exploration open-field procedure discriminates between two different exploration strategies employed by SHR and WKY rats.