Views from the inside and outside.

Replies to comments on the article "Psychology and Phenomenology: A Clarification" (see record 2005-05480-003). Four (see records 2006-03947-010; 2006-03947-011; 2006-03947-012; and 2006-03947-013) of the five comments on my article were critical of my treatment of psychology and phenomenology. I will try to identify the sources of these disputes, but not with the intention of demonstrating the superiority of one discipline over the other. In an attempt to compare and contrast psychology and phenomenology, I analyze three concepts: objectivity, values, and falsifiability. Reber's comments (see record 2006-03947-014) were agreeable to read because of the common methodological orientation we share. Reber's optimism about humanity sharing common moral commitments appears to be contradicted by history and current events. Cloonan's (see record 2006-03947-010) plea for a "methodological pluralism" (p. 255) in psychology sounds appealing but is basically destructive for psychology and society. You can't play chess and checkers on the same board at the same time! (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multivariate models of men's and women's partner aggression.

This exploratory study was designed to address how multiple factors drawn from varying focal models and ecological levels of influence might operate relative to each other to predict partner aggression, using data from 453 representatively sampled couples. The resulting cross-validated models predicted approximately 50% of the variance in men's and women's partner aggression. The 3 strongest direct predictors of partner aggression for men and women were dominance/jealousy, marital adjustment, and partner responsibility attributions. Three additional direct paths to aggression for men were exposure to family-of-origin aggression, anger expression, and perceived social support. The 1 additional direct path for women was a history of their own aggression as a child or teenager. Implications for more integrative theories and intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Authoritarianism and sexual aggression.

In Study 1, 198 men completed the Right Wing Authoritarianism, Sex Role Ideology, Hostility Towards Women, Acceptance of Interpersonal Violence, Adversarial Sexual Beliefs, and Rape Myth Acceptance scales, as well as measures of past sexually aggressive behavior and likelihood of future sexual aggression. As predicted, authoritarianism and sex role ideology were as closely related to self-reported past and potential future sexually aggressive behavior as were the specifically sexual and aggression-related predictors. Among 134 men in Study 2, authoritarianism and sex guilt positively correlated with each other and with self-reported past sexual aggression. In both studies, the relationship of authoritarianism and sexual aggression was larger in community than in university samples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between overt and fantasy aggression as a function of maternal response to aggression.

44 boys and their mothers were studied in order to explore the relationship between fantasy and overt expressions of aggression as a function of maternal attitudes and practices towards aggression. "Support was found for the hypothesis that under conditions of maternal encouragement of aggression, a greater degree of correspondence exists between fantasy and overt aggression of children than under conditions of maternal discouragement of aggression." 19 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A relationship between childhood sexual abuse and professional sexual misconduct.

This article identifies specific factors that place therapists at risk for engaging in sexual activity with clients and provides guidelines to minimize the likelihood of such behavior. In a national, randomly drawn sample of 323 mental health practitioners, 3 of 5 men who reported severe childhood sexual abuse and whose psychological symptoms met the criteria for a high degree of psychological distress reported sexual boundary violations with clients. High-risk clinicians should avoid the isolation of private practice, closely monitor their boundaries with clients, obtain ongoing professional supervision, and seek personal psychotherapy to address any remaining abuse-related issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using the confluence model of sexual aggression to predict men's conflict with women: A 10-year follow-up study.

We tested a model describing the characteristics of sexually aggressive men that may also be useful for understanding the causes of other antisocial acts against women. This model hypothesizes that sexual aggressors can be identified by two sets of characteristics, labeled hostile masculinity and impersonal sex. To test this model, we followed up a sample of men 10 years after first studying them when they were young adults. We sought to predict which men would be in distressed relationships with women, be aggressive sexually, be nonsexually aggressive, or some combination of these. These behaviors were measured not only by questioning the men themselves but also by questioning many of the men's female partners. Some couples' videotaped conversations were also analyzed. The data supported the ability of the model to predict behavior 10 years later. We also developed the model further and identified the common and unique characteristics contributing to sexual aggression as compared with the other conflictual behaviors studied. The data supported the usefulness of hierarchical modeling incorporating both general factors that contribute to various interpersonal conflicts as well as specific factors uniquely pertaining to dominance of women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The link between alcohol use and aggression toward sexual minorities: An event-based analysis.

The current study used an event-based assessment approach to examine the day-to-day relationship between heterosexual men's alcohol consumption and perpetration of aggression toward sexual minorities. Participants were 199 heterosexual drinking men between the ages of 18–30 who completed (1) separate timeline followback interviews to assess alcohol use and aggression toward sexual minorities during the past year, and (2) written self-report measures of risk factors for aggression toward sexual minorities. Results indicated that aggression toward sexual minorities was twice as likely on a day when drinking was reported than on nondrinking days, with over 80% of alcohol-related aggressive acts perpetrated within the group context. Patterns of alcohol use (i.e., number of drinking days, mean drinks per drinking day, number of heavy drinking days) were not associated with perpetration after controlling for demographic variables and pertinent risk factors. Results suggest that it is the acute effects of alcohol, and not men's patterns of alcohol consumption, that facilitate aggression toward sexual minorities. More importantly, these data are the first to support an event-based link between alcohol use and aggression toward sexual minorities (or any minority group), and provide the impetus for future research to examine risk factors and mechanisms for intoxicated aggression toward sexual minorities and other stigmatized groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conspecific aggression in the laboratory rat.

In 2 experiments, attacks by dominant colony males of a domesticated rat strain (Sprague-Dawley; N = 48) on conspecific strangers introduced into the colony included both a full range of threat displays and actual biting attack. These dominant males attacked and bit both anesthetized and unanesthetized strangers, but threat displays and bites to anesthetized rats were limited. Lesions resulting from these bites were nonrandomly distributed, with most damage to the head and upper back and very few bites to ventral surfaces. When introduced strangers were left in the colonies for several days, 66% were killed, indicating that domesticated rats are capable of lethal attacks on conspecifics without external provocation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between cardiac reactivity in the laboratory and in real life.

Objective: An excessive cardiovascular response to acute stress is a probable risk factor for cardiovascular (CV) disease. Such reactivity is usually assessed from the CV response to laboratory stressors. However, if it is a risk factor, correlated responses must occur in real life. Design: In the present study, we investigated the relationship between the heart rate (HR) response to five laboratory stressors and HR reactivity in the field. Measures: HR variation, the response to a real life stressor (public speaking), and the increase in HR with periods of self-reported tense arousal. Ambulatory HR, activity and posture were measured continuously over a 7-hr period. Results: The HR increase to laboratory stressors did not relate to HR variation consistently, but it did relate to the other two field measures. Conclusion: The results suggested that a tendency to increased HR reactivity may be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease when combined with exposure to stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Illusory conjunctions inside and outside the focus of attention.

This article addresses 2 questions that arise from the finding (e.g., W. Prinzmetal et al; see record 1986-26854-001) that visual scenes are first parsed into visual features: (a) the accumulation of location information about objects during their recognition and (b) the mechanism for the binding of the visual features. The first 2 experiments demonstrated that when 2 colored letters were presented outside the initial focus of attention, illusory conjunctions between the color of one letter and the shape of the other were formed only if the letters were less than 1° apart. Separation greater than 2° resulted in fewer conjunction errors than expected by chance. Experiments 3 and 4 showed that inside the spread of attention, illusory connections between the 2 letters can occur regardless of the distance between them. In addition, these experiments demonstrated that the span of attention can expand or shrink like a spotlight. The results suggest that features inside the focus of attention are integrated by an expandable focal attention mechanism that conjoins all features that appear inside its focus. Visual features outside the focus of attention may be registered with coarse location information prior to their integration. Alternatively, a quick and imprecise shift of attention to the periphery may lead to illusory conjunctions among adjacent stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of naturalistic sexual aggression.

Investigated, within a theoretical and empirical framework, predictor factors pertaining to males' sexual aggression against women. The selection of predictors was guided by theorizing that sexual aggression is caused by the interaction among multiple factors, including those creating the motivation for the act, those reducing internal and external inhibitions, and those providing the opportunity for the act to occur. The predictor factors assessed were sexual arousal in response to aggression, dominance as a motive for sexual acts, hostility toward women, attitudes accepting of violence against women, psychoticism, and sexual experience. A measure assessing self-reported sexual aggression (primarily among acquaintances) in naturalistic settings served as the dependent measure. Ss were 155 18–47 yr old males. Results show that nearly all the predictor factors significantly related to sexual aggression. Much better prediction of such aggression was achieved by a combination of these factors than by any one individually. Including interactions among these predictors yielded a regression equation that was more successful in relating to sexual aggression than an equation using an additive combination only. The relevance of these data to the causes and prediction of violence against women is discussed. (71 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Women's responses to sexual aggression: The effects of childhood trauma, alcohol, and prior relationship.

This study examined effects of alcohol consumption (control, moderate dose, high dose) and type of relationship (new, established) on women's responses to escalating male sexual aggression. The role of childhood trauma was also examined. After consuming a beverage, participants (N=220) projected themselves into a story portraying a social interaction with a man that depicted escalating sexual aggression. The story was paused 3 times to assess assertive, polite, and passive resistance as well as consent. Alcohol consumption increased consent and interacted with type of relationship to increase passive resistance and with level of sexual aggression to increase polite resistance. Assertive resistance increased and other responses decreased as the man's sexual aggression escalated. Childhood trauma lowered consent initially and increased passive resistance when rape was threatened. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of sexual orientation and masculinity on young men's tobacco smoking.

Objective: The prevalence of smoking among gay men is considerably higher than in the general population. To investigate possible causes of this health risk disparity, this study used multilevel modeling of daily diary data to examine the temporal relationship between smoking and both sexual orientation concealment and masculine gender role variables. Method: Gay (n = 136) and heterosexual (n = 56) university students (mean age = 20.56, SD = 2.13) completed measures of boyhood and current gender nonconformity, as well as daily measures of smoking, negative affect, and masculinity self-consciousness across 9 days. Gay participants additionally indicated the extent to which they concealed their sexual orientation each day. Results: The same percentage of gay (17.7%; n = 24) and heterosexual (17.9% n = 10) participants smoked over the course of the study. Gay men who smoked, however, smoked on more days across the study, t = 2.20, p     

The relationship between oral contraceptives and adolescent sexual behavior

The AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scale, Public School Revision, was administered to 2,618 elementary-school children from 7 to 13 years of age. The sample of children included White, Black, and Spanish-surname groups from regular and special-education classes. Factor analyses of domain scores indicated four dimensions of adaptive behavior: Functional Autonomy, Interpersonal Adjustment, Social Responsibility, and Intrapersonal Adjustment. Comparison of factor structure across school classification and age groups revealed the same four dimensions for all groups. Implications for the assessment of adaptive behavior were discussed.     

The relationship between retirement life cycle changes and older men's labor force participation rates

This study probes the utility of older men's labor force participation rates (LFPRs) as indicators of the work-to-retirement transition. Specific attention is directed at how shifts in the retirement life cycle are related to LFPRs. Based on Current Population Survey data for the 1970s, a life table modeling approach showed that LFPRs are relatively weak indicators of the work-to-retirement transition. This was demonstrated by the relative stability in older men's age profiles of LFPRs despite significant changes in the timing and "organization" of the work-to-retirement transition. The 1970s evidenced a contraction of the main career and the expansion of both post-retirement work activity and retirement, yet none of these changes substantially altered the age profiles of older men's labor force participation rates.     

The relationship between prior sexual abuse and reactions to sexual harrassment: Literature review and empirical study.

This article examines whether individuals who have had prior sexual abuse experiences, including sexual harassment (SH) and child sexual abuse, are hypersensitive to potential SH-related stimuli or overreact to social sexual experiences. Some psychologists and legal scholars suggest that previous sexual abuse or exposure to violence against women produces altered perceptions of current interactions and situations in those women. The review of the extant empirical literature examining such relationships and the findings presented here in an interrelated set of 5 studies provide little general or consistent support for a relationship between prior abuse experiences and current perceptions about SH. Caution is advised in judging either the veracity of an SH complaint or the objectivity of a potential juror's reaction to such a claim on the basis of her prior sexual abuse experiences. The literature review and empirical study lend weight to the irrelevance of such inquiries in judging credibility of SH complainants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Initiation, desistance, and persistence of men's sexual coercion.

Patterns of sexually coercive behavior were examined among 266 Asian American and 299 European American men over 1 year. Noncoercer (n = 358), desister (n = 120), initiator (n = 39), and persistent (n = 48) sexually coercive groups were identified. The strongest predictor of sexual coercion was past sexual coercion. Persistent sexual coercers were higher than the other groups in delinquency and hostile masculinity and were nearly twice as likely to engage in laboratory sexual harassment. Loss of face attenuated self-reported sexual coercion and laboratory sexual harassment risk among Asian Americans and attenuated only laboratory sexual harassment risk among European Americans. These findings suggest that the heterogeneity of sexually coercive behavior and ethnicity are important research and clinical considerations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The siren's call: Terror management and the threat of men's sexual attraction to women.

Why do sexually appealing women often attract derogation and aggression? According to terror management theory, women's sexual allure threatens to increase men's awareness of their corporeality and thus mortality. Accordingly, in Study 1 a subliminal mortality prime decreased men's but not women's attractiveness ratings of alluring women. In Study 2, mortality salience (MS) led men to downplay their sexual intent toward a sexy woman. In Study 3, MS decreased men's interest in a seductive but not a wholesome woman. In Study 4, MS decreased men's but not women's attraction to a sexy opposite-sex target. In Study 5, MS and a corporeal lust prime increased men's tolerance of aggression toward women. Discussion focuses on mortality concerns and male sexual ambivalence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)