Perceptual selectivity, memory, and anti-Semitism.

The effect of attitude (anti-Semitism) upon perceptual accuracy and memory was studied. Ss scoring high and low in anti-Semitism were asked to identify photographs as being of Jewish or non-Jewish people. It was hypothesized that Ss scoring high in anti-Semitism would be more accurate in the identification of Jews, and that once having accomplished this task, the capacity to remember those identified as Jewish or not should be less accurate. The results confirmed the hypotheses. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4GD90P. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modern anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli attitudes.

Anti-Semitism is resurgent throughout much of the world. A new theoretical model of anti-Semitism is presented and tested in 3 experiments. The model proposes that mortality salience increases anti-Semitism and that anti-Semitism often manifests as hostility toward Israel. Study 1 showed that mortality salience led to greater levels of anti-Semitism and lowered support for Israel. This effect occurred only in a bogus pipeline condition, indicating that social desirability masks hostility toward Jews and Israel. Study 2 showed that mortality salience caused Israel, but no other country, to perceptually loom large. Study 3 showed that mortality salience increased punitiveness toward Israel’s human rights violations more than it increased hostility toward the identical human rights violations committed by Russia or India. Collectively, results suggest that Jews constitute a unique cultural threat to many people’s worldviews, that anti-Semitism causes hostility to Israel, and that hostility to Israel may feed back to increase anti-Semitism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal response to childhood aggression and subsequent anti-Semitism.

2 measures of anti-Semitism were obtained from 39 college women. Information concerning maternal handling of their childhood aggression was obtained from their mothers. The results showed that relatively stern maternal discipline toward childhood aggressive behavior was associated with a relatively high level of anti-Semitism in the women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude content and agreement set in scales of authoritarianism, dogmatism, anti-Semitism, and economic conservatism.

Attitude scales were discussed as generally formulated so as to confound agreement or disagreement with the content of the items, and an agreeing response set. In order to sort these 2 dimensions, two scales were devised from items from scales in the Authoritarian Personality (1950) and a scale of economic conservatism, with half the items stated in the positive in one scale, in the negative in the second, et vice versa. In addition, English and American samples were secured for a cross-cultural validation. Agreement with the scales of the Authoritarian Personality was seen to be a function of agreeing response set rather than agreement with content; traditional inter-scale relationships were not found; there was considerable similarity in responsiveness cross-culturally. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4GD01P. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The prejudiced personality, racism, and anti-Semitism: the PR scale forty years later

The relationship of prejudiced personality traits with racism and anti-Semitism was examined with 150 Asian American and White university students. The Prejudice (PR) scale, composed of 32 items from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, was administered along with the McConahay racism scale and the Selznick and Steinberg Anti-Semitism scale. Results indicated that for Whites, the PR scale was significantly correlated with old-fashioned and modern racism and anti-Semitism, replicating Gough's 1951 study (Gough, 1951b) with the PR scale. However, no such relationship was observed for the Asian American group. This suggests that personality traits of prejudicial attitudes may be relatively stable for Whites but may not be related to outgroup bias for other racial or ethnic groups.     

Working with the masculine mystique: Male gender role conflict, counseling self-efficacy, and the training of male psychologists.

Psychologists must be prepared to serve increasingly diverse clients. However, research suggests that specific consequences of a traditional male socialization, collectively known as gender role conflict (GRC), interfere with trainees' developing appropriate therapeutic skills with certain populations. In an effort to address this, and to inform those involved in the training and supervision of male therapists, this article discusses (a) the theory of male GRC, (b) its relationship to the clinical performance of male psychologists, (c) links between that relationship and sense of self-efficacy as a therapist, and (d) specific suggestions for addressing GRC during the course of clinical training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Male circumcision, sexually transmitted disease, and risk of HIV

The potential of enhanced chromatid damage, observed after X-irradiation of G2 phase, has been used to detect individuals genetically predisposed to cancer, utilising fibroblast/lymphocytes from these patients as well as fibroblasts derived from human tumours. Fibroblasts and/or lymphocyte samples of two autosomal recessive syndromes (xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), Fanconi's anaemia (FA)) and one congenital or acquired disorder, aplastic anaemia (AA), were employed for the G2 radiosensitivity assay. In addition, we have estimated the frequencies of spontaneously occurring chromosomal aberrations as well as G2 radiosensitivity of eight samples of fibroblasts/fibroblast-like cells (two normal, two colorectal carcinoma, two Wilms' tumour, one retinoblastoma and one polyposis coli), and three samples of lymphocytes (two normal and one from a lymphoma patient). The results obtained indicate that there were no differences between fibroblast cells derived from patients or tumours, except FA patients, in the frequency of spontaneously occurring chromosomal aberrations when compared to normal cells. Following X-irradiation we did not observe any significantly increased G2 radiosensitivity in FA and XP cells. Lymphocytes from AA and lymphoma patients, and all tumour cell lines except retinoblastoma, responded with increased frequencies of aberrations following G2 X-irradiation in comparison to cells derived from normal individuals. In our hands, the G2 sensitivity assay could not always discriminate cells from cancer-prone individuals from those of controls.     

Castration and androgen replacement of male facilitation of ovarian activity in the lizard, Anolis carolinensis.

Found that castration abolished male courtship behavior in the lizard, and consequently prevented male courtship facilitation of environmentally induced ovarian recrudescence in winter-dormant females. Castrated males given androgen replacement therapy exhibited the normal pattern of male courtship behavior as well as facilitating environmentally induced ovarian activity. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Women, men, work, and family.

The lives of women and men, the relationships that they establish, and their work have changed dramatically in the past 50 years, but the dominant theories driving research in these areas have not. In this article, the authors argue that the facts underlying the assumptions of the classical theories of gender and multiple roles have changed so radically as to make the theories obsolete. Moreover, a large body of empirical data fails to support the predictions flowing from these theories. Yet the development of new theory for guiding research and clinical practice has not kept pace. The authors attempt to fill this theoretical gap by reviewing the research literature and articulating an expansionist theory of gender, work, and family that includes four empirically derived and empirically testable principles better matched to today's realities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"She," "He," Coexistence, and Bastardy.

Before proposing a solution for the sex bias problems inherent in the generic use of the pronoun he, Spencer (see record 1990-58427-001) reviews some efforts to solve the problem. The attempted solutions are evaluated as "not an improvement ... awkward... jarring ... disturbing" (p. 782), In one case, Spencer notes that coauthors of a book "slip up" twice. To avoid the difficulties and the accompanying unpleasant experiences, Spencer suggests the use of co: "The form is derived from an old Indo-European common form for both male and female English pronouns" (p. 783). While arguing for the "goodness of fit" (p. 783) of co. Spencer acknowledges that "there is currently one exception in our language to this meaning of co-coed, in which the form has been bastardized and debased from its source" (p. 783). A clinical psychologist is assuredly not an expert in psycholinguistics, but one could reasonably argue the following: The concept of bastardy with all of its connotative meaning, including debased, derives from patriarchal, patrilineal, male primary societies and history. In short, it is a sexist concept. Ours is a difficult language to use and avoid the expression of bias. Perhaps we ought to be gentler with those who are trying. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Castration of adult male dogs: effects on roaming, aggression, urine marking, and mounting

In a retrospective study involving 42 dogs, it was concluded that the objectionable male behavioral patterns of roaming, fighting with other males, urine marking in the house, and mounting of other dogs or people are amenable to alteration by other castration in adulthood. Roaming was reduced in 90% of the dogs.     

Extrinsic religious values and prejudice.

Religiosity and anti-Semitism highly related. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Female circumcision in southern Chad: origins, meaning, and current practice

Cathepsins B and L play roles in intracellular and extracellular proteolysis in normal and malignant processes. A directed extracellular proteolysis by regulated secretion could facilitate the process of invasion. We have therefore investigated the effect of the physiological signal mediator 12(S)-hydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acid on the release of cathepsins B and L in normal and malignant human lung cells. Quantitative determinations of cathepsin activities were done by flow cytometry and spectrofluorometry using synthetic dipeptidyl substrates coupled to fluorogens. Most interestingly, a difference in the secretion of cathepsins B and L was found: only release of active cathepsin B was detected. The effect was specific for 12(S)-hydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acid, 12(R)-hydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acid, and 5(S)-hydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acid were ineffective. The response was immediate but a substantial amount of nonreleasable activity remained cell bound. Alveolar macrophages, Wi-38 fibroblasts, and tumor cells derived from large cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas were sensitive to 12(S)-hydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acid, but cells from undifferentiated squamous cell carcinomas were not. Sensitivity did not parallel malignancy but more likely the degree of differentiation of cells. The investigated tumor cell lines showed no detectable endogenous 12-lipoxy-genase activity to synthesize 12(S)-hydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acid from arachidonate; therefore, we assume a paracrine mechanism for 12(S)-hydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acid action. Protein kinase C alpha, a key enzyme involved in 12(S)-hydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acid-elicited responses, was expressed in all sensitive tumor cells, but insignificantly in a sensitive normal cell line and an insensitive tumor cell line. From our experiments we propose two separate intracellular pools of active cathepsin B: an unreleasable, lysosomal fraction and a fraction available for regulated secretion. Different processing and sorting mechanisms may be responsible for the generation of these cathepsin B-fractions in these pools.     

Perceived opportunity, delinquency, race, and body build among delinquent youth.

The Ss were delinquent, institutionalized black and white 15- to 17-year-old boys from impoverished backgrounds. Variables investigated were perception of legitimate and illegitimate opportunity, admitted and committed delinquency, race and age of investigator and S, urbanization of residence, type of body build, physical attractiveness, and IQ. Modest support was obtained for the hypothesis that perception of little legitimate opportunity is accompanied by high admitted delinquency, particularly for white males. Perception of opportunity was not correlated with committed delinquency, and the relation between admitted and committed delinquency was low. Age and race of investigator entered into no significant relationships with any of the variables studied for either black or white boys. Body build and attractiveness were not found to be related to any of the other variables studied. Significantly more black than white boys were mesomorphic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fear of failure, achievement motivation, and aspiring to prestigeful occupations.

From a list of 40 occupations, 67 male undergraduates were asked (a) which occupation was nearest the one they intended to strive for, (b) what satisfaction could be expected from each occupation listed, (c) which were realistically attainable, and (d) which would they settle for if the stress of occupational achievement could be avoided. As fear of failure (FF) increased (a) the prestige of aspired-to occupations decreased, (b) willingness to settle for less satisfying and less prestigeful occupations increased, and (c) the person became more likely to perceive that occupations with extremely low probabilities of attainment were within his reach. Effects of achievement motivation were very weak but generally in a direction opposite to that of FF. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance of good and poor premorbid male schizophrenics as a function of paternal vs. maternal censure.

The hypothesis that interference in schizophrenic performance depends on an interaction between level of premorbid adjustment, paternal vs. maternal source of stimulation, and censuring vs. approval content was tested. 4 tape recordings were played for 80 good and 80 poor premorbid adjustment schizophrenics—father-son censure, father-son approval, mother-son censure, and mother-son approval. Performance was measured by a change from a pre- to post-Digit-Symbol test. The hypothesis was confirmed—good premorbids show interference with paternal censure and poor premorbids with maternal censure. A comparison group of 80 normals did not show this kind of interaction. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Clinical comparability of the standard MMPI and the MMPI-168": Correction to Hart, McNeill, Lutz, and Adkins.

Reports an error in "Clinical comparability of the standard MMPI and the MMPI-168" by Ronald R. Hart, John W. McNeill, David J. Lutz and Thomas G. Adkins (Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 1986[Jun], Vol 17[3], 269-272). In this article, the copyright information was incorrect. The corrected copyright information is included in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1986-26219-001.) Examined the clinical correspondence of the full-scale Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the MMPI-168 on a psychiatric screening sample of 210 men (mean age 43.27 yrs). The present results fail to replicate previous optimistic findings regarding the worth of the MMPI-168 and accent the need for caution in any further use of this abbreviated instrument. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and legislation.

Legislation concerning psychology must be viewed in a larger political and social context. There must be opposition to restrictive legislation which seems currently to arise out of the anti-intellectualism of the present. Legislation is only the third of the means of protecting the public from quackery—the first two are training of professionals and public education concerning the profession. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles: A meta-analysis comparing women and men.

A meta-analysis of 45 studies of transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles found that female leaders were more transformational than male leaders and also engaged in more of the contingent reward behaviors that are a component of transactional leadership. Male leaders were generally more likely to manifest the other aspects of transactional leadership (active and passive management by exception) and laissez-faire leadership. Although these differences between male and female readers were small, the implications of these findings are encouraging for female leadership because other research has established that all of the aspects of leadership style on which women exceeded men relate positively to leaders' effectiveness whereas all of the aspects on which men exceeded women have negative or null relations to effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)