Toward integrating feminist psychotherapy and feminist philosophy.

Describes liberal, cultural, radical, and socialist feminist philosophies and proposes that psychologists' orientations toward feminist political and philosophical theory will have an impact on their practice of feminist psychotherapy with regard to their preferences for group or individual modalities, therapeutic interventions, diagnostic practices, and organizational affiliations. Psychologists' philosophical positions may also influence their attitudes about research, epistemology, and the role of men and women as clients and therapists. Specific connections between feminist philosophy and psychological theories and other aspects of practice are discussed. It is proposed that all psychologists who work with gender-related issues can benefit from contemplating how their therapeutic practices intersect with feminist philosophy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in human motor activity level.

Examined sex differences in activity level (AL) by quantitatively integrating results from 90 citations encompassing 127 independent sex-difference studies. A variety of developmental, situational, measurement, and investigator factors thought to be related to the AL sex-difference magnitude was assessed. Sample sizes ranged from 7 to 25,000; chronological ages ranged from 2 mo before birth to 30 yrs. A scale-independent index of effect size (d) was used to summarize the results of a between-sexes comparison, and ds across investigations were aggregated with measures of AL. Findings indicate that males were generally more active than females, although the magnitude of the difference was associated with other features of the research investigation, such as participant age and situational characteristics. This AL result was judged to be a large effect within the context of established behavioral sex differences. Data are consistent with the view that social influences enlarge AL sex differences. A list of citations used in the study is appended. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A developmental look at pattern symmetry in perception and memory.

A speeded sequential same–different paradigm was used to measure the pattern goodness effect at a visual encoding stage and a short-term memory stage in observers aged from 6 to 22 years. Pairs of nine-dot patterns varying in goodness were presented to subjects in three experiments. Experiment 1 used a 1-s retention interval and found larger goodness effects in short-term memory than at encoding for all observers. Furthermore, the memory effects decreased with age, whereas no age change was observed for the encoding effects. Experiment 2 generalized these findings to other retention intervals (0 and 3 s). No age differences were found in the O-s condition, whereas the 3-s condition showed large changes with age. An unexpected result indicated that an additive model of encoding and memory could not be assumed. Experiment 3 used new subjects and a mixed-trials design to replicate this finding. It is suggested that pattern goodness may affect information processing at three stages: encoding, retention, and pattern comparison. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A 2-step cooking method of searing and hot water pasteurization to maximize the safety of refrigerated, vacuum packaged, chicken breast meat

ABSTRACT:  Americans consume almost 40 kg per capita of chicken each year. Increasing consumption of chicken surpassed pork in 1982 and beef in 1992. The objectives of this study were to examine the effectiveness of a novel, 2-step cooking method of grilling, slicing, vacuum packaging, and hot water pasteurization to inhibit the growth of Listeria monocytogenes in chicken breast meat. Because this study required the use of pilot plant scale pasteurization equipment, Listeria innocua M1, a nonpathogen with slightly greater heat resistance than L. monocytogenes , was used as a surrogate. We first examined the lethal effects of grilling on a boneless skinless chicken breast to mimic cross-contaminated, surface-inoculated Listeria . Searing produced a mean reduction of 2.5 log CFU/g of Listeria and a moisture loss of only 7% (w/w). A 2nd experiment studied the lethal effect of pasteurization of the sliced seared chicken breast. L. innocua M1 inoculated between the slices mimiced contamination in deep muscle. Pasteurization in a 71 °C bath (final internal temperature of 66 °C) gave an additional 2.3 log CFU/g reduction. L. innocua M1 did not show significant regrowth during a wk of refrigerated storage. The combined 2-step cooking method of searing and pasteurization gave a combined 4.8 log reduction in LI M1. In parallel tests a non- Listeria indicator, Corynebacterium glutamicum , inoculated between sliced, seared chicken, showed a 3 log reduction after pasteurization for 10 min in a 71 °C bath compared to 2.3 log reduction of Listeria . Corynebacterium regrowth occurred much faster than did L. innocua M1.