An investigation of a sample of geography, physiology, and arithmetic textbooks used during the period 1880-1920 is described. The paper details the attitudes expressed in these books toward women in society: what they were expected to be, their status vis-a-vis the roles of men, the overlap between the roles of men and women. The paper also…

In psychology, experimental studies are susceptible to the biases of the investigator in problem formulation, operationalization, sample selection, and data interpretation. Thus, what we regard as an objective, value-free approach to science is neither unbiased nor value-free. (GC)

A study investigated, in the Burkeian tradition, motives revealed through communication. It also applied the narrative paradigm developed by Walter Fisher, using each traditional standard (truth, aesthetic, results, ethical, and attitudinal) and explored the development of a new standard--the practical standard for the storyteller. Narratives…

This paper describes two studies conducted to determine whether there is a stigma associated with being in psychotherapy and if so, how that stigma compares with the well-documented stigma associated with mental illness (Wahl, 1995). In the first study, community members (n=89) were asked to listen to an audiotaped statement from a young man. All…

One of the strongest sources of anti-gay discriminatory rhetoric comes from various religious traditions. In spite of such animosity, gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) people continue to claim their place at the table and a number of religious leaders with same-sex sexual orientation continue to work within their religious denominations. The…

Last decade has seen some major impacts of feminism on institution of psychotherapy regarding theories, treatment techniques, and assessment instruments. Changes in attitudes toward women as therapists and as clients have reflected general advances of women's movement. Presented at American Psychological Association Convention, Toronto, Canada,…

For many years, Northern Ireland has been living under the shadow of civil strife. These years have produced relatively little literature, either adult or juvenile, which deals directly with the so-called "troubles." Literature can play an important role guiding against prejudicial attitudes and in educating individuals about society as…

Codependency is a relatively new idea, emerging in the late 1970s within the chemical dependency treatment industry. However, the belief that the wife of the alcoholic is, by definition, disturbed, has been influential in varying degrees since the 1930s. The perennial influence of the codependency hypothesis suggests that it is a social…

This research paper explores both the meaning of career decisions and the implications of these decisions for teacher education. Since a pilot study indicated that gender realization was influenced by the historical era in which people are raised, four subjects--two men and two women--from different age levels were selected to be the subjects of…

The shaping of social reality has become the task of the mass media due to the fact that audience members base interaction and social judgments upon the information they process from the mass media. Theorists have developed various paradigms linking individual media use and interpersonal communication with cultural effects and mass media. Although…

The construct of empathy may be located conceptually at several different points in a network of social cognition and vicarious emotion. This paper discusses one specific form of emotional empathy, empathy in response to perceiving another person in need. First, evidence is reviewed suggesting that there are at least two distinct types of…

Examining the impact of news on people's knowledge about and favorableness of opinion toward six foreign countries, a study conducted telephone interviews with 374 adult residents in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, during November 1984. The nations selected for study included three developed countries (Britain, the Soviet Union, and Japan) and three…

This study investigates the relationship of parental consistency, both between parents and in each parent separately, with respect to socialization attitudes and their longitudinal impact on the developing personality of children. A total of 83 sets of parents completed the Child-Rearing Practices Report (CRPR) when their children were 3 years of…

The author reviews the history of international concerns regarding disabled persons, and suggests that a prime reason for society's discrimination and rejection of the disabled is fear. He describes the emphasis in the United States on rights and independence of disabled people and asserts that each country must build upon its own traditions,…

This paper examines local political activism in Columbus, Ohio, between 1900 and 1980. There are two major parts to the paper. First, through a content analysis of a local newspaper "The Columbus Dispatch" over the past 80 years, the salient issues and context within which neighborhood activism occurs are defined. Data were obtained from…