James Polyson

The gender relevance of projected animal content

Subjects (N = 100) created mental images of 93 animals and reported either a male or a female association for each animal. Independent variables were sex of subject and subjects visualizing ability as measured by the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (Marks, 1973a). Of the 93 animals, 67 were gender associated, with 54 perceived as male and 13 as female. With a few exceptions, the gender associations did not differ according to subjects sex or visualizing ability, Compared to classic interpretations of animal content as symbolic representations of male and female figures (Phillips & Smith, 1953), the present data are consistent with regard to male-associated animals, but inconsistent with female-associated animals.

Students' Peak Experiences: A Written Exercise.

In an exercise described in this paper, u:ndergraduate psychology students wrote about peak experiences they have had as a way of helping them understand Masloeivs theoretical construct by relating it to meaningful events in their own lives. An additional goal of the exercise was to help stua!ents develop their writing skills. At the end of the semester, students completed an anonymous questionnaire assessing whether the assignment had been a worthwhile learning experience cclnsistent with their personal goals for the course. Student evaluations confirmed that this was a successful activity; the course facilitated their understanding of Maslows theories and provided an enjoyable learning experience. The exercise also encouraged students to integrate affect and intellect, consistent with Carl Rogerss views on the exploration of feelings us an important part of academic learning.

A Survey of Psychologists' Nuclear War Attitudes

A questionnaire was mailed to members of the American Psychological Association to determine their views on the nuclear war threat and efforts by APA to reduce that threat. Based on this study, psychologists are concerned about nuclear war and realistic about the consequences of such a war, but a majority are not pessimistic about the likelihood of nuclear holocaust in this century. Most respondents expressed support for APA efforts to curb the arms race and a majority viewed public involvement in the nuclear war issue as productive; however, a vast majority said that verification of arms control agreements is either important or essential. The results are discussed in relation to social psychological research on why people do or do not respond to potential threats against their safety and to recent empirical research on the question of why citizens take action against the threat of nuclear war. Sex differences are discussed in relation to recent theories on the moral development of women

Reassessment of Gender Perception in Projected Animal Content

The present study is an extension and refinement of previous research on the gender-relevance of commonly projected animal content. Results again support the projection of gender in animal images, and this tendency is not affected by clarity of image, sex of subject, or subjects sex-type. However, it appears that previous research may have overestimated the number of animals that elicit this phenomenon.

The Identified Patient in Family Therapy and Jesus Christ: A Limited Analogy

Family therapists have recognized the importance of analogic or metaphoric thinking in the conceptualization of family problems. In this article, we develop an analogy pertaining to a frequently studied phenomenon in family therapy, the symptom bearing child or Identified Patient (IP). By exploring certain similarities and differences between the IP and Jesus Christ, we hope to increase the readers awareness of the richness and poignancy of the saving role in human relations. Also, an understanding of the Christ/IP analogy may be helpful to family therapists who must avoid idealizing or identifying with the symptomatic child.