Suchergebnisse

A PhD candidate in biological sciences, who is also pursuing a graduate certificate in women's studies, describes male-centered paradigms in the study of fish coloration that overlook coloration displays in females. As a result, many traits common to both sexes are labeled "male traits," thereby obscuring the actual degree of sexual variation. It is argued that the traditionally male-dominated field of animal behavior has produced many theories that fail to consider female evolution. However, recent work by the growing number of women in the field, as well as some astute male scientists, has focused more on androcentric research that reflects larger cultural shifts in gender roles. Personal experiences as a woman in a male-dominated field are related, along with how childhood socialization served to restrict certain aspirations, & how human gender roles inhibit conceptions of male & female animals. A discussion of the need to challenge science's gender-based representations contends that the insights & methodologies of feminist theory must be applied in order to develop a more flexible view of animal nature. 17 References. J. Lindroth

The predominance of the Cartesian body-mind dualism is identified as the principal reason for psychology's underdevelopment as a social science. Consequently, it is asserted that free will & determinism are problems only in the context of the Cartesian mind-body & self-Other dualisms; ie, free will is illusory in the discipline of psychology, & questions of behavior have been primarily resolved in relation to animal behavior. Fritz Heider's (1958) analysis of interpersonal relations is interpreted as establishing an interface between mind & behavior. The centrality of a psychology of a free will to Leon Festinger's (1957) theory of cognitive dissonance is discussed. Festinger's cognitive dissonance is subsequently applied to questions of free will & determinism, providing support for the significance of free will in human actions. 29 References. J. W. Parker

Focuses on the study of aggression in song sparrows to examine what is or is not an appropriate research question. The importance of the male-female binary in understanding the biology & behavior of song sparrows is described, along with an experiment that tested the degree to which female-to-female aggression parallels male-to-male aggression in expression as well as hormone levels. It was hypothesized that, contrary to much of the literature, females would be different in several ways. The politics of male-female models is discussed & the nature & methodology of the experiment are described. The results showed significant differences between the aggressive behavior of male & female song sparrows. Like males, females respond aggressively throughout the year but, unlike males, their response peaks in the spring. In addition, androgens do not facilitate aggression in females as they do in males. In general, aggressive behavior was more context-specific than indicated by sex-differences models, emphasizing both the limitations of simplistic male-female models, & the gender bias in scientific discourse about avian behavior. 2 Figures, 28 References. J. Lindroth

"The purpose of the present study is to compare the solution of a previously published Rorschach factor analytic study to an SSA solution of the same data. This analysis yielded a radex structure with a modulating facet ranging from number of responses and location scores at the origin to determinants and response quality at the periphery. The polarizing facet divided the map into sectors representing response determinants - color variations vs. form variations. This solution supports Rorschach's original scoring system but suggests that the distinctions between different types of movements (human vs. animal), colors (chromatic, achromatic, and shading) and the distinction between them and their primary form counterparts have been exaggerated." (author's abstract)