Post-1992 Europe: History and implications

The twentieth century has witnessed a series of initiatives designed to unify Europe, which culminated in the founding of the European Community. In 1985 the European Commission (the executive arm of the decision-making Council) issued a White Paper that became the basis of the Single Europe Act, which took effect in 1987. The implementation of this act, to be completed by the end of 1992, will required the resolution of numerous problems but creates enormous opportunities for economic growth.     

RHETORICAL RETICENCE, IF YOU'RE FOR IT I'M AGAINST IT, OR AT LEAST I'LL KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT: OPINION EXPRESSION AND FORMATION IN THE CONTEXT OF POLARIZED GROUPS

The polarization process in the formation and expression ofpublic opinion needs further exploration, especially in threeareas: (1) the reluctance to publicly voice one's own moderateor qualified opinion if that act would benefit a group at oneof the ends of an opinion continuum; (2) the imputation of aclustered set of opinions on a number of issues to those whohold opinions on one specific issue; (3) the formation of one'sopinion on an issue, based on the group identity of those whoare at the extreme of that issue. In (1), opinion formationaround an issue occurs not just on the individually assessedmerits of the issue but also on who are identified as supportersof one side or the other. Thus, those who see ambiguities arereluctant to express reservations about an extreme positionfor fear of giving aid and comfort to those at the other extreme.The perception of the public's opinion becomes distorted andthe issue will become further polarized. In (2), issue clustering,or 'bundling', occurs whenever those who are identified withone opinion are assumed to hold a set of other opinions which,taken together, make them pejoratively different kinds of peoplefrom those who so identify them. In (3), individuals form orexpress opinions about complex subjects based on the positionof groups they identify with rather than by an attempt to becomefamiliar with the issue.     

Age factors in sex differences in open-field activity of rats

Male and female Long-Evans rats were given open-field tests at 30 and/or 120 days of age. At 30 days of age, males and females did not differ in their open-field behavior. At 120 days of age, however, females locomoted more, reared more, and showed less wall-hugging than males, regardless of whether or not the animals had received tests in the open field at 30 days of age. The appearance of sex differences was due to an increase in the scores of the females between 30 and 120 days of age.