Race in biology and anthropology: A study of college texts and professors

Information about social issues is underemphasized in college science education. This article takes the race concept as an example of this neglect. We review the history of the race concept and report the current status of the concept in textbooks and among professors. Responses to surveys of faculty at Ph.D.-granting departments indicate that 67% of biologists accept the concept of biological races in the species Homo sapiens, while only 50% of physical anthropologists do so. Content analysis of college textbooks indicates a significant degree of change over time (1936–1984) in physical anthropology but a lesser degree in biology. We suggest several reasons for the dissimilarity in the two disciplines. We propose continued use of the concept for some infrahuman species, while abandoning its application to Homo sapiens. For those biologists and anthropologists who continue to use the concept, scientific accuracy can be achieved by the presentation in lecture and text of the following ideas: first, consensus among scientists on the race concept's utility and accuracy does not exist; second, there is more variation within than between so-called races; third, discordant gradations due to natural selection, drift, and interbreeding make consistent racial boundary lines impossible to identify; fourth, past use of the race concept has had harmful consequences; fifth, the most precise study of human hereditary variation maps one trait at a time; and sixth, racial labels are misleading, especially as most populations have a cultural designation.     

The organization of independent basic research institutes symbiotic with universities

Summary The assumption that universities are the only natural home for basic research is questioned. The article examines the balance between teaching and research, considers the disadvantages of universities as places of research and suggests what is wanted in an institution devoted to research. The author proposes the creation of a new type of independent research institution which would have a special relationship with universities.     

Assessing the Personal-Social Development of Hong Kong Chinese Adolescents

A 60-item measure, the Personal-Social Development Self-Efficacy Inventory (PSD-SEI) was developed to assess personal-social development self-efficacy among adolescents in Hong Kong. The PSD-SEI was administered to 6,776 Grade 10–13 students in Hong Kong. Principal components analysis with varimax solutions yielded seven meaningful factors: 1. Self-Realization, 2. Leadership and Teamwork, 3. Emotional, Physical and Social Wellness, 4. Interests and Life Goals 5. Relationships, 6. Avoiding Drugs, Excessive Drinking and Smoking, and 7. Finance and Self-Care. Reliability analyses showed that the total scale and subscales were internally consistent. The data suggested that Hong Kong adolescents had some but not strong confidence in their personal-social development. Boys were more confident in self-realization and maintaining wellness; girls were more confident in leadership and teamwork, relationship with the opposite sex, and avoiding drugs, excessive drinking, and smoking. This study is the first attempt to develop and validate a personal-social development self-efficacy measure for Chinese adolescents. Further research and applications of the PSD-SEI for the quality enhancement of personal-social development programmes in schools are discussed.     

Economics of education

During the past twenty-five years economists have made a substantial contribution to thinking about problems of resource allocation to education and of returns to education. The study of the statistics of costs and expenditures on education, which had been neglected, has advanced. Economists have contributed to three main lines of debate: the relationship of expenditure on education to economic growth, individual and social returns to education, and the role of education in meeting economic needs. The debate has not been conclusive. During the period of rapid economic growth up to 1970 it served to promote increased spending, with changes in its distribution. Since 1970 with slower growth, greater emphasis is being given to problems of democratisation and efficiency in national expenditure patterns. Divergencies in the character of needs for education as between developed and developing countries have raised new problems for analysis by economists and other specialists. The issue of the role of the state in determining the balance between social expenditures and other expenditures in national economic and social development remains central. Economists still have an important contribution to make to the development of cost and finance analysis and to studies of the efficiency of resource allocation to education in order to avoid waste.     

Effects of discrimination training on stimulus generalization in pigeons: Role of resistance to extinction and response-produced stimuli

In Experiment 1, two groups (n = 10) of pigeons received 17 sessions of TD (true discrimination) or ND (nondifferential) training with line angles. Seventeen sessions of SS (single stimulus) training with a wavelength preceded this training and two followed it. Subsequent wavelength generalization testing in extinction revealed a sharper TD than ND gradient. This slope difference was evident from the very first test stimulus presentation and remained stable throughout testing. As a consequence of substantial overtraining, there was no reduction of response strength and no sharpening of generalization during testing for either group. In Experiment 2, two groups (n = 16) of pigeons received 10 sessions of TD or PD (pseudodiscrimination) training with line angles, followed by four sessions of SS training with a single wavelength. During this training and in subsequent wavelength generalization testing in extinction, brief blackouts separated stimulus presentations. Again, the TD group yielded the sharper gradient. Although responding weakened and the gradients sharpened during the test, these effects were comparable in the two groups. Furthermore, gradients based on the percentage of trials with at least one response showed the same TD-PD slope difference. This finding indicates that differential control over responding by response-produced feedback is inadequate to account for the TD-PD difference in generalization slope. Both experiments indicate that a purported difference in resistance to extinction is also an inadequate explanation.     

A cognitive behavioral intervention for compulsive handwashing with a thirteen-year-old boy

Cognitive behavioral procedures have been shown to be effective in the treatment of adult obsessive-compulsive disorders. This article presents a case of successful treatment of compulsive handwashing in a thirteen-year-old boy through a cognitive behavioral intervention, showing the potential efficacy of these procedures with children for this type of behavior problem. The principal cognitive intervention was thought-stopping with which the child's obsessive ruminations were disrupted. Handwashing was reduced during treatment to fewer than six occurrences per day, and behavior change was maintained at follow-up 6 and 18 months after the intervention ended.