Following E. Goffman's(1967) face threat analysis of social interaction, it was hypothesized that the aggressive, playful content of teasing would vary according to social status and relational satisfaction, personality, role as teaser or target, and gender. These 4 hypotheses were tested in analyses of the teasing among fraternity members (Study 1) and romantic couples (Study 2). Consistent with a face threat analysis of teasing, low-status fraternity members and satisfied romantic partners teased in more prosocial ways, defined by reduced face threat and increased redressive action. Some findings indicate that disagreeable individuals teased in less prosocial ways, consistent with studies of bullying. Targets reported more negative emotion than teasers. Although female and male romantic partners teased each other in similar ways, women found being the target of teasing more aversive, consistent with previous speculation. The joke, in other words, is the art of making fun without raising anger, by means of ritual mockery of insults which are neutralized by their very excess and which, presupposing a great familiarity ... are in fact tokens of attention or affection, ways of building up while seeming to run down, of accepting while seeming to condemn.-Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste The ingredients of many initiation rituals are: (a) attraction, (b) aggression, (c) subordination. .. (d) reconciliation and the euphoria of social acceptance.-F. B. M. de Waal, "The Integration of Dominance and Social Bonding in Primates" Teasing is paradoxical. Teasing criticizes yet compliments, attacks yet makes people closer, humiliates yet expresses affection. In teasing, people intentionally embarrass and shame each other (Keltner & Buswell, 1996; Miller, 1992), yet people go to great lengths to avoid these emotions (e.g., B. R. Brown, 1970). The paradoxical nature of teasing is evident in its etymol

Researchers have developed scales to measure religious coping among Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Hindus. However, there is no quantitative measure of religious coping for Buddhists. The present study describes the development and initial validation of a scale of Buddhist coping (BCOPE). Eight hundred sixty participants in the United States completed the BCOPE along with demographic information and scales of adjustment to stress. Construct validity of the BCOPE is demonstrated through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, which reveals 14 types of Buddhist coping. BCOPE subscales exhibited criterion validity through significant correlations with outcome measures. The BCOPE has incremental validity, predicting adjustment over and above demographic and global religious measures. The research and practical implications of the BCOPE are discussed.

No abstract

Objective: This investigation was designed to examine whether: (i) individuals could successfully lose 5% of their body weight with minimal assistance, (ii) weight loss would be improved by the addition of therapist assistance, and (iii) individuals unsuccessful at losing 5% total body weight during the minimal assistance phase (with or without therapist assistance) would benefit from a weekly weight loss group. Methods and Procedures: Fifty-four overweight or obese adults (BMI > 27 kg/m 2 ) initially participated in a 14-week self-help (SH) or therapist-assisted SH (TASH) weight loss program. Participants who were unsuccessful at losing 5% total body weight were stepped-up to a 3-month, group-based behavioral weight loss program (BWLP) with weekly weigh-ins. Results: Although ~60% of the participants were successful at losing 5% of their total body weight (lb) during the minimal assistance phase (M = 10.6; s.d. = 11.5; P < 0.01), treatment outcome was not improved by the addition of therapist assistance. For individuals who were unsuccessful at losing 5% of total body weight during a minimal assistance phase, the addition of a group-based BWLP did not improve their weight loss. Discussion: While many individuals were quite successful at losing weight with minimal assistance, other individuals evidenced difficulties losing weight, even when participating in a greater intensity intervention (i.e., BWLP group). In a stepped-care approach to weight loss, when a minimally intensive treatment (e.g., self-help (SH)) does not result in clinically meaningful weight loss, then a more intensive treatment (e.g., behavioral weight loss program (BWLP)) is implemented (1,2). Although minimally intensive weight loss programs have shown promise (3), weight loss outcomes are often modest (4). In addition, evidence for improved treatment outcomes with increased professional contact has been equivocal (3). In contrast, moderately intensive approaches (e.g., BWLPs) have been quite successful in promoting short-term weight loss (5).In this investigation, participants were initially randomized to a minimally intensive SH or therapist-assisted SH (TASH) weight loss program (minimal assistance phase). Participants unable to achieve a 5% weight loss during the minimal assistance phase were stepped-up to a group-based BWLP (BWLP group phase). This investigation examined whether: (i) individuals could successfully lose 5% of their body weight with minimal assistance, (ii) weight loss was improved with therapist assistance, and (iii) individuals unsuccessful at losing 5% total body weight during the minimal assistance phase would lose significantly more weight during the BWLP group phase. Methods ParticipantsA total of 172 individuals inquired about taking part in a weight loss intervention that was advertised in local and regional newspapers. Of the 76 (44.2%) eligible participants, 54 (71.1%) chose to participate. Participants were included if they were (i) overweight/obese (BMI ≥ 27 kg/m 2 ), (ii) nonsmokers; and excluded if they had (i...

No abstract