The chain-store paradox revisited

The rationality of predatory practices has been extensively debated among economists and lawyers. Selten (1978) considered a fictitious chain-store confronted with potential entrances of local competitors. In his formal analysis via an extensive game with complete and perfect information predatory behavior is precluded by the unique sequential (and perfect) equilibrium. Kreps and Wilson (1982b) and Milgrom and Roberts (1982) established in modified models with incomplete information that predation against early entrants may be rational since it creates a reputation to the effect that later potential entrants are deterred. The present paper offers a modification of Selten's model with complete but imperfect information which renders possible reputation and deterrence.     

Trends in Premarital Counseling*

Recent developments and current problems in the field of premarital counseling are discussed. Particular attention is given to the need for better training of premarital counselors and for more systematic evaluation of the impact of premarital counseling strategies.     

Book reviews

Nurturing nature and the nature of science: Toward transcendence

As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who was Raised as a Girl. By John Colapinto. New York: HarperCollins, 2000, 288 pages. Cloth, $26.00.

The pedagogical value of as nature made him: The boy who was raised as a girl

As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who was Raised as a Girl. By John Colapinto. New York: HarperCollins, 2000, 288 pages. Cloth, $26.00.

What Americans Learned About Sex

Teaching America About Sex: Marriage Guides and Sex Manuals from the Late Victorians to Dr. Ruth. By M. E. Melody and Linda M. Peterson. New York: New York University Press, 1999, 304 pages. Cloth, $28.95.

Teen romance under the microscope

The Development of Romantic Relationships in Adolescence. Edited by Wyndol Furman, B. Bradford Brown, and Candice Feiring. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999, 443 pages. Cloth, $49.95.

All hail the penis

Phallacies [Video]. Directed and produced by Vishnu Mathur. 2000. Available from Bullfrog Films, P. O. Box 149, Oley, PA 19547, www.bullfrogfilms.com. VHS, $250.     

Psychiatric Impact of Gender-Related Abuse Across the Life Course of Male-to-Female Transgender Persons

The psychiatric impact of interpersonal abuse associated with an atypical presentation of gender was examined across the life course of 571 male-to-female (MTF) transgender persons from the New York City Metropolitan Area. Gender-related abuse (psychological and physical), suicidality, and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text revision) major depression were retrospectively measured across five stages of the life course using the Life Chart Interview. Among younger respondents (current age of 19–39), the impact of both types of abuse on major depression was extremely strong during adolescence and then markedly declined during later stages of life. Among older respondents (current age of 40–59), the impact of both types of abuse on major depression was strong during adolescence and then marginally declined during later stages of life. The effects of both types of abuse on suicidality were weaker but more consistently observed across the life course among both the younger and older respondents. Gender-related abuse is a major mental health problem among MTF transgender persons, particularly during adolescence. As these individuals mature, however, the consequences of this abuse appear less severe, which may represent the development of moderately effective mechanisms for coping with this abuse.     

The Portuguese Republic

The findings and recommendations of researchers and specialists in thinking-skill learning and teaching have important implications for classroom efforts to improve student thinking. This summary identifies various types of thinking skills and skill components recommended for classroom instruction. The author describes and cites research-derived features of effective, direct instruction in thinking skills and describes a framework for this instruction. He also describes researcherand specialist-recommended teaching techniques and lesson strategies for introducing any thinking skill, guiding continuing skill practice, and teaching students to transfer thinking skills to other contexts. He presents researcher recommendations of when, where, and why such direct skill instruction can be effectively provided. The research cited here suggests both students' academic achievement and their quality of thinking can be improved by using these techniques and strategies to teach thinking skills in subject-matter courses.     

Multi-profile intergenerational social choice

In an infinite-horizon setting, Ferejohn and Page showed that any social welfare function satisfying Arrow’s axioms and stationarity must be a dictatorship of the first generation. Packel strengthened this result by proving that no collective choice rule generating complete social preferences can satisfy unlimited domain, weak Pareto and stationarity. We prove that this impossibility survives under a domain restriction and without completeness. We propose an alternative stationarity axiom and show that a social welfare function on a specific domain satisfies this modified version and some standard social choice axioms if and only if it is a chronological dictatorship.