Intimacy, concreteness, and the "self-reference effect"

Reference to oneself during incidental learning of words frequently results in better recall performance than reference to other persons. However, this effect occurs under different conditions with differing strength, and sometimes it is even reversed. Meta-analyses and further experimental studies suggest that increased recall performance under a self-referential encoding task occurs only if it is compared with a nonintimate other person and if abstract material is presented, irrespective of the type of previously presented words (adjectives or nouns). In the current paper, two experiments are reported which support the assumption that this intimacy effect on memory only occurs if no pictorial or concrete features of the material (nouns) to be learned can be exploited for an improvement in encoding or remembering the material. All results agree with predicted effect sizes, which were drawn from a meta-analysis and subsequently conducted experimental studies. This suggests that a recall advantage of referring to oneself compared to other persons is subordinate to the effects of concreteness or imageability. Moreover, the current results offer a theoretical explanation of some previously reported but nevertheless puzzling results from imagery instructions, which indicate decreased recall performance for self-reference compared to other-reference.     

When the "I" looks at the "Me": autobiographical memory, visual perspective, and the self

This article presents a theoretical model of the self processes involved in autobiographical memories and proposes competing hypotheses for the role of visual perspective in autobiographical memory retrieval. Autobiographical memories can be retrieved from either the 1st person perspective, in which individuals see the event through their own eyes, or from the 3rd person perspective, in which individuals see themselves and the event from the perspective of an external observer. A growing body of research suggests that the visual perspective from which a memory is retrieved has important implications for a person’s thoughts, feelings, and goals, and is integrally related to a host of self-evaluative processes. We review the relevant research literature, present our theoretical model, and outline directions for future research.     

Fine-Tuning, Multiple Universes, and the "This Universe" Objection

Abstract: When it is suggested that the fine-tuning of the universe for life provides evidence for a cosmic designer, the multiple-universe hypothesis is often presented as an alternative. Some philosophers object that the multiple-universe hypothesis fails to explain why this universe is fine-tuned for life. We suggest the "This Universe" objection is no better than the "This Planet" objection. We also fault proponents of the "This Universe" objection for presupposing that we could not have existed in any other universe and that the values of the free parameters of the Universe could have been different. Lastly, we reflect on why fine-tuning for life needs explaining     

Stressful life events, bipolar disorder, and the "kindling model"

A common misconception is that bipolar disorder is an endogenous process. However, previous research suggests a role for life events in the onset of and recovery from bipolar episodes. Yet, there remains some question as to whether the relationship between life events and onset changes over the course of the disorder as a result of the number of episodes an individual has experienced. Using a rigorous interview measure of stressful life events, the current study tested the kindling model (R. M. Post, 1992), which theorizes that major life events play a diminishing role over the course of illness in bipolar patients. Analyses revealed that the number of episodes experienced does not appear to have a significant effect on bipolar 1 patients' reactivity to external stressors. In addition, the results suggest that a more complex relationship exists among age, stress, and onset of new episodes than can be adequately explained by the kindling model.     

"A coherent datum of perception": Gordon Allport, Floyd Allport, and the politics of "personality"

This paper examines Floyd and Gordon Allport's early work on "personality" psychology. In the early 1920s, personality was an unorthodox topic, and for the Allports it initially served as an intellectual and personal bond. Floyd proposed the subject to his brother as a dissertation topic, and the two worked closely on developing personality tests. By 1924, however, "personality" had become the site of a dispute between the two brothers over the intellectual and methodological character of American psychology. The present study examines the origins of this dispute, while gauging the personal and professional ramifications of the dispute. On a larger level, this essay explores the role and meaning of "personality" in the academic culture of 1920s America.     

基督宗教、马克思主义和"历史终结"--以解放神学为例串起的历史分析

本文以解放神学为例考察了基督宗教与马克思主义的内在关联性,对中国基督宗教的处境化作了初步的分析。     

Interactive measurement, idiothetic inquiry, and the challenge to conventional "nomotheticism"

Paunonen and Jackson (this issue) have commented critically on certain technical features of the idiothetic framework for personality research proposed by Lamiell (1981, 1982) In the present article, we offer our own views on each of the three major issues raised by Paunonen and Jackson, and in so doing seek to explain why we take their arguments to be adequate neither as a critique of the idiothetic approach nor as a defense of traditional “nomotheticism”