The development of national in‐group bias: English children's attributions of characteristics to English,American and German people

This study investigated the development of national in‐group bias in 5–11‐year‐old children. Three hundred and seven English children were asked to attribute characteristics to their own national group either on its own or in conjunction with attributing characteristics to one of two national out‐groups, either Americans or Germans. The importance which the children ascribed to their own national identity in relationship to their other social identities was also assessed. It was found that, with increasing age, there was an increase in the number of negative characteristics attributed to the national in‐group, and an increase in the number of positive characteristics attributed to the two out‐groups, the net result being an overall reduction in in‐group bias across this age range. However, in‐group favouritism was still exhibited at all ages. Greater importance was attributed to national identity with increasing age. However, the characteristics attributed to the English in‐group did not vary as a function of the comparative out‐group which was present while the attributions were being made. The presence of a comparative out‐group also did not affect the importance that was ascribed to the national identity. These findings suggest that children are relatively insensitive to the prevailing comparative context when making judgments about national groups.     

两颗伟大心灵的相互碰撞——纳粹专制前雅斯贝尔斯与海德格尔之间的交往

该文所论述的是上世纪20年代至30年代初期纳粹执政前的雅斯贝尔斯和海德格尔这两位德国哲学大师之间的交往活动。对从他们的初识,到组成要革新学院哲学的“战斗集体”,他们各自对对方著作的评价,直至在交往中出现的一些不和谐因素等,进行了钩沉,并作了系统的梳理。从中可以看出他们之间的交往对各自哲学思想的形成和发展所产生的影响。     

National psychology, national socialism, and analytical psychology: reflections on Jung and anti-semitism. Part II.

The paper is a critical study of the intellectual relations of analytical psychology and national socialism. I try to show that it was Jung's attempt to establish a psychology of nations that brought him into the same frame as Nazi anti-semitic ideology. In addition, Jung was absorbed by the question of leadership, also a pressing issue during the 1930s. Exploring these ideas as thoroughly as possible leads to a kind of reparation, for I think that post-Jungians do have reparation to make. Then it is possible to revalue Jung's overall project in more positive terms. By coupling a less simplistic methodology and a more sensitive set of values to Jung's basic intuitions about the importance of a psychology of cultural difference, analytical psychology has something to offer a depth psychology that is concerned with processes of political and social transformation.     

Experiences and perspectives of African American, Latina/o, Asian American, and European American psychology graduate students: A national study

A national, Web-based survey of 1,219 African American, Latina/o, Asian American, and European American psychology graduate students revealed both similarities and differences in experiences and perspectives. Mentoring was found to be the strongest predictor of satisfaction across groups. Academic supports and barriers, along with perceptions of diversity within the academic environment, were also important predictors of satisfaction. Students of color perceived less fairness of representation of their ethnic group within psychology than European American students, and a greater linkage between aspects of the graduate school experience and their ethnicity. Limitations of the study and implications for future research and action are discussed.     

Beyond satisfaction: Desire, consumption, and the future of socialism

Anti-capitalist thinkers in the West have long argued that the expansion of markets creates new wants faster than it can satisfy them, and that consumption under capitalism is a form of addictive behavior. Recently, however, the relentless expansion of desire has come to be seen as a strength rather than a weakness of capitalist regimes. To understand this change socialists must consider whether there is a point to consumer spending that goes beyond satisfaction with what one gets. Freud's notion of instinctual ambivalence illuminates the ways in which spending itself is a fusion of the desires to lose and to gain. This helps to explain how the socialist distinction between satisfying and addictive consumption misses the mark. Broadening this insight, we can see that Western thought about justice, originating in Judeo-Christian theology, conceals a fundamental ambivalence about both domination and gain by suggesting that inequality (beginning with that between God and man) is justified when the dominating party loses and the gainer submits. Ironically, however, the new post-utilitarian rationale for capitalism undermines this putative justification of social inequality in consumer-oriented capitalist societies by bringing our internal ambivalence about gain and dominance to the surface. This development creates an opportunity for a new beginning in Marxian social theory. The final sections of the essay suggest that social theory has been trapped in a debate over whether predators (and their human counterparts) kill in order to eat or eat in order to kill (Marx vs. Nietzsche). To break this trap we must shift the basis of social criticism from the metaphor of predation to the metaphor of parasitism. This changes the focus of critical analysis from unmasking the predator in every situation to identifying in every social structure the mechanisms of incorporation, mutual subversion, asymmetrical exchange, and surplus-creation (as distinct from equilibrium). If neither the desire for gain nor the desire for dominance are self-explanatory, then the Marxian critique of Nietzsche and the Nietzschean critique of Marxism both have valid points. The essay concludes with reflections about the importance of addressing the post-utilitarian rationale of capitalism with the same depth and comprehensiveness that we find in Marx's critique of its utilitarian rationale.Earlier versions of this paper were delivered at a conference in memory of Prof. Gregory Vlastos, Berkeley, California (May 1–3, 1992), Jawaharlal Nehru University (November 18, 1992), Stanford University (February 26, 1993), the Western Political Science Association (March 19, 1993), the Cultural Studies Colloquium, UC Stanta Cruz (April 26, 1993), the Centre for Basic Research, Kampala, Uganda (July 28, 1993), and the Conference on Identity, Modernity and Politics, SOAS, The University of London (September 14–15, 1994). I am grateful to A. Rai, R. Bhargava, J. Seery, M. Tunick, J. O'Connor, M. Mamdani, R. Hawkinson, T. Strong, P. Euben, R. Inden, A. Montefiore, W. Brown, B. Ollman, and P. Ollman for helpful comments on particular drafts. Throughout the gestation of this paper I have been deeply indebted to M. Cunningham for his role as a developmental irritant, and to N. O. Brown for pushing me to extremes. Were it not for them this paper would have turned out differently.     

Black, Hispanic, and White American mothers of adolescents: construction of a national standard

Black, Hispanic, and White American mothers (n = 739) and adolescents (n = 806) completed the Parent Success Indicator to rate maternal performance on subscales of Communication, Use of Time, Teaching, Frustration, Satisfaction, and Information Needs. A weighted method corresponding to ethnic proportions in the American population was applied to construct a national standard for comparative reference. In general, both generations perceived mother performance as favorable. Teaching received the highest rating followed by Satisfaction levels. Mothers felt that Information Needs were their greatest limitation while adolescents reported that their mothers were prone to frustration. The amount of time mothers and adolescents spent together was the most significant independent variable influencing parent performance. Other variables such as income and marital status had limited impact.     

On the alleged connection between Moral Evil and human freedom: Response to Nagasawa and Trakakis

In this essay, I respond to two criticisms of my essay, ‘On the Alleged Connection between Moral Evil and Human Freedom’. According to Yujin Nagasawa, I equivocate on the meaning of ‘moral evil.’ I respond by offering what I believe to be an unobjectionable stipulative under-standing of what counts as moral evil which is sufficient for my argument. According to Nick Trakakis, I seriously misunderstand the conception of freedom characteristic of free will theodicists. He suggests that my argument presupposes compatibilism. I respond by showing that my argument does not presuppose the denial of the capacity to have done otherwise.     

From disconnection to connection: 'Race', gender and the politics of therapy

Person-centred therapy typically fails to address structural dimensions of inequality such as 'race', gender and class. In this paper, I explore why this is, and what can be done about it - at the levels of theory, practice and the organisation of services. Drawing on person-centred theory and practice, I discuss theoretical and practical resources that can inform a critical therapeutic practice that both attends to the individual and connects with social contexts. Focusing on the intersectionality between gendered and 'raced' positions mobilised within any therapeutic intervention highlights the inevitability of working across various dimensions of structural difference and power. Rather than obscuring these, I illustrate how a direct engagement with them can enhance person centred theory and practice. In particular, I highlight the role of racialised and gendered conditions of worth (Chantler, 2004) together with concepts of minoritisation and intersectionality (Batsleer et al., 2002). I also indicate ways forward for inclusive counselling services.     

Factors Affecting the Use of Dimensional Prepositions in German and American English: Object Orientation, Social Context, and Prepositional Pattern

Spatial language and the use of spatial prepositions has recently been intensively investigated. We add two novel aspects to the question of which frame of reference, i.e., the deictic or the intrinsic frame, is used when communicating about dimensional relations between objects. We restrict ourselves to the use of prepositions that refer to the first horizontal axis, i.e., in front of and behind in English, and vor and hinter in German, respectively, and report on a series of 16 experiments on the connection between the use of these prepositions and the indication of particular subspaces adjacent to reference objects in a traffic environment. First, we will show that an interaction between the intrinsic orientation of the reference object, the type of social situation in which spatial communication occurs, and the used language's pattern of prepositional word forms for temporal and spatiodimensional relations contributes to the proper prediction of the use of spatial prepositions. Second, we systematically consider production as well as interpretation of prepositions in two different languages in the same experimental setting, which allows for the estimation of communicative success. Here, it turns out that in German as well as in American English there are conditions in which speakers and listeners either agree or disagree on the chosen frame of reference; however, these conditions are different in the two languages investigated.