COMPLEX IDENTITY: GENES TO GOD

Unraveling the complex notion of “self” and “other” necessitates a layered approach that explores biology, namely genetics; philosophy, namely event phenomenology; and culture, namely religion. This essay examines (1) the latest paradigm shift occurring in the genetic sciences due to the increased knowledge of epigenetic effects on gene expression and how our DNA functions in concert with the cellular apparatus, the body, and the environment; (2) the incorporation of relationality into a philosophical understanding of self; and (3) finally, what religion adds to this exploration of self. Thus, providing a glimpse at how these different approaches to identity help us understand the “self.”     

对8─16岁少年儿童认同从众反应原因的研究

个体从众的原因究竟是什么？根据文献,假设有５种原因,以１００名８～１６岁少年儿童为被试进行测试,反应结果证实了这５种原因。然后,要求上述年龄的４００名被试对有关线段长度的和有关道德判断的从众反应情境、就５项原因作主次排序。结果表明：被试认为从众反应原因的主次顺序依次为“多数人更正确”、“表示归属群体”、“为了表示友好”、“为了免受责难”、“图省事不费心”;同时这种总趋势会因被试的年龄不同和从众情境不同表现出不同特点。     

对8─16岁少年儿童认同从众反应原因的研究

个体从众的原因究竟是什么？根据文献,假设有５种原因,以１００名８～１６岁少年儿童为被试进行测试,反应结果证实了这５种原因。然后,要求上述年龄的４００名被试对有关线段长度的和有关道德判断的从众反应情境、就５项原因作主次排序。结果表明：被试认为从众反应原因的主次顺序依次为“多数人更正确”、“表示归属群体”、“为了表示友好”、“为了免受责难”、“图省事不费心”;同时这种总趋势会因被试的年龄不同和从众情境不同表现出不同特点。     

IDENTITY FORMATION DIFFICULTIES IN IMMIGRANT ADOLESCENTS: THREE CASES FROM GERMANY

Adolescence is a period of instability caused by biological changes and restructuring of the personality. An immigration background renders the process of identity formation even more difficult or fragile, with an additional burden coming from persecution and harassment. Three case studies of mentally disturbed adolescents with different immigration backgrounds illustrate the problems in diagnosis and psychotherapy. All three cases share a common feature—the particular influence of the native country on the psychic disorder of the adolescent, be it a suitable target of narcissistic self-aggrandizement, a reactivated metaphor of the past or a deposited conflict. I point out and discuss the danger of diagnostic colonization and activation of perpetrator-victim constellations—such as the Nazi past in the present. Offering a transcultural transitional space as a container yields a therapeutic approach to the different worlds of these borderland adolescents.     

FROM LABORATORIES TO COLLABORATORIES:

Abstract— This article explores the potential impact of collaboratories on psychology. A collaboratory is a computer-supported system that allows scientists to work with each other, facilities, and databases without regard to geographical location. The impact of collaboratories is discussed in terms of changes in the organization and practice of scientific work as this work moves from physical to virtual settings. Examination of prototype collaboratories in the physical sciences shows that use of collaboratotries produces changes through improved access to scarce resources, support for joint work among distant colleagues, and opportunities for broader participation in research by students. Similar results in psychology are predicted if psychologists exploit collaboratories' capabilities to design new ways of conducting research, rather than adopting collaboratory technology as an extension of the status quo.     

USING A BLOCKED-TRIALS PROCEDURE TO TEACH IDENTITY MATCHING TO A CHILD WITH AUTISM

Children with autism may struggle in developing conditional discrimination repertoires. Saunders and Spradlin (1989 , 1990 , 1993 ) arranged “blocked” teaching trials in which they presented the same sample stimulus repeatedly across trials (in lieu of randomly alternating targets across trials) and then faded the number of trials in each block. We replicated the effects of this blocked‐trials procedure in teaching identity matching to a child with autism and evaluated the necessity of fading. Arranging blocked trials facilitated the acquisition of identity matching, but fading the block size was not necessary to maintain discriminated performance.     

APPLICANT REACTIONS TO THE INITIAL EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW: EXPLORING THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES

Prior studies of the simultaneous effects of recruiting practices and job attributes on applicant reactions to the initial employment interview offered consistent support for a job attributes effect, but limited support for a recruiting practices effect. The present study, using a preinterview-postinterview design, found that recruiting practices significantly affected all measures of student applicants' reactions to campus interviews. Recruiters had a greater effect on perceptions of the job itself than on perceptions of other job attributes. However, likelihood of job acceptance–the applicant reaction that was conceptually closest to job choice–was still mostly unaffected by recruiting practices. Further research examining the effect of recruiting practices on applicant responses throughout the recruitment process is recommended.     

RELIGION AND SCIENCE THROUGH THE AGES: RESPONSE TO MARANGUDAKIS

Abstract This paper is in response to an article by Professor Marangudakis in Zygon in which he presented a “grand narrative” that predicted the coming of a new “axial age” (Marangudakis, 2012). In his article, Marangudakis criticized parts of my article in Zygon, “Athens, Jerusalem and the Arrival of Techno‐Secularism” (Caiazza, 2005). Two issues separate us: first, whether the Athens/Jerusalem dilemma can or should be overcome in a new axial age, and second, how benign future technological developments will be. Marangudakis thinks that the Athens/Jerusalem dichotomy will be overcome, whereas I think that the dichotomy should and will persist in future ages. I am suspicious of the future effects of current technologies, since they give political elites increased control over the individual, while Marangudakis generally applauds the new technologies (especially biotechnology). The Athens/Jerusalem dichotomy arises as an inevitable part of monotheistic religious belief.     

FREUD'S LETTERS TO FLIESS: FROM SEDUCTION TO SEXUAL BIOLOGY, FROM PSYCHOPATHOLOGY TO A CLINICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

The author describes the development of Freud's theory of neurosis from 1892 onwards, starting with his distinction between the actual neuroses and the psychoneuroses and his discovery of a specific, sexual aetiology for both, until which point it remained limited to pathology. The problem of the aetiology of perversion, however, confronted him with a paradox within the theory of seduction: how can an infantile sexual pleasure produce unpleasure when it is remembered at the time of puberty? This problem could not be solved within the framework of the seduction theory because the asexuality of childhood was essential to this theory. For an answer Freud had to turn to biology. He considered that the transformation of an infantile pleasure into unpleasure presupposed an organic repression of non‐genital sexual pleasure. This hypothesis of organic repression radically changed the anthropological claim of Freud's theory. As long as he was looking for a specific aetiology of neurosis and perversion, Freud's theory remained restricted to pathology. However, when he introduced infantile sexuality and its organic repression as universal organic processes, the strict distinction between normality and pathology could not be maintained. The author concludes that by turning to sexual biology, Freud transformed psychopathology into a clinical anthropology.     

COSMOLOGY FROM ALPHA TO OMEGA: RESPONSE TO REVIEWS

I gratefully acknowledge and respond here to four reviews of my recent book, Cosmology from Alpha to Omega. Nancey Murphy stresses the importance of showing consistency between Christian theology and natural science through a detailed examination of my recent model of their creative interaction. She suggests how this model can be enhanced by adopting Alasdair MacIntyre's understanding of tradition in order to adjudicate between competing ways of incorporating science into a wider worldview. She urges the inclusion of ethics in my model and predicts that this would successfully challenge the competing naturalist tradition in contemporary society. John F. Haught weighs the alternatives of viewing divine action as objective versus subjective and of divine action at one level in nature or at all levels. He asks whether physics is fundamental to nature, arguing instead that metaphysics should be considered as fundamental. Michael Ruse assesses occasional versus universal divine action, the problems raised to divine action when it is related to quantum mechanics, and the way these relations exacerbate the challenge of natural theodicy. As an alternative he suggests viewing God as outside time and acting through unbroken natural law. Willem B. Drees discusses my use of the bridge metaphor for the relation between theology and science, the implications when science is inspired by theology, the role of contingency and necessity in the anthropic principle/many-worlds debate, and the challenge of cosmology to eschatology with the ensuing problem of theodicy.     

THE DIFFERENTIAL RELATIONSHIP OF FEMINIST ATTITUDES AND FEMINIST IDENTITY TO SELF-EFFICACY

Feminist theorists have suggested that feminism provides a number of benefits for women, particularly regarding self-evaluations. However, most studies have conflated feminist attitudes and feminist identity. The main goal of this study was to assess the differential relationships of feminist attitudes and feminist identity to self-efficacy. Four hundred thirty-five students were surveyed at the beginning and end of their women's and gender studies (WGS) classes. In general, feminist attitudes and feminist identity were related to self-efficacy variables at pretest and to change in these variables over time. Feminist identity partially mediated the relationship between feminist attitudes and self-efficacy. Additionally, the results of this study generally support previous findings regarding the effect of WGS classes on students' feminist attitudes, feminist identity, and self-efficacy. Implications of these findings for the importance of feminist identity are discussed.     

COURTING THERAPY: FROM ADVERSARY TO ALLY

Within the working life of the psychotherapist, court attendance deserves special consideration. Viewed often with trepidation, the therapist is forced to step outside the therapeutic setting and into an exposing, adversarial experience. Court may then be seen as an untimely impediment to the progress of psychotherapy. In other instances the appearance becomes a discrete pursuit, dislocated from the work of psychotherapy proper, transported to the courtroom and subsumed under the ‘opinion of the expert witness’ .

This paper examines what the patient gains if the therapist less readily adopts these common approaches. Using clinical examples, we may learn how aspects of court work can serve the therapeutic process, rather than being detrimental to developments. In doing so, we hope to begin a guide to successful practice.