The Ways of ‘Being’ and ‘Becoming’ Human

We argue that developing integrative models of psychological phenomenon require dealing simultaneously with information-theoretic and meaning making processes at the individual and group levels. Attempts to fuse these across levels based on intentionality become difficult because phenomena at the lower level organisms are conceptualized employing concrete systems language, while in case of human and social systems both concrete and abstracted systems concepts are used. Intentionality also needs to be looked at as arising out of the processes of both being and becoming. Fusing of psycho-and socio-logics necessarily requires taking into consideration psychological processes and notions of intentionality and future within cultural contexts in a more holistic manner. It is also argued that both at personal and collective levels, human intentionality operate as bounded intentionality alternating between states of being and becoming.     

Towards a critical psychology of human–animal relations

This article argues that critical psychological engagement with the field of human–animal relations is largely absent, but of potential significance, and begins to outline more concretely what such a perspective might contribute, especially as a form of social psychology. The article provides a brief overview of the emerging psychology of human–animal relations and the extent to which it emphasises situated human–animal interactions in real‐world settings, including from the standpoint of animal participants. Recent elaborations of the “animal turn” outside of the discipline of psychology are considered, as they place fresh emphasis on human–animal interaction and interdependence and might further extend the boundaries of what counts as relations that matter in critical and social psychology. These foundations are argued to offer an invitation to critical psychology to engage more fully in the study of human–animal relations and enliven it as a result.     

When ignorance is adaptive: Not knowing about the nuclear threat

The objective of this article is to examine the nature of individual and social responses to the nuclear threat from psychological and sociological perspectives on ignorance. It is argued that a constructed and managed ignorance concerning the nuclear threat serves many functions, structuring an individual and social reality which is reassuring, meaningful, and both individually and collectively self-serving. A sociology of ignorance framework is employed to articulate the possible benefits of “not knowing about” and collaboratively “not dealing with” the nuclear threat, as well as to define the longer-term costs of ignoring this threat. The distinctive roles played by various kinds of ignorance regarding this important issue are investigated, and the conventional wisdom that knowledge of the consequences of a nuclear war is the only way to prevent its occurrence is challenged. Yes, he must grasp with his mind the instant-by-instant, inevitable total destruction and prepare for the carnage of an uncertain future Y. Mishima, Sea of Fertility Joseph P. Reser is a senior lecturer in psychology at James Cook University of North Queensland, Australia, with research interests in a number of applied social psychology areas. Michael J. Smithson is a senior lecturer in sociology, in the behavioral sciences department at James Cook University. His current research interests include the study of ignorance.     

Language and identity among British South Asians: A theoretical review

Given the pervasiveness of language in social life and the implications that language use can have for one’s individual and collective identities, attempts were made to explore the theoretical and empirical advantages in connecting social psychological theories of identity and sociological/sociolinguistic approaches to language use and language choices in order to make sense of language and identity among second-generation British Asians. The current theoretical essay features a brief overview of the sociology of British Asians in the United Kingdom and a detailed consideration of dominant theories of identity in social psychology, namely, Social Identity Theory Tajfel (1982), Self-Aspects Model of Identity (Simon 2004) and Identity Process Theory (Breakwell 1986). It is considered that the latter two theories lend themselves readily to the study of language and identity. The present essay considers the substantive literature on language and identity and deconstructs notions such as ‘mother tongue’ in an attempt to demonstrate the constructedness of such terminology. It is argued that a social psychological approach to questions of language and identity among British South Asians is a valid one and that a qualitative methodological approach is particularly well-suited to the area under investigation.     

心理咨询问题的三层面分类

对心理咨询面对的来访者问题从社会学、心理学和医学三个层面进行初步界定与分类,形成一个心理咨询问题的三层面分类系统。三层面分类系统包括三个层面三个等级,为来访者问题的可能原因提供多维的思考角度。重点探讨了社会层面分类,根据社会生活事件性质及其与当事人的关系分为五个方面。     

多重整合的社会心理服务体系：政策逻辑、建构策略与基本内核

根据社会心理服务体系建设提出的政策逻辑, 分析了社会心理服务体系建设的目标、服务对象和服务内容等。社会心理服务体系建构的策略应该采取研究视角、学科体系和研究取向等的多重整合, 包括个体、情境和社会视角的整合, 基础学科和应用学科的整合, 学术研究和社会实践的整合。社会心理学是社会心理服务体系的核心, 整合心理学的社会心理学和社会学的社会心理学才能更好地理解社会治理的机制和过程。社会心理服务体系建设是在建构影响社会发展的心理环境。社会心理服务体系的建构需要社会发展的视角, 应该探索社会发展心理学的路径来承担整合学科体系和社会治理实践的任务。     

The role of representative design in an ecological approach to cognition

Egon Brunswik argued that psychological processes are adapted to environmental properties. He proposed the method of representative design to capture these processes and advocated that psychology be a science of organism-environment relations. Representative design involves randomly sampling stimuli from the environment or creating stimuli in which environmental properties are preserved. This departs from systematic design. The authors review the development of representative design, examine its use in judgment and decision-making research, and demonstrate the effect of design on research findings. They suggest that some of the practical difficulties associated with representative design may be overcome with modern technologies. The importance of representative design in psychology and the implications of this method for ecological approaches to cognition are discussed.     

Reconnecting the individual and the social in health psychology

Abstract

Much social psychological research has sought to distinguish itself from more ‘individualistic’ approaches to human cognition and personality. Much of this debate fails to take account of the interactions between social and intrapsychic processes which, it is argued, are vital to the formulation of unifying theoretical principles and to practical applications in the field of health psychology. A general theoretical perspective is outlined, based on notions of connectionist systems operating at both the individual and interpersonal level. A special feature is the assumption that we depend on communication with and from other people to attribute reality to our interpretations of events. The benefits of this perspective for health psychology are then illustrated in the contexts of attitude-behaviour relations, appraisals of risk and uncertainty, person-situation interactions, and group processes and social influence.     

Is multicultural psychology a-scientific?: diverse methods for diversity research

This article asks, and answers three separate questions: What is multicultural psychology? What is psychological science? Are multicultural psychology and (empirical/positivist) psychological science incompatible? A brief overview of the history of science is provided emphasizing the emancipatory impulses behind a modernist, empirical, positivist approach to science. It is argued that such an approach is not incompatible with multicultural psychology. The author concludes that multicultural psychological will be strengthened if psychologists draw upon both qualitative and quantitative methods, including those that come from a positivist tradition, when investigating psychological and social issues as they affect diverse populations.     

Colonial mentality: a review and recommendation for Filipino American psychology

Colonial mentality is a term used widely by ethnic studies scholars and by the Filipino American community to refer to a form of internalized oppression among Filipinos and Filipino Americans. The authors propose that colonial mentality is a construct that is central to the understanding of the psychology of contemporary Filipino Americans. Drawing on larger scholarship from postcolonial studies and psychological research on oppression, the authors review the historical and sociological contexts in which to understand the significance of the colonial mentality concept for the Filipino American population. The authors also review the existing literature on colonial mentality and provide specific recommendations for incorporating this construct into research and practice with Filipino Americans. It is argued, through this illustrative example of colonial mentality among Filipino Americans, that examining the psychological impact of colonialism is a way to incorporate larger historical and sociological contextual variables into ethnic minority research and practice.     

中国社会转型过程中的心理变化：社会学视角的研究及其对心理学家的启示

社会心理学有着社会学和心理学两种取向。虽然多数时候相对独立发展, 但两者都对现代化带来的社会转型和变迁非常关注。社会学家从社会或社会结构的变化和人的变化两个方面对社会转型进行了大量研究, 前者主要涉及城市(镇)化、社会阶层、社会流动性、家庭结构等, 后者主要涉及中国体验、社会心态、群体心理、组织心理等。总体上, 现有研究显示, 现代社会个体主义上升, 同时许多传统集体主义价值在日渐式微。和心理学取向的研究相比, 社会学取向的研究具有这些特点：倾向于采用本位概念、质性研究方法, 特别关注中观群体心理, 关注政治和政策影响, 更具历史宏观视野等, 这些都是心理学取向的社会心理学家需要学习和借鉴的地方。期待两种取向的社会心理学家在未来的研究中能有更多的合作, 共同促进对转型过程中的中国和中国人的理解。     

Struggles for order and control of school behaviour: a sketch for a social psychology

Behaviour management is acknowledged as a leading psychological method to reduce classroom conflict by applying ‘rational choice’ techniques. But it falls short in schools where poor academic results are reproduced, as is illustrated in an analysis of misbehaviour in an Australian rural school. It is argued that explanations of behaviour management are over psychologised. That is, rather than being of assistance, the approach can generate out-of-reach and unworkable strategies, and place the staff in indecisive positions not open to rational choice explanations. Rather, in considering misbehaviour, it is argued that three factors need to be considered: how classroom interaction is ordered, the institutional effects of disengagement from learning, and a resulting struggle between a school’s official order and the student expressive order. This paper illustrates how relations between these orders determine the social form a school operates from, and towards which changes should be directed. A social psychology is sketched around these points and considered according to Durkheim’s criteria for social facts.     

Wundt,Völkerpsychologie,and experimental social psychology

Wilhelm Wundt distinguished between "experimental psychology" and Volkerpsychologie. It is often claimed that Wundt maintained that social psychological phenomena, the subject matter of V?lkerpsychologie, could not be investigated experimentally but must be explored via comparative-historical methods. In this article it is argued that it is doubtful if many of the passages usually cited as evidence that Wundt held such a view actually such such a view. It is also argued that if Wundt did hold such a view, it was inconsistent with his own general theoretical position and methodological practice. It is suggested that it is anachronistic to attribute such a view to Wundt, because he appears to have had little interest in the experimental analysis of the synchronic social dynamics of psychological processes. Most of Wundt's arguments about the inappropriateness of experimentation were directed against the introspective analysis of diachronic historical processes.     

Facts and meaning: An examination of their role in psychological research from a phenomenological perspective

It is argued that mainstream psychological research has prioritized observable facts over meaning. The theoretical foundation in psychology, according to mainstream psychology, is such that meaningful experience is considered to be less primordial than natural scientific constructions about the world. The methodological procedure of mainstream psychology entails a prioritization of facts over meaning. However, in this article it is argued that subjective meaning is already in play in psychological discussions of "facts".
An epistemological examination of the notions of "facts" and "meaning" from a phenomenological perspective leads to a prioritization of meaning over facts. Implications of such an analysis for psychological research are discussed. One implication is that psychological research must give up its aim to establish causa! laws. A phenomenological approach to studies of meaning is presented.     

A psychological model of social control and stigmatization: evolutionary background and practical implications

The strengths and limitations of three main theoretical approaches to social control and stigmatization are discussed, originating from social psychology, sociology and anthropology, and evolutionary psychology, respectively. A theoretical model is proposed that integrates universal (evolutionary derived) psychological aspects of social control and the great variation that can be observed in responding to deviance within and between cultures and historical periods. Practical implications of the model are discussed.     

Oral Health-Quality of Life Predictors Depend on Population

In the framework of the development and evaluation of oral health interventions that take into account people’s oral health-related quality of life (OH-QoL), it is important to know what determinants and effects of OH-QoL are. Because the processes involved in the experience of OH-QoL may differ for different populations, this study mapped the relations of general health perception, social factors, dental anxiety and oral hygiene behavior on the one hand with OH-QoL on the other hand, in two different samples that mainly differed on the experience they had with dental care and dental pathology: In 112 patients of the Center for Dentistry and Oral Hygiene and in 339 first year psychology students. The relations of three of the four variables with OH-QoL differed in both samples. Although not all relations could be interpreted unequivocally in this cross-sectional design, the data illustrate that the main difference between both samples (i.e., patients indicated for oral treatment versus students outside treatment) influenced the psychological processes involved in OH-QoL. This implicates that oral health interventions directed at increasing OH-QoL may have to be adapted to populations.     

Functions of knowledge in psychology

It is suggested that psychological knowledge serves three functions according to which subsystems of psychology can be derived: SCIENTIA provides an analytic account of parts of psychological objects or events, and is nourished by an implicit utopia to produce “better” and cumulative knowledge; CULTURA produces psychological meanings for individuals, communities, and cultures, and is nourished by an implicit utopia to improve the human condition; and CRITICA involves the deconstruction, reconstruction, and construction of psychological knowledge, and is nourished by a utopia to change psychological knowledge practices. It is argued, from a historical and theoretical point of view, that the proposed system can be used as a heuristic tool for understanding psychology’s complexity. Consequences for accepting or rejecting an equilibrium among the different knowledge functions are discussed.     

西方积极心理学运动是一场心理学革命吗？

积极心理学是20世纪末兴起于美国的一股重要心理学力量,也是当今心理学舞台上比较活跃的一个领域,对于它的出现,有人认为这是一场心理学革命或心理学研究范式的转变。该文仔细分析了积极心理学与传统主流心理学、人本主义心理学的关系,并对心理学发展中的革命性和非革命性变化的特点做了概括,最终得出结论：积极心理学从目前来看不是心理学发展史上的一场革命,其本身并不存在研究范式上的根本转变     

The institutionalization of sociological paradigms: Three examples from early French sociology

Utilizing a model of sociological paradigms which encompasses the cogency of sociological theories, their congruence with their cultural milieu and their reinforcement through institutionalization, this paper examines three interpretations of sociology which competed for recognition in France at the end of the nineteenth century. René Worms created institutions for the new field of new field of sociology, but did not possess a viable sociological theory with which to make these institutions effective in advancing the discipline. Gabriel Tarde possessed a sociological theory and opportunities to institutionalize it, but failed to do so because of a pre-modern attitude toward science. Only Emile Durkheim was able to successfully institutionalize his conception of sociology through his teaching career and his journal, L'Année sociologique.     

But is it sociology of knowledge? Wilhelm Jerusalem’s “sociology of cognition” in context

This paper considers the charge that??contrary to the current widespread assumption accompanying the near-universal neglect of his work??Wilhelm Jerusalem (1854?C1923) cannot count as one of the founders of the sociology of (scientific) knowledge. In order to elucidate the matter, Jerusalem??s ??sociology of cognition?? is here reconstructed in the context of his own work in psychology and philosophy as well as in the context of the work of some predecessors and contemporaries. It is argued that while it shows clear discontinuities with the present-day understanding of the sociology of (scientific) knowledge, Jerusalem??s sociology of cognition was not only distinctive in its own day but also anticipated in nuce a much-discussed theme in current history of science.