Preferences for leadership in social dilemmas: Public good dilemmas versus common resource dilemmas

It has been argued that a structural solution to social dilemmas is to install a leader, but here we consider the possibility that group members will oppose giving up their decisional freedom. Previous studies have shown that feedback indicating collective failure results in a stronger preference for the leadership option. We argue that preferences for the leadership option depend not only on the feedback group members receive, but also on the type of dilemma they are facing. The results of our experiment, in which we manipulated dilemma type as well as feedback, corroborate our reasoning. The distribution of initial property in public good and common resource dilemmas helps to explain these findings.     

Wellbeing as a Wicked Problem: Navigating the Arguments for the Role of Government

Governments in a number of countries have shown increasing interest in seeking to elevate happiness or wellbeing as an explicit policy goal. This interest has led to fierce debates both within and, increasingly, beyond academe about the appropriate role for government in this area. It is difficult to adjudicate between the various arguments surrounding the issue as they often take very different starting points, either metatheoretical or disciplinary. In seeking to steer a course through these arguments we take the distinction between ‘wicked’ and ‘tame’ problems as a reference point, arguing that wellbeing should be categorised as the former. The seminal discussion of this distinction (Rittel and Webber in Policy Sci 4:155–169, 1973) resonates sharply with current debates on wellbeing and indeed is located within similar debates in the past. We argue that understanding wellbeing as a wicked problem steers us towards deliberation and scrutiny as central to the agenda and cautions us against expecting to find a panacea. However, this understanding can take us beyond irresolvable disputes by pointing to the need for pragmatic and legitimate government action. In developing our arguments we ground them mainly in relation to empirical research on developments in the UK, where the connection between wellbeing and public policy is seen as relatively advanced. However, we suggest these arguments apply to other contexts where wellbeing is gaining increasing traction as a potential goal of government policy.     

Navigating the Unknown: Towards a Positive Conception of Anonymity

Talk of anonymity floats freely and, in many contexts, rampantly in everyday, nonphilosophical discourse. But despite a surge of interest in anonymity—in anonymity protections, on the one hand, and anonymity harms and abuses, on the other—it is not at all clear what anonymity is. Is it simply a matter of being unknown? Or is anonymity something more, or less, than this? Unfortunately, existing analyses frame anonymity very generally as a phenomenon of unknowability and/or concealment. Consequently, they fail to capture what distinguishes anonymity and anonymity relations from, for example, privacy and privacy relations. In this paper, I explore a more precise way of articulating anonymity, developing what I call the “central anonymity paradigm,” which frames anonymity as the result of a specific exercise of control in which true pieces of information about a person are concealed from others with an effect of dissociability. I use this paradigm to show how anonymity is characteristically interpersonal and network‐relative, and deeply connected to issues of personal identity.     

Moved to tears: Technical considerations and dilemmas encountered in working with a 13-year-old boy with acquired quadriplegia 1

This paper is about therapeutic work with David, a 13-year-old boy who, at the age of 5, was the victim of a hit-and-run road traffic accident resulting in quadriplegia. The circumstances leading to the accident and its sequelae reveal a particularly complex picture, which combines early emotional deprivation and trauma. Although cognitively intact and able to speak, David could not move. Yet he created movement in others through a desperate necessity, by communicating via the employment of extreme projective forces. The highly complex presentation of emotional, psychic and bodily damage in the child, and in particular, David's physical paralysis, has had a profound impact upon what I have come to think of as the ‘mindbody’ of the therapist. Winnicott has talked of the infant's ‘psyche/soma’. Here I want to extend the notion and consider the bodily impact of projections in particular and how these have a powerful emotional and physical resonance on the ‘mindbody’ of the therapist, especially in therapy with a young person whose body is damaged. In this paper, I consider technical challenges and dilemmas encountered in the work, including the complex interplay of transference/countertransference phenomena. This unusual presentation of a boy in extraordinary circumstances led to considerations of psychoanalytic method and interpretative activity, which may be viewed as being inspired by ‘emotional truthfulness’.2 2 Alex Dubinskey (Chair ACP conference 2004) commenting on aspects of this work used the term ‘emotional truthfulness’.

Dans cet article, l'auteur raconte son travail thérapeutique auprès de David, âgé de 13 ans, qui à l'âge de 5 ans fut victime d'un accident de la circulation avec délit de fuite, accident qui le laissa tétraplégique. Les circonstances qui aboutirent à l'accident et à ses séquelles forment un tableau particulièrement complexe mettant en jeu des carences affectives précoces et des traumatismes. Bien que ses capacités cognitives ne fussent nullement atteintes et qu'il fut capable de parler, David ne pouvait pas bouger. Par l'urgence désespérée de son discours, transmise grâce à des projections extrêmement puissantes, il réussissait à susciter du mouvement chez ses interlocuteurs. La présence conjointe et extrêmement complexe de dommages affectifs, psychiques et corporels chez cet enfant – et notamment sa paralysie physique – eut un impact profond sur ce que l'auteur en vient à appeler l'“ esprit-corps ” du psychothérapeute. D. W. Winnicott a parlé du “ psyché-soma ” du jeune enfant. Dans son texte, l'auteur élargit cette notion, notamment pour prendre en considération l'impact corporel des projections, ainsi que leur résonance émotionnelle et physique massive sur l'“ esprit-corps ” du thérapeute, surtout lorsque son patient est une personne jeune dont le corps est endommagé. L'auteur explore les défis et dilemmes techniques rencontrés au cours de son travail, y compris le jeu complexe de phénomènes transférentiels et contre-transférentiels. Ce traitement, inhabituel, avec un garçon dans des circonstances sortant de l'extraordinaire soulève des questions concernant la méthodologie psychanalytique et l'activité interprétative, questions qui peuvent être considérées comme étant inspirées par la “ véracité émotionnelle ”.

Dieser Artikel ist über die therapeutische Arbeit mit David, einem 13-jährigen Jungen, der im Alter von 5 Jahren das Opfer eines Unfalls mit Fahrerflucht war, der zu einer Querschnittslähmung führte. Die Umstände, die zu dem Unfall führten und seine Folgen legen ein besonders komplexes Bild dar, das frühe Vernachlässigung und Trauma kombiniert. Obwohl David kognitiv intakt war und sprechen konnte, konnte er sich nicht bewegen. Doch schaffte er Bewegung aus verzweifelter Notwendigkeit in anderen, indem er mit mithilfe der Benutzung von extremen projektiven Kräften kommunizierte. Die höchst komplexe Präsentation von emotionalem, psychischem und körpelichem Schaden in dem Kind und insbesondere Davids körperliche Lähmung, hatte eine tiefe Auswirkung auf das, was ich nun den ‘mindbody’ (Gemütskörper) des Therapeuten nenne. Winnicott sprach vom Psyche/Soma des Babies. Hier möchte ich diesen Begriff ausweiten und besonders die köperliche Auswirkung der Projektionen betrachten und wie diese eine starke emotionale und physische Resonanz auf den ‘mindbody’ des Therapeutens haben, insbesondere in der Therapie mit einer jungen Person, deren Körper beschädigt ist. In diesem Artikel betrachte ich technische Herausforderungen und Dilemmas, denen man in dieser Arbeit begegnet, einschliesslich der komplexen Wechselwirkung von Übertragungs/ Gegenübertragungsphänomenen. Diese ungewöhnliche Behandlung mit einem Jungen in aussergewöhnlichen Umständen führten zu Überlegungen zur psychoanalytischen Methode undzur Deutungsaktivität, die von ‘emotionaler Wahrheit’ inspiriert wird

Riassunto: In questo articolo si parla del lavoro terapeutico con David, un bambino di 13 anni che, all'età di 5 anni, fu vittima di un incidente stradale che portò alla quadriplegia. Le circostanze che portarono all'incidente e la sua sequela rivelano un quadro particolarmente complesso, nel quale emerge un misto di deprivazione emotiva precoce e trauma. Sebbene David fosse abile cognitivamente e potesse parlare, egli non poteva muoversi. Eppure il bambino generava movimento negli altri attraverso una disperata necessità, comunicando con l'uso di estreme forze proiettive. Il presentarsi di un danno nel bambino altamente complesso nella sua dimensione emotiva, psichica e corporea, ed in particolare, la paralisi fisica di David, hanno avuto un profondo impatto su ciò che ho iniziato a pensare come il ‘corpomente’ del terapeuta. Winnicott ha parlato dello ‘psiche/soma’ del neonato. L'autrice vuole nell'articolo estendere la nozione e considerare l'impatto corporeo delle proiezioni e come queste abbiano una risonanza emotiva e fisica molto forte sul ‘corpomente’ del terapeuta, soprattutto nella terapia con un ragazzo giovane il cui corpo è stato danneggiato. Nell'articolo considero le sfide tecniche e i dilemmi incontrati nel lavoro, compreso il gioco complesso dei fenomeni transferali e controtransferali. Il trattamento insolito con questo bambino in circostanze molto particolari ha portato a considerazioni riguardo al metodo psicoanalitico e all'attività interpretativa, che si possono considerare come ispirati da ‘verità emotiva'¹     

Navigating personal and relational concerns: the quest for equilibrium

The authors' personal-relational equilibrium model suggests that people come to seek equilibrium in their dedication to personal and relational concerns in that these 2 important needs cannot always be gratified simultaneously. The authors proposed that the experience of personal-relational disequilibrium motivates attempts to restore equilibrium and that achieving equilibrium promotes life satisfaction. Four studies revealed good support for the model. In Study 1, a manipulation of anticipated future disequilibrium (vs. equilibrium) as a result of overdedication to either the personal or relational domain caused reduced motivation to address concerns in that domain and increased motivation toward the complementary domain. In Study 2, narratives describing disequilibrium experiences (vs. equilibrium experiences) exhibited increased motivation to restore equilibrium and reduced life satisfaction. In Study 3, diary reports of everyday disequilibrium were associated with increased same-day motivation to restore equilibrium, reduced same-day life satisfaction, and increased next-day dedication of effort to the complementary domain. In Study 4, experiences of disequilibrium predicted reduced well-being 6 months later. Collectively, these findings extend knowledge of how people regulate themselves toward equilibrium in pursuing 2 fundamental human concerns.     

Waiting Well: Tips for Navigating Painful Uncertainty

Waiting for uncertain news can be a source of anxiety and distraction. This paper explores the experience of waiting for news that is both uncertain and unchangeable and provides tips for waiting well under these circumstances. During difficult waiting periods people can mitigate anxiety, reduce disruptive rumination, and minimize later harm by (1) distracting themselves from their uncertainty, (2) managing their expectations, (3) looking for the silver lining in all outcomes, (4) keeping perspective regarding the news, and (5) planning ahead for the objective and psychological consequences of bad news.     

Navigating Moral Struggle: Toward a Social Model of Exemplarity

Exemplars have the power to help people navigate various levels of moral struggle, from the relatively straightforward problem of lacking motivation to the much deeper problem of failing to see the moral realities that surround us. But there are also serious moral risks in the appeal to exemplars: we romanticize them, we make use of them in authoritarian ways, and we tend to forget how our choice of exemplars is conditioned by oppressive cultural formations. I argue that we need to develop a social model of exemplarity, attuned to social contexts of our exemplars themselves as well as the social processes of constructing and appealing to exemplars. More particularly, I argue that we need to develop space for thinking about exemplary groups, not just exemplary individuals, in order to develop the strengths and avoid the weaknesses in exemplarist moral theories.     

Power and clinical psychology: a model for resolving power-related ethical dilemmas

This article considers power in clinical psychology. It is argued that power is present at every level of clinical psychologists' practice and can be used positively and negatively. Drawing on organizational, ethical, psychological, and personal influences, a heuristic problem-solving model for the process of understanding and resolving power-related ethical dilemmas is proposed. It is contended that such a model provides a humane and systematic process of understanding and working through power-related ethical dilemmas. It is argued that resolving power-related ethical issues cannot be achieved through the statement of absolute values but rather requires a process of understanding, action, and review. The model is used to draw out implications for promoting ethical practice and preventing the abuse of power in clinical psychology.     

Navigating the Penumbra: Children and Moral Responsibility

Child moral agency is dismissed in many historical and contemporary accounts based on children's supposed lack or marginal possession of agency-bearing capacities, including reason, deliberation, and judgment, amongst others. Given its prominence in the philosophical canon, I call this the traditional view of child agency. Recent advancements in moral developmental psychology challenge the traditional view, pointing toward the possession of relevant capacities and competencies for moral and responsible agency in early and middle childhood. I argue that both views—traditional and developmental—underdetermine our practices of holding children responsible in our common interactions. For one, we face significant epistemic barriers in accurately assessing children’s agential status qua possession of responsibility-bearing capacities and competencies. Second, overreliance on assessments of individualistic capacities emphasizes an atomistic view of agency at the expense of relational views that are of particular relevance for children as uniquely developing persons. Our practices of holding children responsible and the values that guide these practices in the context of supportive relationships are central to both supporting current and drawing out future responsible agency in childhood and, importantly, provide us with a path to regard children as participants in our moral communities, as opposed to mere agents-in-waiting.     

The nature of psychology: the great dilemmas

Research about the nature of psychology, its subject matter, its level of analysis, its scientific laws, its relationship with other disciplines, and its social relevance has been a matter of great concern and interest during the development of psychology. This problem can be analyzed in terms of the dilemmas of the psychological discipline, which have been choice points, crossroads, alternative decisions that bring psychologists face to face with the following issues: (a) the subject matter of psychology: psyche, mind, or behavior?; (b) the role of scientific methodology: is psychology a natural science, a social/behavioral/human science, or a part of the humanities?; (c) the universality or particularity of scientific laws in psychology: are laws universal or culture-bound and contextual?; and (d) the balance between science and profession: is psychology a basic science, a socially relevant profession, or both?     

Ethical dilemmas of Turkish counsellors: a critical incidents study

Ethical dilemmas from a national purposive sample of Turkish counsellors (N = 172) were collected using critical incidents technique. Content analysis was performed with open coding guided by the classification of American Counseling Association code of ethics. Incidents regarding confidentiality and privacy (56.4%), with 37.1% involving incidents of reporting child sex abuse, had the highest percentage of prevalence. Dilemmas involving conflicts with school principals ranked second (16.3%), while incidents regarding dual relationships and boundaries (14%) ranked third. Implications for the development of a research-based and culturally sensitive code of counselling ethics in Turkey are discussed, and recommendations for future research are provided.     

Navigating the ‘space between’ the Black/White binary: a call for Jewish multicultural inclusion

ABSTRACT

In the twenty-first century, diversity and multicultural analysis of race often falls along a Black/White binary paradigm. Therefore, those who are perceived to be White are often left out of the discussion of diversity and multicultural education (DME) in the United States. This absence is particularly true for American Jews of Ashkenazi descent. In academic circles today, the notion of ‘Whiteness’ is often used as a determining factor for overlooking antisemitism while addressing issues of racism aimed at other racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Data show that acts of antisemitism continues to rise in the U.S., especially on college campuses. Due to a lack of acknowledgment in the university classroom, Jews continue to be overlooked in multicultural academic thought, which can have wide-ranging consequences for Jews and non-Jews alike.     

Impressions of the Church of Sweden: liberal and catholic with nuances of Lutheranism

The Church of Sweden is difficult to describe or to characterise, whether as a Folk Church, a national church, as catholic or liberal, or as, in some sense, Lutheran. This article refers to aspects of its complex relations with the Roman Catholic Church and with Lutheranism at large. The author detects, from ecumenical agreement and practice, an incipient new communion of churches, based on a common claim to be catholic and also to be open to developments in society. This group includes the Church of Sweden, the Church of England, the Episcopal Church in the USA, the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht and the Philippine Independent Church, all of which are in communion with each other. The author's presentation is set out in relation to the Church of Sweden's liturgical and sacramental life, its church–state relations, and in an account of the rather asymmetrical shape of ecumenism in Sweden, in all of which the question of gender plays a role.     

Everyday dilemmas: New directions on the judgment and resolution of benevolence–integrity dilemmas

Many everyday dilemmas reflect a conflict between two moral motivations: the desire to adhere to universal principles (integrity) and the desire to improve the welfare of specific individuals in need (benevolence). In this article, we bridge research on moral judgment and trust to introduce a framework that establishes three central distinctions between benevolence and integrity: (1) the degree to which they rely on impartiality, (2) the degree to which they are tied to emotion versus reason, and (3) the degree to which they can be evaluated in isolation. We use this framework to explain existing findings and generate novel predictions about the resolution and judgment of benevolence–integrity dilemmas. Though ethical dilemmas have long been a focus of moral psychology research, recent research has relied on dramatic dilemmas that involve conflicts of utilitarianism and deontology and has failed to represent the ordinary, yet psychologically taxing dilemmas that we frequently face in everyday life. The present article fills this gap, thereby deepening our understanding of moral judgment and decision making and providing practical insights on how decision makers resolve moral conflict.     

Landscape,nation and globe: Theoretical nuances in the analysis of Asian Christianity

This brief afterword comments on the papers from this special issue, arguing that each explores current complexities of interactions between national and transnational orientations, but also helps to nuance understandings of the global through the invocation of history. As a result, we not only observe the interplay between colonial and post-colonial regimes of religion and politics, but also gain an appreciation of transnational religious impulses that were in operation well before the last few decades of explicitly ‘global consciousness’. Christianisation has a significant history in the regions covered, but it cannot be understood through crude, unilinear models of development or progress.