Consumerism and Well-Being in India and the UK: Identity Projection and Emotion Regulation as Underlying Psychological Processes

A growing body of evidence shows that a materialistic value orientation is linked to lower well-being (Dittmar 2008; Kasser & Kanner, 2004), but we know little about factors that influence this association, or linked behavioural tendencies, particularly in developing countries, such as India. Extending our previous research (Dittmar 2005a, b; Dittmar et al. 2007), we develop a model in which endorsement of materialistic values is linked to buying motives focused on identity projection and emotion regulation, which, in turn, are linked to lower well-being and dysfunctional consumer behaviour. We tested these hypothesised associations in surveys with 236 younger and older adults in India and the UK, and found that they were consistent with our model, showing few country or generational differences. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed, as well as directions for future research.     

Conscious machines: Memory,melody and muscular imagination

A great deal of effort has been, and continues to be, devoted to developing consciousness artificially (A small selection of the many authors writing in this area includes: Cotterill (J Conscious Stud 2:290–311, 1995, 1998), Haikonen (2003), Aleksander and Dunmall (J Conscious Stud 10:7–18, 2003), Sloman (2004, 2005), Aleksander (2005), Holland and Knight (2006), and Chella and Manzotti (2007)), and yet a similar amount of effort has gone in to demonstrating the infeasibility of the whole enterprise (Most notably: Dreyfus (1972/1979, 1992, 1998), Searle (1980), Harnad (J Conscious Stud 10:67–75, 2003), and Sternberg (2007), but there are a great many others). My concern in this paper is to steer some navigable channel between the two positions, laying out the necessary pre-conditions for consciousness in an artificial system, and concentrating on what needs to hold for the system to perform as a human being or other phenomenally conscious agent in an intersubjectively-demanding social and moral environment. By adopting a thick notion of embodiment—one that is bound up with the concepts of the lived body and autopoiesis (Maturana and Varela 1980; Varela et al. 2003; and Ziemke 2003, 2007a, J Conscious Stud 14(7):167–179, 2007b)—I will argue that machine phenomenology is only possible within an embodied distributed system that possesses a richly affective musculature and a nervous system such that it can, through action and repetition, develop its tactile-kinaesthetic memory, individual kinaesthetic melodies pertaining to habitual practices, and an anticipatory enactive kinaesthetic imagination. Without these capacities the system would remain unconscious, unaware of itself embodied within a world. Finally, and following on from Damasio’s (1991, 1994, 1999, 2003) claims for the necessity of pre-reflective conscious, emotional, bodily responses for the development of an organism’s core and extended consciousness, I will argue that without these capacities any agent would be incapable of developing the sorts of somatic markers or saliency tags that enable affective reactions, and which are indispensable for effective decision-making and subsequent survival. My position, as presented here, remains agnostic about whether or not the creation of artificial consciousness is an attainable goal.     

A Reflection on Bakhtin’s ‘Epic and Novel’ in the Context of Early Childhood Student Teachers’ Practicum

It is common in early childhood education (ECE), for student teachers to be asked to reflect on incidents or scenarios that occur while on practicum and relate their reflections to theory. This process of identification and corroboration, demonstrates the student’s familiarity with the dominant developmental narratives within which ECE is situated. The pressure on students to conform to prescribed theory and the local narratives of the practicum context can, however, make it difficult for them to question both the texts they are asked to apply in their teaching, as well as the practice they are observing and seeking to engage. In Bakhtinian theory, ‘voice’ is promoted through a community of learning, and a critical engagement creating new knowledge and subsequent practice. This theme of developing a critical voice for ECE students is the subject matter of this paper, with reference to practicum experience and Bakhtin’s essay, “Epic and Novel: Towards a Methodology for the Study of the Novel.” (Bakhtin 1982).     

Cross-count identity,distinctness, and the theory of internal and external relations

Baxter (Australas J Philos 79:449–464, 2001) proposes an ingenious solution to the problem of instantiation based on his theory of cross-count identity. His idea is that where a particular instantiates a universal it shares an aspect with that universal. Both the particular and the universal are numerically identical with the shared aspect in different counts. Although Baxter does not say exactly what a count is, it appears that he takes ways of counting as mysterious primitives against which different numerical identities are defined. In contrast, I defend the idea—suggested, though not quite endorsed, by Baxter himself—that counts are independent dimensions of numerical identity. Different ways of counting are explained by the existence of these different sorts of identity (i.e., counts). For the instantiation of a universal by a particular, I propose one dimension concerned with the individuation of particulars (the p-count) and another dimension concerned with the individuation of universals (the u-count). On that basis, I give a clear definition of cross-count identity that explains its asymmetrical nature (i.e., the fact that particulars instantiate universals, but not vice versa). I extend the theory to a third dimension—that of time, or the t-count—and thereby defend Baxter’s ideas on change, and the contingency of instantiation. Baxter (Mind 97(388):575–582, 1988; Australas J Philos 79:449–464, 2001) proposes the related idea of composition as (cross-count) identity. Parts are individually cross-count identical with the wholes that they constitute, and they collectively share all aspects across counts with those wholes. I propose an innovation by which totality is shared distinctness across counts. The theory applies to both the totality of particulars that instantiate any given universal, and the totality of parts that constitute any given whole. I argue that this has several advantages over Armstrong’s view, which is based on a dubious external totalling relation. I also argue that Armstrong’s theory of numbers (or quantities) as internal relations ought to be rejected in favour of an account based on identity and distinctness. The paper concludes with a careful analysis of external relations in Baxter’s framework. I argue that we must recognise one further dimension of identity in order to differentiate between, e.g., the aspects of Abelard insofar as he loves Heloise and Abelard insofar as he loves Isobel. Each of these aspects is identical with Abelard and identical with loving-by, yet they must be in some way distinct. I therefore propose the r-count, in which multiple distinct relational properties are the very same relation (-part). The existence of these four independent dimensions explains the fact that particulars, universals, relations, and times are fundamentally different sorts of things in the ontology. Each is individuated with respect to a different dimension of identity.     

The effects of the presence of a face and direct eye gaze on voice identity learning

We rarely become familiar with the voice of another person in isolation but usually also have access to visual identity information, thus learning to recognize their voice and face in parallel. There are conflicting findings as to whether learning to recognize voices in audiovisual vs audio-only settings is advantageous or detrimental to learning. One prominent finding shows that the presence of a face overshadows the voice, hindering voice identity learning by capturing listeners' attention (Face Overshadowing Effect; FOE). In the current study, we tested the proposal that the effect of audiovisual training on voice identity learning is driven by attentional processes. Participants learned to recognize voices through either audio-only training (Audio-Only) or through three versions of audiovisual training, where a face was presented alongside the voices. During audiovisual training, the faces were either looking at the camera (Direct Gaze), were looking to the side (Averted Gaze) or had closed eyes (No Gaze). We found a graded effect of gaze on voice identity learning: Voice identity recognition was most accurate after audio-only training and least accurate after audiovisual training including direct gaze, constituting a FOE. While effect sizes were overall small, the magnitude of FOE was halved for the Averted and No Gaze conditions. With direct gaze being associated with increased attention capture compared to averted or no gaze, the current findings suggest that incidental attention capture at least partially underpins the FOE. We discuss these findings in light of visual dominance effects and the relative informativeness of faces vs voices for identity perception.     

The structure of lexical concepts

Jerry Fodor (Concepts: Where cognitive science went wrong. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998) famously argued that lexical concepts are unstructured. After examining the advantages and disadvantages of both the classical approach to concepts and Fodor’s conceptual atomism, I argue that some lexical concepts are, in fact, structured. Roughly stated, I argue that structured lexical concepts bear a necessary biconditional entailment relation to their structural constituents. I develop this account of the structure of lexical concepts within the framework of Pavel Tichy’s (The foundations of Frege’s logic. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter, 1988) theory of constructions. I argue that concepts are constructions which can be combined by way of Tichy’s construction-forming operations of composition and closure and an additional operation, simplification, which I propose in section 6. The last of these construction-forming operations plays a central role in my account of lexical concept structure. Stated generally, structured lexical concepts are a result of simplifying their structural constituents.     

ABA and Diverse Cultural and Linguistic Environments: A Welsh Perspective

Gwynedd Local Education Authority (LEA) in North West Wales, UK, is funding a small-scale autism-specific specialist education service using ABA methodology. The program is available through the medium of Welsh, English or bilingually, depending on the individual needs of the child (Jones and Hoerger in Eur J Behav Anal 10:249–253, 2009). Delivering an ABA curriculum within a Welsh context raises issues regarding how ABA interventions work in a non-Anglo-American cultural and linguistic context. We describe one part of the program, as well as the mechanics of translation and interpretation: How ABA fits conceptually in a different language, how Skinner’s original ideas about developing a scientific terminology to describe behavior can be applied to a different cultural and linguistic tradition, and cultural variation in reinforcement practices.     

Engaging African Americans in Therapy: Integrating a Public Policy and Family Therapy Perspective

The field of marriage and family therapy faces a growing imperative to reach historically underserved populations. African Americans are a prime example of a minority group in the United States that continues to be underserved by the current mental health system. We integrate Andersen’s (1995, Journal of Health and Social behavior, 36, 1–10) public policy model of health service use with Fox et al. (1995, Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 6, 434–468) revision of the rural de facto mental health services model (Regier and Goldberg, 1978, Archives of General Psychiatry, 35, 685–693) to develop a more inclusive and culturally sensitive framework that captures salient factors influencing African Americans’ entry into and engagement in therapy. Recommendations for overcoming barriers and suggestions for future research are presented.     

Second-language experience modulates first- and second-language word frequency effects: Evidence from eye movement measures of natural paragraph reading

We used eye movement measures of first-language (L1) and second-language (L2) paragraph reading to investigate whether the degree of current L2 exposure modulates the relative size of L1 and L2 frequency effects (FEs). The results showed that bilinguals displayed larger L2 than L1 FEs during both early- and late-stage eye movement measures, which are taken to reflect initial lexical access and postlexical access, respectively. Moreover, the magnitude of L2 FEs was inversely related to current L2 exposure, such that lower levels of L2 exposure led to larger L2 FEs. In contrast, during early-stage reading measures, bilinguals with higher levels of current L2 exposure showed larger L1 FEs than did bilinguals with lower levels of L2 exposure, suggesting that increased L2 experience modifies the earliest stages of L1 lexical access. Taken together, the findings are consistent with implicit learning accounts (e.g., Monsell, 1991), the weaker links hypothesis (Gollan, Montoya, Cera, Sandoval, Journal of Memory and Language, 58:787–814, 2008), and current bilingual visual word recognition models (e.g., the bilingual interactive activation model plus [BIA+]; Dijkstra & van Heuven, Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 5:175–197, 2002). Thus, amount of current L2 exposure is a key determinant of FEs and, thus, lexical activation, in both the L1 and L2.     

RT patterns and chunks in SRT tasks: a reply to Jiménez (2008)

Previous research has shown that the formation of units or chunks contributes to sequence learning in serial reaction time (SRT) tasks (Koch & Hoffmann, Psychological Research 63:22–35, 2000). However, some of these results were assumed to be unrelated to sequence learning and to reflect preexistent response tendencies (Jiménez, Psychological Research 72:387–396, 2008). In the Experiment of this study, we aimed to evaluate this issue. One group of participants responded to a strongly structured sequence of digits by pressing one out of six response keys depending on digit identity. In a second experimental group, a weakly structured sequence was presented, which contained comparable transitions among the single items, but did not have series of ascending and descending triplets of successive digits. The results indicated that serial learning in general as well as response tendencies to certain fragments of the sequence were modulated by the manipulation of the strength of relational patterns. The data are consistent with the notion that relational patterns contribute to the formation of chunks as suggested in the original study.     

Cutting Space—Cutting Body: The Nature of the Grotesque in Umwelt

We give psychological elaboration to some of Rayner’s (2011) ideas. For the idea of a space and boundaries within it many psychological explanations are possible. We elaborate the boundaries as these occur in urban contexts as well as in the flow of irreversible time (between future and past). Shifting boundaries or any act of transforming them leads to changes in the understanding of the whole. Boundaries within space and between different fields—while having a physical existence—have also a symbolic component, which is specific to human beings. We reframe the dynamic concept of boundaries along the lines of Bergson’s idea of durée, which allows us conceptualize boundaries between bodies and environments, as well as boundaries in the environment, as ever transforming in spaces of ambiguity and, following Bakhtin, grotesque. This opens way for treating the boundary phenomena as functionally emerging in person-environment—or, in von Uexküll’s terms, organism-Umwelt relation. Following Heidegger, we conclude that through dynamic boundary-making we as species dwell in the world and make the world.     

“Measuring up to Measure” Dysmorphophobia as a Language Game

We look into the transformation of meanings in psychotherapy and suggest a clinical application for Wittgenstein’s intuitions concerning the role of linguistic practices in generating significance. In post-modern theory, therapy does not necessarily change reality as much as it does our way of experiencing it by intervening in the linguistic-representational rules responsible for constructing the text which expresses the problem. Since “states of mind assume the truths and forms of the language devices that we use to represent them” (Foucault, 1963, p. 57), therapy may be intended as a narrative path toward a new naming of one’s reified experiences. The clinical problem we consider here, the pervasive feeling of inadequacy due to one’s excessive height (dysmorphophobia), is an excellent example of “language game” by which a “perspicuous representation” (the “therapy” proposed by Wittgenstein in the 1953) may bring out alternatives to linguistically-built “traps”, putting the blocked semiotic mechanism back into motion.     

“For-giving” and Forgiving: Process and Practice in Pastoral Care

This article examines some of the basic psychodynamic understandings of forgiveness including forgiveness as aesthetic, ahistorical, tact, or the ability to for-give that Julia Kristeva (1995, 1989, 1987a, b) presents in her writings on depression and melancholia, analytic process and technique, and love and faith. These are supplemented by more recent examinations of forgiveness in the therapeutic community (Worthington 1998; Watts and Gulliford 2004; McCullough et al. 2000) as they relate to Christian belief, Christian practice and pastoral care. I argue that it is in the context of a caring relationship where and when individuals experience “for-giving” that they develop the ability to accept forgiveness (especially of the self) and thus become individuals who can extend forgiveness to others. Even those entering pastoral ministry who have no desire or little ability to engage in pastoral counseling will be served well if their own abilities to be “for-giving” are cultivated during their theological education. Thus, the application of “for-giving” extends far beyond the analytic process or technique that Kristeva envisions to include pastoral identity formation and pastoral ministry.     

Spiritual Practice,Health Promotion,and the Elusive Soul: Perspectives from Public Health

Spirituality and religion are topics of increasing interest in U.S. society and popular culture as well for many health professions, including medicine, psychology, and public health. This article comments on Mark Graves’ (2008) synthesis of science and spirituality/religion, Mind, Brain, and the Elusive Soul from the perspective of a public health professional. I briefly review the sources, extent, and conceptual approaches of emerging scientific and health interest in spirituality/religion. Spiritual practices are identified as phenomena of central interest. Major concepts of Graves’ synthesis are reviewed, and the soul’s relevance to spiritual growth, popular culture, and scientific application is discussed. Several questions are posed as a stimulus to further extension and refinement of Graves’ synthesis.     

Voice as Heuristic Device to Integrate Biological and Social Sciences. A Comment to Sidtis &; Kreiman’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">in the Beginning was the Familiar Voice</Emphasis>

Sidtis and Kreiman (2011) offer a two-sided approach to voice where the biological side is thought to support the psycho-social one. Linking psychological and biological sciences by the notion of “familiar voice” they introduce, Sidtis and Kreiman (2011) foster integration in science and offer a broad view on the voice phenomenon. The way this integration is conducted is closely observed in this comment. The conclusion is that a common point of departure which does not belong to the mainstream in present academic discourse can be ascribed to both sides invoked: a dialogic view of human beings. The social dimension of the neuropsychological social model of voice recognition the authors propose is then discussed. This is taken up in the closing considerations addressing the core notion of familiarity with regard to the conception of sociality it implies; this perspective raises also the issue of the relationship between (familiar) voice and language. In analogy to the dialogic view of human beings we advocate for in accordance with Sidtis and Kreiman (2011), a notion of language emphasizing the sensorily experienced performance of symbolic activity is put forth. In this, voice holds a core place .     

Mapping our Progress: Identifying, Categorizing and Comparing Universities’ Ethics Infrastructures

Ethics researchers have scrutinized ethical business problems, which have been demonstrated through the actions of managers at Enron, WorldCom, and Arthur Andersen, among others. In response to these business transgressions, the US government has implemented the Sarbanes–Oxley Act to shore up businesses’ ethics infrastructures. However, universities, too, struggle with ethics problems. These include NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) violations, discrimination issues, sexual harassment, endowment admits, plagiarism, and research funding manipulation. Despite these problems, we have little knowledge regarding universities’ ethics infrastructures and codes of conduct, and insignificant empirical research on academic ethics issues (Kelley & Chang, Journal of Higher Education, under review, 2006; Morgan & Korschgen, College Student Journal, Sept., 2001). This lack of knowledge exists despite the critical role universities play in shaping the moral behavior of future generations (Langlais, The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 13:B11, 2006; Woo, BizEd, May/June:22–27, 2003). In this paper, we conduct exploratory research to identify the elements of universities ethics’ infrastructures. From our research, we develop an understanding of the ethics policies and infrastructure elements in place at a representative group of universities. We compare these infrastructures to those in business as well as across Carnegie Classifications. We then conclude with recommendations for developing university ethics infrastructures and suggestions for future research.     

Unitization,similarity, and overt attention in categorization and exposure

Unitization, the creation of new stimulus features by the fusion of preexisting features, is one of the hypothesized processes of perceptual learning (Goldstone Annual Review of Psychology, 49:585–612, 1998). Some argue that unitization occurs to the extent that it is required for successful task performance (e.g., Shiffrin & Lightfoot, 1997), while others argue that unitization is largely independent of functionality (e.g., McLaren & Mackintosh Animal Learning & Behavior, 30:177–200, 2000). Across three experiments, employing supervised category learning and unsupervised exposure, we investigated three predictions of the McLaren and Mackintosh (Animal Learning & Behavior, 30:177–200, 2000) model: (1) Unitization is accompanied by an initial increase in the subjective similarity of stimuli sharing a unitized component; (2) unitization of a configuration occurs through exposure to its components, even when the task does not require it; (3) as unitization approaches completion, salience of the unitized component may be reduced. Our data supported these predictions. We also found that unitization is associated with increases in overt attention to the unitized component, as measured through eye tracking.     

Semantic priming occurs for word but not location pronunciation in the postcue task

Semantic priming refers to the finding that a word response is facilitated if it is preceded by a related word compared to when it is preceded by an unrelated word. Dallas and Merikle (Can J Psychol 30: 15–21 1976a; Bull Psychon Soc 8: 441–444 1976b) demonstrated that semantic priming occurred under conditions in which a pair of simultaneously displayed words was previewed for over a second prior to the onset of a cue indicating which of the words should be pronounced aloud (postcue task). In contrast, semantic interference effects have been reported for postcue picture-naming tasks (Dean et al. in J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 27: 733–743, 2001; Humphreys et al. in J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 21: 961–980, 1995). According to Dean et al., the semantic interference effects in postcue picture naming occur because the integration of the object and the cued attribute in memory is more difficult for categorically related pictures than for unrelated pictures. The aim of this experiment was to determine whether this idea was true for postcue word pronunciation tasks. Participants completed two postcue tasks, one requiring pronunciation of the target word indicated by a locational cue and another requiring pronunciation of the location of a centrally presented word. Results indicated a semantic priming effect only for the locational cue condition suggesting that the integration of the cue and identity information was unaffected by word context. These data suggest that priming in a postcue word pronunciation task may be due to feedback from residual activation within the semantic system facilitating access to the target word’s phonology.