Longitudinal Experience-Wide Association Studies—A Framework for Studying Personality Change

The importance of personality for predicting life outcomes in the domains of love, work, and health is well established, as is evidence that personality traits, while relatively stable, can change. However, little is known about the sources and processes that drive changes in personality traits and how such changes might impact important life outcomes. In this paper, we make the case that the research paradigms and methodological approaches commonly used in personality psychology need to be revised to advance our understanding of the sources and processes of personality change. We propose Longitudinal Experience-Wide Association Studies as a framework for studying personality change that can address the limitations of current methods, and we discuss strategies for overcoming some of the challenges associated with Longitudinal Experience-Wide Association Studies. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Replacement—A theory of stereotypy: A review

Three forms of stereotypy are described and an outline given of previous theories of simple stereotypy in the retarded and autistic. An alternative theory is put forward in which stereotypy is characterized as a replacement of unpalleatable stimuli and/or responses that are overloading the system in a way with which the individual cannot cope. Although the theory derives from cognitive psychology, it can also be expressed behaviorally or experientially without loss of impact. The manner in which replacement theory applies to the three types of stereotypy is described. Testable hypotheses are derived, predictions made, and implications considered. Finally, the more general ramifications of the theory are explored.     

Natural Deduction for the Sheffer Stroke and Peirce’s Arrow (and any Other Truth-Functional Connective)

Methods available for the axiomatization of arbitrary finite-valued logics can be applied to obtain sound and complete intelim rules for all truth-functional connectives of classical logic including the Sheffer stroke (nand) and Peirce’s arrow (nor). The restriction to a single conclusion in standard systems of natural deduction requires the introduction of additional rules to make the resulting systems complete; these rules are nevertheless still simple and correspond straightforwardly to the classical absurdity rule. Omitting these rules results in systems for intuitionistic versions of the connectives in question.     

Corrections to: Natural Deduction for the Sheffer Stroke and Peirce’s Arrow (and any Other Truth-Functional Connective)

Journal of Philosophical Logic - A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10992-022-09665-5     

Behaviour Change and Environmental Citizenship: A case for spiritual development?

In spite of the efforts that have been made to increase awareness and understanding of environmental issues, there is little evidence of a general adoption of pro-environmental behaviours that might characterize environmental citizenship. This paper argues that awareness and understanding are necessary but not sufficient, and reports research which suggests that sufficiency might need to be understood in spiritual terms. An argument is developed in favour of a citizenship founded upon transformative spiritual values in preference to a morality founded upon imposed notions of duty or obligation to support a value system which is itself arguably part of the problem. The primary objection to such an approach is that it would seem to rely upon the preservation of childhood spirituality through the teenage years into adulthood, and this is seen to present many difficulties for researchers, policy-makers and practitioners.     

Is There a Cognitive Basis for Religious Belief?

This paper explores whether the psychological study of cognition can provide insight into how religious beliefs are formed and maintained. A review of illustrative findings from the research literature suggests three themes: First, regularities in our everyday experience are primarily identified through assessment of individual situations rather than through use of all relevant data. Second, preconceptions are highly important in shaping perceptions and interpretations of new experience. Finally, intense emotions often generate an inaccurate sense of certainty regarding beliefs congruent with these emotions. The applicability of these themes to the relationship between religious experience and religious belief is examined. The paper concludes by briefly discussing whether the increasing proportion of the population receiving statistical and scientific training will influence the level of religious belief in Western culture.     

Whose Community are You Working for? A Change Agent Case Study

This article explores the role and responsibility of the community psychologist in creating change that could potentially harm the group they are meant to be in solidarity with. Drawing upon a 2‐year project with a Latinx Student Union at a public middle school in the Pacific Northwest, I examine the ethical dilemmas that arose when powerful stakeholders (school administration) changed the goals and intention of the research project without the consent of the low‐power stakeholders (the students). This narrative seeks to shed light on the dilemmas that come with being an ethical community psychologist (Balcazar, Garate‐Serafini, & Keys, 2004; Nelson, Prilleltensky, & MacGillivary, 2001; O'Neill, 1989), how these ethics can be compromised by one's identity, and what it means to work for/with/against one's community when deciding whether to stay with or leave a project.     

A Case for Moral History – Universality and Change in Ethics after Wittgenstein

In this paper, I raise the question of how the tradition of ethics after Wittgenstein tends to neglect the historicity of morality, in a way which is not representative of the complexity of Wittgenstein’s own thinking. I analyse a tendency towards one-sidedness in the preferred diet of philosophical examples, where focus lies on recognition of, and ethical attentiveness to, a fellow person or creature. Although these examples play an important role in their own right, the overuse of such examples, along with a certain notion of “philosophical grammar”, detracts from a historically sensitive investigation of our ethical forms of life.     

Can We Consume Our Way Out of Climate Change? A Call for Analysis

The problem of climate change is analyzed as a manifestation of economic growth, and the steady-state economy of ecological economics is proposed as a system-wide solution. Four classes of more specific solutions are described. In the absence of analysis, cultural inertia will bias solutions in favor of green consumption as a generalized solution strategy. By itself, green consumption is a flawed solution to climate change because it perpetuates or even accelerates economic growth that is incompatible with a sustainable culture. Addressing climate change requires an integration of regulatory, energy efficiency, skill-based, and dissemination solutions. Behavioral scientists are encouraged to work with others in ecological economics and other social sciences who recognize cultural reinvention as a means of achieving sustainability.     

Thomason’s Paradox for Belief,and Two Consequence Relations

Thomason (1979/2010)’s argument against competence psychologism in semantics envisages a representation of a subject’s competence as follows: he understands his own language in the sense that he can identify the semantic content of each of its sentences, which requires that the relation between expression and content be recursive. Then if the scientist constructs a theory that is meant to represent the body of the subject’s beliefs, construed as assent to the content of the pertinent sentences, and that theory satisfies certain ‘natural assumptions’, then it implies that the subject is inconsistent if the beliefs include arithmetic. I challenge the result by insisting that the motivation for Thomason’s principle (ii), via Moore’s Paradox, leads to a more complex representation, in which stating the facts and expressing one’s beliefs are treated differently. Certain logical connections among expressions of assent, and between expression and statement, are a matter of consequence on pain of pragmatic incoherence, not consequence on pain of classical logical inconsistency. But while this salvages the possibility that a modification of the above sort of representation could be adequate, Thomason’s devastating conclusion returns if the scientist identifies himself as the subject of that representation, even when paying heed to the requirement of pragmatic coherence of the sort highlighted by Moore’s Paradox.     

Group intervention for medical patients—A treatment for damaged self-esteem

There is a need to integrate our knowledge of psychoanalytic theory, group therapy and medical care delivery systems. Understanding the importance of selfesteem, based upon the study of psychoanalytic theory, can help to determine appropriate technique in medical groups as well as to add to our understanding of the profound importance of such groups in the delivery of medical care. Groups in hospitals help patients to get in touch with their strengths, feel less isolated, and be more active—all of which enhance selfesteem. As patients participate in groups, narcissistic defenses can be enhanced and the quality of life improved. When interdisciplinary teams participate in patient groups, delivery of medical care can be more comprehensive: The totality of the patient emerges more clearly and staff becomes more aware and sensitive to his/her emotional and physical needs.This paper was presented at Thirty-Sixth Annual Conference, American Group Psychotherapy Association, 1978. The author would like to acknowledge Hazel M. Halloran and Susanne A. Kohut, Director and Associate Director, Department of Social Work, who conceived of and supported the expansion of the group work program in the General Hospital Division of St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center of New York. The following professionals contributed clinical material used in this paper: Sara Bookbinder, M.S.W., Carol Coven, M.S.W., Linda Haselman, R.N., Barbara Horn, M.S.W., Kathleen McQuade, R.N., Ellen McGuire, M.S.W., Sister Marita Rose O'Brien, R.N., and Emile Powe, M.D.     

Exploring Our “Deltas”: A Training Tool for Conceptualizing Systemic Theory of Change

Systematically utilizing theory to guide clinical practice is integral to developing and maintaining therapist competency. However, helping Marriage and Family therapist trainees develop their own theory of change can be a challenging training component and more educational guides are needed to help facilitate the learning process. This paper introduces the Delta Model for conceptualizing systemic change as such a tool. The proposed Delta Model is introduced and guidelines for specifically teaching trainees at each level of the Delta are provided. The proposed model will be applied to a case vignette and discussion of additional considerations for applying the Delta Model beyond clinical practice will be reviewed.

     

Why Don't People Change? A Psychoanalytic Perspective

From a psychoanalytic perspective, a central reason that people do not easily change is their fear of the dangers that they believe, at some level, change entails. These dangers include relinquishment of infantile wishes and fantasies, anxiety that would be experienced were defenses weakened, guilt, fantasies that change would harm a parental figure or threaten a vital relationship. Other factors that prevent change and maintain the sameness of behavior include defenses, unconscious pathogenic beliefs, devotion and loyalty to early figures, stable internal working models of self, other, and prototypic interactions, and emitting cues that elicit responses from others that confirm these working models. Finally, 1 discuss some selective psychoanalytic research on therapeutic change.     

VRS—A programming system for visual electrophysiological research

VRS is a system of separate routines programmed to perform one or more of the functions for mapping neuronal receptive fields and determining neuronal response characteristics. The organization and use of the programming system are described along with the details of the routines.     

In whose interests? A response to Aaron Zimmerman’s Belief: A Pragmatic Picture

Philosophical Studies - I provide a brief précis of Aaron Zimmerman’s book, Belief: A Pragmatic Picture, then explore two possible problems for the view. The first concerns whether the...     

Do Near-Death Experiences Provide a Rational Basis for Belief in Life after Death?

In this paper I suggest that near-death experiences (NDEs) provide a rational basis for belief in life after death. My argument is a simple one and is modeled on the argument from religious experience for the existence of God. But unlike the proponents of the argument from religious experience, I stop short of claiming that NDEs prove the existence of life after death. Like the argument from religious experience, however, my argument turns on whether or not there is good reason to believe that NDEs are authentic or veridical. I argue that there is good reason to believe that NDEs are veridical and that therefore it is reasonable to believe in the existence of what they seem to be experiences of, namely, a continued state of consciousness after the death of the body. I will then offer some comments on the philosophical import of NDEs, as well as reflections on the current state of contemporary philosophy in light of the neglect of this phenomenon.