Back to “the Future”: Evidence of a Bifactor Solution for Scores on the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale

Despite its widespread use, disagreement remains regarding the structure of the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale (CFCS). In particular there is disagreement regarding whether the scale assesses future orientation as a unidimensional or multidimensional (immediate and future) construct. Using 2 samples of high school students in the United Kingdom, 4 models were tested. The totality of results including item loadings, goodness-of-fit indexes, and reliability estimates all supported the bifactor model, suggesting that the 2 hypothesized factors are better understood as grouping or method factors rather than as representative of latent constructs. Accordingly this study supports the unidimensionality of the CFCS and the scoring of all 12 items to produce a global future orientation score. Researchers intending to use the CFCS, and those with existing data, are encouraged to examine a bifactor solution for the scale.     

FutureNatural?: A Future of Science Through The Lens of Wisdom

This paper offers a theological critique of the future of 'nature' as suggested by New Biology, including recent developments in genetic engineering. It explores the biblical basis for grounding a theology of creation in the wisdom motif. The relationship between wisdom and creation in the Old Testament is discussed. The link between wisdom, Christ and the Holy Spirit is suggestive of wisdom's involvement in re-creation as well as initial creation. An argument is put forward for a Trinitarian basis for wisdom. The relationship between wisdom and apocalyptic literature gives a clue as to how wisdom might contribute to theological reflection on the future. Wisdom as metaphor is used to construct a new future of science. By reformulating the future of creation in the light of wisdom a future of science comes into view that meets the postmodern requirement for adaptability and diversity, but without forgetting the idea of distinction between humanity and the natural world. The long tradition of wisdom brings both a rootedness in historical perspectives and dynamic flexibility that serves to inform the relationship between God and the natural world. A measure of stability is a requirement in shaping perspectives for the future, particularly if the ambivalence and anxiety associated with new explorations in science are to be met.     

The Future of Psychology： Evolutionary Approach to Scientific Psychology

＂Evolutionary psychology is an approach to psychology, in which knowledge and principles from evolutionary biology are put to use in research on the structure of the human mind＂ （Cosmides ＆ Tooby, 2001, p.1）. The approach can be used to study and to provide broad theoretical framing of nearly all of the issues and topics within the traditionally defined fields of psychology. The 19 papers included in this special issue on evolutionary psychology are written by leading scholars in the field and address topics that can be organized by the familiar divisions of cognitive, developmental, and social psychology.     

Are Past Normative Behaviors Predictive of Future Behavioral Intentions?

We acknowledge the limitations in measures of moral reasoning and pursue an alternative technique by investigating past behaviors as they relate to present behavioral intentions. Our purpose is to evaluate the merits of patterned normative behavior for predicting present and future, morally relevant outcomes. Participants (N = 177) completed a policy capturing experimental design responding to questions that orthogonally varied the situational nature of the decision context. Results indicate that past normative behaviors are significantly and directly related to ethical behavioral intentions. Moreover, they moderate the relationships between situational factors and intended outcomes as well as moral reasoning and intended outcomes.     

The ‘Passes-For’ Fallacy and the Future of Critical Thinking

In this paper, I characterize Susan Haack’s so called “passes-for” fallacy, analyze both what makes this inference compelling and why it is illegitimate, and finally explain why reflecting on the passes-for fallacy—and others like it—should become part of critical thinking pedagogy for humanities students. The analysis proceeds by examining a case of the passes-for fallacy identified by Haack in the work of Ruth Bleier. A charitable reconstruction of Bleier’s reasoning shows that it is enlightening to regard the passes-for fallacy as an abuse of the application conditions of the concept of bias, rather than as an egregious case of Hasty Generalization.     

Developing a Public Hermeneutic for the Future of Theological Education?

Abstract : This article considers whether there is a need to develop a public hermeneutic for theological education. Churches and theological schools are rethinking the programs they are providing and other new ways to enhance their process of leadership formation for ministry. In a dynamically global context, where churches have been “disestablished”—as in Canada—the religious needs of the wider public remain important. I suggest that more attention needs to be given to the public questions of “belonging.” Perhaps a notion of public ministry as active accompaniment of people and communities provides a helpful metaphor or public hermeneutic for theological schools in charting their future.     

Pain in the Past and Pleasure in the Future: The Development of Past–Future Preferences for Hedonic Goods

It seems self-evident that people prefer painful experiences to be in the past and pleasurable experiences to lie in the future. Indeed, it has been claimed that, for hedonic goods, this preference is absolute (Sullivan, 2018). Yet very little is known about the extent to which people demonstrate explicit preferences regarding the temporal location of hedonic experiences, about the developmental trajectory of such preferences, and about whether such preferences are impervious to differences in the quantity of envisaged past and future pain or pleasure. We find consistent evidence that, all else being equal, adults and children aged 7 and over prefer pleasure to lie in the future and pain in the past and believe that other people will, too. They also predict that other people will be happier when pleasure is in the future rather than the past but sadder when pain is in the future rather than the past. Younger children have the same temporal preferences as adults for their own painful experiences, but they prefer their pleasure to lie in the past and do not predict that others' levels of happiness or sadness vary dependent on whether experiences lie in the past or the future. However, from the age of 7, temporal preferences were typically abandoned at the earliest opportunity when the quantity of past pain or pleasure was greater than the quantity located in the future. Past–future preferences for hedonic goods emerge early developmentally but are surprisingly flexible.     

Engineering Eden: Does Earthly Pursuit of Eternal Life Threaten the Future of Religion?

The eternal life promised by many religions is mirrored by the drastically longer lifespans proposed by radical life extension (RLE) and transhumanism (H+). RLE and H+ represent extreme contingents of longevity research among the broader scientific initiatives to extend the length and quality of human life. In striving toward literal immortality, these movements offer an “alternative” to the spiritual eternity that functions as a religious solution to fear of death and loss. In this article, we probe the question of whether a radically extended—even eternal—life through advancements in biotechnology could replace religion as a means of managing this terror of death.     

Transhumanism and the Wisdom of Old Genes is Neurotechnology as Source of Future Happiness?

Technological progress seems to open ways for redesigning the human organism. This means that the affective system that is built into the brain by evolution can be redesigned with intent. One of the consequences will be that the word progress will get a new meaning. Progress won't be confined to enhancing the conditions of living, but it will change the way we react to the world. These possibilities are explored in a new kind of biological utopism called 'transhumanism'. This school foresees that a restructured human brain will give rise to 'more varied experience, lifelong happiness and exhilarating peak experiences everyday'. This essay considers the reality value of that expectation in the light of the current psychology of affects, in particular of presumed functions of hedonic experience. It is concluded that transhumanism overlooks that happiness will lose its meaning if it is treated as an isolated feeling. The affective system in our brain needs strong ties with the on-going interaction of the individual with its environment. Making people happier without enhancing the grip on their life will be contra-productive.     

The Polish Case in Vladimir Solov'ëv's Vision of the Future

In the article I presentSolov'ëv's views on the national question(including the so-called Polish question)presented in his writings of the 1880s. Thequestion involved uniting the Churches as wellas Russia's specific mission in building thefuture Kingdom of God. Solov'ëv's position,according to which individual nations acquire aconcrete place in the course of mankind'sexistence, was subjected to criticism by thePolish historian Stanisaw Tarnowski. Thiscontributed to an interesting discussion andpolemic between the two thinkers that tookplace on the pages of the journal PrzegldPolski (The Polish Review).     

Jesus ACTED UP and Any Possible Future of “Queer Theology”

What can we learn about the prospects for “queer theology” from how Goss wrote Jesus ACTED UP into the future for which he hoped? Theology seems to add four things to the book's political arguments and exhortations. It deepens the analyses of oppression, provides stronger means for re-education, invokes divine help, and doubles political theater with sacrament. These tasks of critique, re-education, invocation, and ritual will continue to define any Christian theology that might be called “queer.” Each requires the transformation of language. In order to have a future, queer theology must undertake a poiesis outside the endless prattle that sustains present power. Its poetry may first appear as silence.     

Liberation or Poverty? An Indirect Assessment of the Impact of Potential Future Events on Society

A methodology is proposed and tested which suggests that one can evaluate the potential impact of future decisions or events on various societal groupings (poor vs. rich; black vs. white) by correlating the values promoted by the event or decision with the values desired by the societal groupings. It is assumed that the correlation represents the potential value satisfaction of the event for the societal grouping. Nine judges were asked to rate the contributions of two events to 18 social values. The values of six societal income groupings from "Under $4,000" to "Over $15,000" (Rokeach & Parker, 1970) were correlated with the values judged to be promoted by the two events. One event suggested that U.S. monies be shifted from military spending to urban aid; as expected, the values promoted by this event were more highly correlated with those of lower income groups than with those of higher income groups. The second event suggested that women have equal opportunities in professional and managerial jobs; as expected, the values of higher income groups would be served more by this event than would the values of lower income groups. This study substantiates that the assessment methodology proposed is feasible, meaningful, and that raters make consensual and reliable judgments that discriminate the events as predicted. It was also found that the value-satisfaction index is correspondent with the public opinions of societal groupings toward events similar to those used in this study.     

Back to the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale: Time to Reconsider?

Abstract

The Consideration of Future Consequences (CFC) Scale is a measure of the extent to which individuals consider and are influenced by the distant outcomes of current behavior. In this study, the authors conducted factor analysis to investigate the factor structure of the 12-item CFC Scale. The authors found evidence for a multiple factor solution including one completely present-oriented factor consisting of all 7 present-oriented items, and one or two future-oriented factors consisting of the remaining future-oriented items. Further evidence indicated that the present-oriented factor and the 12-item CFC Scale perform similarly in terms of internal consistency and convergent validity. The structure and content of the future-oriented factor(s) is unclear. From the findings, the authors raise questions regarding the construct validity of the CFC Scale, the interpretation of its results, and the usefulness of the CFC scale in its current form in applied research.     

Will the Mother-Group Have a Face? The Future of the Facilitating Environment

The author predicts that maintaining the responsible practice of group psychotherapy in the coming years will require attention to three areas of professional life. The training of group therapists must include group-as-a-whole, in addition to intrapsychic and interpersonal, theoretical constructs. A supportive network of professional colleagues must be available to provide consultation and continuing education. Finally, a culture that values the necessary components of group psychotherapy practice must be encouraged and supported.     

On True Friendship and on the Anthropological Relevance of Freud’s The Future of an Illusion

In this response article to Isabelle Noth and Christoph Morgenthaler’s text on the correspondence between Sigmund Freud and Oskar Pfister, the author reflects on two issues: first, Freud’s theoretical ideas on friendship and, second, his essay The Future of an Illusion as a text in which Freud abandons his general theoretical starting point, namely the analysis of the human condition, normality, and cultural and religious phenomena from the perspective of clinical anthropology.     

The “Once and Future” Focus of a Relational Psychoanalysis: Discussion of “Vitalizing Enactment”

In this discussion of Amy Schwartz Cooney’s paper (this issue) I focus on the current interest in relational theorizing on the analyst’s proactive role vis-à-vis her patient, that is, what she actually does for or gives to her patient. I consider the role of the analyst’s own internal “bad” objects in facilitating or inhibiting the therapeutic process. I end with a set of theoretical propositions about the ways in which an intense and deadening shame can lead to dissociation and/or repression of hopeful fantasies about the future.     

An Empirical Study of Future Professionals’ Intentions to Engage in Unethical Business Practices

This paper sought to test whether student demographics (gender, age, religion, type of degree and number of courses done containing ethics) influenced the likelihood of engaging in unethical business practices. The study involved the use of a questionnaire being administered to a sample of 231 undergraduate students in Barbados. It was found that gender, religiousness, type of degree and number of courses taken containing ethics significantly impacted on the intentions to engage in unethical behaviour. It was also found that the impact of age was not conclusive. The study has several limitations including low generalisability due to the use of a non-probability sampling method, and the possibility of social desirability bias. The study informs educators about the need to integrate ethics into the curriculum as an essential component of professional training for future managers and business people. This study makes an important contribution to the ethics literature on small island developing states, since the study was done in the country of Barbados.     

Emerging Adults’ Outlook on the Future in the Midst of COVID-19: The Role of Personality Profiles

Journal of Adult Development - Classic lifespan developmental theory describes emerging adulthood and the transition to adulthood as important periods for thinking about one’s future life...