A review of: “Acquiring a concept of mind: A review of psychological research and theory”

Peter Mitchell (1996) Acquiring a Concept of Mind: A Review of Psychological Research and Theory, Basingstoke: Taylor & Francis Psychology Press, $29.95     

Selectivity and stages of processing—An enduring controversy in attentional theory: A review

The relationship between attentional selectivity and stages of processing, or levels of stimulus analysis, has been a long-running controversy for attentional theory. Although the debate between early selection and late selection theory is more than two decades old, a clear theoretical resolution is still not apparent in the literature. The aim of this review is to review evidence attending this issue, and clarify the current status of this important question. The evidence is classified in terms of five general experimental questions. It is concluded that broad versions of both early and late selection are incorrect in important respects, that the common framework within which both kinds of theory are articulated is unsound, and that the evidence requires clear theoretical acknowledgment of the multilevel nature of selective attention.     

Aftereffect of visual movement—the role of relative movement: A review

It is often believed that the aftereffect of visual movement (MAE) is more-or-less dependent on image movement. Modern explanation of MAE in terms of motion-sensitive mechanisms in the visual pathway assumes this. However, it has long been known that MAE can be influenced by other factors of stimulation, and particularly some that can be labeled asrelative. So, for example, MAE may not be observed unless more than one direction of movement is present in the eliciting stimulation, and MAE in an area may elicit an opposite MAE in an adjoining unadapted area. It is probable that the overemphasis on image movement has arisen because of the common use of multidirectional adapting movement and because of an assumption that patterned areas adjoining the MAE display do not have much effect on MAE. It is speculated that relative movement data for MAE may reflect a mechanism involved in detection of object motion: since image movement and eye movement do not in themselves adequately explain this process, it must be supposed that relative movement, in conjunction with the configuration of the retinal image, is important.     

Non-accidental injury to children—I: A review of behavioural interventions

The history of the growth of interest in child abuse in the Western World over the last two decades is described chronologically. Problems of definition of a phenomenon which is a deviation from social norms are discussed, including the problem of distinguishing acceptable discipline from abuse. The literature on parent-training approaches to the treatment of abusive parents is reviewed. It is argued that researchers in the U.S.A. and the U.K. are working within different statutory frameworks, from different definitional criteria and with different conceptualizations of successful outcome. The need for multiple outcome measures, in terms of quality of life for the abused child, and for long-term follow-up is stressed, together with the importance of clinical experience in the planning and execution of evaluative treatment research.     

A grand theory of motivation: Why not?

Baumeister asks what a grand theory of motivation might look like, and he identifies the key problems, challenges, and opportunities that need to be considered in its pursuit. I address four of these challenges—how to define motivation, whether motivation is a state or a trait, the primacy of motivation in psychology, and the necessity to not only manage motivational conflict but also to vitalize motivational assets. I focus primarily, however, on the key obstacle that prevents a grand theory—our non-shared assumptions about the nature and dynamics of motivation. I suggest we capitalize on new advances in statistics, methodology, and technology to test what used to be untestable assumptions about motivation. Shared assumptions are necessary for a coherent science, and only a coherent science is capable of constructing a general theory.     

A review of: “Handbook of psychotherapy supervision”

C. Edward Watkins, Jr (ed.) (1997) Handbook of Psychotherapy Supervision, New York: Wiley, $50     

The learning theory model of neurosis—A new approach

This paper is concerned with the development of a learning theory model of neurosis which would not be susceptible to the many criticisms which can be made of former models. Two widely favoured models—those of Freud and Skinner—are rejected because they are either non-falsifiable or tautological. The Watson and Mowrer models are rejected because they have been experimentally invalidated. The model here suggested differs from previous ones in several important respects. In the first place, it replaces the classical law of extinction by a more modern version which allows for incubation (enhancement) effects of exposure to CS-only stimuli, as well as for extinction effects. In the second place, the model emphasizes the importance of individual differences, and suggests precise relations between personality and the conditioning of neurotic behaviours. In the third place, the model lays stress on innate fear patterns and ‘preparedness’ as important factors in the genesis of conditioned fear responses. In the fourth place, the concept of ‘pain’ in the classical animal literature, and its use in creating models of neurosis, is supplemented by other concepts (‘frustrative non-reward’, ‘approach-avoidance’ conflict) which are more relevant to human neurosis. In the fifth place, and most important. the notion of ‘traumatic’, single-trial conditioning is abandoned, and a new theory based on incubation is proposed. It is suggested that the new theory is more adequate than previous ones to account for the known facts of human neurosis, and that it suggests novel types of experiment in both the animal and human fields which can be used to test its adequacy.     

Replacement—A Sheffer Stroke for Belief Change

By replacement is meant an operation that replaces one sentence by another in a belief set. Replacement can be used as a kind of Sheffer stroke for belief change, since contraction, revision, and expansion can all be defined in terms of it. Replacement can also be defined either in terms of contraction or in terms of revision. Close connections are shown to hold between axioms for replacement and axioms for contraction and revision. Partial meet replacement is axiomatically characterized. It is shown that this operation can have outcomes that are not obtainable through either partial meet contraction or partial meet revision.     

A review of: “Suicide: The tragedy of hopelessness”

David Aldridge (1997) Suicide: the Tragedy of Hopelessness, London: Jessica Kingsley, $15.95     

Knowing others through the self—Influence of self-perception on perception of others: A review

The literature relating to the influence of self-perception on the perception of others is reviewed. Projective effects are shown to occur in judgments of a wide range of psychological characteristics. Cognitive and dissonance theories of the projective process are critically examined. Drawing on the developmental literature, a cognitive theory of the projective process is proposed in which projective phenomena are conceptualized as side effects of a basic mechanism involved in knowing others.     

A review of: “Philosophy and psychotherapy”

E. Erwin (1997) Philosophy and Psychotherapy, London: Sage, pp. 192, $37.50 (hb), $12.95 (pb)     

A liberal theory of externalities?

Unlike exploitative exchanges, exchanges featuring externalities have never seemed to pose particular problems to liberal theories of justice. State interference with exchanges featuring externalities seems permissible, like it is for coercive or deceptive exchanges. This is because exchanges featuring negative externalities seem to be clear cases of the two exchanging parties harming a third one via the exchange—and thus of conduct violating the harm principle. This essay aims to put this idea into question. I will argue that exchanges featuring negative externalities are not unjust in this straightforward way, i.e. because they would constitute an instance of wrongfully causing or risking a bodily or material harm. In fact, unless we are subscribing to particularly demanding variants of liberalism—e.g. perfectionist liberalism—or unless we are exclusively focusing on borderline cases of externalities—i.e. of effects of exchanges hardly to be called externalities—there is no liberal theory of how exchanges featuring externalities are unjust.     

The finitude of life—How mortality salience affects consumer behavior: A review

The influence of mortality salience (MS) on consumer behavior has been well-established over the last 25 years. However, research findings have provided divergent insights with regard to the direction of its outcomes. This article provides a systematic review of the extant research stream thereby revealing how the differences are primarily due to the conceptualization and operationalization of MS. Based on a conceptual revision of MS, we suggest an extended definition of the concept. An extensive overview of empirical findings, together with a holistic presentation of influential factors, offers a foundation for further MS studies conducted in a consumer behavior context, concluding with an extensive research agenda.     

Maximum likelihood estimation of parameters of signal detection theory—A direct solution

Ogilvie and Creelman have recently attempted to develop maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters of signal-detection theory from the data of yes-no ROC curves. Their method involved the assumption of a logistic distribution rather than the normal distribution in order to make the mathematics more tractable. The present paper presents a method of obtaining maximum likelihood estimates of these parameters using the assumption of underlying normal distributions.This research was supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health, MH-10449-02, and from the National Science Foundation, NSF GS-1466.     

History of halakhah — methodological issues: A review essay of I. Twersky'sRabad of Posquières

Revel Graduate School Yeshivah University     

“Bullying” among prisoners: A review of research

This article reviews research on bullying amongst prisoners. It discusses the definitional problems surrounding the concept of “bullying” applied to a prison environment, and the concepts of dominance and inmate subculture in relation to their contributions to understanding bullying among prisoners. It also addresses the nature and the extent of bullying, the characteristics of bullies and their victims, and the reactions of victims to the bullying. The review concludes with a discussion of the methodological limitations of the present research and directions for future research.     

A review of: “R.D. Laing: A divided self”

John Clay (1996) R.D. Laing: A Divided Self, London: Hodder & Stoughton, pp. 308, $20.00 (hb), $7.99 (pb)     

A repair of Frege’s theory of thoughts

Frege’s writings contain arguments for the thesis (i) that a thought expressed by a sentence S is a structured object whose composition pictures the composition of S, and for the thesis (ii) that a thought is an unstructured object. I will argue that Frege’s reasons for both (i) and (ii) are strong. Frege’s explanation of the difference in sense between logically equivalent sentences rests on assumption (i), while Frege’s claim that the same thought can be decomposed differently makes (ii) plausible. Thoughts are supposed to do work that requires that they be structured and work that requires that they be unstructured. But this cannot be! While the standard response to this problem is to reject either (i) or (ii), I propose a charitable repair in the spirit of Frege’s theory that accepts both. The key idea can be found in Frege’s Basic Laws of Arithmetic(BL, GGA). Frege argues that the thought expressed by a sentence is determined by the truth-conditions that can be derived from the semantic axioms for the sentence constituents. The fact that the same axiomatic truth-condition can be derived in different ways from different semantic axioms suggests a Fregean solution of the dilemma: A thought is a type that is instantiated by all sequences of senses (decomposed thoughts) that have the same axiomatic truth-conditions. This allows for multiple decomposability of the same thought (for different decomposed thoughts can have the same axiomatic truth-conditions) and for a notion of containment (the decomposed thought contains those senses whose semantic axioms are needed in the derivation of the truth-conditions). My proposal combines the virtues of (i) and (ii) without inheriting their vices.     

A review of: “Constructing the self,constructing america: A cultural history of psychotherapy”

P. Cushman (1995) Constructing the Self, Constructing America: A Cultural History of Psychotherapy, Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, pp. 430, $23.99