How to respond rationally to peer disagreement: The preemption view

In this paper, I argue that the two most common views of how to respond rationally to peer disagreement—the Total Evidence View (TEV) and the Equal Weight View (EWV)—are both inadequate for substantial reasons. TEV does not issue the correct intuitive verdicts about a number of hypothetical cases of peer disagreement. The same is true for EWV. In addition, EWV does not give any explanation of what is rationally required of agents on the basis of sufficiently general epistemic principles. I will then argue that there is a genuine alternative to both views—the Preemption View (PV)—that fares substantially better in both respects. I will give an outline and a detailed defense of PV in the paper.     

Perceptions of psychotherapy trainees of psychotherapy research

Aims: The research‐practice gap and lack of engagement with research by trainees and qualified therapists is a widely discussed issue amongst psychotherapy researchers. The present study investigates the perceptions of psychotherapy trainees of psychotherapy research and explores what would encourage them to participate in research. Method: Two focus groups of 16 trainees in total were conducted at two separate psychotherapy training institutes to explore trainees’ attitudes and perceptions. Data was analysed using Braun and Clarke's (2006) thematic analysis. Results: Three superordinate themes emerged: negative perception of research; recognition of the importance of research; and what would be needed to facilitate engagement in research. Discussion: The results suggest that interest in and willingness to participate in research exists, however it is necessary for negative perceptions about research to be addressed and for researchers to design projects which are supportive of participants.     

Online data collection for psychotherapy process research.

A preliminary investigation addressed the feasibility of using a specially designed online database to collect psychotherapy session impact and therapist-client alliance data and compared these online measures to published results of their paper-and-pencil counterparts. Participants drawn from a psychology department clinic, a student counseling center, and community agencies visited an online site to report on each of their sessions. Some clients and therapists visited the online database on a regular basis; however, client recruitment and participation was problematic. Equivalence between the online and paper-and-pencil forms was supported, with minor qualifications, by comparable distributions of participant responses on the measures' scales. More direct contact with clients might increase their participation.     

Explanatory style and gambling: How pessimists respond to losing wagers

Fifty-three patrons of a harness racing track completed two measures of explanatory style prior to an afternoon's races. One measure assessed general explanatory style, using bad events taken from the Attributional Style Questionnaire, and the other measure assessed betting-specific explanatory style, using bad events specific to harness race betting. Subjects then kept a diary during the first eight races. After each race, they reported how much they had bet, whether they had won or lost, the major cause of the outcome, their confidence about winning future bets, and whether they were ruminating about past or future races. Explanatory style assessed in both ways had similar correlates. Explanatory style predicted the specific attributions made by subjects for losses. Pessimistic explanatory style (internal + stable + global attributions) predicted rumination following a lost bet, but it was unrelated to expressed confidence. Rumination after a loss was in turn associated with larger wagers on subsequent races and a tendency toward less successful wagers. These results clarify one way in which pessimistic explanatory style results in helplessness, and suggest a path by which problematic gambling may develop.     

When theory and practice diverge: gender-related patterns of referral to psychoanalysts.

This study tests the hypothesis that female analysts, relative to male analysts, receive a disproportionately small percentage of male referrals. Referral patterns for 170 analysts from four institutes accredited by the American Psychoanalytic Association were examined. One thousand, five hundred and ten patients referrals were studied. The findings were extremely robust and offered dramatic confirmation of our hypothesis. The major implications of the study are as follows: (1) Women analysts receive relatively few adult male referrals, making it difficult for them to gain requisite clinical experience with men. (2) Analysts and nonanalysts alike demonstrate a reluctance to refer male patients to female analysts. (3) Adult referrals, including those made by analysts, are significantly influenced by the issue of gender match between patient and analyst. (4) Analysts' behavior with regard to making referrals does not correspond to explicit clinical theory regarding how analysts make referrals--specifically, the extent to which gender influences the referral process is not adequately described by theory. We believe that these findings are of some concern from the standpoint of analytic education and that they also raise questions regarding unacknowledged aspects of how gender match between patient and analyst enters into clinical decision making.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The moral journey of the first Viennese psychoanalysts.

By exploring the cultural concerns of Freud's first Viennese disciples, this article explains how these concerns helped inspire both intellectual conviction in Freudianism and inner commitment to the psychoanalytic movement. In this way, it illuminates an important underlying identity between medical practitioners and laypersons within Freud's circle. At the same time, it brings to light the tension between values and science in Viennese psychoanalysis.     

How consumers respond to missing a quantity discount with multiple price breaks

This study investigates how consumers evaluate and respond to different discount schemes (i.e., one versus multiple price breaks) in the wake of a missed quantity discount. Two field experiments are conducted. The results demonstrate that promotions with multiple price breaks (e.g., 2 for 30% off and 3 for 40% off) will result in a higher likelihood of purchasing one item at the regular price than promotions with only a single price break (e.g., 2 for 30% off) when a quantity discount is missed. The results of Experiment 2 reveal that increasing the number of price breaks (i.e., from two to three) can strengthen the assimilation of the advertised regular price into consumers' internal reference price range when there is a greater interval between the two price breaks (e.g., 2 for 30% off, 5 for 40% off, and 8 for 50% off) and that subsequently raises consumers' purchase likelihood if they are not able to take advantage of the promotional price. Finally, the effect of the discount scheme on purchase likelihood is shown to be mediated by the internal reference price. These observations have important implications for retailers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Developmental issues in psychotherapy research

Research on psychosocial interventions with children requires attention to developmental principles such as age-specific competence, maturational shifts, increasing cone of relevant contacts, and socioeconomic context of biological stages. Research strategies that include such variables should lead to ecologically sound investigations and the correct selection of outcome variables. A consideration of the specificity of treatment and controlled design alone are not sufficient to guide the study of the psychological treatment of developing organisms and persons.