Nurturing Faith for Action: Theological Education and Global Responsibility

Ghana hopes to parlay the financial promises of oil recovery into a better life for its people. If Ghana succeeds, it would be a model for the developing world. But Ghana's capacity to overcome poverty and support human dignity will be stronger if the rest of us who also hold that value commit more truly to it. As people of faith, as leaders of institutions, as educators, we face substantive questions about how our own actions, business decisions, and consumptive practices contribute to the larger issues of oil, consumerism, and planetary health. A course that asks not just Christian scholars and clergy, but leaders of theological institutions, church bodies, businesses, and others, to consider an ethical, paradigmatic shift toward a whole‐world ethic of well‐being is in order.     

Global Mental Health: A Call for Increased Awareness and Action for Family Therapists

Global mental health (GMH) is an emerging field that focuses on the need for culturally sensitive mental health services in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). While many new initiatives have been established worldwide to understand GMH needs and to provide care in LMICs, family therapists have primarily worked with families in high‐income countries. The few existing family‐based initiatives in GMH focus on psychoeducation and are typically not based on general systems theory. However, emerging trends in family therapy may enable family therapists to impact mental health issues in LMICs. These trends, which are shared interests of both family therapy and GMH, include collaborative care, a growing emphasis on the importance of culture in understanding and treating mental health issues, recognition of the ability of families to support or impede recovery from mental illness, and the use of strength‐based and evidence‐based treatments. This paper describes ways for family therapists to become active in the GMH community.     

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Crossover Comparison of MK-0929 and Placebo in the Treatment of Adults With ADHD

Objective: Preclinical models, receptor localization, and genetic linkage data support the role of D4 receptors in the etiology of ADHD. This proof-of-concept study was designed to evaluate MK-0929, a selective D4 receptor antagonist as treatment for adult ADHD. Method: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study was conducted in adults with primary ADHD. The primary end point was changed from baseline in total score on the Adult ADHD Investigator Symptom Rating Scale following a 4-week treatment regimen. Additional measures included Clinical Global Impression-Severity Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Brown Attention Deficit Disorder Scale and D4 genotype analysis. Results: No statistically significant treatment differences were found between MK-0929 and placebo in any of the primary or secondary assessments. Conclusion: Results from this study suggest that blockade of the D4 receptor alone is not efficacious in the treatment of adult ADHD.     

The CHIC Model: A Global Model for Coupled Binary Data

Often problems result in the collection of coupled data, which consist of different N-way N-mode data blocks that have one or more modes in common. To reveal the structure underlying such data, an integrated modeling strategy, with a single set of parameters for the common mode(s), that is estimated based on the information in all data blocks, may be most appropriate. Such a strategy implies a global model, consisting of different N-way N-mode submodels, and a global loss function that is a (weighted) sum of the partial loss functions associated with the different submodels. In this paper, such a global model for an integrated analysis of a three-way three-mode binary data array and a two-way two-mode binary data matrix that have one mode in common is presented. A simulated annealing algorithm to estimate the model parameters is described and evaluated in a simulation study. An application of the model to real psychological data is discussed. T. Wilderjans is a Research Assistant of the Fund for Scientific Research—Flanders (Belgium). The research reported in this paper was partially supported by the Research Council of K.U. Leuven (GOA/2005/04). We are grateful to Kristof Vansteelandt for providing us with an interesting data set. We also thank three anonymous reviewers for their useful comments.     

Placebo effects in developmental disabilities: implications for research and practice

Recent clinical trials of secretin in children with autism showed robust placebo effects and no benefit of secretin over placebo. This article explores the reasons for the observed placebo effects, focusing on the heightening of positive expectancy by media attention and by the sensory experiences associated with intravenous injections. Comparisons are drawn with research involving other novel treatments and other clinical populations of children with developmental disabilities and neurobehavioral disorders. Research regarding mechanisms of placebo effects is reviewed, including patient and clinician attributes, expectancy effects, participation effects, changes in caregiver behavior, and conditioning. New evidence regarding the biological basis of placebo effects is briefly presented. Since placebo effects are ubiquitous and may operate by a variety of mechanisms, research design is critical in designing clinical trials and in evaluating other outcomes research. Measurement issues important for research in developmental disabilities are emphasized. Ethical concerns have been raised regarding the use of placebo in clinical research, but current analysis suggests that placebo controls are necessary and defensible on ethical grounds, if certain conditions are met. The study of placebo effects ("placebology") holds great promise as a new area of research in therapeutics. The author's research in the potential augmentation of stimulant effects in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by adding placebo in open label is briefly presented. The placebo has always been integral to the practice of medicine, but advances in scientific medicine and medical ethics have diminished the role and use of placebo in practice. An innovative approach to the ethical use of placebo is proposed.     

Pooled Peer Ratings,Self-Ratings,and Estimated Ratings of Therapeutic Communication and Popularity: A Relational Analysis

Two studies of therapeutic communication and popularity were conducted in the framework of Dialogic Action Therapy (Ho & Wang, 2009 Ho , D. Y. F. , & Wang , H. L. ( 2009 ). Interpersonal perceptions and metaperceptions in Dialogic Action Therapy: A relational methodological approach to theory construction . Humanistic Psychologist , 37 , 79 – 100 .[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) that accords centrality to the bidirectional nature of interpersonal perceptions. Pooled peer ratings, self-ratings, and estimates of peer ratings were collected from 88 Chinese students in psychology who knew one another well. Self-inflation was operationally defined as the self-rating minus the peer rating, and overestimation as the estimated rating minus the peer rating, for each participant; negative values would be indicative of self-deflation or underestimation. Major results are: (a) Pooled peer ratings have superior validity over self-ratings of therapeutic communication; (b) bias effects (above-average and self-deflation) are found in ratings of popularity; (c) self-inflation and overestimation decrease as pooled peer ratings of therapeutic communication increase and, similarly, self-inflation decreases as pooled peer ratings of popularity increase. These results strengthen the case for a relational methodological approach that includes assessing how one views oneself and others, how one is viewed by others, and discrepancies between perceptions.     

The Psychology of Global Environmental Change: Some Basic Data and an Agenda for Cooperative International Research

In the first part of this paper existing evidence (mostly from earth and atmospheric sciences) on global climatic changes and their dependence (and effect) upon human action is briefly reviewed. Reference is made to existing major international programmes of research focusing on these climatic changes. The main part of the paper concentrates on the study of global change within the framework of the social sciences. Five psychological characteristics of global environmental change are explained which would account for the human inability to respond adequately without the supportive means of information presentation and processing. Future research on psychological dimensions of global change should explore these in greater detail and study modes of social communication that will become instrumental in implementing such support systems.     

Feeling Global,Acting Ethically: Global Identification and Fairtrade Consumption

Global identification has become a popular construct in recent psychological debate as it relates to harmonious intergroup relations and a caring for all humanity. Based on social identity theorizing, the current research tests whether global identification can also predict consumer choices, at the expense of lower personal benefit. Importantly, we assumed that concerns about global injustice represent a crucial component of that relation. We predicted that participants who identified strongly with all humanity would rather choose a Fairtrade product alternative over a conventional one, compared with low identifiers. In addition, we assumed that this effect be mediated by perceived global injustice. Both predictions were confirmed in a consumer choice study (N = 68). Overall, global identification and globally relevant consumer behavior seem meaningfully interconnected, and we discuss these findings with regard to recent theoretical developments in Fairtrade consumption research.     

Retirement Decisions: Expectation, Intention, and Action

The study examined the expectation-action chain of events in the context of the decision about whether to retire within the subsequent two years. One hundred and twenty-five staff employees at a large university participated. They evaluated their expectations about what would happen if they retired and stated their intention. Two years later they were contacted to see whether they had or had not retired. Expectations were used to predict intentions (78% correct predictions), and intentions were used to predict actions (76% correct predictions). The results were interpreted as evidence supporting the use of the expectation-intention-action chain to characterize retirement decision making. The possible causes of mispredictions were discussed.     

Comparison of Methods for Collecting and Modeling Dissimilarity Data: Applications to Complex Sound Stimuli

Sorting procedures are frequently adopted as an alternative to dissimilarity ratings to measure the dissimilarity of large sets of stimuli in a comparatively short time. However, systematic empirical research on the consequences of this experiment-design choice is lacking. We carried out a behavioral experiment to assess the extent to which sorting procedures compare to dissimilarity ratings in terms of efficiency, reliability, and accuracy, and the extent to which data from different data-collection methods are redundant and are better fit by different distance models. Participants estimated the dissimilarity of either semantically charged environmental sounds or semantically neutral synthetic sounds. We considered free and hierarchical sorting and derived indications concerning the properties of constrained and truncated hierarchical sorting methods from hierarchical sorting data. Results show that the higher efficiency of sorting methods comes at a considerable cost in terms of data reliability and accuracy. This loss appears to be minimized with truncated hierarchical sorting methods that start from a relatively low number of groups of stimuli. Finally, variations in data-collection method differentially affect the fit of various distance models at the group-average and individual levels. On the basis of these results, we suggest adopting sorting as an alternative to dissimilarity-rating methods only when strictly necessary. We also suggest analyzing the raw behavioral dissimilarities, and avoiding modeling them with one single distance model.     

Knowledge and Other Norms for Assertion,Action, and Belief: A Teleological Account

Here I advance a unified account of the structure of the epistemic normativity of assertion, action, and belief. According to my Teleological Account , all of these are epistemically successful just in case they fulfill the primary aim of knowledgeability, an aim which in turn generates a host of secondary epistemic norms. The central features of the Teleological Account are these: it is compact in its reliance on a single central explanatory posit, knowledge‐centered in its insistence that knowledge sets the fundamental epistemic norm, and yet fiercely pluralistic in its acknowledgment of the legitimacy and value of a rich range of epistemic norms distinct from knowledge. Largely in virtue of this pluralist character, I argue, the Teleological Account is far superior to extant knowledge‐centered accounts.     

Individualism and Resistance to Affirmative Action: A Comparison of Japanese and American Samples1

It has been proposed that part of the resistance to affirmative action in the U.S. derives from the American discomfort with categorical social arrangements. An instance of gender discrimination was described to samples of Japanese and American students. The students then evaluated a set of remedies, one of which was a classic affirmative action solution and filled out Singelis’ Self-Construal Scale (Singelis, 1994). The Japanese sample was more collectivist than the American sample and endorsed the affirmative action solution more strongly than the American sample.     

The Development of Global and Local Processing: A Comparison of Children to Adults

In light of the adult model of a hemispheric asymmetry of global and local processing, we compared children (M _age = 8.4 years) to adults in a global-local reaction time (RT) paradigm. Hierarchical designs (large shapes made of small shapes) were presented randomly to each visual field, and participants were instructed to identify either the global or the local level in each of two blocks. We obtained evidence of a global-local processing asymmetry, with stronger effects for children than for adults. In both children and adults, responses were faster and more accurate for global identification in the right hemisphere and for local identification in the left hemisphere. Similarly, a significant asymmetry of global and local interference was obtained in children but not in adults. Interference reflects the RT cost of conflicting information at the nonattended level. For example, local interference indicates the degree to which inconsistency at the local level slows global identification. Stronger evidence for lateralized processing in children is discussed within the framework of increasing interhemispheric transfer. That is, as interhemispheric transfer increases, cost of presentation to the nonpreferred hemisphere (e.g., local identification in the right hemisphere) is reduced.     

安慰剂效应研究实验设计的历史和发展

安慰剂处理从最初作为研究某种真实治疗效应的控制条件, 已演变为研究者直接关注的研究目标, 其实验范式也发生了相应变化。双盲随机设计关注真实的治疗是否优于安慰剂处理; 欺骗设计直接比较安慰剂处理效应和自然历史效应的差异, 关注安慰剂效应本身; 公开隐藏设计通过计算公开治疗效应和隐藏治疗效应之差来估计安慰剂效应的大小; 平衡范式可同时观察安慰剂效应和真实治疗效应; 强化范式通过条件性强化获得加强的安慰剂效应, 是研究其作用机制的优化方案; 本课题组建立的迁移强化范式, 研究安慰剂效应从痛觉到情绪的迁移, 是强化范式的重要补充。