What if there were no psychometrics?: constructs, complexity, and measurement

McGrath (2005/this issue) has published a very significant article; it is significant because it examines the substantive issue of construct validity in a simple and informative way, noting the confusions apparent in how constructs and their variables are defined, used, and interpreted within the domain of personality and individual differences. This is a careful, thoughtful, article that quietly proceeds to outline the problems with current thinking and approaches to defining and using constructs in psychology. McGrath also suggests how some of these problems might be addressed. I note that McGrath appears to miss what might be considered an obvious rejoinder to some of his arguments, that is, the use of latent variable and item response theory. Some consideration is given to these arguments. However, a cursory examination shows that although these new methodologies offer many opportunities for new stochastic questionnaire data modeling and the construction of "instant" latent variables, the same problems caused by lack of attention to measurement and meaning remain. I find I am in agreement with many of the author's views and arguments, but I also find myself wondering whether modern psychometrics and individual differences research methods is now so dominated by psychological statisticians that any thought of substantive scientific innovation in this area that deals more properly with measurement and meaning is long gone. I think the answers to the question "What if there was no psychometrics?" would be most illuminating.     

No pain,no gain? A resource-based model of work-to-family enrichment and conflict

Work–family scholars tend to work in two largely disconnected research streams, focusing on either work–family enrichment—the positive side of the work–family interface—or work–family conflict—the negative side of this interface. The purpose of this study is to suggest a reconciliation of the two research streams by proposing and testing a resource-based model of work-to-family enrichment and conflict. Specifically, we propose that an individual's work role engagement has two independent outcomes, work role resource gain and loss, and they separately mediate the relationships between work role engagement and work-to-family enrichment and conflict. We further propose that two dimensions of regulatory focus, promotion focus and prevention focus, moderate the relationships between work role engagement and work role resource gain and loss respectively. Structural equation modeling results based on data from 1052 employees of Chinese firms offer general support for these notions.     

Should given information come before new? Yes and no

It has been noted for some time that given information tends to be placed before new information (e.g., Clark & Clark, 1977). To determine whether this holds generally, double-object and NP-PP sentences like the following were tested in two speeded acceptability judgment experiments. (1A) The senator mailed the woman a report. (1B) The senator mailed a woman the report. (1C) The senator mailed the report to a woman. (1D) The senator mailed a report to the woman. Given-before-new (or definite before indefinite) ordering facilitated processing for double-object structures, with (1A) processed faster and accepted more often than (1B), but did not facilitate processing of (1C) relative to (1D) in NP-PP structures. A third self-paced reading experiment showed that the advantage of the definite-before-indefinite new ordering holds for constructions with a shifted NP (The senator mailed to the woman a report) but also showed that facilitation from having a definite NP immediately after the verb was limited to cases where the two arguments of a verb contrast in definiteness. The results suggest that the presumed given-before-new preference is not general, but is instead limited to certain constructions and is based on the language comprehension system being sensitive to the requirements of language production.     

There’s no existent like ‘no existence’ like no existent I know

The aim of this paper is to motivate and then defend a restricted version of the truth-maker theory. In defending such a theory I hope to do away with the perceived need for ‘negative existents’ such as totality facts and the like.     

Are skeptical theists really skeptics? Sometimes yes and sometimes no

Skeptical theism is the view that God exists but, given our cognitive limitations, the fact that we cannot see a compensating good for some instance of evil is not a reason to think that there is no such good. Hence, we are not justified in concluding that any actual instance of evil is gratuitous, thus undercutting the evidential argument from evil for atheism. This paper focuses on the epistemic role of context and contrast classes to advance the debate over skeptical theism in two ways. First, considerations of context and contrast can be invoked to offer a novel defense of skeptical theism. Second, considerations of context and contrast can be invoked to undermine the two most serious objections to skeptical theism: the global skepticism objection and the moral objection. The gist of the paper is to defend a connection between context and contrast-driven views in epistemology with skeptical views in philosophy of religion.     

What is Postnormal When There is no Normal? A Postdichotomous View of the Histories of the Past,Present, and Future

In this paper, I discuss the concept of ‘postnormal times’ and argue that the term postnormal is misrepresentative where applied to describe a state beyond so-called ‘normal’ times. Such normality is characterized by, i) progress towards social, economic and political equilibrium, and ii) future betterment for all. I posit that these conditions represent, at best, misplaced optimism and, at worst, a deliberate veil of untruths. I also argue that the foundation of thinking on normalcy, based on the classical free market economics of Adam Smith, was flawed from the outset. I propose that what are termed postnormal times actually represent an extreme set of long-term ‘normal times’. Importantly, I propose that human responses to a situation of extreme normalcy will be different from responses to the novel and truly postnormal. Action, or lack thereof, to address extreme normalcy requires a different mindset and starting point to that for addressing a new or post-normalcy. As such, I call for fundamental change to economic and political priorities and for a focus on social needs and values in the very near future. Finally, I posit that, whether we live in postnormal, ‘hyper-normal’, abnormal or ‘new normal’ times, we must accept that, for most of humanity and for the planet on which we live, these are not good times, and we must strive to bring about urgent and radical change.     

Content-blind norms, no norms, or good norms? A reply to Vranas

In the psychology of thinking, little thought is given to what constitutes good thinking. Instead, normative solutions to problems have been accepted at face value, thereby determining what counts as a reasoning fallacy. I applaud Vranas (Cognition 76 (2000) 179) for thinking seriously about norms. I do, however, disagree with his attempt to provide post hoc justifications for supposed reasoning fallacies in terms of 'content-neutral' norms. Norms need to be constructed for a specific situation, not imposed upon it in a content-blind way. The reason is that content-blind norms disregard relevant structural properties of the given situation, including polysemy, reference classes, and sampling. I also show that content-blind norms can, unwittingly, lead to double standards: the norm in one problem is the fallacy in the next. The alternative to content-blind norms is not no norms, but rather carefully designed norms.     

What, if anything, is the medial temporal lobe, and how can the amygdala be part of it if there is no such thing?

Should the medial temporal lobe (MTL) of primates--which includes allocortical structures such as the hippocampus, neocortical structures such as the parahippocampal cortex, and nuclear structures such as the basolateral amygdala--be considered a single "thing"? According to the prevailing view, here termed the reification theory, the answer is yes. According to this theory, the MTL functions as an amalgamated entity that provides the neuronal mechanisms for declarative memory; the greater the damage to the MTL or any of its components, the greater the deleterious effects on declarative memory. A countervailing view, here called the balkanization theory, holds that the various components of the MTL process and store different kinds of information. According to this theory, damage to each part of the MTL causes a unique set of behavioral deficits-some involving memory, others involving perception, and yet others involving response selection. The empirical neuropsychological evidence favors the balkanization theory, as do some new concepts in theoretical neuroanatomy.     

Field dependence: experimenters' expectancy, sex difference or no difference?

The possibility that sex differences found in previous research on field dependence may have been due partly to experimenters' expectancy, was investigated. Three pairs of naive student-experimenters received different information about expected outcomes for males and females on the Rod and Frame Test and the Embedded Figures Test. There was no evidence of an experimenters' expectancy effect, but there was also no significant difference in the performance of men and women on these two tests of field dependence.     

No anticipation–no action: the role of anticipation in action and perception

This paper reviews psychophysical evidence for the existence and the nature of two types of anticipation in goal-oriented action. The first one relates to attained changes of the perceptual world, thus to action goals. These anticipations determine appropriate motor output. We argue that goal codes do not only serve as a reference unit, against which currently produced behavioral effects are compared. Rather voluntary actions appear to be planned literally in terms of intended behavioral effects. The second type of anticipation relates to the environmental conditions that have to be met to bring an intended effect into being. These anticipations serve to trigger selected actions, when appropriate execution conditions are encountered. Altogether, the behavioral evidence portrays a remarkable automaticity of goal-oriented action. Once a goal exists (wherever it might come from), corresponding efferent output is generated and executed under appropriate conditions.     

It's a question? Infants attend differently to yes/no questions and declaratives

We examined infants’ perception of the intonational characteristics of yes-no questions and declarative sentences in English. Both infants habituated to questions and those habituated to declaratives preferred the question forms at test, suggesting that infants process these two sentence types differently.     

A comparison of adults’ and children's metacognition for yes/no recognition decisions

Basic metacognitive development research suggests that metacognitive abilities develop before adolescence. However, this research has not used tasks that require the discrimination of seen from unseen stimuli, an important element of real-world recognition tasks such as eyewitness identification. We tested the idea that children would be less able to monitor and control the accuracy of their memories in such a task. We used a word-pair recognition task to compare children's (109 8–12 year olds) and adult's (102 first-year psychology students) ability to adaptively make, monitor, and control the reporting of yes/no recognition decisions about familiar stimuli in a task with no demand effects. We found that adults were substantially better at discriminating old from new stimuli, but no evidence of an age difference in metacognitive ability. Although these results do not explain children's poor metacognition in eyewitness identification, they suggest potential steps to improve children's identification performance.     

Education and Psycho-Utopianism—Comenius,Skinner, and Beyond

In the history of ideas some researchers have recently coined the term psycho-utopianism, denoting the notion that the ideal society presupposes a “new man,” that is, the psychological nature of man must change before society can change. Cultural studies have noted this line of thinking also within the so-called New Age movement. However, the notion of a New Age is not really new; it occurred already at the beginning of the Modern Epoch; in seventeenth-century Europe. At that time, the educational philosopher J. A. Comenius was writing his canonical work Didactica Magna and other texts on education, science, and philosophy, with the ultimate aim of contributing to a new world order. Comenius was one of the first modern educators to argue for a general education of both boys and girls irrespective of social class. Three hundred years later, B. F. Skinner suggested psychological methods of education and upbringing, also with the ultimate aim to transform society. In this article I will look closer at the similarities and differences between these two thinkers regarding their psycho-utopian notions. I will conclude with similar reflections on psycho-utopian tendencies in present discourses on information and communication technology (ICT) and education.     

No explanation of persons,no explanation of resurrection: on Lynne Baker’s constitution view and the resurrection of human persons

I don’t think Lynne Rudder Baker’s constitution view can account for personal identity problems of a synchronic or diachronic nature. As such, it cannot accommodate the Christian’s claim of eschatological bodily resurrection-a principle reason for which she gives this account. In light of this, I press objections against her constitution view in the following ways: First, I critique an analogy she draws between Aristotle’s “accidental sameness” and constitution. Second, I address three problems for Baker’s constitution view [‘Constitution Problems’ (CP)], each more problematic than the next: CP1: Her definition of constitution lacks explanatory power; CP2: If there is a plausible definition of constitution, constitution implies either too many persons or no human persons at all; CP3: Constitution yields no essential distinction between human and divine persons. If my argument(s) go through, her constitution view has neither an explanation for diachronic personal identity nor personal identity through resurrection.     

Ethics,metaphysics, and psychoanalysis∗

An attempt is made to point out some of the moral presuppositions and implications of psychotherapy in theory and in practice. In the various forms of dynamically oriented psychotherapy, the setting of goals and decisions concerning maturation and health have value components. Even in psychoanalysis in its strict sense, decisions made in accepting or rejecting contracts and determination of the terminating point of analysis are value laden.

Finally, in the theorizing of Freud and others about psychotherapy moral positions are assumed.     

A tempest, a birth, and death: Freud, Jung, and Shakespeare’sPericles

This essay applies a Freudian psychoanalytic and Jungian archetypal narrative analysis to Shakespeare’s first and oft-criticized romance. The author argues that key structural and thematic elements ofPericles are best illuminated when viewed through a psychological interpretative lens, and that the play is best comprehended when examined in the context of its associative, rather than linear, richness. Masculinity and femininity, central themes of the narrative, are explored both in relation to the Oedipal complex and psychological individuation.Pericles also provides an excellent basis to examine key differences between Freud’s and Jung’s approach, particularly Jung’s widening of the primarily sexual psychoanalytic approach to encompass broader archetypal meaning.     

School Counselors’ General Self-Efficacy,Ethical and Legal Self-Efficacy,and Ethical and Legal Knowledge

School counselors encounter ethical and legal situations that necessitate the knowledge and confidence to apply decision-making skills. We report the findings from a correlational investigation that examines practicing school counselors’ (N = 287) ethical and legal self-efficacy, ethical and legal knowledge, and general self-efficacy. Higher ethical and legal self-efficacy was associated with higher general self-efficacy and ethical and legal knowledge. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Self-Consciousness,Self-presentation,and Performance Under Pressure: Who Chokes,and When?

Choking under pressure by persons low and high in self-consciousness was examined as a function of two sources of performance pressure: audience and performance feedback. Subjects competed with an alleged opponent on a psychomotor task while alone, before a supportive (same team) audience, or a nonsupportive (opposing team) audience. Before the critical trial, subjects learned that their team was either somewhat ahead of or somewhat behind the opposing team. Self-consciousness, audience, and feedback interacted to affect performance during the critical trial. When disappointing the audience was likely, subjects low in self-consciousness choked. Subjects high in self-consciousness tended to choke when they were told that their team had fallen behind. It is suggested that persons who are low and high in self-consciousness experience different types of performance pressure due to disparate self-presentational motives.