Clergy Affairs: Emotional Investment,Longevity of Relationship and Affair Partners

While there has been a growing body of research on clergy infidelity behavior (Blackmon, 1984; Muck, 1988; Thoburn & Balswick, 1999), factors predicting infidelity (Blackmon, 1984; Steinke, 1989; Thoburn & Balswick, 1994) and attitudes related to clergy infidelity (Steinke, 1989; Thoburn & Balswick, 1999), little research has been done identifying the nature of clergy sexual misconduct relationships. Research with a multi-denominational group of male Protestant ministers examined a) whether clergy affairs are of short or long duration, b) the kinds of persons that clergy have affairs with i.e. counselees, church members, church staff, friends, strangers or prostitutes, c) whether there was an emotional quality to the affair, and d) the potential impact that marital dissatisfaction might have on the clergy affair.     

Analysts who commit sexual boundary violations: a lost cause?

The causes of sexual misconduct by analysts are discussed, as is the viability of rehabilitation for different types of transgressors. Common misunderstandings about the transgressor (such as the assumption of psychopathy and the likelihood of multiple offenses) are countered with a summary of data derived from the evaluation and/or treatment of over two hundred cases, most of them one-time transgressors. The typical characteristics of the analyst or therapist who engages in sexual misconduct are presented and discussed as qualities that are to some extent present in analysts generally. The temptation to deny this universal vulnerability is viewed as effectively replicating the kind of vertical splitting or compartmentalization that makes one vulnerable to sexual misconduct in the first place.     

The push and pull of temptation: the bidirectional influence of temptation on self-control

This article examines how people respond to the emergence of temptation in their environment. Three studies demonstrated that how people respond to temptation depends critically on their visceral state--whether or not they are actively experiencing visceral drives such as hunger, drug craving, or sexual arousal. We found that when people were in a "cold," nonvisceral state, the presence of temptation prompted cognition to support self-control. However, when people were in a "hot," visceral state, temptation prompted the same cognitive processes to support impulsive behavior. Study 1 examined how heterosexual men's level of sexual arousal influences their attention to attractive women. Study 2 examined whether satiated and craving smokers would engage in motivated reasoning in order to dampen (or enhance) the appeal of smoking when confronted with the temptation to smoke. Study 3 tested the boundaries of the interaction between visceral state and temptation.     

The assessment of child sexual abuse allegations: using research to guide clinical decision making

As reports of child sexual abuse (CSA) have risen, greater attention has been focused on how clinicians evaluate allegations of abuse. A common theme in the CSA assessment literature is to encourage comprehensive, multimodal assessments. This recommendation, however, is rarely accompanied by suggestions regarding how clinicians might integrate and differentially weight the information gathered. The present article is designed to address the issue of which sources of information clinicians should rely upon when conducting CSA assessments. Specifically, the commonly used indicators and procedures for assessing allegations of abuse are identified and then examined in light of their respective empirical literatures. It is concluded that medical examinations and the child's report are among the best sources of information, and should therefore be most heavily relied upon to arrive at accurate decisions. Clinicians are encouraged to adopt the mind set of a scientist conducting an a priori, hypothesis-driven research investigation. This approach should help clinicians avoid the temptation of post hoc analyses that reflect personal biases more than the actual data. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pastoral visitation to the institutionalized aged: Delivering more than a lick and a promise

A representative nationwide survey of elderly in nursing home facilities was conducted by the Lutheran Council U.S.A. Visitation by family ministers and facility chaplains, a major study focus, was characterized by the elderly as not meeting their needs in terms of frequency and time available with clergy. Time constraints of the clergy are communicated to the elderly, who are understanding but nevertheless felt shortchanged. The elderly without visits from relatives or significant others are particularly vulnerable. Dominant themes within pastoral care visitation are highlighted.Dr. Uhlman is Director of Research and Evaluation and Reverend Steinke is Director of the Clinical Pastoral Education Program with Mental Health Services of the Roanoke Valley, 920 South Jefferson Street, Roanoke, Virginia 24016. The authors wish to acknowledge the Aid Association for the Lutheran Insurance Company and Concordia Teachers College (River Forest, Illinois), which assisted with financial costs and data analysis. Special recognition and appreciation should be noted for the elderly respondents whose participation made our experience both rewarding and enlightening.     

A Probabilistic Model of Criticality in a Sequential Public Good Dilemma

A public good (PG) is a commodity or service made available to all members of a group: its provision depends on the voluntary contribution of its members. Once provided, all members can enjoy the benefits of the PG, regardless of whether they contributed or not; hence, there is a temptation to “free-ride” in the hope that others will contribute. Rapoport (1987) showed that an important factor that affects cooperation (contribution) in a PG dilemma is the extent to which a group member is critical in providing it. Erev and Rapoport (1990) tested a game-theoretic model that yields deterministic predictions about the effects of criticality on cooperation in public good dilemmas. Based on research by Chen, Au, and Komorita (1996), we propose a probabilistic model of criticality. The model is tested and found to fit empirical data. Extensions of the model to situations with uncertain group size or provision point are discussed.     

Harnessing the need for immediate gratification: cognitive reconstrual modulates the reward value of temptations

Many of us succumb to temptations, despite knowing that we will later regret doing so. How can such behavior be avoided? In three studies, the authors tested the hypothesis that reconstruing temptation as a test of a valued internal quality ("willpower") would decrease the tendency to succumb by reducing the appeal of the temptation. In Study 1, participants who construed a challenging handgrip task as a test of willpower resisted the temptation to terminate the painful task longer than participants who did not. In Study 2, participants performed a handgrip task twice. Only participants who changed their construal of the task into a test of willpower improved their performance. In Study 3, participants took a timed math test while being tempted by comedy clips. Participants who reconstrued the situation as willpower test compared with participants who did not, (a) enjoyed the videos less, and (b) were better able to resist the tempting videos. These studies demonstrate that cognitive reconstrual can be used to modify reward contingencies, so that succumbing to temptation becomes less appealing, and resisting temptation becomes more appealing.     

Self-Control: A Function of Knowing When and How to Exercise Restraint

ABSTRACT— To successfully pursue a goal in the face of temptation, an individual must first identify that she faces a self-control conflict. Only then will the individual exercise self-control to promote goal pursuit over indulging in temptation. We propose a new model that distinguishes between the problems of conflict identification and those of conflict resolution. We then review research on the factors that influence conflict identification and those that determine conflict resolution.     

Predicting Bystander Behavior to Prevent Sexual Assault on College Campuses: The Role of Self-Efficacy and Intent

Bystander intervention has been increasingly applied to prevent sexual violence on college campuses. Its underlying theory assumes unidirectional relationships between variables, predicting that bystander behaviors (i.e., actions taken to intervene in sexual violence situations) will be influenced by bystander intentions (BI; i.e., likelihood to intervene in the future), which in turn will be affected by bystander efficacy (BE; i.e., confidence to intervene). One question for theory is whether a reciprocal relationship exists between BI and BE. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) with longitudinal data to test unidirectional and reciprocal causal relations between BI and BE. Participants (n = 1390) were students at a northeastern US university. Four models were examined using SEM: (1) a baseline model with autoregressive paths; (2) a model with autoregressive effects and BI predicting future BE; (3) a model with autoregressive effects and BE predicting future BI; and, (4) a fully cross‐lagged model. Results indicated that reciprocal causality was found to occur between BI and BE. In addition, a final model demonstrated indirect effects of a bystander intervention program on bystander behaviors through both BI and BE at different time points. Implications for theory and practice are described, and directions for future research discussed.     

Self-regulation and sexual restraint: dispositionally and temporarily poor self-regulatory abilities contribute to failures at restraining sexual behavior

Nonsexual deficiencies in self-control may contribute to inappropriate or objectionable sexual behaviors, as shown by survey questionnaires, autobiographical narratives, and experimental manipulations. People with low overall trait self-control and/or whose self-control strength had been depleted by recent, nonsexual acts were less likely than other people to stifle inappropriate sexual thoughts and to resist the temptation to engage in sexual activities with someone other than their primary relationship partner. They also engaged in more extensive sexual activity in the laboratory with their dating partner and they reported more undercontrolled or impulsive sexual behavior generally. Furthermore, there was some evidence that the effects of diminished self-control were strongest among those with the strongest sexual desires (men and sexually unrestricted individuals) and among couples with less sexual experience.     

Autism and Accuracy in Adolescent Perceptions of Friends' Sexual Attitudes and Behavior

This study uses data from adolescents matched with data from their friends to examine whether reference group effects on adolescent sexuality should be thought of as operating through the sharing of norms or the modeling of behavior. We observe that perception of attitudes has such a trivial reality component and such a strong autistic component that it cannot serve as a mechanism of peer influence. Perception of sexual behavior has a reality component which is as large as its autistic component, and large enough to serve as a route of influence. We reach two conclusions: (1) Reference group effects on adolescent sexual behavior probably work through behavior modeling rather than through normative influence. (2) Studies which infer peer influence on sexual behavior using only perception of peers will arrive at erroneous conclusions.     

A statistical model of facial attractiveness

Previous research has identified facial averageness and sexual dimorphism as important factors in facial attractiveness. The averageness and sexual dimorphism accounts provide important first steps in understanding what makes faces attractive, and should be valued for their parsimony. However, we show that they explain relatively little of the variance in facial attractiveness, particularly for male faces. As an alternative to these accounts, we built a regression model that defines attractiveness as a function of a face's position in a multidimensional face space. The model provides much more predictive power than the averageness and sexual dimorphism accounts and reveals previously unreported components of attractiveness. The model shows that averageness is attractive in some dimensions but not in others and resolves previous contradictory reports about the effects of sexual dimorphism on the attractiveness of male faces.     

Are epistemic emotions metacognitive?

This article addresses the question whether epistemic emotions (such as surprise, curiosity, uncertainty, and feelings of knowing) are in any sense inherently metacognitive. The paper begins with some critical discussion of a recent suggestion made by Joelle Proust, that these emotions might be implicitly or procedurally metacognitive. It then explores the theoretical resources that are needed to explain how such emotions arise and do their work. While there is a perennial temptation to think that epistemic emotions are somehow about the cognitive states of the person undergoing the emotion, we will see that such views can and should be resisted.     

预先承诺的理论解释及其神经机制

预先承诺是指个体提前做出一个有长远目标的决定来限制对即时诱惑的选择,从而避免在未来决策中由于意志力缺乏而出现的自我控制失败。最后期限法和限制选择法是开展预先承诺研究的常用范式。本研究在系统回顾预先承诺的三种理论解释（自我控制资源模型、神经网络模型和时间差强化学习模型）的基础上,尝试提出一个整合性的认知神经机制模型来解释预先承诺的作用过程。未来研究可进一步丰富预先承诺的研究范式和应用范围,并探究预先承诺调控非理性决策的心理与神经机制。     

预先承诺的理论解释及其神经机制

预先承诺是指个体提前做出一个有长远目标的决定来限制对即时诱惑的选择,从而避免在未来决策中由于意志力缺乏而出现的自我控制失败。最后期限法和限制选择法是开展预先承诺研究的常用范式。本研究在系统回顾预先承诺的三种理论解释（自我控制资源模型、神经网络模型和时间差强化学习模型）的基础上,尝试提出一个整合性的认知神经机制模型来解释预先承诺的作用过程。未来研究可进一步丰富预先承诺的研究范式和应用范围,并探究预先承诺调控非理性决策的心理与神经机制。     

Against Couples

ABSTRACT The essay attacks the convention that a person should at any period in their life have not more than one sexual partner. The issues of the care of children and the desirability of a shared household are here bracketed out. The main argument proceeds by seeing conflicts between the requirement of exclusivity in sexual life, authenticity, and the principle that sexual communion should be an expression of love. A general social inertia, defined by the possessive introversion of couples, means that individuals will inevitably sometimes have to choose between sexual solitude and cultivating a more or less artificial relationship. The ideal of a single, central relationship is criticised on the grounds that (i) in some respects it is not desirable and (ii) it is in any case unrealistic to suppose that we can choose to create such an ideal relationship at will.     

Fertile women are more demanding: Ovulatory increases in minimum mate preference criteria across a wide range of characteristics and relationship contexts

The ovulatory shift hypothesis (Gangestad, Thornhill, & Garver-Apgar, 2005) makes three predictions. First, it posits that during peak fertility, women are more attracted to males who display characteristics of good genes. Secondly, it predicts that women predominantly experience ovulatory shifts when evaluating males as short-term sexual partners. Lastly, it predicts that ovulatory shifts should be non-existent when measuring mate preferences associated with long-term partner quality. However given that female preferences are formulated as a means to offset costs associated with reproduction (Buss, 1994) and such costs are more likely to be incurred during peak fertility, the current study (via the ovulatory reproductive safeguards hypothesis) posits that women during peak fertility should show a general increase in their mate preference criteria across a variety of characteristics and relationships. Using a within-subjects design and hormonal markers of fertility status, the present study investigates the degree to which ovulatory shifts in preferences are limited to short-term sexual liaisons and the degree to which such shifts are associated with characteristics related to long-term partner quality. Contrary to the ovulatory shift hypothesis (and in support of the ovulatory reproductive safeguards hypothesis), ovulatory shifts were found across a wide range of relationship contexts and preference characteristics.     

Do infants provide evidence that the mirror system is involved in action understanding?

The mirror neuron theory of action understanding makes predictions concerning how the limited motor repertoire of young infants should impact on their ability to interpret others’ actions. In line with this theory, an increasing body of research has identified a correlation between infants’ abilities to perform an action, and their ability to interpret that action as goal-directed when performed by others. In this paper, I will argue that the infant data does by no means unequivocally support the mirror neuron theory of action understanding and that alternative interpretations of the data should be considered. Furthermore, some of this data can be better interpreted in terms of an alternative view, which holds that the role of the motor system in action perception is more likely to be one of enabling the observer to predict, after a goal has been identified, how that goal will be attained.     

The expectation of guilt and resistance to temptation

Children's expectations about the emotions that surround a moral transgression were examined. In experiment 1, children aged 4-6 years and 8-9 years listened to a story about a child who resisted but then yielded to the temptation to take a sweet without permission. In line with earlier findings (Nunner-Winkler and Sodian, 1988), older children were more likely than younger children to expect the wrongdoer to feel pleased at resisting, but to feel bad after yielding to, temptation. In experiment 2, the relation between expectations of emotion and actual resistance to temptation was studied. Children aged 5-6 years again made judgements about a story character who eventually yielded to temptation. Their own resistance to temptation was assessed by means of a cheating task: children were given an opportunity to cheat by peeking during the experimenter's absence. Children who did not peek were more likely to attribute morally oriented feelings to the story protagonist. The results suggest that children who readily anticipate the emotional consequences of wrongdoing are more likely to resist the temptation to transgress.