THE THEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY OF RALPH WENDELL BURHOE

Abstract. A central aim of Ralph Wendell Burhoe's scientific theology is to define and interpret the meaning of human existence in relation to “ultimate reality.” As such, it can be understood as an exercise in theological anthropology. For Burhoe, this ultimate reality is “nature,” understood as the total reality system which is studied by the sciences and which the sciences are showing to be the sole determiner of the way things are. This article discusses various aspects of Burhoe's theological anthropology, as well as its value and credibility, and raises questions concerning his understanding of the value of the individual and the problems of evil and human sinfulness.     

Assessing mental capacity and susceptibility to undue influence

Clinicians are commonly asked to participate in the determination of an individual's mental capacity and susceptibility to undue influence. Vague statutory definitions and lack of operational criteria for both determinations have contributed to inconsistency in the quality and usefulness of expert input to these determinations. Questionnaire responses of 119 probate judges from the U.S. indicate that this input is quite influential despite the problems mentioned above. This paper presents and discusses the judges' views on selected procedural and conceptual aspects of expert evaluation and testimony.     

Decision-making incapacity among nursing home residents: results from the 1987 NMES survey. National Medical Expenditure Survey

Recent legislative and regulatory developments have focused attention on older adults' capacity for involvement in health care decision-making. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA 87) focused attention on the rights of nursing home residents to be involved in health care decision-making to the fullest extent possible. This article uses data from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES) to examine rates of incapacity for health care decision-making among nursing home residents. Elements of the Oklahoma statute were used to operationalize decision-making incapacity: disability or disorder, difficulty in decision-making or communicating decisions, and functional disability. Fifty-three percent of nursing home residents had a combination of either physical or mental impairment and an impairment in either self-care or money management. The discussion focuses on the policy and practice implications of significant rates of incapacity among nursing home residents.     

GENERALIZATION OF EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT TRAINING TO THE JOB SETTING: INDIVIDUAL AND SITUATIONAL EFFECTS

This study examined whether variables at individual, unit, and suborganization levels influence the extent to which the knowledge and skills learned in employee involvement (EI) training are generalized beyond specific EI activities. Training generalization occurs when the knowledge and skills learned in training for a specific purpose in one context (e.g., EI training for use in quality circles) are applied by trainees in another context (e.g., regular job duties). A multiple-cross-level design using data gathered from 252 employees and supervisors drawn from 88 units across 11 suborganizations provided support for both individual and situational effects. Hierarchical regression results demonstrated that characteristics at individual, unit, and suborganization levels significantly predicted the extent EI knowledge, skills, and attitudes were generalized to the core job activities. As predicted, trainees were more likely to use EI training in performing core job activities the more EI activities they participated in, the greater their commitment to the organization, and the less cynical they were about the likelihood of positive organizational change. Contrary to expectations, more generalization of EI training was found to occur in units and suborganizations with less participative climates.     

Predicting and scaling hens' preferences for topographically different responses

Six hens were exposed to several concurrent (second-order) variable-interval schedules in which the response requirements on the alternatives were varied. The response requirements were one key peck versus five key pecks, one key peck versus one door push, and five key pecks versus one door push. Response- and time-allocation ratios undermatched the obtained reinforcement ratios but were well described by the generalized matching law. Time and response bias estimates from two pairs of response requirements were used to predict bias in the third pairing. The predicted values were close to those obtained; this result supports the notion that both numerically and topographically different responses act as constant sources of bias within the generalized matching law. The differences between the response and time biases could be accounted for by the different times needed to complete each response requirement. The results also suggest that the door push is a useful operant for research with domestic hens.     

Maximizing internal and external validity in MMPI malingering research: a study of a military population

The authors investigated the effectiveness of various commonly used Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI; Hathaway & McKinley, 1943) indices of exaggeration and malingering in detecting suspected malingering in a military sample of 121 enlisted men. To maximize external validity, only men undergoing psychological evaluation were used as participants. Forty-one participants were identified as suspected malingerers through multiple criteria and were contrasted with schizophrenic-spectrum and clinic outpatient groups. To improve internal validity, the 41 suspected malingering participants were asked to retake the test without exaggerating. Results revealed that there were many false positives and fewer, but nonetheless many, false negatives with standard malingering indices. It appeared that the Gough Dissimulation scale (Gough, 1947) might hold the most promise as a measure of malingering, but other scales are also useful. Individual comparisons between different samples and implications for MMPI-2 (Butcher et al., 1989) are presented.     

Food-deprivation effects on punished schedule-induced drinking in rats.

Food-deprived rats (at 80% of their free-feeding weights) were exposed to a fixed-time 60-s schedule of food-pellet presentation and developed schedule-induced drinking. Lick-dependent signaled delays (10 s) to food presentation led to decreased drinking, which recovered when the signaled delays were discontinued. A major effect of this punishment contingency was to increase the proportion of interpellet intervals without any licks. The drinking of yoked control rats, which received food at the same times as those exposed to the signaled delay contingency (masters), was not consistently reduced. When food-deprivation level was changed to 90%, all master and yoked control rats showed decreases in punished or unpunished schedule-induced drinking. When the body weights were reduced to 70%, most master rats increased punished behavior to levels similar to those of unpunished drinking. This effect was not observed for yoked controls. Therefore, body-weight loss increased the resistance of schedule-induced drinking to reductions by punishment. Food-deprivation effects on punished schedule-induced drinking are similar to their effects on food-maintained lever pressing. This dependency of punishment on food-deprivation level supports the view that schedule-induced drinking can be modified by the same variables that affect operant behavior in general.     

Achieving Coordination in Prehension: Joint Freezing and Postural Contributions

The focus of the present study was on the intersegmental relationships that emerge when both task and oganismic constraints are imposed upon the coordination system. Seven right-handed subjects were required to reach and grasp a cup (hand transport phase) and place it on a designated target (cup transport phase), using either their preferred or nonpreferred hand. The kinematics of the movement were examined as a function of task (grasping a full cup versus grasping an empty one) and organismic (preferred or nonpreferred hand) constraints. During the hand transport phase, a task constraint effect was revealed through an increase in the low-velocity phase for the full cup condition. This constraint coexisted with a decrease in angular motion of the shoulder and elbow joints, indicating subjects reduced the number of variables to be independently controlled in the final homing-in stage of the movement. Accompanying this decrease in angular change was an increase in the displacement of the trunk. During the cup transport phase, the trunk was shown to contribute significantly more to the movement in the full cup condition and for the left hand movements, thereby increasing the stability of the movement system. These findings are in agreement with Bernstein's (1967) notion of fixating parts of the body as an initial solution to a movement problem, and they lend support to the concept of a proximodistal organization of coordination.     

An External Validation of Laboratory Evidence for Earned Dignity

Both theoretical arguments and laboratory evidence indicate that society awards earned dignity (worth) to persons perceived as voluntarily performing praiseworthy behaviors. Laboratory research, as well as common observation, indicates also that society accords an intrinsic dignity unconditionally to all people. On a questionnaire given in class, college students reported increased dignity earned by the Russians from their praiseworthy (i.e., embracing freedom) and voluntary rejection of the attempted coup in 1991. The questionnaire also revealed a general belief in intrinsic dignity. External evidence for earned dignity is shown by increased international support for the Russians after rejection of the coup. This convergence of laboratory and external data validates the laboratory techniques for studying social perception of human dignity.