宗教认知的多样性:三种一神教传统中自我认知的计量方法

本研究从三种宗教出发考查了一神论宗教的自我认知中的神圣和人类他者的表征。自我认知的概念是以叙事数据中的语义系统和情景知识为基础。考虑到认知图式形成中社会背景的重要性,本研究强调了比较宗教设计中的自我认知。样本包括60名指定的具有宗教背景的被试,对他们进行结构性访谈。在潜在语义分析(LSA)的计量模式中,通过比较自我和其它表征来绘出犹太教徒、伊斯兰教徒和基督教徒的图示。结果表明对所有的被试来说,在认知模式中的神圣表征与其父母相去甚远。与犹太教徒和基督教徒不同,伊斯兰教徒好像是以自我认知为基础来表征人性的其它方面,这种自我认知主要参考对神圣的理解。在考查计量语义空间的时候,被试通常是通过与神圣和类似人物相应的方式来表征自我的。     

Mathematical modeling of the effects of ‘capability’ and ‘intent’ on the stability of a competitive international system

In international relations theory, there is a long history of Richardson-like modeling of the evolution of military capability. Usually, such models are deterministic and predictive and do not allow for the representation of the transition from competitive peace to shooting war. More recently, models have been developed which attempt to represent the evolution of relationship between nations. The relationship between nations, varying from friendship to hostility, is taken to be synonymous with the intent of nations towards each other, varying from good will to malice. Generally, these relationship models do not include capability though common sense would indicate that capability and mutual intent should profoundly influence each other. A model is presented here which combines these two fundamental attributes of international relations and attempts to represent the outbreak of war in the world system by the onset of deterministic chaos in the extended model.On leave 1994–95 at U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Washington, D.C. 20451, U.S.A.     

Some effects of later-occurring information on the perception of stop consonant and semivowel

In three experiments, we determined how perception of the syllable-initial distinction between the stop consonant [b] and the semivowel [w], when cued by duration of formant transitions, is affected by parts of the sound pattern that occur later in time. For the first experiment, we constructed four series of syllables, similar in that each had initial formant transitions ranging from one short enough for [ba] to one long enough for [wa], hut different in overall syllable duration. The consequence in perception was that, as syllable duration increased, the [b-w] boundary moved toward transitions of longer duration. Then, in the second experiment, we increased the duration of the sound by adding a second syllable, [da], (thus creating [bada-wada]), and observed that lengthening the second syllable also shifted the perceived [b-w] boundary in the first syllable toward transitions of longer duration; however, this effect was small by comparison with that produced when the first syllable was lengthened equivalently. In the third experiment, we found that altering the structure of the syllable had an effect that is not to be accounted for by the concomitant change in syllable duration: lengthening the syllable by adding syllable-final transitions appropriate for the stop consonant [d] (thus creating [bad-wad]) caused the perceived [b-w] boundary to shift toward transitions of shorter duration, an effect precisely opposite to that produced when the syllable was lengthened to the same extent by adding steady-state vowel. We suggest that, in all these cases, the later-occurring information specifies rate of articulation and that the effect on the earlier-occurring cue reflects an appropriate perceptual normalization.     

On the precision of a euclidean structure

This paper is concerned with the development of a measure of the precision of a multidimensional euclidean structure. The measure is a precision index for each point in the structure, assuming that all the other points are precisely located. The measure is defined and two numerical methods are presented for its calculation. A small Monte Carlo study of the measure's behavior is performed and findings discussed.The authors are indebted to Bert F. Green, Jr., Ronald Helms, Andrea Sedlak, and three anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on earlier drafts of this paper.     

What Are Some Promising Developments in Psychotherapy with “Psychosis”? Introduction and Preview

A review indicates that there are some promising new developments in the aims and goals, and in the actual working methods, of doing psychotherapy with clients or patients considered as psychotic. Some of these new developments are rooted in the significant developments of the 1950s and 1960s, and some are recent developments in their own right. Capsule previews are provided of the subsequent papers of the special series.     

Constantine,Babel, and Yankee Doodling: Whose Indigeneity? Whose Psychology?

This essay addresses the issue of indigeneity in terms of local cultures. The authors do so in conversation with Kim, Yang, and Hwang’s recent book, Indigenous and Cultural Psychology: Understanding People in Context. The life and work of Virgilio Enriquez is reviewed briefly as an exemplary indigenous psychologist. He illustrates the possibility of an indigenous psychology with a local, regulative grammar of cognition, affect, behavior, and relationships. The accounts of the tower of Babel and Constantine point to the irreversible damage of homogenizing culture and imposing it on other cultures. We argue that the imposition of a local, particular Western psychology on a global scale might risk a similar cost. The authors propose that current research in indigenous psychologies might take more seriously the notion that culture is not monolithic but should be understood from the point of view of the analysis of power relationships. Secondly, the authors argue that the role of language has not received sufficient attention in terms of shaping thought and increasing the incommensurability between cultures. Thirdly, it is argued that positivist epistemology has dominated the field and that more hermeneutic approaches must be considered. Fourth, the question must be asked regarding who controls indigenous research. Too often control has been exogenous rather than in the hands of local leaders. Finally, it is suggested that North Americans would do well to examine and recognize the indigeneity of their own psychology.     

Expiation,Substitution and Surrender: Levinasian Implications for Psychotherapy

This essay will build on Emmanuel Levinas’s rejection of ontology as foundational and draw out the implications for psychotherapy. We will explore Levinas’s concept of substitution (in both his more Jewish writings and his philosophical treatises) and consider its meaning in relationship to the role of a psychotherapist. Levinas understands the Other as a calling for substitution of the self and of a taking on of responsibility. We explore the notion of surrender in the work of the psychoanalyst Emmanuel Ghent and argue that his position is ultimately lacking in ethical injunction; requiring nothing of the self in relationship to the Other. It remains within the confines of the conventional, self-reflexive models that Levinas critiques. Following Levinas, we suggest that the therapist bear the burden of ethical responsibility by being exposed to the client’s ethical call and by responding out of a kenotic self-emptying.

Pilot Study Investigating the Role of Therapy Dogs in Facilitating Social Interaction among Children with Autism

Ten children with autism, aged 7–10, attended 14 individual sessions of social interaction therapy. A group-comparison design was adopted. Comparing two interventions, matching and random assignment were used to form the experimental group (Animal-Assisted Play Therapy with a therapy dog) and the comparison group (an identical play therapy procedure using a doll as the dog surrogate). The within-group results using nonparametric tests showed that verbal social behavior increased significantly in the experimental group. Although the magnitude of this increase was not significantly larger than that in the comparison group, the preliminary findings suggested that the therapy dog had a positive impact on language output. The results are discussed in terms of the role that a therapy dog can fulfill as a “Speech Elicitor” for children with autism.