The construction of the self: An evolutionary view

Contemporary research on the construction of the self emphasizes the products rather than the process of self-development. Borrowing from the writings of William James and contemporary views of natural selection, we propose a model ofevolutionary self-construction. Grounded in the principles of evolution and the philosophy of pragmatism, evolutionary self-construction proposes a process that guides the seeking of “truth” inpossible selves. According to this view, the self develops in response to uncertainty reduction with the “correct” self identified via the “sentiment of rationality.” Selves presently identified as correct are considered to be “instruments of action” that facilitate the interaction between an individual and the environment. Selected selves can then be developed to one’s best advantage and presented in an optimal fashion. This model helps organize contemporary frameworks around a common theme and embraces affect as a central component in the development of the self. A previous version of this paper was presented at the 98th annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Boston, MA.     

Assessing the simulation of chaotic systems

Three commercially available software packages—BrainMaker, MicroSaint, and Extend—that simulate the function and operation of neural networks were compared on 11 dimensions. Also, a task-oriented analysis was done on the ability of the programs to use a neural network to output a chaotic array generated by the logistic equation. There were differences in the amount of operator overhead among the programs, but the differences in the simulation performance were not considered to be appreciable.     

Fourier analyses: A mathematical and geometric explanation

Fourier analyses are used in electrophysiological research to reduce EEG data to an interpretable, analyzable form. This article outlines the mathematical similarities and differences between Fourier transforms and fast Fourier transforms. A geometric explanation of the application of fast Fourier transforms and a Fourier series to theta-band EEG data is also included in this article.     

Does eye contact increase counsellor-client rapport?

Data from nine counselling interviews (M length = 48 minutes) were examined for the relationship between counsellor eye contact and client-perceived rapport Using the Standardized Client procedure previously reported (Sharpley, Guidara & Rowley, 1994), minute-by-minute ratings of rapport were made by the client, and later collapsed to give mean values for eye contact for ‘moderate’ versus ‘very high’ rapport minutes. There were no significant overall differences in the frequency of eye contact across these two sets of minutes. In an additional exploratory analysis of the data, the frequencies of eye contact for moderate versus very high rapport minutes were plotted across all minutes of the interviews. These data revealed two distinct patterns of usage, enabling some hypotheses to be drawn regarding the effective use of eye contact here. Implications for training and avenues for further research are discussed.     

A cross-cultural investigation of college student alcohol consumption: a classification tree analysis

In this cross-cultural study, the authors attempted to identify high-risk subgroups for alcohol consumption among college students. American and Greek students (N = 132) answered questions about alcohol consumption, religious beliefs, attitudes toward drinking, advertisement influences, parental monitoring, and drinking consequences. Heavy drinkers in the American group were younger and less religious than were infrequent drinkers. In the Greek group, heavy drinkers tended to deny the negative results of drinking alcohol and use a permissive attitude to justify it, whereas infrequent drinkers were more likely to be monitored by their parents. These results suggest that parental monitoring and an emphasis on informing students about the negative effects of alcohol on their health and social and academic lives may be effective methods of reducing alcohol consumption. Classification tree analysis revealed that student attitudes toward drinking were important in the classification of American and Greek drinkers, indicating that this is a powerful predictor of alcohol consumption regardless of ethnic background.     

Dimensions of online behavior: toward a user typology.

Online behavior refers to organized (e.g., search) and unorganized (e.g., browse) interactions with both human (e.g., chat) and nonhuman (e.g., database) elements in online environments. The salient features of online behavior are conceptualized as sociability (human connection motives), utility (efficiency orientation), and reciprocity (cognitive stimulation and active involvement). Recently published factor analytic studies support the validity of these three dimensions of online behavior. The proposed Brief Test of Online Behavior (BTOB) contains five rating scale items that determine user position on each dimension of online behavior (i.e., 15 items in total). A typology of online behavior emerges as BTOB scores position users in the three-dimensional space created by the intersection of sociability, utility, and reciprocity. Subsequent research may validate the proposed dimensions of online behavior, establish practical applications of the BTOB, and connect type of user with cognitive, social, and emotional outcomes. For example, users who score high on sociability and reciprocity but low on utility may learn best in interactive and stimulating online environments, which necessarily include self-regulating software.     

Reasoning about emotional contents following shocking terrorist attacks: a tale of three cities

The authors examined reasoning following the terrorist attacks carried out in London in July 2005. They tested participants in London (United Kingdom), Manchester (United Kingdom), and London (Canada) within 1 week of the attacks and again 6 months later. Participants reasoned about syllogisms of 3 types: neutral, generally emotional, and emotionally related to terrorism. Participants also provided self-reports of emotion and risk estimates. Participants generally reasoned more accurately on neutral problems, compared with generally emotional and terrorism-related problems. However, participants in London (United Kingdom) provided more logically valid answers when reasoning about problems related to terrorism and were less likely to answer on the basis of beliefs, despite reporting higher levels of emotions.     

The relationship between monoaminergic gene expression,learning, and optimism in red junglefowl chicks

Animal Cognition - Intra-species cognitive variation is commonly observed, but explanations for why individuals within a species differ in cognition are still understudied and not yet clear....     

Community perceptions of mental disorders: a Greek perspective

The present cross‐sectional study examines the perceptions of residents of a rural community in Greece pertaining to the interpretation, explanation, treatment and prognosis of various psychological problems. In all, 100 community residents took part. A series of vignettes in combination with both qualitative and quantitative data collection procedures was employed. The findings indicate a variation in the endorsement of interpretations and causal attributions as a function of the type of symptomatology presented. The overt psychotic cases of schizophrenia were more likely to be understood within a genetic explanatory framework while the less overt symptoms of mental disorders were perceived as being indicative of emotional problems triggered by personality and social environmental factors. A preference for psychological methods of treatment was expressed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.