Toward a dialectic theory of concepts

The article spells out some guidelines for a dialectic theory of concepts. Concept formation is treated in terms of polemic and polar reference. The main thesis is that opposite references structure concepts by way of advocacy. On polar dimensions of comparison, (e. g., light versus dark), people select and advocate objects of comparison in agreement with the context of comparison (i.e., what is light depends on what is dark, and vice versa). In principle, any concept is subject to polemics because polarity enables opposite comparisons, (e.g., an object as dark and light with reference to lighter and darker objects, respectively). When opposite comparisons apply to the same object, reference becomes anomalous which will motivate conceptual change, (e.g., twilight accounts for a reference in between). Consequently, meaning is not secured by general rules but concepts presuppose advocated references; concepts are intentional constructs. The dialectic theory is illustrated by a case study of the environmental discourse on forest management. Conflicting references fuelled by industrial and environmental values demonstrate how opposite comparisons motivate revisions.Dialectic is a convenient technical name for the kind of thinking which takes place when human beings enter into dispute, or when they carry on in reflection the polemical consideration of some theory or idea. Adler, 1927, p. V     

CHANGE IN AFTERIMAGE AND SPIRAL AFTEREFFECT SERIALS DUE TO ANXIETY CAUSED BY SUBLIMINAL THREAT

Experiments with projected negative afterimages and with the aftereffects of a rotating spiral were performed serially (repeated stimulus presentation). In the middle of the sequences the experimental groups were subjected to subliminal threat by means of a metacontrast technique. The effects of threat on the latter part of the sequences were according to predictions and differed markedly from the results in control groups.     

Reliability coefficients for multiple group item response theory models

Reliability of scores from psychological or educational assessments provides important information regarding the precision of measurement. The reliability of scores is however population dependent and may vary across groups. In item response theory, this population dependence can be attributed to differential item functioning or to differences in the latent distributions between groups and needs to be accounted for when estimating the reliability of scores for different groups. Here, we introduce group-specific and overall reliability coefficients for sum scores and maximum likelihood ability estimates defined by a multiple group item response theory model. We derive confidence intervals using asymptotic theory and evaluate the empirical properties of estimators and the confidence intervals in a simulation study. The results show that the estimators are largely unbiased and that the confidence intervals are accurate with moderately large sample sizes. We exemplify the approach with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in two groups defined by education level and give recommendations for applied work.     

William Foote Whyte,Street Corner Society and Social Organization

Social scientists have mostly taken it for granted that William Foote Whyte's sociological classic Street Corner Society (SCS, 1943) belongs to the Chicago school of sociology's research tradition or that it is a relatively independent study which cannot be placed in any specific research tradition. Social science research has usually overlooked the fact that William Foote Whyte was educated in social anthropology at Harvard University, and was mainly influenced by Conrad M. Arensberg and W. Lloyd Warner. What I want to show, based on archival research, is that SCS cannot easily be said either to belong to the Chicago school's urban sociology or to be an independent study in departmental and idea‐historical terms. Instead, the work should be seen as part of A. R. Radcliffe‐Brown's and W. Lloyd Warner's comparative research projects in social anthropology.     

Two-year outcome of internet-based relapse prevention for partially remitted depression

The objective of the study was to investigate the long-term effects of internet-based relapse prevention for sufferers of partially remitted depression. Eighty-four individuals with partially remitted unipolar depression were randomized to either internet-based CBT (iCBT) or to a control group. After the ten week intervention period the participants were followed for 24 months and diagnostic interviews conducted to detect relapse. The intervention and monthly self-ratings of depressive symptoms were administered via an internet-based platform that ensured secure communication with all participants. Significantly fewer participants in the iCBT group had experienced a relapse compared with those in the control group two years after the internet-based intervention. The relapse rate in the iCBT group was 13.7% (CI 95% = 2.5–24.9) and in the control group it was 60.9% (CI 95% = 44.8–77). Furthermore, a significantly larger proportion of the iCBT group experienced remission two years after the intervention compared with the control group. Internet-based CBT seems promising for preventing relapse in sufferers of partially remitted depression.     

Predictors of outcome in Internet-based cognitive behavior therapy for severe health anxiety

Internet-based cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for severe health anxiety can be effective, but not all patients achieve full remission. Under these circumstances, knowledge about predictors is essential for the clinician in order to make reliable treatment recommendations. The primary aim of this study was to investigate clinical, demographic, and therapy process-related predictors of Internet-based CBT for severe health anxiety. We performed three types of analyses on data from a sample comprising participants (N = 81) who had received Internet-based CBT in a randomized controlled trial. Outcomes were a) end state health anxiety, b) improvement in health anxiety (continuous change scores), and c) clinically significant improvement. Outcomes were assessed at six-month follow-up. The results showed that the most stable predictors of both end state health anxiety and improvement were baseline health anxiety and depressive symptoms. Treatment adherence, i.e. the number of completed treatment modules, also significantly predicted outcome. Notably, health anxiety at baseline was positively associated with symptom improvement while depressive symptoms was negatively related to improvement. Demographic factors were largely without significant impact on end state symptoms or improvement. We conclude that baseline symptom burden and adherence to treatment have strong predictive effects in Internet-based CBT for severe health anxiety.     

Realism of Confidence,Modes of Apprehension,and Variable-Use in Visual Discrimination of Relative Mass

We investigated the role of movement in the perception of a novel affordance for wheelchair locomotion. Healthy adults without prior wheelchair experience judged the lowest lintel under which they could roll in the wheelchair. Prior to judgments, some participants were given brief (~2 min) practice at self-controlled wheelchair locomotion. There were 2 main results. First, participants who had this brief practice accurately judged their own minimum passage height (even when practice did not include passage under low lintels), whereas participants who had no practice gave inaccurate judgments. Second, prejudgment practice strongly influenced movement of the head and torso during judgment sessions. The results demonstrate that affordance perception can be learned through brief, indirect practice and suggest that such practice can inform exploratory movement.     

The Moment of a Star: The Ethics of Narration

The main theme of the following presentation of Ric?ur's philosophical preoccupations with religion is the interrelationship between reflection and revelation. In a first section, Ric?ur's philosophical profile is outlined in order to indicate the tone between sadness and joy, negativity and affirmation, in which religion has its existential and philosophical ambience. The following part discusses the pertinence of Ric?ur's position in light of contemporary debates about divine otherness and kenosis. Finally, a third section examines the antagonism between philosophy of reflection and biblical revelation, which marks the range and limits of Ric?ur's hermeneutic philosophy. The kind of dependency or heteronomy implied in religion, especially in the biblical idea of the absolute as an external truth-event, presents a genuine challenge to both phenomenology and hermeneutics. This problem is addressed in Ric?ur's theories of revelation and testimony.     

Couples' Experience of Enactments and Softening in Marital Therapy 1

Abstract

Beginning therapists are not prepared to deal with the complexity that families bring to the therapeutic setting and have a reductionistic approach to understanding what is occurring in a family. In order to move beyond a simplified approach, therapists with the assistance of a supervisor have the power to leave the security of their own being and can learn to take risks. This paper explores the development of a “therapeutic story” with the goal of assisting the beginning therapist in approaches that can be utilized to incorporate all available resources that will help to empower a family to change.