Rediscovering compassion

There is a growing concern in our society that compassion is a dying virtue, gradually being strangled by narcissism, competition, prejudice, and revenge. Yet psychologists, philosophers, and theologians agree that compassion is at the heart of the behavior that keeps individuals, families, institutions, and societies alive, namely, caring, altruism, justice, morality, and love. This article is meant to be a step in the direction of rediscovering compassion in the light of current knowledge so that the virtue, resuscitated, will once again be seen to be alive and well in our world. To this end, the article discusses the nature, types, and development of compassion.Michael E. Cavanagh, Ph.D., is a pastoral consultant and conductor of workshops. He makes his home in Tiburon, California.     

UCS expectancy biases in spider phobics: underestimation of aversive consequences following fear-irrelevant stimuli

This paper reports the results of two studies investigating judgements made by spider phobics about the potential threatening consequences (unconditioned stimulus, UCS, expectancies) associated with their phobic stimulus, fear-relevant (FR) stimuli, and fear-irrelevant (FI) stimuli. Using a 'thought experiment' UCS expectancy paradigm, the studies reported found that (1) spider phobics reported significantly higher UCS expectancies to spider stimuli than nonphobics, (2) spider phobics consistently underestimated the probability of aversive consequences following FI stimuli and (3) this underestimation of UCS expectancies to FI stimuli in phobics was not the result of a contrast effect resulting from sequential FR and FI judgements. This differential effect may have important implications for the kind of mechanism which mediates judgements about phobic consequences. These findings suggest that the dimensions on which phobic stimuli are categorised may be 'stretched' in the case of phobics and that this gives rise to the comparative underestimation of threat associated with FI stimuli but also makes phobics more vulnerable to acquiring other phobias.     

Nonlinearity in color space measured by apparent motion

We used an apparent motion technique to examine the intensity coding along the three cardinal axes of color space: achromatic (L + M + S), L-M cone, and S cone axes. Two horizontal bars of different colors were alternated to produce a vertical displacement. The color of the background was a mixture varied between the colors of the two bars. When the background color was close to either of the test colors, only the bar that was more salient appeared to jump. Observers adjusted the color of the background until they saw either the two bars moved equally frequently or both bars moved at once. If the color difference in a linear cone excitation space controls this apparent motion, the setting should be midway between the two colors. All of the three cardinal axes showed some deviation from linear behavior. The nonlinearity was less extreme than a logarithmic function for both the achromatic and S cone axes and could be attributed to a small compressive nonlinearity, possibly at the level of cone responses. However, the L-M stimuli showed a more extreme departure from linearity, which suggested a nonlinearity at an opponent site. A test of perceived contrast judgments did not show this nonlinearity for L-M axis, suggesting that it is specific to the L-M contribution to apparent motion.     

The myths of relationship abuse

Fortunately, people are becoming more aware than they used to be of the existence of relationship abuse and are consulting ministers and pastoral counselors to help them deal with this problem. Unfortunately, several myths exist regarding relationship abuse which, if taken as fact, are counterproductive to people involved in such relationships and countertherapeutic for the ministers and pastoral counselors who are attempting to help. This article addresses four commonly held myths regarding relationship abuse and the attendant pastoral implications. is a pastoral consultant and conductor of workshops. He makes his home in Tiburon, California.     

Purely chromatic perception of motion in depth: two eyes as sensitive as one

Motion hyperacuity (phase) thresholds were measured for both lateral and stereoscopic oscillatory motion in both luminance and equiluminant red/green gratings of 2 cycles per degree. Thresholds for lateral chromatic motion did not exhibit the inhibitory fall-off at low temporal frequencies that was found for luminance motion. Phase thresholds for purely chromatic motion were substantially higher than those for luminance gratings, in proportion to the ratio of cone signal modulation, but they could be predicted from the corresponding contrast sensitivities for both types of stimulus. Stereomovement thresholds in luminance gratings showed the stereomovement suppression effect relative to monocular motion sensitivity previously reported for line stimuli, but purely chromatic gratings did not. Together with the lack of an inhibitory fall-off, these results imply that chromatic and luminance motion are processed by different neural pathways, and that the chrominance pathway is capable of supporting a strong percept of stereoscopic motion from purely chromatic gratings.     

Texture and motion spreading,the aperture problem,and transparency

When a cross of either static or moving texture is inserted in the intersection of an Ehrenstein figure, we find that the texture and its motion appear to spread outside of the cross. We suggest that these phenomena are analogous to neon color spreading, wherein an interpretation of a transparent surface makes the properties of that surface, which are physically visible only inside the cross, appear to spread over its apparent extent. In our experiments, the texture and the motion of the cross are attributed to the transparent surface. In addition, the spreading changes the apparent aperture within which the texture and its motion are seen, leading to a corresponding change in the apparent direction of motion.     

Priming attachment security improves attitudes towards a range of therapies

We sought to understand how attachment orientation influenced attitudes towards different types of psychological therapies. In two studies, we (1) examined attachment orientation as a predictor of attitudes towards different therapies and (2) tested whether attachment security priming could improve attitudes. Study 1 (n = 339) found associations between attachment orientation and attitudes towards, and likelihood of using different therapies. Positive and negative attitudes about different therapies mediated the relationship between attachment avoidance and likelihood of use. Study 2 (n = 412) showed that primed security (vs. neutral prime) improved attitudes towards relational, non‐relational and distanced‐relational therapies for those with a fearful‐avoidant attachment orientation. For relational and distanced‐relational therapies, the mechanism of this effect was increased cognitive openness. Attachment orientation is a determinant of therapy attitudes and anticipated help‐seeking behaviour. Priming security may promote open‐minded decision‐making about some therapies. Findings are discussed with relevance to attachment theory, research and clinical practice.     

Motion adaptation shifts apparent position without the motion aftereffect

Adaptation to motion can produce effects on both the perceived motion (the motion aftereffect) and the position (McGraw, Whitaker, Skillen, & Chung, 2002; Nishida & Johnston, 1999; Snowden, 1998; Whitaker, McGraw, & Pearson, 1999) of a subsequently viewed test stimulus. The position shift can be interpreted as a consequence of the motion aftereffect. For example, as the motion within a stationary aperture creates the impression that the aperture is shifted in position (De Valois & De Valois, 1991; Hayes, 2000; Ramachandran & Anstis, 1990), the motion aftereffect may generate a shift in perceived position of the test pattern simply because of the illusory motion it generates on the pattern. However, here we show a different aftereffect of motion adaptation that causes a shift in the apparent position of an object even when the object appears stationary and is located several degrees from the adapted region. This position aftereffect of motion reveals a new form of motion adaptation--one that does not result in a motion aftereffect--and suggests that motion and position signals are processed independently but then interact at a higher stage of processing.     

Background stripes affect apparent speed of rotation

A gray line that rotated about its own center against a stationary background of vertical stripes appeared to double in perceptual speed as it rotated through the vertical position and thus momentarily aligned with the background. Four factors may contribute to this speed-up: (i) landmarks, in which the tip of the moving vertical line moves horizontally across the maximum number of stationary stripes; (ii) orientation repulsion of the moving line by the vertical stripes, which may distort the line's perceived position and hence its perceived speed; (iii) the orientation of an induced brightness pattern along the line; and (iv) the motion of the induced brightness pattern, which moves physically most rapidly along the line when the line is near vertical. To test these possibilities, an annulus display provided landmarks but no intersections, and this almost abolished the effect. A rotating-slit display provided an oriented, moving pattern that mimicked the induced brightness but had no landmarks, and this increased the effect. We conclude that the motion, but not the orientation, of the intersections [option (iv)] was responsible for the illusion. The fact that this motion along the length of the line affected the perceived speed of the line orthogonal to its own length indicates a failure on the part of the visual system to fully decouple tangential from radial motion.     

Computerised Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Common Mental Health Disorders, What Works, for Whom Under What Circumstances? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates the effectiveness of computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (CCBT) as a low intensity intervention for common mental health disorders (CMHD), and investigates some potential moderators of these effects. A meta-analysis was conducted on 49 randomised controlled trials comparing CCBT to other therapies (n = 24) and waiting list controls (n = 25), across the range of CMHD. Results indicated an overall mean effect size of g = 0.77 (95 % CI 0.59–0.95) in favour of the CCBT trial arms. CCBT was found to be significantly more effective than both waitlist and active control conditions. The mean age of study sample and type of control group both significantly moderated this effect. No further measured variables, including guidance were found to moderate this effect. These findings indicate that CCBT can be an effective low-intensity intervention for CMHD and support the implementation of CCBT within the stepped-care context. Limitations of this review, and implications for theory, research and practice are discussed.