Ann Taves’s Religious Experience Reconsidered is a sign of a global apocalypse that will kill us all

According to Ann Taves, many humanist scholars of religion are afraid of science. In particular, they object to scientific reductionism because reductive explanations violate taboos that prohibit reducing religion to something else. This essay will analyze how Taves and other proponents of cognitive approaches to religious studies fashion a kind of secular praxis in which breaking taboos is a crucial attribute of scholarly integrity and intellectual heroism. I will argue that this equation between reason and profanation reproduces the discursive logic that legitimates the global expansion of a constellation of overlapping secular scientific, economic, political, and religious institutions.     

Identification with Religion: Cross‐National Evidence from a Social Psychological Perspective

Why is religion a more central social identity for some people than for others? Previous studies focus on explaining individual differences in religious affiliation and religiosity, often using the term “identification” in reference to these concepts. Yet, few scholars operationalize—let alone attempt to explain—identification with religion in social psychological terms, i.e., as a construct that captures the subjective psychological centrality of one's religious identity. After underscoring the benefits of exploring religious identification using cross‐national data, we employ an original data set composed of nationally representative surveys in three European countries to model religious identification in two ways: importance (independent strength of attachment) and prominence (prioritization of one's religious identity relative to the others one holds). We document substantial variation in the degree to which individuals define themselves on the basis of their religious identity. We then test predictions drawn from existing theories to model these two measures. Our results extend current understandings of what shapes psychological attachment to religion and raise new questions for future theorization and analysis.     

The Short Dark Triad (SD3): Adaptation and Psychometrics among At-Risk Male and Female Youths

The dark triad is a term used to describe a constellation of three socially harmful personality traits: Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism. The main aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Short Dark Triad (SD3) scale, a brief measure of the dark triad, among a sample (N = 412) of male (n = 200) and female (n = 212) at-risk Portuguese youths. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed the three-factor structure of the SD3 obtained an adequate fit, and measurement invariance across gender was demonstrated, although two items per dimension had to be removed. The Portuguese version of the SD3 scale demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties, specifically the properties of internal consistency, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and known-groups validity, which overall justifies its use among this population. Findings are discussed in terms of the use of the SD3 scale with male and female at-risk youths.     

Self–other differences in multiattribute decision making: Compensatory versus noncompensatory decision strategies

When making decisions where options involve multiple attributes, a person can choose to use a compensatory, utility maximizing strategy, which involves consideration and integration of all available attributes. Alternatively, a person can choose a noncompensatory strategy that extracts only the most important and reliable attributes. The present research examined whether other‐oriented decisions would involve greater reliance on a noncompensatory, lexicographic decision strategy than self‐oriented decisions. In three studies (Mturk workers and college students), the difference in other‐oriented versus self‐oriented decisions in a medical decision context was explained by a subsample of participants that chose the death minimizing operation on all 10 decisions (Study 1) and a subsample of participants who self‐reported that they used a strategy that minimized the chance of death on every decision (i.e., a lexicographic mortality heuristic; Study 2). In Study 2, tests of mediation found that self‐reported use of the mortality heuristic completely accounted for the self–other effect on decisions. In Study 3, participants were more likely to report prospectively that they would adopt the mortality heuristic when making decisions for others than for themselves, suggesting that participants were not mistakenly inferring a lexicographic decision strategy from their past behavior. The results suggest that self–other effects in multiattribute choice involve differential use of compensatory versus noncompensatory decision strategies and that beyond this group difference, individual differences in the use of these strategies also exist within self‐oriented and other‐oriented decisions.     

The neurochemistry of pair bonding

The formation and maintenance of social attachments are fundamental to human biology. Because deficits in the ability to form such attachments are associated with a variety of psychological disorders, an understanding of the neural basis of social attachment may provide insights into the causes of such disorders. Comparative studies using several closely related species of voles that display different social organizations and behaviors have begun to provide important insights into the neurochemical events underlying social attachment. Here we review recent developments in the study of social attachment, focusing on the roles of specific neurochemical systems in pair-bond formation.     

Reviews: Books, Art

YOGA AND PSYCHOLOGY. By Howard Coward. 115 pp. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002. $16.95. CASE STUDIES IN INFANT MENTAL HEALTH: RISK, RESILIENCY AND RELATIONSHIPS. Edited by Joan J. Shirilla and Deborah J. Weatherston. 203 pp. Washington, D.C.: Zero to Three, 2002. $32.95. JACOB'S SHADOW: CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVES ON MASCULINITY. By Herbert Anderson. 173 pp. Louisville, KY: Bridge Resources, 2002. $18.95. LEONARDO DA VINCI. By Sherwin B. Nuland. 170 pp. New York: Viking, 2002. $19.95. FAITH AND THE PLACEBO EFFECT: AN ARGUMENT FOR SELF-HEALING. By Lolette Kuby. 323 pp. Novato, CA: Origin Press, 2001. $23.00. NOTHING PERSONAL, JUST BUSINESS: A GUIDED JOURNEY INTO ORGANIZATIONAL DARKNESS. By Howard F. Stein. Westport, CT: Quorum/Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. FAITH BEYOND FAITH HEALING: FINDING HOPE AFTER SHATTERED DREAMS. By Kimberly Winston. 115 pp. Brewster, MA: Praraclete Press, 2002. A SHADOW OF GLORY: READING THE NEW TESTAMENT AFTER THE HOLOCAUST. Edited by Tod Linafelt. New York and London: Routledge, 2002. LOVE IS STRONGER THAN DEATH: THE MYSTICAL UNION OF TWO SOULS. By Cynthia Bourgeault. 222 pp. Great Barrington, MA: Lindisfarne Books, 2001. $14.95. Moving Pictures     

The use of augmentative alternative communication in psychotherapy

The use of augmentative alternative communication (AAC) in psychotherapy is particularly important for psychotherapists who may have a disability related to speech-language production. The aim of our study was to examine the perceptions of using AAC in psychotherapy. We recruited 186 participants and randomly assigned them to either watch a video of a therapist using AAC or employing traditional talk psychotherapy. Subsequently, we asked participants to complete the Counsellor Rating Form-Short (CRF-S), respond to a question about behavioural intention to seek psychotherapy and complete the Working Alliance Inventory-Observer form (WAI-O). Most participants perceived the use of AAC to be related to the therapist having a disability. The use of AAC had higher ratings on the CRF-S and higher scores on the WAI-O. There were no significant differences in behavioural intention between the therapist using AAC or traditional talk psychotherapy. The use of AAC is a viable option for psychotherapy and is beneficial. Psychotherapists with a disability affecting speech-language production may opt to use AAC as others perceive the therapist positively, the alliance is rated higher and therapists do not need to be concerned with patients not wanting to seek out their services.     

The use of commitment techniques to support weight loss maintenance in obese adolescents

Objectives: Obesity is a rising problem in adolescents related to unhealthy behaviours. Commitment devises are one type of behavioural intervention that may help people change their behaviours. The current pilot trial tests whether commitment devices delivered via text message help adolescents maintain their recent weight loss.

Methods: During a 12-week pilot trial, adolescents who attended a weight loss camp were randomly assigned to either received text messages that contained only information, i.e. advice, about weight loss management (n = 13) or asked for them to commit to following the same advise (n = 14).

Results: The BMI of the adolescents in the commitment group did not change. In contrast, the BMI of adolescents in the information group increased. A linear regression revealed that group was a significant predictor of BMI change. A logistic regression revealed that adolescents in the information group were nearly eight times more likely to regain weight than those in the commitment group.

Conclusions: This is the first study with adolescents to show weight maintenance using a commitment device. The results suggest that commitment devices can help adolescents maintain their recent weight loss.