EXPLICATING THE IMPLICIT: THE LOCAL LEVEL AND THE MICROPROCESS OF CHANGE IN THE ANALYTIC SITUATION

This paper proposes a method of examining the micro-events of the analytic process that borrows heavily from developmental research. The increasing importance of illuminating the microprocess of interaction to understanding the process of change in analytic treatment is emphasised. A set of constructs and terminology is proposed for the study of the moment-to-moment interactive process in psychoanalytic therapy referred to as the local level. A theory of therapeutic action based on 'local-level' process is then explicated. Its central element involves a step-by-step process of 'fitting together', which leads to changes in implicit knowing through alteration of emotional procedures.     

Quest Religion, Anti-Fundamentalism, and Limited Versus Universal Compassion

Goldfried and Miner (2002) claimed to provide evidence that those high in quest religion are less likely to help a religiously closed-minded person even when the help does not promote closed-mindedness. As a result, they concluded that quest religion is associated with limited, not universal, compassion. An experiment modeled on theirs but avoiding several methodological problems suggested a very different conclusion. Although participants high in quest religion helped a religiously closed-minded person less when doing so promoted closed-mindedness, they were no less likely to help such a person when it did not promote closed-mindedness. These results suggest that quest religion is associated with antipathy toward promoting closed-mindedness, not with antipathy toward religiously closed-minded persons. The scope of compassion associated with quest religion does not appear to be limited in the way Goldfried and Miner claimed.     

Eternal Life in Schleiermacher's The Christian Faith

This article advocates that some form of personal immortality is not only taught in F.D.E. Schleiermacher's Glaubenslehre but is also necessary for the coherence of the same work. The combination of a naturalized account of redemption, a commitment to universal salvation and the realist observation that some never know Christ in this life causes Schleiermacher to posit a certain but content‐free afterlife to account for the discrepancy.     

Personality Configurations in Self‐Managed Teams: A Natural Experiment on the Effects of Maximizing and Minimizing Variance in Traits

In this study, we examined the impact of seeding teams to create maximal and minimal levels of extroversion and conscientiousness variance. Using the theories of complementary and supplementary fit, we make predictions regarding the main and interactive effects of extroversion and conscientiousness variance on performance. Testing our hypotheses in a longitudinal study of MBA teams, our results demonstrate that the combination of minimizing conscientiousness variance (consistent with complementary fit) and maximizing extroversion variance (consistent with supplementary fit) produced the highest levels of short‐term and long‐term performance.     

Intergroup Discrimination Involving Negative Outcomes and Self‐Esteem

Two studies examined the link between intergroup discrimination involving negative outcomes (i.e., removal of positive resources and allocation of noxious resources), global self‐esteem (GSE), and collective self‐esteem (CSE). Study 1 found that New Zealanders who took away more positive resources from out‐group than in‐group members experienced enhanced CSE, but not GSE. These findings were replicated in Study 2, with respect to the allocation of noxious resources (i.e., white noise). New Zealanders' GSE and CSE assessed prior to the allocation of noxious resources were unrelated to the subsequent allocation of white noise. The data are interpreted to indicate that intergroup discrimination involving negative outcomes leads to enhanced CSE. However, neither GSE nor CSE predict such discrimination.     

SPIRITUALITY AS AN EXPLANATORY AND NORMATIVE SCIENCE: APPLYING LONERGAN'S ANALYSIS OF INTENTIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS TO RELATE PSYCHOLOGY AND THEOLOGY

In a pluralistic society, consensus in spirituality must rest on a common human basis. The relevant social sciences as currently conceived cannot provide one. Bernard Lonergan's analysis of the human spirit – or intentional consciousness – elaborates the overlooked element in a psychological account of the human mind and, thus, grounds a psychology of spirituality as the natural expression of ongoing human integration, an account that is fully open to and, indeed, begs for theological elaboration. Initially unpacking the complexities of this matter and sketching a Lonerganian response, this paper focuses on the key complexity – the misidentification of the spiritual with the divine and the pervasive insistence, inherited from a pre‐scientific age and perpetuated by Western piety, that first and foremost spirituality entails an explicit relationship with God. Treatment of a specifically Lonerganian topic – the suggestion that, because of the transformation effected by sanctifying grace in the human soul, consciousness includes a supposed fifth level characterized by the love of God – occasions an in‐depth argument for the practical adequacy of a psychological treatment of spirituality apart from theological considerations. The ultimate goal of this argument is to establish, within a coherent interdisciplinary framework, an explanatory and normative treatment of spiritual issues, a science of spirituality.     

APPROACH OR AVOIDANCE (OR BOTH?): INTEGRATING CORE SELF‐EVALUATIONS WITHIN AN APPROACH/AVOIDANCE FRAMEWORK

Core self‐evaluations (CSE) represent a new personality construct that, despite an accumulation of evidence regarding its predictive validity, provokes debate regarding the fundamental approach or avoidance nature of the construct. This set of studies sought to clarify the approach/avoidance nature of CSE by examining its relation with approach/avoidance personality traits and motivation constructs (Study 1); we subsequently examined approach/avoidance motivational mechanisms as mediators of the relation between CSE and job performance (Study 2). Overall, the studies demonstrate that CSE is best conceptualized as representing both (high) approach tendencies and (low) avoidance tendencies; implications of these findings for CSE theory are discussed.     

Predicting the Importance of Freedom of Speech and the Perceived Harm of Hate Speech

Although freedom of speech is a fundamental value in the United States, individuals vary in the importance they place on it. The purpose of this study was to examine personality and attitudinal factors that may influence an individual's judgments of the importance of freedom of speech and, secondarily, the harm of hate speech. As expected, the importance of freedom of speech was positively related to intellect, individualism, separate knowing, and negatively related to right‐wing authoritarianism. Men rated freedom of speech more important than did women. The perceived harm of hate speech was positively related to intellect and liberalism, and women perceived a greater harm of hate speech than did men.     

Outcome Expectancies and Expectancy Accessibility in Exercise Behavior

Most people do not engage in recommended levels of physical activity. Social cognition research indicates that self‐reported outcome expectancies (OEs) are associated with exercise behavior, but self‐report assessments have limitations. We investigated whether reaction times (RTs) to endorse outcome expectancies would capture unique information about spontaneous cognitive processes associated with exercise behavior. Exercisers and sedentary participants were randomly assigned to complete an exercise test or to rest. Participants completed an OE questionnaire and RT task before and after the test/rest. On the RT task, exercisers endorsed exercise positive outcomes more rapidly than sedentary participants. Furthermore, reported OEs and RTs were independently associated with exercise status. RTs may afford a more comprehensive assessment of the cognitive processes associated with exercise behavior.     

THE PROMISE OF SCRIPTURAL REASONING

This Response reintroduces Scriptural Reasoning as portrayed in the essays, showing their various readings and reasonings and how they shed light on SR, while also identifying some lacunae in and between them. The different strengths of these views interact with each other in a highly dynamic and sustaining practice of reading and reasoning Scriptures together, where there is a high degree of mutually responsible hospitality and the possibility of achieving a complex harmony. In conclusion, three tasks for the future of SR are identified: concentrating on the seminal features of the Abrahamic traditions, targeting them and auditing SR performance.