Autopoietic enactivism,phenomenology and the deep continuity between life and mind

In their recent book Radicalizing Enactivism. Basic minds without content, Dan Hutto and Erik Myin (H&M) make two important criticisms of what they call autopoietic enactivism (AE). These two criticisms are that AE harbours tacit representationalists commitments and that it has too liberal a conception of cognition. Taking the latter claim as its main focus, this paper explores the theoretical underpinnings of AE in order to tease out how it might respond to H&M. In so doing it uncovers some reasons which not only appear to warrant H&M’s initial claims but also seem to point to further uneasy tensions within the AE framework. The paper goes beyond H&M by tracing the roots of these criticisms and apparent tensions to phenomenology and the role it plays in AE’s distinctive conception of strong life-mind continuity. It is highlighted that this phenomenological dimension of AE contains certain unexamined anthropomorphic and anthropogenic leanings which do not sit comfortably within its wider commitment to life-mind continuity. In light of this analysis it is suggested that AE will do well to rethink this role or ultimately run the risk of remaining theoretically unstable. The paper aims to contribute to the ongoing theoretical development of AE by highlighting potential internal tensions within its framework which need to be addressed in order for it to continue to evolve as a coherent paradigm.     

Life Design Counseling: A study on client's operations for meaning construction

This study evaluated the adequacy of the micro-theory of client operations to explain meaning construction during Life Design Counseling. Four adolescents were interviewed about their second counseling session. Their recollections were stimulated through the replay of counseling videotapes. The resulting transcribed interviews were qualitatively analyzed. Results confirmed a sequence of client operations evolving from the symbolic representation of experience and reflexive self-examination towards making new realizations and revisioning self. Moreover, clients reported negative and positive session moments evidencing that clients' attention and activity during the session was not restricted to meaning construction operations. Practical implications for life design counseling are derived from the results and discussed.     

Treatment Response among Preschoolers with EBP: The Role of Social Functioning

The purpose of the study was to identify profiles of social functioning for preschoolers with externalizing behavior problems (EBP) and examine how profiles are predictive of response to a behavioral treatment program. 139 preschoolers with EBP participated in an 8-week Summer Treatment Program for Pre-Kindergartners (STP-PreK). Latent profiles of social functioning were created from parent and teacher rated atypicality and social skills scales, along with child performance on an emotion knowledge and hostile attribution task. Baseline and treatment outcomes included behavioral, academic, and executive functioning measures. Latent profile analyses resulted in two profiles (e.g., average and low) marked by differences in social skills, emotion knowledge and rates of atypical behaviors. Children in the low social functioning group had higher teacher rated hyperactivity and attention problems at baseline (d?=?.44 & 1.07), as well as lower IQ (d?=?.39). Children in the low social functioning group also had poorer treatment response as they had lower executive functioning scores (β?=??.17, p?< .05) at the completion of treatment. IQ moderated the association between social functioning profiles and behavioral treatment outcomes, such that lower social functioning was only associated with higher rates of attention problems for children with average IQ. Findings highlight the differential impact of social functioning in predicting treatment outcomes.     

The Emotion Regulation Strategies of Adolescents and their Parents: An Experience Sampling Study

Parents are the main socialization agents in the development of emotion regulation (ER). In this study, we evaluated adolescents’ and their respective parents’ perspectives about their use of two ER strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) in daily life. In addition, we evaluated the within-family associations between adolescents’ and their parents’ use of strategies. We controlled for adolescents’ gender and age and the perceived quality of their relationships with their parents (mothers and fathers). The sample consisted of 33 12- to 18-year-old adolescent–father–mother triads, totaling 99 participants. Parents and adolescents reported their use of ER strategies in response to eight random prompts throughout the day, by means of the experience sampling method for 1 week. Participants provided 4082 reports on their momentary experiences. The data were analyzed using multilevel modeling to account for the hierarchical structure of the repeated daily assessments. The significant association between parents’ and adolescents’ use of ER strategies was specific to mother–adolescent dyads. The significant association between adolescents’ and their mothers’ ER strategies varied as a function of the adolescents’ age and the quality of their relationship with their mothers according to adolescents’ reports, but not as a function of adolescent gender. These findings suggest that mothers have a role in their adolescents’ emotion regulation in a developmental period characterized by autonomy from parental guidance.     

Multidisciplinary Early Intervention for Preschoolers with Externalizing Behavior Problems and Language Impairment: Results from an Open Trial

Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment - The purpose of the study was to a) examine school readiness (SR) outcomes in preschoolers with externalizing behavior problems (EBPs) and...     

Buddhism and behaviour modification

There has been in recent years a growing interest in the similarities between Buddhism and the principles and practice of behaviour modification. Mikulas, for example, has pointed out many similarities and argued for greater integration. The present paper examines the literature of Early Buddhism with a view to assessing how far its approach is similar to that of behaviour modification and to examine some specific behaviour-change techniques used in Early Buddhism in relation to similar techniques developed and used by modern behaviour therapists. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to theory and clinical practice.     

Sequent-Calculi for Metainferential Logics

Studia Logica - In recent years, some theorists have argued that the clogics are not only defined by their inferences, but also by their metainferences. In this sense, logics that coincide in their...