Of Mice and Men: Natural Kinds of Emotions in the Mammalian Brain? A Response to Panksepp and Izard

ABSTRACT— For almost 5 decades, the scientific study of emotion has been guided by the assumption that categories such as anger, sadness, and fear cut nature at its joints. Barrett (2006a) provided a comprehensive review of the empirical evidence from the study of emotion in humans and concluded that this assumption has outlived its usefulness. Panksepp and Izard have written lengthy papers (published in this issue) containing complementary but largely nonoverlapping criticisms of Barrett (2006a) . In our response, we address three of their concerns. First, we discuss the value of correlational versus experimental studies for evaluating the natural-kind model of emotion and refute the claim that the evidence offered in Barrett (2006a) was merely correlational. Second, we take up the issue of whether or not there is evidence for "coherently organized neural circuits" for natural kinds of emotions in the mammalian brain and counter the claim that Barrett (2006a) ignored crucial evidence for existence of discrete emotions as natural kinds. Third, we address Panksepp and Izard's misconceptions of an alternative view, the conceptual act model of emotion, that was briefly discussed in Barrett (2006a) . Finally, we end the article with some thoughts on how to move the scientific study of emotion beyond the debate over whether or not emotions are natural kinds.     

Roles of Boredom and Life Goals in Juvenile Delinquency1

The relationship between possible selves and boredom in juvenile delinquency was examined in 418 high school students. The construct Possible Selves refers to the representation of the self that each person would like to become, could become, and is afraid of becoming. Participants who acknowledged high levels of delinquent behaviors reported more negative possible selves, a higher tendency to experience boredom, and fewer positive possible selves than did adolescents who engaged in lower levels of delinquent behaviors. Also, the number of negative possible selves, the number of positive possible selves, boredom proneness, and gender accounted for 32% of the variance in juvenile delinquency. Overall, the results provide evidence that boredom and a negative view of one's future play a significant role in adolescent delinquent behavior.     

Wittgensteinian Foundationalism

The idea that there is such a thing as Wittgensteinian foundationalism is a provocative one for two reasons. For one thing, Wittgenstein is widely regarded as an anti-foundationalist. For another, the very word `foundationalism' sounds like the name of a theory, and Wittgenstein famously opposed the advancing of theories and theses in philosophy. Nonetheless, in his book Moore and Wittgenstein on Certainty, Avrum Stroll has argued that Wittgenstein does indeed develop a foundationalist view in his final work, On Certainty. On this basis, Stroll goes on to argue against a number of contemporary views, including forms of relativism and scientism. In what follows I will examine what Stroll calls Wittgenstein's foundationalism (in Section 1) and argue that Stroll's reading of Wittgenstein, though original and interesting, is misguided in important ways and so cannot be used against the views he opposes (in Section 2). Finally, in Section 3, I offer a brief summary of the reading of Wittgenstein that I recommend.     

Qualitative and Quantitative Shifts in Adolescent Problem Behavior Development: A Cohort-Sequential Multivariate Latent Growth Modeling Approach

The aim of this study was to examine the nature of problem behavior development from late childhood through adolescence, to assess the quantitative development of problem behavior (alcohol use, marijuana use, deviance, academic failure) as well as potential qualitative shifts in problem behavior over time. Multivariate latent growth curve modeling (LGM) analyses and a cohort-sequential design were employed. Data were from the National Youth Survey and included 770 youth from four cohorts (11, 12, 13, 14 years old), assessed annually for 5 years. Results showed significant growth in problem behavior from ages 11 to 18. Alcohol use and marijuana use contributed most, and academic failure contributed least to the problem behavior latent construct. Results of the variant model revealed that the contribution of all four behaviors to the overall problem behavior construct increased similarly as children aged.     

Hegel on Private Property: A Contextual Reading

Hegel is often read as defending private property and property rights on the basis of the so‐called “developmental thesis,” which holds that the institution of private property is a necessary condition for individuals to develop the basic capabilities required for free choice. In this paper, I challenge the developmental thesis, and present my own interpretation of Hegel's justification of private property and theory of property rights. Reconstructing Hegel's theory requires that we read the Philosophy of Right as a whole and consider the role of property within the context of the political system that Hegel sketches there, rather than merely looking at the Property subsection of the work in isolation, as works that argue for the developmental thesis tend to do.     

Thieves of thankfulness: Traits that inhibit gratitude

If gratitude is important to well-being, it is important to understand the factors that might inhibit gratitude. The purpose of this study was to investigate four putative inhibitors of gratitude: narcissism, cynicism, materialism/envy, and indebtedness. We used a prospective design where participants were administered measures related to the putative inhibitors along with trait and state gratitude, 2 months apart. After controlling for initial levels of gratitude, Time 1 narcissism, cynicism, and materialism/envy were negatively associated with Time 2 state gratitude. Evidence also supported the theory that narcissism and cynicism may interact in a vicious cycle over time. We conclude that narcissism, cynicism, and materialism inhibit state gratitude, and narcissism and cynicism may be the foundational ‘thieves of thankfulness.’     

Emotion Regulation of Preschool Children in Foster Care: The Influence of Maternal Depression and Parenting

Emotion regulation is a core developmental process that is related to children’s academic success and mental health. A small body of research has documented that maltreated children show deficits in this developmental arena. The current study was designed to add to the limited literature on emotion regulation in maltreated children in foster care. Emotion regulation tasks were administered to preschool foster children, videotaped, and later coded. Parenting was assessed via coded observations of mother-child interactions. Mothers reported on their experience of depressive symptomatology. We examined the relation of foster parenting and foster mother depression, as well as child characteristics and child welfare experiences, to emotion regulation, specifically in the joy and anger domains. Findings revealed that maternal depression and parental structuring significantly contributed to children’s anger regulation, but not to their regulation of joy. These findings are considered in the context of future research with respect to young maltreated children in foster care.     

Revised Provisional Diagnostic Profile: 2016

ABSTRACT

In Anna Freud’s and other previous versions of the diagnostic profile, drive theory and the structural model were the central organizing concepts. Though these are retained in the current version, greater emphasis has been made of other conceptual perspectives. In particular, the importance of understanding the impact of the child’s external world and the child’s attachment security; also the central importance of affects, both their recognition and management. These changes are seen in such sections as those on the ego which has been expanded to include a section on play and affects. The developmental line of anxiety and the concept of theory of mind have also been added.     

Emotional support, conflict, depression, and relationship satisfaction in a romantic partner

One aim of this study was to determine the relative contribution of partner conflict and support to satisfaction with a romantic relationship when conflict and support are measured in terms of the same characteristics. Another aim was to ascertain whether support is indirectly associated with relationship satisfaction through reduced conflict and depression, as suggested by C. E. Cutrona (1996). The Relationship Assessment Scale (S. S. Hendrick, 1988), the Revised SCL-90-R Depression subscale (L. R. Derogatis, 1983), and a conflict and support scale were completed by 76 female and 35 male college students. Relationship satisfaction was explained only by support. Support was indirectly associated with relationship satisfaction through a reduction of depression but was not associated with conflict. The results suggest that a better understanding of satisfaction with a romantic relationship may be obtained through the study of support rather than conflict.     

Time does not cause forgetting in short-term serial recall

Time-based theories expect memory performance to decline as the delay between study and recall of an item increases. The assumption of time-based forgetting, central to many models of serial recall, underpins their key behaviors. Here we compare the predictions of time-based and event-based models by simulation and test them in two experiments using a novel manipulation of the delay between study and retrieval. Participants were trained, via corrective feedback, to recall at different speeds, thus varying total recall time from 6 to 10 sec. In the first experiment, participants used the keyboard to enter their responses but had to repeat a word (called the suppressor) aloud during recall to prevent rehearsal. In the second experiment, articulation was again required, but recall was verbal and was paced by the number of repetitions of the suppressor in between retrieval of items. In both experiments, serial position curves for all retrieval speeds overlapped, and output time had little or no effect. Comparative evaluation of a time-based and an event-based model confirmed that these results present a particular challenge to time-based approaches. We conclude that output interference, rather than output time, is critical in serial recall.