A Jensen effect on dysgenic fertility: An analysis involving the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth

In this study we attempt to determine whether dysgenic fertility is associated with the Jensen effect. This is investigated with respect to a US population representative sample of 8110 individuals from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth for whom there exists complete data on IQ and fertility. In addition to the general sample, the sample was also broken out by race and sex so as to examine whether or not the Jensen effect manifested amongst different sub-populations. The method of correlated vectors revealed significant Jensen effects in five of the seven samples, and in all cases the effect was in a direction indicating that subtests with higher g-loadings were associated with larger dysgenic fertility gradients. The magnitude of the difference between Spearman’s ρ and Pearson’s r was non-significant in all cases, suggesting that biasing factors were minimally influencing the result. This finding suggests that dysgenesis occurs on the ‘genetic g’ at the heart of the Jensen effect nexus, unlike the Flynn effect, which is ‘hollow’ with respect to g. Finally, the finding is discussed in the context of two converging lines of evidence indicating that genotypic IQ or ‘genetic g’ really has been declining over the last century.     

Global behavioral variation: A test of differential-K

Despite Rushton’s path-breaking work into evolutionary forces affecting life history traits, not many attempts at operationalizing the differential-K spectrum at the level of countries or racial groups have been made so far. We report the construction of a “national K” factor from country-level behavioral variables. This K factor is closely related to country-level intelligence (“g”), operationalized by a composite score of IQ and scholastic achievement. We further demonstrate relationships of both g and K with measures of current environment and hypothesized evolutionary antecedents. Whereas K is predicted most powerfully by intelligence, log-transformed GDP (lgGDP) and skin reflectance, g is predicted by skin reflectance, lgGDP, cranial capacity, and a measure of evolutionary novelty.     

602 and One Dead: On Contribution to Global Poverty and Liability to Defensive Force

Abstract: When suggesting that we—the affluent in the developed world—are legitimate targets of defensive force due to our contribution to global poverty one is likely to be countered by one of two strategies. The first denies that we contribute to global poverty. The second seems to affirm that we contribute, and even that we have stringent contribution‐based duties to address this poverty, but denies that such contribution makes forcible resistance permissible. Those in this second group employ several argumentative strategies. In this paper I investigate these strategies for denying the force‐related implication of contribution to poverty. I do not argue for political violence or for the permissibility of targeting the affluent, I merely investigate a conditional: if contribution to global poverty generates stringent duties to address it, then this contribution implies permission on the part of the victims to defend themselves with force, or for third parties to use force on their behalf.     

Therapeutische Teams: Theorie—Empirie—Klinik (Therapeutic Teams: Theory—Research—Clinic)

Abstract

Internalized stigma has been suggested to play a major role in negative changes in identity in severe mental illness. Evidence suggests that roughly one-third of people with severe mental illness show elevated internalized stigma and that it is linked to compromised outcomes in both subjective and objective aspects of recovery. Despite substantial evidence for the impact of internalized stigma, few efforts have been made to develop professionally led treatment to address this issue. In this article, we discuss our development of a new group-based approach to the treatment of internalized stigma which we have termed “narrative enhancement and cognitive therapy (NECT)”. We describe the treatment approach and offer an illustration of it by way of a case vignette.     

C. G. Jung after ten years

Thoughts while driving on a quiet street … We were camping out in British Columbia in the most gorgeous campgrounds I'd ever seen. It was raining. We were the only campers around, as it was out of season. Driving up the coast from California to British Columbia, camping a little and staying in motels with our two children, had taken longer than we'd planned. Now, we were finally close to Victoria, and we chose to camp out instead of going to a motel. British Columbia gets a lot of rain. I realized that the lush beauty and greenery of the campgrounds were due to the rain, but it didn't occur to me that we would actually be rained upon. We were soaked by the downpour, ail of our packed clothes and bedding were very damp, and I quickly began to feel miserable.     

Political skill and emotional cue learning via voices: a training study

The ability to discern emotional expressive cues represents an important interpersonal emotional skill at the workplace. In a training study with 123 employee–peer dyads, we examined whether political skill enhances the learning of emotional expressive cues via voices. Controlling for the effects of extraversion and self‐monitoring, it was found that political skill was significantly related to the accurate recognition of emotions via voices after a training session. As predicted, other‐reported political skill was found to be a stronger predictor of such learning than self‐reported political skill. In addition, social astuteness and networking ability were the most predictive of emotional cue learning among the different dimensions of political skill. Implications and limitations are discussed.     

Are cognitive differences between countries diminishing? Evidence from TIMSS and PISA

Cognitive ability differences between countries can be large, with average IQs ranging from approximately 70 in sub-Saharan Africa to 105 in the countries of north-east Asia. A likely reason for the great magnitude of these differences is the Flynn effect, which massively raised average IQs in economically advanced countries during the 20th century. The present study tests the prediction that international IQ differences are diminishing again because substantial Flynn effects are now under way in the less developed “low-IQ countries” while intelligence is stagnating in the economically advanced “high-IQ countries.” The hypothesis is examined with two periodically administered scholastic assessment programs. TIMSS has tested 8th-grade students periodically between 1995 and 2011 in mathematics and science, and PISA has administered tests of mathematics, science and reading between 2000 and 2009. In both TIMSS and PISA, low-scoring countries tend to show a rising trend relative to higher-scoring countries. Despite the short time series of only 9 and 16 years, the results indicate that differences between high-scoring and low-scoring countries are diminishing on these scholastic achievement tests. The results support the prediction that through a combination of substantial Flynn effects in low-scoring countries and diminished (or even negative) Flynn effects in high-scoring countries, cognitive differences between countries are getting smaller on a worldwide scale.     

Meta-analysis of CBT for Bulimia Nervosa: Investigating the Effects Using DSM-III-R and DSM-IV Criteria

This meta-analysis reports the effects of cognitive-behavioural treatment (CBT) on bulimia nervosa as defined by the DSM-III-R or DSM-IV criteria. In a previous meta-analysis, 26 studies were included using less strict diagnostic criteria for inclusion. The present meta-analysis only included randomized controlled studies fulfilling the DSM-III-R or DSM-IV criteria. Computer searches in MedLine, PsychLIT and references cited herein resulted in a large number articles, of which only seven fulfilled the criteria for inclusion. Effect sizes for binge eating and purging frequency were estimated using both between-group (treatment vs control) and within-group (pre- vs post-treatment) comparisons. The combined within-group effect size for binge eating was r = 0.55 ( d = 1.32) and for purging r = 0.61 ( d = 1.54). The corresponding combined effects for the between-group comparisons were r = 0.23 ( d = 0.47) and r = 0.28 ( d = 0.58), respectively. The combined probabilities for frequency of purging in between- and within-group comparisons were p = 0.00001 and p = 0.00000001, respectively. Although the number of studies included in the meta-analysis was limited, the obtained results are in line with the findings of the previous meta-analysis, and support the efficacy of CBT for the treatment of bulimia nervosa. This suggestion is also supported by the fact that in all the studies except one, comparison groups had received other active treatments.     

Last issue of SJBT

Abstract

A system providing prompts (verbal encouragement) at prearranged time intervals was used with a woman with total blindness and profound intellectual disability who had discontinuous performance. The woman was to transport objects from one end of a corridor to the other (a space in which orientation was not a problem) and then assemble them. Data indicated that there was a clear increase in the number of objects transported and assembled in the sessions with the prompting system. Implications of the findings are discussed.