Book review

Runco, Mark A. and Albert, Robert S. (Eds.). (1990). Theories of Creativity. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, (276 pp.). ISBN 0–8039–3544–7.     

Perversion,eating disorders and sex roles

Abstract

Russell J.M. Perversion, Eating Disorders and Sex Roles. Int Forum Psychoanal 1992;1:98-103. Stockholm. ISSN 0803-706X

Perversion is presented as a fascination with something we also regard as repugnant. A perversion like exhibitionism is a metaphor illuminating the stereotypically masculine. An eating disorder such as bulimia provides a metaphor illuminating the stereotypically feminine. It also fits the account given of perversion. Stereotypes for masculine and feminine, though cultivated in social expectations, are rooted in the infant fantasy world. One is fascinated with the fate of what one has ejected (projected). This contributes to a groundwork for masculinity and exhibitionism. One is fascinated and ambivalent about what one takes in (introjects) which contributes to a groundwork for femininity and bulimia. Genitalia are discovered subsequently, as appropriate representations of these options. Our capacity to be socialized into gender roles, and our discovery of our genitalia en route to this socialization, are foreshadowed by these deeper and earlier styles.     

BIS Sensitivity,Negative Affect and Performance: Dynamic and Multilevel Relationships

This study examined the dynamic and multi-level relationships among the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS), negative affect and performance. Participants performed multiple trials of a simulated air traffic control task. A single measure of BIS was taken before practice, whereas negative affect and performance were measured at repeated intervals. As expected, there was a negative relationship between negative affect and performance at both an inter- and intraindividual level of analysis. The key findings from this research relate to dynamic effects. The detrimental effect of negative affect on task performance strengthened across practice, at both levels of analysis. The negative relationship between BIS and performance was also found to change over time. These findings are discussed by drawing on resource allocation theory and reinforcement sensitivity theory. This study emphasizes the importance of examining dynamic and multilevel relationships to understand how BIS and negative affect relate to task performance.     

The Effects of Commitment to Multiple Foci: An Analysis of Relative Influence and Interactions

Recent research on employee commitment has adopted a multifoci framework, arguing that it is important to distinguish between commitments to particular targets such as supervisors, coworkers, and the organization itself. However, there remain questions about the relative importance of different commitments for predicting outcomes and about possible interactive effects among multiple commitments. To address these questions, the authors collected data from 279 employees as well as their supervisors and coworkers. The authors found robust effects for affective commitment to supervisors, showing that it was significantly related to turnover intentions, task performance, and citizenship behaviors incremental to affective commitment to the organization and coworkers. In addition, a 3-way commitment interaction predicted task performance and citizenship behaviors directed toward the supervisor.     

Moving Beyond Discrepancies: The Importance of Velocity as a Predictor of Satisfaction and Motivation

Adopting a control theory framework, the authors tested a dynamic perspective which suggests that satisfaction and motivation during goal-striving depends not only on discrepancies (i.e., differences between current and desired states) but also on velocities (i.e., rates at which discrepancies change over time). Two studies with different approaches and methodologies were conducted and support was found for the primary hypothesis that velocity information predicts affective and cognitive reactions incremental to discrepancy information. In addition, a Discrepancy × Velocity interaction influenced task satisfaction, success expectancy, and goal commitment. Results are discussed in relation to the broader context of self-regulation.     

Applying a traumatic stress approach to understanding PCS following pediatric mild TBI

Pediatric traumatic brain injury is a significant public health concern affecting hundreds of thousands of children each year. The majority of children who sustain traumatic brain injuries are classified as having a mild traumatic brain injury, and a subset of these children go on to experience persistent physical, cognitive, and emotional symptoms. These symptoms, known as postconcussive symptoms, can endure for months and even years after injury. The outcomes of mild traumatic brain injury are variable and not well understood for a small percentage of children who experience persistent symptoms. The current article explores the potential influence of children’s posttraumatic stress symptoms on persistent postconcussive symptoms. Despite the high incidence of posttraumatic stress symptoms after pediatric accidental injury, they have not yet been identified as an important factor for consideration in the understanding of pediatric postconcussive outcomes. The article will review the literature on posttraumatic stress and postconcussive symptoms after pediatric injury and consider neurobiological and cognitive factors to propose a model explaining a pathway through which posttraumatic stress reactions may serve as the mechanism for the expression and maintenance of postconcussive symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury. The clinical implications for the proposed relationship between posttraumatic stress symptoms and postconcussive symptoms are considered prior to the conclusion of the article, which acknowledges limitations in the current literature and provides suggestions for future research.     

The self‐regulatory role of anticipated group‐based shame and guilt in inhibiting in‐group favoritism

In three studies, we examined whether the anticipation of group‐based guilt and shame inhibits in‐group favoritism. In Studies 1 and 2, anticipated group‐based shame negatively predicted in‐group favoritism; in neither study did anticipated group‐based guilt uniquely predict in‐group favoritism. In Study 3, we orthogonally manipulated anticipated group‐based shame and guilt. Here, we found that the shame (but not the guilt) manipulation had a significant inhibitory effect on in‐group favoritism. Anticipated group‐based shame (but not guilt) promotes egalitarian intergroup behavior. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of assessment setting on the results of functional analyses of problem behavior

Analogue functional analyses are widely used to identify the operant function of problem behavior in individuals with developmental disabilities. Because problem behavior often occurs across multiple settings (e.g., homes, schools, outpatient clinics), it is important to determine whether the results of functional analyses vary across settings. This brief review covers 3 recent studies that examined the influence of different settings on the results of functional analyses and identifies directions for future research.     

“Who I Am Depends on How Fairly I'm Treated”: Effects of Justice on Self‐Identity and Regulatory Focus

Across 2 experiments, we examined motivational processes elicited by justice‐related experiences. Specifically, we examined the effects of justice on recipients' self‐identity and regulatory focus. As predicted, those who experienced unfairness had a strong individual identity and prevention focus owing to the threats of social rejection and economic exploitation communicated by unfairness. Conversely, individuals exposed to fairness had strong interdependent identities and promotion focus owing to the favorable economic and socioemotional information communicated by fairness. These effects were accentuated among participants who reported high sensitivity to injustice and internal loci of control. Our findings are important because they highlight causal associations between justice and key motivation constructs.     

Dispositional accounts of evil personhood

It is intuitively plausible that not every evildoer is an evil person. In order to make sense of this intuition we need to construct an account of evil personhood in addition to an account of evil action. Some philosophers have offered aggregative accounts of evil personhood, but these do not fit well with common intuitions about the explanatory power of evil personhood, the possibility of moral reform, and the relationship between evil and luck. In contrast, a dispositional account of evil personhood can allow that evil is explanatory, that an evil person can become good, and that luck might prevent evil persons from doing evil or cause non-evil persons to do evil. Yet the dispositional account of evil personhood implies that some evil persons are blameless, which seems to clash with the intuition that evil persons deserve our strongest moral condemnation. Moreover, since it is likely that a large proportion of us are disposed to perform evil actions in some environments, the dispositional account threatens to label a large proportion of people evil. In this paper I consider a range of possible modifications to the dispositional account that might bring it more closely into alignment with our intuitions about moral condemnation and the rarity of evil persons. According to the most plausible of these theories, S is an evil person if S is strongly disposed to perform evil actions when in conditions that favour S’s autonomy.