A problem for Wegner and colleagues’ model of the sense of agency

The sense of agency, that is the sense that one is the agent of one’s bodily actions, is one component of our self-consciousness. Recently, Wegner and colleagues have developed a model of the causal history of this sense. Their model takes it that the sense of agency is elicited for an action when one infers that one or other of one’s mental states caused that action. In their terms, the sense of agency is elicited by the inference to apparent mental state causation. Here, I argue that this model is inconsistent with data from developmental psychology that suggests children can identify the agent behind an action without being capable of understanding the relationship between their intentions and actions. Furthermore, I argue that this model is inconsistent with the preserved sense of agency in autism. In general, the problem is that there are cases where subjects can experience themselves as the agent behind their actions despite lacking the resources to make the inference to apparent mental state causation.     

Early life predictors of callous-unemotional and psychopathic traits

Psychopathy is a disorder that occurs primarily in males. Offenders with psychopathic traits are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime in society, particularly violent crime. Early childhood is a time when individual differences in empathy and guilt—key indicators of the construct of psychopathy—are first evident. A growing number of longitudinal studies have begun to investigate how factors in infancy and early childhood predict psychopathic-like traits in later childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. These studies have suggested that parenting styles during infancy (parental sensitivity, maternal harsh intrusion, commenting on the emotional state of the child) as well as attachment styles are predictive of later psychopathic-like traits. In addition, child characteristics such as temperament and the functioning of biological systems such as the autonomic nervous system and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis are predictive. Overall, studies have suggested that at least some of the origins of psychopathic traits are present in infancy and early childhood, which is consistent with the perspective of psychopathy as a neurodevelopmental disorder. A recent evolutionary-developmental model provides hypotheses regarding how psychopathy may develop and why it is more common in males than females. This model, and its implications for intervention, is discussed in the context of the longitudinal studies that have been conducted on psychopathy.     

Criteria for a comprehensive model of spiritual development in secular educative care

This paper argues that to fulfil what is required of a model of children's spiritual development in the context of secular educative care, six criteria must be met: the meaning of the terms and nature of the phenomenon must both be specified; the relationship to an underlying ontology must be clarified and the status of alternatives characterized; the sense in which spirituality is developmental and open to change through intervention must be identified and which specific developmental changes are 'spiritual' designated; there must be consistency with an accepted paradigm for the understanding and study of human development; the role and status of spiritual development within a secular system of educative care needs explanation; consequential practical implications must be specified. In suggesting this is an unfulfilled requirement, the challenges posed by each of these criteria are identified.     

The cultural grounding of personal relationship: Friendship in North American and West African worlds

This study considers how different constructions of self and social reality influence the experience of relationship. Reflecting the relational interdependence of West African worlds, the authors hypothesized and observed that Ghanaian participants were significantly more likely than U.S.A. participants (ns = 50 each) to advocate caution toward friends and to emphasize practical assistance in friendship. Reflecting the atomistic independence of North American worlds, the authors hypothesized and observed that U.S.A. participants were significantly more likely than Ghanaian participants to indicate a large friendship network; to emphasize companionship, particularly relative to Ghanaian women; and to emphasize emotional support, particularly relative to Ghanaian nonstudents. Results suggest that friendship is not a universal form; instead, it takes different forms in different cultural worlds.     

Sex Differences in Absence from Work: A Reinterpretation

Sex differences in absence from work were investigated for parents and nonparents during a period of 11 months. Personnel records showed sex differences only among working parents, with mothers taking significantly more sick leave than fathers ( p <.05). By using self-reports obtained under protection of anonymity it was found that in the parent group both sexes reported absences necessitated by child care as personal illness, but significantly more women than men were absent from work for such activities ( p <.01). Results from this study shed light on the statement that "women are more likely than men to be absent from work because of illness" (U.S. Department of Labor Bureau Bulletin, 1977); child care, rather than personal illness, appears to be the major variable that mediates sex differences in absence from work.