Distance judgments under different size-information conditions

Seventy-two Ss judged the absolute distance of a target presented without distance cues other than retinal size and assumed size. The method by which E communicated information about the size of a 3-in. target had a significant effect on the magnitude of the discrepancy between judged distance and the perceived distance required by the size-distance invariance hypothesis. In order of increasing effectiveness in producing distance judgments meeting invariance requirements were: size information in the form of verbally communicated metric units, size information communicated by labeling the target with the name of a familiar object, and size information in the form of a visual representation.     

Rewriting Death and Burial in Early-Modern Scotland

In early-modern Scotland various religious writings addressed dying, death, burial, or funerals. The intention was to further the aims of the Scottish reformers to correct what they perceived to be superstition or idolatry, and to align the burial service explicitly to the Reformed ideal. This was not straightforward, however, and in the late-sixteenth and seventeenth centuries many writings reaffirmed the new forms of ministry to the dying and burial. Attempts were also made to educate the population directly, through the production of works in the ars moriendi tradition, although considered from a Reformed Protestant perspective. Both genres were influenced by external material, particularly from England, but also from Geneva. Finally, the difficulties of the reform are highlighted in the fact that in the seventeenth century several funeral sermons were printed in violation of prohibitions. This article engages with the publications employed in Scotland on the reform of death rites, burial, and funerals, and highlights the continuing process in the seventeenth century.     

Reflections on a Community Psychology Setting and the Future of the Field

The 50th anniversary of the Swampscott Conference offers an opportunity to reflect on a community psychology setting, The Consultation Center at Yale, that was formed in response to the 1963 Community Mental Health Act and the 1965 Swampscott Conference. The Center has flourished as a community psychology setting for practice, research, and training for 39 of the 50 years since Swampscott. Its creation and existence over this period offers an opportunity for reflection on the types of settings needed to sustain the field into the future.     

A fertile matrix: the birth of the Forensic Psychotherapy Society

This paper traces some aspects of the fertile matrix within which, over many years, the application of a psychoanalytic perspective to clinical work with the most severely mentally ill, difficult and at times frightening patients in secure and community settings has evolved and now led to the recent inauguration of the Forensic Psychotherapy Society (FPS), a new Member Institution of the British Psychoanalytic Council. The Society provides both a framework for a national, multidisciplinary professional training in psychodynamic forensic psychotherapy and the potential launching pad for an active post-qualification organisation supporting CPD and all other forms of professional development. The particular contributions to the birth of the FPS of the Forensic Psychotherapy Department at West London Mental Health NHS Trust, partly because we know it best but also because it is part of the largest forensic psychiatric service in the United Kingdom, are described.     

Common Ideological Roots of Speciesism and Generalized Ethnic Prejudice: The Social Dominance Human–Animal Relations Model (SD‐HARM)

Recent research and theorizing suggest that desires for group‐based dominance underpin biases towards both human outgroups and (non‐human) animals. A systematic study of the common ideological roots of human–human and human–animal biases is, however, lacking. Three studies (in Belgium, UK, and USA) tested the Social Dominance Human–Animal Relations Model (SD‐HARM) proposing that Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) is a key factor responsible for the significant positive association between ethnic outgroup attitudes and speciesist attitudes towards animals, even after accounting for other ideological variables (that possibly confound previous findings). Confirming our hypotheses, the results consistently demonstrated that SDO, more than right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA), is a key factor connecting ethnic prejudice and speciesist attitudes. Furthermore, Studies 2 and 3 showed that both SDO and RWA are significantly related to perceived threat posed by vegetarianism (i.e. ideologies and diets minimizing harm to animals), but with SDO playing a focal role in explaining the positive association between threat perceptions and ethnic prejudice. Study 3 replicated this pattern, additionally including political conservatism in the model, itself a significant correlate of speciesism. Finally, a meta‐analytic integration across studies provided robust support for SD‐HARM and offers important insights into the psychological parallels between human intergroup and human–animal relations. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Self-image goals in trait perfectionism and perfectionistic self-presentation: Toward a broader understanding of the drives and motives of perfectionists

The current research extends previous theory and research on perfectionism and motivation by showing that perfectionism involves a propensity to pursue self-image goals. It was shown across three studies that dimensions of trait and self-presentational perfectionism were associated with self-image goals in the areas of academics, friendships, and self-improvement. These associations were not simply a reflection of the variance attributable to constructs associated with perfectionism such as self-silencing or self-consciousness. Further, validation seeking mediated the association between perfectionism and self-image goals. Additionally, self-image goals mediated the associations that perfectionism has with depression and burnout. Our findings suggest that perfectionists operate according to a chronically activated “egosystem” and their preoccupation with self-image concerns is central to understanding the compulsive striving and pressure they experience.     

Spontaneous Goal Inference (SGI)

When people learn about or observe the behaviors of others, they tend to make implicit inferences from these behaviors (e.g., Uleman, Saribay, & Gonzalez, 2008). Such inferences are an essential part of a person's ability to understand his/her environment and to prepare appropriate behavior within that environment. In the present paper, we review the conditions under which people are more likely to make implicit goal inferences versus implicit trait inferences. The distinction between these two ways of understanding the behavior we observe has important consequences for how we make predictions about future behavior, set expectations for our interaction partners, and how we choose to behave. It can determine when we stereotype. However, until now, the literature has focused on trait inference as the dominant way perceivers make sense of their environment, with little discussion of inferences concerning a person's goals.