Eveningness and Seasonality are Associated with the Bipolar Disorder Vulnerability Trait

Trait theories of vulnerability to bipolar disorder (BD) are increasingly common in the literature, yet poorly understood. The aim of the current study was to complement existing knowledge of trait theories by investigating two biological rhythm features often associated with BD – eveningness and seasonality – in a sample assessed as vulnerable to the disorder. Two hundred and thirteen participants completed an online survey consisting of the General Behavior Inventory, Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire, and Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire. Hierarchical regressions controlling for sex and age showed that greater levels of seasonality and a tendency towards an eveningness chronotype were weak, but significant predictors of the BD vulnerability trait. When the traits of vulnerability to depression and mania were investigated separately, seasonality and eveningness were significant predictors of the former, but only seasonality was a significant predictor of the latter. The Autumn/Winter pattern of seasonality was a weak predictor of trait vulnerability to mania but not depression. The current findings advance understanding of the BD vulnerability trait, and may have consequences for the behavioural management of those who are considered to be ‘at risk’ of the disorder.     

Alternative Strategies for Evaluating Student Learning – Edited by Michelle V. Achacoso and Marilla D. Svinicki

Books reviewed: Alternative Strategies for Evaluating Student Learning. Edited by Michelle V. Achacoso and Marilla D. Svinicki. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, No. 100. San Francisco: Jossey‐Bass Publishers, 2004. 122 pages. ISBN 0‐7879‐7970‐8. $29.00.     

The bark and bite of the logically negative soul: further reflections on Rilke's dog of ‘divine inseeing’

Following on the approach taken in the previous essay, this article critically reflects Rilke's account of his having imaginatively entered into the interior of a passing dog more deeply into itself. In doing so, it illustrates the concepts of logical negativity and absolute negative interiorization, which are core concepts of the speculative turn within analytical psychology that is known by the name ‘psychology as the discipline of interiority’. Just as analytical psychology often thinks in terms of the alchemical figure of ‘the stone that is not a stone’, so in this article the bark and bite of a logically negative ‘dog that is not a dog’ is grappled with. Further insights into what is meant by the author's phrase, ‘the Archimedean‐less interiority of the soul’, are imparted.     

Does the Awareness of Mortality Shape People's Openness to Violence and Conflict? An Examination of Terror Management Theory

Terror management theory (TMT) proposes that evoking death‐related thoughts (mortality salience; MS) in individuals or groups can lead to stronger worldview defence and greater support for extremist violence. In three experiments, we tested whether an MS manipulation, and associated moderators, increased support for extremist violence. In Australian university students, Study 1 found no statistically significant main or moderated effects for MS on measures of extremist violence. However, participants exposed to the MS manipulation reported increases in conservative religiosity (belief in divine power). In Study 2, the MS manipulation had no significant effect on support for extremist violence for Australian university students primed with an antiviolent extremism norm. And in young Australian Jewish people (Study 3), the MS manipulation did not increase support for violence against migrants. However, there was an increase in support for policies that act to fight against violent extremism in Iraq and Syria in those exposed to the MS manipulation. Across three studies, we find little support for the hypothesis that MS results in increased support for violent extremism. Larger more methodological sound studies are needed to address inconsistencies in the evidence surrounding TMT and the MS hypothesis, at least in regards to violence and extremism.