Zhuangzi and relativistic scepticism

Chad Hansen is one of the strongest proponents of the view that the important second chapter of Zhuangzi's Inner Chapters (The Qi Wu Lun) reveals Zhuangzi to be a relativistic sceptidst. Hansen argues that Zhuangzi is a sceptic because he is first and foremost a relativist. Hansen's argument is essentially that Zhuangzi's perspectivism, his belief that one's linguistic and conceptual perspective determines what one claims to know, makes him a thorough going relativist and sceptic. I agree that Zhuangzi is a perspectivist, but disagree with Hansen's portrayal of him as a relativistic sceptic. I first show that there is an important ambiguity in Hansen's argument. I then proceed to argue that important passages in the Qi Wu Lun (in particular the butterfly dream passage,) reveal serious problems with Hansen's interpretation of Zhuangzi's philosophical stance, I maintain that Zhuangzi is neither a sceptic nor a perspectival relativist. He is rather a perspectival realist.     

The nature and treatment of social phobia in youth

A small proportion of children and adolescents experience a debilitating level of social anxiety, known as social phobia. Initially, we consider the phenomenology and aetiology of social phobia in children and adolescents. A number of age-sensitive assessment instruments or tools are briefly considered: a diagnostic interview, selj-report instruments, behavioural observations, cognitive assessment, self-monitoring and psychophysiological recording. We explore cognitive-behavioural strategies that have been found to be useful in the management of social phobia. Although there is much research support for the efficacy of cognitive-behavioural strategies for adults with social phobia, it is emphasized that controlled evaluations have yet to be undertaken with socially phobic youngsters.     

Socialization in an International Context

The globalization of the world economy, the widespread expansion of corporations into overseas markets and the increased use of expatriate and repatriate job assignments have all fundamentally changed the context in which organizational socialization now takes place. This article examines the distinctive socialization issues made salient by this organizational context change. The paper reviews existing theoretical and empirical research, provides hypotheses to guide future socialization research in this area and discusses the implications of an international context for the management of organizational socialization programmes.     

Should the behavioral sciences become more pragmatic? The case for functional contextualism in research on human behavior

Although societal need for behavioral science research is enormous, current research practices seem to be inefficient vehicles for producing knowledge that guides practical action. Many of our most popular theories provide little direct guidance for application. They focus on the development of models of the relationships among organismic events such as attitudes, self-efficacy expectations, and behavior, but pay little or no attention to the contextual influences on behavior. Such research is in keeping with a long-standing mechanistic tradition in psychology. We propose a version of contextualism as an alternative paradigm for the behavioral sciences. According to this paradigm, theories and research are evaluated in terms of their contribution to the prediction and influence of behavior. Basic research organized to pursue this goal has a direct bearing on how behavioral phenomena can be changed for practical purposes. Conversely, applied research contributes to basic understanding of the determinants of psychological phenomena.     

Towards an Interactive Acculturation Model: A Social Psychological Approach

The first part of this paper proposes a continuum of ideological premises that seeks to account for the broad range of immigrant integration policies adopted by Western democratic states. In the second part, a review of Social Psychological models of immigrant acculturation strategies demonstrates the need to explain more clearly the interactive nature of immigrant and host community relations. The Interactive Acculturation Model (IAM) presented next proposes that relational outcomes are the product of the acculturation orientations of both the host majority and immigrant groups as influenced by state integration policies. The model makes predictions regarding the acculturation combinations most likely to produce consensual, problematic, and conflictual relational outcomes between immigrants and members of the host community. Social psychological research is needed to test the validity of the IAM model empirically.     

DIRECT AND COLLATERAL EFFECTS OF RESTRAINTS AND RESTRAINT FADING

Mechanical restraints are commonly used to reduce the risks associated with severe self-injurious behavior (SIB), but may result in movement restriction and adverse side effects (e.g., bone demineralization). Restraint fading may provide a method for decreasing SIB while increasing movement and reducing these side effects. In the current investigation, rigid arm sleeves and restraint fading (gradually reducing the rigidity of the sleeves) were used with 3 clients who engaged in hand-to-head SIB. Restraints and fading reduced the hand-to-head SIB of all clients. However, for 1 client, the addition of a water mist procedure further reduced SIB to near-zero levels. For a 2nd client, another form of SIB developed that was not prevented by the rigid sleeves. For a 3rd client, a topography of SIB that was not physically prevented by the rigid sleeves was also reduced when restraints and fading were introduced.     

Foraging for brain stimulation: toward a neurobiology of computation

The self-stimulating rat performs foraging tasks mediated by simple computations that use interreward intervals and subjective reward magnitudes to determine stay durations. This is a simplified preparation in which to study the neurobiology of the elementary computational operations that make cognition possible, because the neural signal specifying the value of a computationally relevant variable is produced by direct electrical stimulation of a neural pathway. Newly developed measurement methods yield functions relating the subjective reward magnitude to the parameters of the neural signal. These measurements also show that the decision process that governs foraging behavior divides the subjective reward magnitude by the most recent interreward interval to determine the preferability of an option (a foraging patch). The decision process sets the parameters that determine stay durations (durations of visits to foraging patches) so that the ratios of the stay durations match the ratios of the preferabilities.