From Theorizing Radicalization to Surveillance Practices: Muslims in the Cross Hairs of Scrutiny

There are several psychological analyses of the processes of radicalization resulting in terrorism. However, we know little about how those in authority (e.g., the police) conceptualize the psychological dynamics to radicalization. Accordingly, we present a detailed account of an official U.K. counterterrorism intervention, the Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent, designed to enlist frontline professionals in identifying and referring those at risk of radicalization. Specifically, we report data gathered during an observation of this intervention delivered by the police in Scotland. This provides insight into the psychological model of radicalization being disseminated in the United Kingdom, and we evaluate the merits of this model in the light of current psychological theory. First, we consider how this model may overlook certain social dynamics relevant to understanding radicalization. Second, we discuss how this neglect limits consideration of how the surveillance warranted by the official model may lead Muslims to disengage from majority group members. Our analysis points to how political psychology's analysis of social identities and citizenship can inform public policy and practice.     

Chimpanzee handedness revisited: 55 years since Finch (1941)

Chimpanzees and other great apes have long held the fascination of psychologists because of their morphological and behavioral similarities to humans. This paper describes the historical interest in studies on chimpanzee handedness and reviews current findings. Data are presented which suggest that transient changes in posture result in the transient expression of right-handedness in chimpanzees. The role of tool use as an evolutionary mechanism underlying the expression of right-handedness is challenged. Rather, emphasis is placed on the role of bimanual feeding as a behavioral adaptation for the expression of handedness. Suggestions for further research on the nature of nonhuman primate handedness are made in light of these findings.     

A comparison of students studying-behavior produced by daily, weekly, and three-week testing schedules

Time spent in contact with academic course materials as a function of two testing schedules was measured using college undergraduates in an introductory educational psychology course. A within-subject (ABAB) design was employed with all subjects to allow for both individual and group analyses. A study room equipped with an adjacent observation room enabled visual and auditory monitoring of student study behavior. Academic materials were exclusively available to students in the study room and records of durations and distribution of student study time were made by an observer behind a one-way mirror. Daily testing produced consistent duration of study behavior with regular attendance at the study room; weekly and three-week testing produced sporadic bursts of study behavior and frequent instances of non-attendance. The amount of study behavior occurring in weekly and three-week testing conditions increased as the test time drew near (scalloping). Results suggest that daily testing supports more consistent study patterns than do the two larger intertest intervals investigated.     

The effects of access to a playroom on the rate and quality of printing and writing of first and second-grade students

The major dependent variable was the rate at which first and second-grade students printed or wrote daily copying assignments. Data were also taken on the percentage of letters scored as errors according to a set of scoring criteria. Initially, these data were collected during a baseline condition in which each child returned to his seat as soon as his completed work had been scored, to wait for the rest of the class to finish their assignments. When the children were allowed to go to a playroom after their papers had been scored, there was a reliable increase in the mean printing or writing rates. Subsequent introductions of the baseline and playroom conditions replicated the relative effectiveness of access to the playroom to produce higher work rates. Finally, the total amount of time allowed for children to complete their assignments and then play was progressively reduced from 50 to 35 minutes. A progressive increase in work rates was correlated with these changes. Throughout the experiment, there was considerable variability in the mean number of letters scored as errors but there was a clear trend towards fewer errors.     

The effects of teacher attention on following instructions in a kindergarten class

A kindergarten class, composed of five girls ages 4.8 to 6 yr, participated in the study. In each of 20 daily sessions a sequence of 10 simple instructions was given to the class, In baseline sessions, the teacher did not interact with the students, other than to give instructions. During these sessions, the children followed the teacher's instructions 60% of the time. When the teacher began attending to each child if she followed an instruction, the mean percentage of instructions followed increased to 78%. Subsequently, the teacher again employed the baseline procedures and the percentage of instructions followed decreased to 68.7%. When the teacher again provided attention dependent on the children's following the instructions, the percentage of instructions followed increased to 83.7%. The results are consistent with research that has treated instructions as discriminative stimuli. The general findings are that consequences of instructed behavior determine the extent to which the instructions are followed.     

The effects of contingent music on the intensity of noise in junior high home economics classes

The effects of quiet-contingent music on the general noise levels of four seventh- and eighth-grade classrooms were investigated. Following a baseline procedure, popular radio music was used to reinforce maintenance of noise below an acceptable level of intensity, 70 decibels, in three of the four classes. In the fourth class, a reversal design was used to show that the contingent presentation of the radio music was important to control the noise produced by the students. The teacher was free to engage in instructional activities because data collection and presentation of music were controlled by automatic apparatus.     

Behavioral asymmetries of psychomotor performance in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta): a dissociation between hand preference and skill.

Hand preferences were recorded for 35 rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) as they manipulated a joystick in response to 2 computerized tasks. These preferences were then used to contrast 8 left- and 10 right-handed subjects on performance measures of hand skill. Individual hand preferences were found, but no significant population asymmetry was observed across the sample. However, the performance data reveal substantial benefits of right-handedness for joystick manipulation, as this group of monkeys mastered the 2 psychomotor tasks significantly faster than did their left-handed counterparts. The data support earlier reports of a right-hand advantage for joystick manipulation and also support the importance of distinguishing between hand preference and manual performance in research on functional asymmetries.     

Integrating sociological and psychological perspectives on informal care

In this response to Ungerson we present evidence to support the respresentativeness of the sample and argue that the exclusion of ‘minimal’ carers from caregiving research is not justified. Ungerson's arguments for the consideration of large scale social processes are addressed by examining the role of gender as a determinant or moderator of care outcomes. No support was found for a model in which care work satisfaction mediated associations between gender and willingness to care. Nor did gender moderate associations between care work and appraised impact. Gender was found to moderate associations between two of the seven measures of care work and willingness to care. These findings suggest that the impact of care work on carers is not gender specific, but that women experiencing similar levels of negative impact as men may feel greater obligation to continue caring.     

Congregational intervention when the pastor has committed sexual misconduct

When a pastor has committed sexual misconduct, the congregation is impacted profoundly. Viewed as one of the pastor's primary systems, the congregation may have played a significant part in precipitating a crisis, yet also become secondary victims. Intervention with the congregation is, therefore, as crucial as with the primary victims, the pastor, and his family. The Parish Consultation Service is developing a strategy for intervention with congregations. Some preliminary research highlights many of the issues involved, and indicates the direction such intervention should take.Additional training in Family Therapy. Currently coordinator of the Parish Consultation Service; Consultant to Episcopal Church Clergy Family Project; Intake family therapist, Ministerial Health Services, Metropolitan Mount Sinai Hospital; occasional work with husband in Office of Pastoral Development for the Episcopal House of Bishops; Free-lance writer.