What can philosophy offer counselling and psychotherapy?

The big questions about life and its meaning belong to, and must be explored within, our culture as a whole and not just to groups of medical or counselling specialists. Talking treatments would therefore benefit by drawing from broader and deeper intellectual and artistic traditions. Philosophers, for example, have considered questions about identity, meaning and purpose for millennia. Given that moral development has in no way kept pace with technological progress in the 20th century, we would be unwise to draw only from contemporary thinkers in making sense of our predicament. We cannot escape from philosophy: when people say that they do not know any philosophy, what is really meant is that they know only one philosophy, but they have no means of locating or assessing it. As a result, it structures everything they do and care about. It also prevents them from considering alternatives or placing immediate preoccupations into a larger perspective.     

Aggressive reactions of ducklings to a nonliving target object

This study asked whether ducklings' forceful pecks at a nonliving target object could be validly identified as aggressive. Previously isolated ducklings were exposed to a small cylindrical object that could serve as a target for aggressive pecks and as an object for attachment. After initially attempting to flee from the target, they vigorously pecked at it and also showed signs of the formation of a social (imprinting) attachment. In all important respects this pattern of behavior was identical to the pattern of escape, aggressive pecks, and attachment seen when a previously isolated duckling first encounters a conspecific. Social housing, a manipulation which attenuates aggression against live targets in ducklings and other species, reduced pecking at the nonliving target object. Early aversive stimulation, which enhances aggression against live targets, increased pecking at the object. These findings support the use of nonliving targets in the study of aggression in ducklings.     

The Reference Frame Effect: An Intergroup Perspective on Language Attitudes

Invoking self‐categorization and social identity theories, this study predicted that ingroups would be evaluated more favorably than outgroups, but that ingroup membership would change as a function of reference frame. Using the matched‐guise technique, moderate and broad American Southern English accented guises were presented to Californian listeners (N = 175). These were paired either with a Californian‐accented (interregional reference frame) or Punjabi‐accented English speaker (international reference frame). Listeners reported a stronger sense of connection with the Southern‐accented guises, perceived their accents as more similar, and upgraded them on solidarity traits when reference frame was international (i.e., ingroup categorization) rather than interregional (i.e., outgroup categorization). Reference frame had no effect on status ratings. Implications of this reference frame effect are discussed.     

Effects of Inferred Motive on Evaluations of Nonaccommodative Communication

In two studies, we propose, refine, and test a new model of inferred motive predicting of individuals' reactions to nonaccommodation, defined as communicative behavior that is inappropriately adjusted for participants in an interaction. Inferring a negative motive for others' problematic behavior resulted in significantly less positive evaluations of both the interaction and the speaker than inferring either a positive motive or a lack of intentionality. It was also found that underaccommodation is consistently evaluated less positively than overaccommodation, likely due to inferred motive. In light of this, important amendments to communication accommodation theory's principles are suggested, and implications for future research are discussed.