A cybernetic theory of morality and moral autonomy

Human morality may be thought of as a negative feedback control system in which moral rules are reference values, and moral disapproval, blame, and punishment are forms of negative feedback given for violations of the moral rules. In such a system, if moral agents held each other accountable, moral norms would be enforced effectively. However, even a properly functioning social negative feedback system could not explain acts in which individual agents uphold moral rules in the face of contrary social pressure. Dr. Frances Kelsey, who withheld FDA approval for thalidomide against intense social pressure, is an example of the degree of individual moral autonomy possible in a hostile environment. Such extreme moral autonomy is possible only if there is internal, psychological negative feedback, in addition to external, social feedback. Such a cybernetic model of morality and moral autonomy is consistent with certain aspects of classical ethical theories.     

Visual recalibration of auditory speech identification: a McGurk aftereffect

The kinds of aftereffects, indicative of cross-modal recalibration, that are observed after exposure to spatially incongruent inputs from different sensory modalities have not been demonstrated so far for identity incongruence. We show that exposure to incongruent audiovisual speech (producing the well-known McGurk effect) can recalibrate auditory speech identification. In Experiment 1, exposure to an ambiguous sound intermediate between /aba/ and /ada/ dubbed onto a video of a face articulating either /aba/ or /ada/ increased the proportion of /aba/ or /ada/ responses, respectively, during subsequent sound identification trials. Experiment 2 demonstrated the same recalibration effect or the opposite one, fewer /aba/ or /ada/ responses, revealing selective speech adaptation, depending on whether the ambiguous sound or a congruent nonambiguous one was used during exposure. In separate forced-choice identification trials, bimodal stimulus pairs producing these contrasting effects were identically categorized, which makes a role of postperceptual factors in the generation of the effects unlikely.     

Topics of marital disagreement among African-American and Euro-American newlyweds

To see what issues couples most and least often reported as topics of marital disagreement, survey data were analyzed for 113 African-American and 131 Euro-American couples reporting in the first and third years of marriage. Friedman tests showed that in both the first and third years of marriage, money was most often reported as a topic of marital disagreement; tensions about leisure, each spouse's family of origin. and children were reported significantly less often; and tensions about religion were reported least often. Findings were very similar for African Americans and Euro-Americans, and for husbands and wives. Overall, findings show considerable stability in the relative frequency with which specific topics reportedly evoke tension early in marriage.     

Maternal depression and the timing of mother–child dialogue

Turn-taking in dialogue is an essential part of communication and early language experience. The prevalence of utterances and the timing of responses in dialogue were examined at 14 and 36 months of age in 104 mother–child dyads from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSREP). Mothers varied in their level of depression risk (measured with the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale; CES-D). Although maternal utterance rate did not vary significantly across any factors, the latency of mothers' responses to their children decreased with development (12 ms/month) and was significantly related to that of their own children (i.e., slow-responding children had slow-responding mothers). Mothers with higher levels of depressive symptoms were 11% slower in responding to their children than mothers with low depression risk, suggesting that the interactive timing of speech to children may be particularly sensitive to maternal depression, modifying the contingent properties of children's early language experience.     

Sensory sensitivity after acquired brain injury: A systematic review

Patients with acquired brain injury frequently report experiencing sensory stimuli as abnormally under- (sensory hyposensitivity) or overwhelming (sensory hypersensitivity). Although they can negatively impact daily functioning, these symptoms are poorly understood. To provide an overview of the current evidence on atypical sensory sensitivity after acquired brain injury, we conducted a systematic literature review. The primary aim of the review was to investigate the behavioural and neural mechanisms that are associated with self-reported sensory sensitivity. Studies were included when they studied sensory sensitivity in acquired brain injury populations, and excluded when they were not written in English, consisted of non-empirical research, did not study human subjects, studied pain, related sensory sensitivity to peripheral injury or studied patients with a neurodegenerative disorder, meningitis, encephalitis or a brain tumour. The Web of Science, PubMed and Scopus databases were searched for appropriate studies. A qualitative synthesis of the results of the 81 studies that were included suggests that abnormal sensory thresholds and a reduced information processing speed are candidate behavioural mechanisms of atypical subjective sensory sensitivity after acquired brain injury. Furthermore, there was evidence for an association between subjective sensory sensitivity and structural grey or white matter abnormalities, and to functional abnormalities in sensory cortices. However, further research is needed to explore the causation of atypical sensory sensitivity. In addition, there is a need for the development of adequate diagnostic tools. This can significantly advance the quantity and quality of research on the prevalence, aetiology, prognosis and treatment of these symptoms.     

Old Age as a Stage of Life

The objective list account of wellbeing is usually taken to say that the same set of goods is relevant to wellbeing for any person, regardless of age. Coupled with reasonable assumptions about how goods are distributed over the lifespan, that leads to a picture of wellbeing as higher in midlife and lower in childhood and old age. I argue that a stage-relativized objective list theory is more plausible, after exploring several ways to understand the concept of a life stage. On the stage-relativized view, lists of goods that define wellbeing vary in the sense that there are shifting thresholds and subcategories relevant to different stages of life, but also because there are goods that count at one stage and count less or not at all at others. After exploring the list of goods for old age, I argue that the old age form of wellbeing can be welcomed even if the goods it offers are not superior to midlife goods.     

MAINTENANCE FACTORS IN COERCIVE MOTHER-CHILD INTERACTIONS: THE COMPLIANCE AND PREDICTABILITY HYPOTHESES

Two stimulus control processes by which some parent-child dyads occasionally escalate their aversive exchanges into progressively more coercive interactions are described. The compliance hypothesis suggests that aversive actions have instructional properties for the dyad and that parent compliance with such child instructions maintains behavior chains of increasing aversiveness. The predictability hypothesis suggests that social interactions are most likely to function as aversive stimuli in the dyad when delivered in unpredictable fashion by either party and that responses instrumental in reducing dyadic unpredictability maintain aversive behavior chains. Expectations derived from both hypotheses are evaluated in a series of correlational analyses of mother-child interactions obtained in extended baseline observations of three dyads seeking psychological help for severe interactional problems. Results provide tentative support for the predictability hypothesis and suggest important avenues of further research.     

Enhancement of health-giving family support versus treatment of family pathology

Family assessment and therapy has emphasized the negative, pathogenic features of the family relationships of persons who have suffered episodes of schizophrenia. The role of the family as the major provider of supportive care for the disabled patient has received much less attention. A case is made for greater emphasis on the coping abilities of families and family therapy methods that specifically increase these functions through enhancing the problem-solving skills of the family unit.     

Fairy-tales and teaching family therapy

This paper sets out to illustrate how well-known fairy-tales can be adapted to serve as a useful teaching tool in family therapy. Familiarity with fairy stories means they can be used as a ready access to common family constellations and dynamics. This may be particularly useful when asked to present an introductory workshop or single lecture to participants unsophisticated in family therapy conceptualizations or practice. Potential clinical applications are also briefly mentioned.     

Exploring spiritual dimensions: Toward a hermeneutic of divorce

While the divorce experience can confront people with brokenness, limits, sinfulness, and changing concepts of meaning, it can also challenge them to move to new places, to choose life in a new way. Moving through this process not only allows a person to come to terms with various aspects of the divorce in a psychological sense, but also to see the movement of God within the suffering, healing, and the emergence of new life. This essay touches on various issues which emerge in the stages of death-gestation-rebirth and how they may ultimately act to strengthen the foundation of faith.Excerpted from The Effect of Divorce on Spiritual Growth: A Study in Protestant Spirituality (unpublished thesis).