Radical Misinterpretation

This paper provides an exposition and defence of Lewis' theory of radical interpretation. The first part of the paper explains what Lewis' theory was; the second part explains what it wasn't, and in so doing addresses a number of common objections that arise as a result of widespread myths and misunderstandings about how Lewis' theory is supposed to work.     

Li Zehou and Moritz Schlick on the Roots of Beauty

Beginning from the Enlightenment view that beauty or art is ＂useless,＂ the attempts to explain how aesthetic experience and judgment are possible presented by Moritz Schlick and Li Zehou are examined, compared and contrasted. The paper treats three main subjects, the anthropological origins of beauty, the origins of aesthetic judgments and the problem of the purpose or function of beauty or aesthetic experience. In the first--the historical-causal roots of beauty--the problem discussed is how to account for aesthetics in light of the practical needs and pursuits of human beings. For Schlick, the problem is couched in terms of how aesthetic experience can be made consistent with natural selection. The second main subject-the philosophical roots of beauty-is a discussion of the origin in the sense of justification of aesthetic judgments. And the third examines the problem of assigning some purpose to aesthetic feelings and attitudes. An apparent contrast is made, and perhaps resolved, between the respective views of Schlick and Li.     

Social Problem-Solving Abilities and Health Behaviors Among Persons with Recent-Onset Spinal Cord Injury

Although many persons with spinal cord injuries (SCI) are at risk for preventable complications, very little research has examined the health behaviors of these individuals. In this study, we examined self-reported health behaviors of persons with recent-onset SCI. We also studied the association between health behaviors and social problem-solving abilities. The results indicated that positive problem-solving characteristics were associated with more adaptive wellness and accident prevention behaviors. A negative orientation toward problem solving and avoidant and impulsive/careless styles was associated with increased traffic and substance risk taking. Implications are discussed in terms of health education, research, and prevention programs.     

Peer pressure and poverty: exploring fashion brands and consumption symbolism among children of the ‘British poor’

Attitudes towards fashion brands (trainers/athletic shoes) and their symbolic meanings are explored among a sample of 30 children aged 8–12 years from poor homes in the UK, in an interpretive study using projective methods. The children form stereotypes about the owners of trainers: if the trainers are obviously branded and expensive the children believe the owner to be rich and young, if the trainer is unbranded and inexpensive looking the children believe the owner to be poor and old. If a child is wearing branded trainers they are seen as popular and able to fit in with their peers. These opinions are so strongly held that the children would prefer to talk to someone wearing branded trainers than unbranded trainers. The children also feel pressure to wear the trainers that their friends wear, partly to make friends and fit in and partly because of the teasing experienced if they are wearing unbranded clothes or are clearly from a poor home. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications.     

Relationship between inner dialog and ideas of reference and the mediating role of dissociation

Recent lines of research have begun to concentrate on internal dialogue and its relationship to a diversity of psychopathological phenomena present in psychotic disorders. This study was intended as a preliminary exploration of the relationship of internal dialogue, dissociation and ideas of reference. To do this, a sample of 318 students filled in an internal dialogue scale (the VISQ, McCarthy‐Jones & Fernyhough), one for dissociation (DES‐II, Carlson & Putnam) and another for ideas of reference (REF, Lenzenweger, Bennett & Lilenfeld). The results confirm the hypothesis posed in the sense that internal dialogue was positively associated with dissociation and with ideas of reference. A partial mediation effect of dissociation was also found between inner speech and ideas of reference. Lines of future research this study opens and its possible integration in a model on ideas of reference are discussed.     

Finding Home: A Qualitative Approach to Understanding Adolescent Mothers’ Housing Instability

Many low‐income Latina adolescent mothers face instability in their housing circumstances, which has implications for their long‐term prospects and that of their children. This study used longitudinal, ethnographic data from Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three‐City Study to explore experiences of low‐income, Latina adolescent mothers (N = 15) with unstable housing who primarily rely on their families or the families of their significant others for housing support. Results of analysis employing grounded theory and narrative approaches suggested two types of instability: “Horizontal moves” between family homes and “vertical moves” between family homes and independent living. Although family support often was fundamental in allowing for participants’ pursuit of independent housing (i.e., vertical moves), it also was associated with greater residential mobility (i.e., horizontal moves), most often in the context of intrafamilial conflict and family instability. These results are discussed with respect to inconsistencies in policies to address this vulnerable population.     

Turning psychology against militarism

This paper draws on material, mostly from outside psychology, which illustrates the deep rootedness of militarisation in modern culture and the numerous ways in which it permeates civic society. Children, boys especially, learn to value armed conflict. War games are now more realistic, and the distinction between gaming and military training has become blurred. War and deadly weapons are portrayed in unrealistic ways that hide their actual effects. Just war theory, widely subscribed to, justifies armed conflict by proposing that under certain conditions, war can be just with moral rules that apply to the fighting. Many psychologists have worked for the military in one way or another, implicitly or explicitly promoting militarism, and the changing nature of war and armaments is providing further temptations for psychologists to do so. Psychology has been ambivalent about militarism. Peace psychology has not taken an unambiguous position on it, often speaking disparagingly of the absence of war in the absence of social justice, referring to it as “negative peace.” Feminists, often very clear in their opposition to militarism, have sometimes advocated for women to have greater acceptance in the armed forces. The paper concludes by arguing for a more clearly identified Psychology Against Militarism. Community psychology should take a lead in advocating for Psychology Against Militarism because militarism is a good example of how the exercise of power, wreaking widespread harm on us all but especially on those who are already relatively powerless, is collectively legitimised, and hence how we become complicit in supporting it.