Beliefs About the True Self Explain Asymmetries Based on Moral Judgment

Past research has identified a number of asymmetries based on moral judgments. Beliefs about (a) what a person values, (b) whether a person is happy, (c) whether a person has shown weakness of will, and (d) whether a person deserves praise or blame seem to depend critically on whether participants themselves find the agent's behavior to be morally good or bad. To date, however, the origins of these asymmetries remain unknown. The present studies examine whether beliefs about an agent's “true self” explain these observed asymmetries based on moral judgment. Using the identical materials from previous studies in this area, a series of five experiments indicate that people show a general tendency to conclude that deep inside every individual there is a “true self” calling him or her to behave in ways that are morally virtuous. In turn, this belief causes people to hold different intuitions about what the agent values, whether the agent is happy, whether he or she has shown weakness of will, and whether he or she deserves praise or blame. These results not only help to answer important questions about how people attribute various mental states to others; they also contribute to important theoretical debates regarding how moral values may shape our beliefs about phenomena that, on the surface, appear to be decidedly non‐moral in nature.     

Aripiprazole-related tardive dyskinesia

The low prevalence of extrapyramidal symptoms associated with atypical antipsychotics has led to their widespread use during the past decade. Aripiprazole, the newest medication in this class, has been associated with extrapyramidal symptoms (eg, akathisia) and with improvement of tardive dyskinesia (TD), but to date it has not been associated with the development of TD. We report a case of TD associated with the use of aripiprazole 15 mg/day for 18 months for refractory depression. Symptoms of TD resolved within several weeks of discontinuation of aripiprazole.     

Individual and social determinants of winning bids in online auctions

• Online auctions have grown in popularity since the inception of eBay in 1995. Yet despite the phenomenal growth, little is understood about the individual and collective motivations of consumers that lead to higher bids and ultimately, higher profits. This research reframes auction theory in terms of consumer behavior theory and uses observational data to assess bidder‐generated behavior in response to seller‐generated decisions. Results suggest that an increased number of visual cues (pictures) influences bids placed early in the auction and that those early bids generate activity among other bidders, subsequently resulting in higher winning bids. In addition, our findings indicate that the starting price, as determined by the seller, also impacts the final winning bid. Research and seller implications are offered, as are future directions for research in studying this still new phenomenon.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ethics and professionalism: what does a resident need to learn?

Training in ethics and professionalism is a fundamental component of residency education, yet there is little empirical information to guide curricula. The objective of this study is to describe empirically derived ethics objectives for ethics and professionalism training for multiple specialties. Study design is a thematic analysis of documents, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups conducted in a setting of an academic medical center, Veterans Administration, and community hospital training more than 1000 residents. Participants were 84 informants in 13 specialties including residents, program directors, faculty, practicing physicians, and ethics committees. Thematic analysis identified commonalities across informants and specialties. Resident and nonresident informants identified consent, interprofessional relationships, family interactions, communication skills, and end-of-life care as essential components of training. Nonresidents also emphasized formal ethics instruction, resource allocation, and self-monitoring, whereas residents emphasized the learning environment and resident-attending interactions. Conclusions are that empirically derived learning needs for ethics and professionalism included many topics, such as informed consent and resource allocation, relevant for most specialties, providing opportunities for shared curricula and resources.     

Fragile self-esteem and affective instability in posttraumatic stress disorder

Temporal fluctuations in self-esteem and affect are prominent features of several clinical conditions (e.g., depression), but there is an absence of empirical work examining their role in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Individuals who experience large fluctuations in self-evaluations and affect are considered more vulnerable to psychopathology than individuals able to adequately modulate their self-image and emotional responses. We examined the relevance of self-esteem and affective instability to PTSD. Veterans with and without PTSD completed 14 daily ratings of self-esteem, positive affect, negative affect, and gratitude. Compared to veterans without PTSD, veterans with PTSD exhibited more temporal fluctuations in self-esteem, negative affect, and gratitude, with a smaller effect for positive affect. For all veterans, self-esteem and negative affective instability was associated with diminished well-being. Except for self-esteem instability, most findings were substantially reduced after accounting for variance attributable to PTSD diagnoses and mean intensity levels over the 14-day monitoring period. These data suggest self-esteem instability is important in understanding the lives of veterans with and without PTSD.     

A Community Practice Model for Community Psychologists and Some Examples of the Application of Community Practice Skills from the Partnerships for Success Initiative in Ohio

This paper provides an opportunity to consider the concept of community practice from the vantage point of community psychology. The author argues that community psychology has significant potential to change organizations, communities, and other settings to benefit setting occupants. However, it is the author's contention that the full realization of this potential is contingent upon an organized effort to engage in formal community practice. The author defines community practice in terms of four skill sets related to mobilization, planning, implementation, and evaluation. The author also describes settings that might support community practice and discusses implications for training and the field of community psychology in general. Finally, the author illustrates several community practice skills and roles in the context of a local community-based initiative in Ohio called Partnerships for Success.