The Motive for Sensory Pleasure: Enjoyment of Nature and Its Representation in Painting,Music, and Literature

ABSTRACT Eight studies assessed the motive for sensory pleasure (MSP) involving a general disposition to enjoy and pursue pleasant nature‐related experiences and avoid unpleasant nature‐related experiences. The stated enjoyment of pleasant sights, smells, sounds, and tactile sensations formed a unitary construct that was distinct from sensation seeking, novelty preference, and need for cognition. MSP was found to be related to (a) enjoyment of pleasant nature scenes and music of high but not low clarity; (b) enjoyment of writings that portrayed highly detailed nature scenes; (c) enjoyment of pleasantly themed paintings and dislike of unpleasant paintings, as distinct from findings with Openness to Experience; (d) choice of pleasant nature scenes over exciting or intellectually stimulating scenes; (e) view duration and memory of artistically rendered quilts; (f) interest in detailed information about nature scenes; and (g) frequency of sensory‐type suggestions for improvement of a museum exhibit.     

Metaphysical and absolute possibility

It is widely alleged that metaphysical possibility is “absolute” possibility (Kripke in Naming and necessity, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1980; Lewis in On the plurality of worlds, Blackwell, Oxford, 1986; van Inwagen in Philos Stud 92:68–84, 1997; Rosen, in: Gendler and Hawthorne (eds) Conceivability and possibility, Clarendon, Oxford, 2002, p 16; Stalnaker, in: Stalnaker (ed) Ways a world might be: metaphysical and anti-metaphysical essays, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2003, pp 201–215; Williamson in Can J Philos 46:453–492, 2016). Kripke calls metaphysical necessity “necessity in the highest degree” (1980, p. 99). Van Inwagen claims that if P is metaphysically possible, then it is possible “tout court. Possible simpliciter. Possible period…. possib(le) without qualification (1997, p. 72).” And Stalnaker writes, “we can agree with Frank Jackson, David Chalmers, Saul Kripke, David Lewis, and most others who allow themselves to talk about possible worlds at all, that metaphysical necessity is necessity in the widest sense (2003, p. 203).” What exactly does the thesis that metaphysical possibility is absolute amount to? Is it true? In this article, I argue that, assuming that the thesis is not merely terminological, and lacking in any metaphysical interest, it is an article of faith. I conclude with the suggestion that metaphysical possibility may lack the metaphysical significance that is widely attributed to it.

     

Is There Cross-format Transfer in Implicit Invariance Learning?

Three experiments investigated cross-form transfer in the invariance learning paradigm introduced by McGeorge and Burton (1990). The results suggest that the transfer observed by McGeorge and Burton depended on subjects' ability to use a response strategy discovered by Wright and Burton (1995). When that strategy was denied to subjects (Experiments 1 and 2), no cross-form transfer was observed; when the strategy was made available (Experiment 3), cross-form transfer re-emerged. These results suggest that this form of learning, like many other forms of implicit learning and memory, is hyperspecific.     

A STELLA-II teaching simulation of the dynamics of action model

Although the Atkinson and Birch (1970) dynamics of action model of behavior is included in many textbooks, the details of the model are left out. To facilitate the teaching of the full theory, the conceptual model is outlined, research findings are reviewed, and a simulation model using STELLA-II is presented. STELLA-II, an icon-based program, provides a visual representation of the model that students can follow, with graphical and tabular output and animation of the rise and fall of parameter values.     

Mean Streets and Mental Health: Depression and Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder at Crime Hot Spots

This study explores the relationship between mental health and place at microgeographic units of analysis. We examine self‐reported symptomology for depression and PTSD for 2,724 survey respondents interviewed in three types of randomly selected street segments: violent crime hot spots, cool spots, and cold spots. We find that the mean symptomology score is 61% higher for depression in violent crime hot spots than cold spots, and 85% higher for PTSD. Overall, we estimate that 14.8% of residents of violent crime hot spots meet thresholds for moderate depression or a diagnosis of PTSD. This can be compared to only 6.5% of residents at the cold spots. Using PSM and weighted negative binomial regression approaches we show that observable selection factors are not responsible for the relationships identified. Examining geographic influences, we find an important area effect of violent crime for both mental health measures, and an additional impact of the specific street of residence for PTSD.     

I,Me, You & Us: can a psychodynamic model provide a relational perspective on psychosis?

The concept of psychosis existed long before the current diagnostic definitions we have today. However, current opinion and treatment of psychosis is often dominated by a narrow psychiatric discourse. As a result of this conceptualisation, a diagnosis of psychosis can often feel limiting and disempowering for the individual, especially if he or she holds an alternative perspective. A psychodynamic model may therefore provide a method to examine psychosis from a relational perspective; this may, in turn, broaden one’s understanding and experience of a psychotic episode. In this article, two case examples from different cultural perspectives are used to highlight and explore the potential benefit of psychodynamic theory in the formulation and treatment of psychosis. A psychodynamic model using object relations theory is used for the exploration of both internal and external relational experiences. Both psychodynamic and psychiatric rationales are thus challenged to reflect on the impact of rigid perspectives and how they may limit treatment efficacy. Current research and literature around the use of psychodynamic theory in the treatment of psychosis is reviewed in light of this perspective.     

Mind the gap: evolutionary psychological perspectives on human thriving

The amount of psychological literature focusing on human thriving and flourishing has grown in recent years, but this topic is currently subject to much conceptual ambiguity. Evolutionary psychology, though often not included in discussions on optimal human development, provides a framework that benefits considerations of human thriving. Humans exhibit a high degree of niche construction by which they alter their environment, in turn affecting their offspring. Such niche construction is enabled by unique human capacities, but these same capacities are then required to ‘mind the gap’ between human nature and the altered environmental niche. As such, thriving may in part be understood as the ability of the individual to navigate difficulties resulting from a mismatch between their nature and niche. Three unique features of the human species that are used to both create and navigate this gap are considered as they relate to the existing literature on human thriving.     

The many-property problem is your problem,too

Philosophical Studies - The many-property problem has traditionally been taken to show that the adverbial theory of perception is untenable. This paper first shows that several widely accepted...