Unlockeing the root of all evil

Clipped Coins, Abused Words, and Civil Government: John Locke's Philosophy of Money, by Constantine George Caffentzis, New York: Autonomedia, 1989, 246 pages, pb $9.95.     

Richard Popkin – A Personal Memoir

This article is an introduction to an ancient Egyptian text called The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant and an argument that it ought to be seen as a classic of political philosophy. After contextualizing the tale as part of a tradition of moral and political philosophy in ancient Egypt, I explore the methods by which the text defines the proper roles of political authority and contrast its approach to justifying political authority with the argument from the state of nature so common in modern Western political philosophy. I claim that the tale's argument from dysfunction anticipates the move in contemporary Western political philosophy towards privileging non-ideal over ideal theory. I discuss challenges in translating the key term in the tale – ma'at – in light of the fact that it can be taken to mean ‘justice’ and/or ‘truth’. Finally, I discuss how the irony at the heart of its narrative can lead us to interpret the tale as having either conservative or revolutionary implications for the political system it depicts.     

Psychological Hardiness Predicts Adaptability in Military Leaders: A prospective study

To perform effectively in complex mission environments, security personnel and leaders must be flexible and adaptable in responding to rapidly changing conditions. Psychological hardiness marks resilient people who maintain their health and performance despite stressful situations. The present study evaluates psychological hardiness at entry to West Point military academy as a predictor of leader performance and adaptability over time. Predictors also included Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, and a composite indicator of leader potential (Whole Candidate Score) taken from admissions records. Using the Pulakos adaptability taxonomy as a guide, adaptability performance items were taken from a survey of graduates given 3 years after graduation. Also, military leadership grades as West Point seniors provided an index of traditional military performance. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that Whole Candidate Scores predict military leader performance at West Point, but not leader adaptability after graduation. However, hardiness predicts leader performance at West Point, and also leader adaptability (self‐ and supervisor ratings) after graduation. SAT scores and the challenge facet of hardiness are negative predictors of leader performance at West Point. Results indicate that while the traditional measures Whole Candidate Score predicts leader performance in the stable, highly regulated environment of West Point, it does not predict leader adaptability and performance in the uncertain environment of real‐world operations. In contrast, psychological hardiness (commitment and control facets) measured as academy freshmen predicts leader adaptability in officers measured 7 years later. Psychological hardiness appears to be a promising factor in promoting the development of adaptability.     

Null's the word: A comparison of memory quality for intensely negative and positive events

Research comparing memories of traumatic and positive events has produced inconsistent results. Complicating the issue, researchers employ a variety of measures (e.g., narrative or questionnaire) that make comparison across studies difficult. Further, this research has been criticised for lacking adequate statistical controls (Sotgiu & Mormont, 2008). Our study employed both narrative and questionnaire methodologies and compared memories for highly negative and positive events while controlling for retention interval, intensity of the event, and word count in the narrative measures. A total of 108 racially diverse college undergraduates wrote narratives and completed the Memory Characteristics Questionnaire about the most negative and the most positive event they had experienced, and memories were assessed for narrative coherence, language indicative of cognition, insight and sensory experience, subjective ratings of clarity, sensory detail, contextual detail, temporal detail, and the inclusion of thoughts and feelings. Results indicate no differences between memories for highly negative and positive events when retention interval and emotional intensity are controlled.     

Upward and downward social comparisons can decrease prosocial behavior

This experiment addressed whether upward or downward social comparisons can affect people's prosocial behavior toward the comparison targets. Undergraduates (N = 123) completed an inkblot test and then were randomly assigned to conditions in which they were told that their performance was either inferior or superior to their peers. A control group was given no performance feedback. Participants' self‐reported prosocial behaviors were measured 2 days later. Results indicated that both the upward and downward comparison groups engaged in significantly less prosocial behavior than did the control group and that empathy toward their peers mediated this effect. Our findings suggest that upward or downward comparison can make people feel less empathic toward the targets and thus less inclined to help them.     

Extending the expanded model of organizational identification to occupations

We extend Kreiner and Ashforth's (2004) research on the expanded model of organizational identification to the occupational level of self. A survey of 251 customer service representatives from an Indian call center indicates that occupational identification, occupational disidentification, ambivalent occupational identification, and neutral occupational identification are empirically differentiable. Further, each form of identification in the expanded model was related to certain predictors from a set of ten situational and individual difference variables, and to certain outcomes from a set of five adjustment variables. The differing patterns of antecedents and outcomes for each form of occupational identification suggest that each form constitutes a relatively unique phenomenon.     

Preschoolers' Use of Reflective Properties: Identification of Reflections on Partially Transparent Surfaces

This exploratory study extended past studies of children's ability to reference the mirror as a tool in locating the source of reflected images to preschoolers' ability to use the affordances of a transparency. Thirty-six children (3.5 to 5 years old) were shown nonreflected lights and lights reflected on a partially transparent, glassy surface. Children did not spontaneously locate the source of the reflected image. However, they were able to verbally discriminate reflected from nonreflected images following training. These findings indicate that, although preschoolers may not spontaneously use transparencies as a perceptual tool, the ability to distinguish visual differences of reflected from nonreflected images on transparencies is likely within preschool children's developmental capacity.     

What Must You Know and Do to Get Good Outcomes With DBT?

Because little research has been conducted on which therapist-client interactions lead to intermediate and end-point improvements in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), we have a small evidence-base from which to specify what therapists must know and do in order to obtain good outcomes using DBT. As with other evidence-based practices, dissemination of DBT has defaulted to assumptions and methods from the “psychotherapy technology model,” which emphasizes transfer of the validated treatment package from the research clinic to routine settings with high fidelity (Morgenstern & McKay, 2007). However, serious limitations of the psychotherapy technology model require pursuit of alternative complementary models to guide dissemination. One complementary approach is to use well-designed practice-based training research. In this approach, therapists learn modular competencies linked to a highly structured yet flexible clinical decision-making framework. Modular training of therapist competencies emphasizes the continuity of the component therapist strategies across evidence-based protocols rather than emphasizing the packages or manuals as separate and distinct. Key hypotheses about the change processes responsible for client change and the associated treatment strategies used to influence these change processes should be specified and measured at the level of client, therapist, and service delivery setting. Adopting this approach may offer advantages that apply to the dissemination and implementation of DBT and other evidence-based practices (EBPs).     

Psychologists' attitudes toward aids

Abstract

Practicing psychologists in all areas of the country will see an increasing number of persons at risk for AIDS, or with AIDS-related illnesses. Previous research has shown that AIDS elicits negative reactions from the general public and from certain health care professionals. In the current study, a national sample of randomly selected practicing psychologists completed attitude measures after reading vignettes that described a male patient with either AIDS or leukemia who was either homosexual or heterosexual. Respondents evaluated the AIDS patient more negatively and reported less willingness to interact with him in a professional role or in casual social situations. It is important to develop training and continuing education programs to prepare psychologists to deal with persons affected by AIDS.     

A randomised controlled trial of the effects of implementation intentions on women's walking behaviour

The combination of low physical activity rates and increased cardiovascular deaths indicate the overwhelming need for behaviour change interventions that can effectively promote physical activity among sedentary women. This 11-week randomised controlled trial examined the effects of an implementation intentions intervention on sedentary women's walking behaviour. Seventy-five women (M age = 48.17) were randomly assigned to either a control group where they were required to self-monitor their daily pedometer-determined step count or to an experimental group where they were asked to form specific walking plans (i.e. implementation intentions) every 6 weeks and to self-monitor their daily pedometer-determined step count. Measures of exercise intentions, perceived behavioural control, scheduling and barrier self-efficacy were administered at baseline, week 6 and week 11. Analyses indicated higher step counts over the first 6 weeks for women in the experimental condition (p < 0.02). Furthermore, higher self-efficacy to schedule (p < 0.01) and overcome walking barriers (p < 0.03), as well as higher perceptions of behavioural control (p < 0.02) were found at week 11 for women in the experimental versus control condition. However, none of the control beliefs were found to mediate the effects of the intervention on the women's walking behaviour. Furthermore, the intervention did not have any effect on the strength of the goal intention–behaviour relationship. The findings suggest implementation intentions are an effective strategy for initiating leisure-time walking within sedentary women.