Scientific Geniuses' Psychopathology as a Moderator in the Relation Between Creative Contribution Types and Eminence

The present study investigated whether scientific geniuses' psychopathology might exert significant influences on their scientific eminence by its interaction with their creative contribution types (paradigm-preserving contributions or paradigm-rejecting contributions). A systematic review of literature on psychopathology of geniuses was conducted using PsycINFO (1967–2005). Seventy-six scientific geniuses were chosen and divided into 4 groups: No Psychopathology Group (n = 22), Personality Disorders Group (n = 27), Mood Disorders Group (n = 13), and Schizophrenia Group (n = 14). The results suggested that psychopathology of geniuses might play the role of a moderator in the relation between creative contribution types and scientific eminence. Implications regarding the mad-genius debate were discussed.     

Rethinking Secularism,edited by Craig Calhoun,Mark Juergensmeyer and Jonathan VanAntwerpen,Oxford University Press: Oxford and New York, 2011, vii + 311 pp. ISBN 978 019979667-0, US$99.00 (hbk); ISBN 978 019979668 7, US$24.95 (pbk)

Neo-monasticism, including the desire to live in Christian intentional community, is increasingly popular in the United States. Communities are structured around a rule or shared covenant that outlines the parameters of living in community. Daily prayer is often a central feature to neo-monastic life as is an emphasis on socio-ecological justice. Drawing on recent Christian theology about gardens, a popular neo-monastic book of common prayer, interviews with practitioners of neo-monasticism, and fieldwork conducted with a nascent neo-monastic community in the southeastern United States, this article argues that prayer acts as a religious technology of the self for socio-ecological change. Through prayer, participants of intentional communities change, and this in turn leads to acts that alter the socio-ecological worlds around them.     

The Construction of Masculinity: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Men’s Lifestyle Magazine Advertisements

The increasing global popularity of men’s lifestyle magazines offers a unique opportunity to study how advertising constructs masculinity across cultures. This study conducted a content analysis of 636 ads from the three most popular men’s lifestyle magazines in Taiwan, China, and the United States to examine the representations of masculinity in their advertisements between 2008 and 2010. The objectives were to determine how masculinities are currently portrayed in terms of types and roles. The study found that the magazines from all three countries typically portrayed men as refined and sophisticated. The defining characteristic of global hegemonic masculinity is commodity consumption, with a particular emphasis on a trendy and refined appearance. We found no significant cross-cultural differences in the types of masculinity, namely, “Vigorous and Macho”, “Refined and Sophisticated”, and “Trendy and Cool”. The traditional preference for “Refined and Sophisticated” in Chinese and Taiwanese ads and a preference for “Vigorous and Macho” in the U.S. ads have largely disappeared. Instead, the global consumption market and its associated consumer culture are the primary determinants regarding representations of masculinity in men’s lifestyle magazine ads. This global culture may underlie the lack of differences found.     

Time of day modulation of conditioned place preference in rats depends on the strain of rat used

In golden hamsters, the expression of a conditioned place preference (CPP) or avoidance (CPA) is regulated in a circadian pattern such that the preference and avoidance are exhibited strongly at the circadian time of prior training, but not at other circadian times. In the rat, reports are conflicting regarding whether time of day learning is evident. We investigated whether this conflict arises because different strains of rat have been used. In this experiment, Long Evans and Wistar rats were trained at a specific circadian time to discriminate between a context paired with food reward and an unpaired context. Animals were then tested for preference at the same or a different circadian time. Long Evans rats showed preference for the paired context at both times tested, whereas Wistar rats showed preference only when training and testing times matched. The results show that time of day learning can be generalized to rats using the Wistar strain.     

A room with a cue: personality judgments based on offices and bedrooms

The authors articulate a model specifying links between (a) individuals and the physical environments they occupy and (b) the environments and observers' impressions of the occupants. Two studies examined the basic phenomena underlying this model: Interobserver consensus, observer accuracy, cue utilization, and cue validity. Observer ratings based purely on offices or bedrooms were compared with self- and peer ratings of occupants and with physical features of the environments. Findings, which varied slightly across contexts and traits, suggest that (a) personal environments elicit similar impressions from independent observers, (b) observer impressions show some accuracy, (c) observers rely on valid cues in the rooms to form impressions of occupants, and (d) sex and race stereotypes partially mediate observer consensus and accuracy. Consensus and accuracy correlations were generally stronger than those found in zero-acquaintance research.     

Goal attribution without agency cues: the perception of 'pure reason' in infancy.

The proper domain of naive psychological reasoning is human action and human mental states but such reasoning is frequently applied to non-human phenomena as well. The studies reported in this paper test the validity of the currently widespread belief that this tendency is rooted in the fact that naive psychological reasoning is initially restricted to, and triggered by, the perception of self-initiated movement of agents. We report three habituation experiments which examine the necessary conditions under which infants invoke a psychological principle, namely the principle of rational action, to interpret behaviour as goal directed action. Experiment 1 revealed that the principle of rational action already operates at 9 (but not yet at 6) months of age. Experiment 2 demonstrated that perceptual cues indicating agency, such as self-propulsion, are not necessary prerequisites for interpreting behaviour in terms of the principle of rational action. Experiment 3 confirmed that this effect cannot be attributed to generalisation of agentive properties from one object to another. These results suggest that the domain of naive psychology is initially defined only by the applicability of its core principles and its ontology is not restricted to (featurally identified) object kinds such as persons, animates, or agents. We argue that in its initial state naive psychological reasoning is not a cue-based but a principle-based theory.     

Family factors of internet addiction and substance use experience in Taiwanese adolescents.

The aim of the study is to examine the differences in the diversity of family factors between adolescents with and without Internet addiction and substance use experience. A total of 3662 students (2328 boys and 1334 girls) were recruited from seven junior high schools, six senior high schools, and four vocational high schools in southern Taiwan. Internet addiction and substance experience were classified according to the score of Chen Internet Addiction Scale Questionnaires for Experience of Substance use. The family factors assessed included perceived family satisfaction, family economic status, parents' marriage status, care-givers, the frequency of intra-family conflict, families' habitual alcohol use, and perceived parents' or care givers' attitude toward adolescents' substance use. This study demonstrated that the characteristics of higher parent-adolescent conflict, habitual alcohol use of siblings, perceived parents' positive attitude to adolescent substance use, and lower family function could be used develop a predictive model for Internet addiction in the multiple logistic regression analysis. The former three family factors were also sufficient in themselves to develop a predictive model for substance use experience. The results revealed that adolescent Internet addiction and substance use experience shared similar family factors, which indicate that Internet addiction and substance use should be considered in the group of behavioral problem syndromes. A family-based preventive approach for Internet addiction and substance use should be introduced for adolescents with negative family factors.     

Profiles of successful aging in middle-aged and older adult married couples

The study identified coupled profiles of successful aging in middle-aged (n = 139; wives, M = 43.8 years old; husbands, M = 45.6 years old) and older adult married couples (n = 148; wives, M = 62.0 years old; husbands, M = 64.4 years old). Latent profile analysis was applied to variables reflecting the domains of cognition, physical health, personality, and social support. A 2-profile solution and a 4-profile solution were interpreted. Both solutions indicated that a large group of couples scored favorably across domains of successful aging. A small group of largely middle-aged couples who were experiencing extreme marital distress was identified. Unevenness across domains was identified, in that some groups involved a disassociation between marital satisfaction and health outcomes. Spouses were substantially similar in the pattern of their profile of aging. Older adults were not always associated with less favorable profiles. Profiles of successful aging did discriminate on external measures of well-being. The results point to the value of a multidimensional notion of successful aging in couples across the life span.