HUMAN SURVIVAL: THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION

Abstract. Public awareness of threats to human survival has emerged with significant strength since the 1970s. Recognition that growth cannot continue infinitely on a finite planet was affirmed by publication of the Club of Rome report, The Limits to Growth. In turn, the responsibility of science for human survival has been widely debated, at least since detonation of the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, but the conjunction of threats to human survival and scientific responsibility has remained rather vague. Clarification of this dual issue must take into account the role of religion, since only through a creative alliance of science and religion can a satisfactory resolution of the threats posed by global problems be found.     

Subject Competence and Minimization of the Bystander Effect

While performing a drawing task, either alone or in the presence of an observer, high- and low-competent subjects heard a workman fall off a ladder in an adjoining room. As expected, high-competent subjects (Registered Nurses) who witnessed the emergency with another bystander helped as frequently as subjects who witnessed the emergency alone; low-competent subjects (general students) evidenced the familiar bystander effect. Responses to the post-emergency questionnaire indicated that at the time of the emergency both high- and low-competent subjects felt strongly that they should do something to help the workman. The minimization of the bystander effect for the high-competent subjects was mediated by confidence in their ability to help the workman and in knowing what steps to take to help. Discussion focused on the role of subject competency in bystander intervention, effective debriefing, and the subjects' positive reactions to participating in a bystander experiment.     

Effects on WAIS-III performance IQ (PIQ) and full scale IQ (FSIQ) when object assembly is substituted for each standard performance scale subtest

According to the WAIS-III Administration and Scoring Manual, Object Assembly (OA) may be substituted for any spoiled Performance subtest. This assertion has not been evaluated in a clinical sample. The present investigation reports differences that resulted in Performance IQ (PIQ) and Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) when OA replaced each of the Performance subtests. Participants were 47 referrals for neuropsychological assessment (age M = 45.98 years, SD = 9.82; education M = 13.82 years, SD = 2.78). Results indicated that OA may replace any Performance subtest without seriously altering the summary scores. Differences between the standard IQs and OA-based composites were < 2 points for PIQ and < 1 point for FSIQ. More than 90% of the OA-based composites fell within the 90% confidence limits of the corresponding IQ.     

Differences in family functioning in grandparent and parent-headed households in a clinical sample of drug-using African American adolescents

Grandparents play a critical role in African American families, providing support and important leadership functions. Little is known, however, about family functioning in grandparent-headed households with a drug-using adolescent. Such knowledge is particularly salient for researchers and therapists who work with drug-using adolescents and their families. Using a clinical sample of convenience, analyses were conducted to identify similarities and differences in adolescent substance use and behavior problems, family relationships, and family social ecology relationships between African American grandparent-headed (n=12) and parent-headed (n=54) households. Results indicated that adolescents from the 2 household types reported similar levels of problem behaviors, but that grandparents reported less delinquency with peers than did parents. Primary caregivers in grandparent-headed households reported less monitoring and supervision of peers and less within-family conflict. Implications for treatment are discussed.     

The role of part structure in the perceptual localization of a shape

The process of object localization may be accomplished with respect to a particular reference location, such as the center of gravity, COG (eg Vishwanath and Kowler, 2003 Vision Research 43 1637-1653). Here, we investigated how part structure affects an object's reference location. The reference location was evaluated with a measure of the illusory displacement of an internal target element embedded within a larger object (Morgan et al, 1990 Vision Research 30 1793-1810). To examine whether the reference location is different for shapes with part structure, two shapes were tested: circle (small and large; no part structure) and bell (shape with two parts, one larger than the other). Results were examined with respect to two predictions: either the location of an object is based on its shape as a whole, disregarding part structure (ie a single, overall COG), or the parts are processed separately (different COGs). With the circles, the results showed a systematic illusory displacement of the internal target toward the COG. With the bell, the illusion was significantly weaker than with both circles--even though the main part of the bell had the same size as the small circle, and its horizontal axis had the same extent as the large circle. Moreover, the distance judgments for the bell were consistent with a (weaker) reference point being located at the COG of the larger part, rather than at the COG of the entire bell. These results show that the part structure of a shape plays a role in the representation of its location, and that for complex shapes the perceived location of an embedded element depends more on the parts within which it is embedded, rather than on the whole shape.     

Three steps to open science for qualitative research in psychology

Principles and applications of open science (also referred to as open research or open scholarship) in psychology have emerged in response to growing concerns about the replicability, transparency, reproducibility, and robustness of psychological research alongside global moves to open science in many fields. Our objective in this paper is to inform ways of collectively constructing open science practices and systems that are appropriate to, and get the best out of, the full range of qualitative and mixed-method approaches used in psychology. We achieve this by describing three areas of open research practice (contributorship, pre-registration, and open data) and explore how and why qualitative researchers might consider engaging with these in ways that are compatible with a qualitative research paradigm. We argue it is crucial that open research practices do not (even inadvertently) exclude qualitative research, and that qualitative researchers reflect on how we can meaningfully engage with open science in psychology.     

FEED THE HUNGRY BEE: USING POSITIVE PEER REPORTS TO IMPROVE THE SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AND ACCEPTANCE OF A SOCIALLY REJECTED GIRL IN RESIDENTIAL CARE

We studied how rewarding peers for publicly reporting positive aspects of a socially rejected girl's behavior affected her social interactions and acceptance. The results indicated that positive peer reports reduced negative social interactions (to near zero) and increased positive interactions (to above 70%). In addition, social acceptance ratings of the girl increased from pre- to postintervention.     

Guiding Self-Change: A new model for brief psychotherapy

The authors summarize the essential ingredients of contemporary Brief Therapy (BT), the features that distinguish BT from longer-term therapies, and BT's core assumptions about personal change and influence. They then describe “Guided Self-Change” (GSC), an explicitly value-driven approach to personal change based on modern principles of adult education. GSC places primary responsibility for change with the patient as early as practicable. Inherent in this approach is an emphasis on efficient, limited utilization of counseling sessions to mentor patients' real life attitude and behavior experiments. Advantages of a highly proactive, value-driven educational orientation over the traditional therapeutic paradigm are enumerated, especially given current pressures for therapeutic efficiency.