Confusions and Conclusions: A Response to Doane

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate critically the logic and conclusions of Doane's article ( 14 ), and in so doing, to raise serious questions regarding her evaluation of the family interaction literature. In particular, we suggest that Doane's paper is characterized by (a) a confused and inaccurate presentation of previous reviews; (b) a vague and contradictory set of terms around which she attempts to recast previous findings; (c) an arbitrary and unsystematic selection of findings used to support suggestions regarding reliable group differences; (d) uncritical and erroneous interpretations of findings that ostensibly support suggested differences between groups; and (e) a superficial acceptance of recent family interaction data concerned with the relationship between communication deviance/clarity and psychopathology. We hope our detailed critique will stimulate other observers of family interaction research to contribute more accurate and significant perspectives to the field than those presented in Doane's review.     

Thinking with the Weight of the Earth: Feminist Contributions to an Epistemology of Concreteness

This essay proposes a possible direction for feminist epistemology—an embodied rationality that defines the process of knowing as a dialogue with particulars or the “things themselves.” On the grounds that modem reality is marked by abstract projects of homo mensura, I argue that the task of postmodernism is to ground cognition in the world by breaking the habit of looking at the world, as if from a distance, and by ceasing to think about the world as if it were composed of a collection of objects-in-general.     

A Review of Andrea Nye's Feminist Theory and the Philosophies of Man

In this provocative book, Nye argues that feminist attempts to spin coherent theories from the threads of the various philosophies of man fail as the patriarchal assumptions of each theory resist and undermine every effort. Nevertheless, she claims, although the threads cannot be woven into a coherent tapestry, as dedicated feminist Arachnes meticulously separate strand from strand, “the mechanisms of oppression are finally understood” and the patriarchal tapestries begin to unravel.     

A Redefinition of Multicultural Counseling

Training multiculturally competent counselors has become a timely topic, but what underlying philosophical assumptions shape this issue? The multicultural movement has indeed contributed to our greater and much needed understanding and appreciation of the real differences among racial, ethnic, and cultural groups. The current focus on the influence of the cultural background of the individual, however, need not be at the expense of the equally important influences of individual differences and human universal tenets. The new decade for multi-culturalism calls for balance. This article attempts to redefine multicultural counseling using an Afrocentric, holistic, optimal theory that views individuals as unique manifestations of spirit, thus sharing a common core. From this perspective, all counseling is multicultural. Multicultural counseling competencies are then reconceptualized as fundamental counseling skills achieved through self-knowledge and a shift in worldview. As the counselor brings into conscious awareness the various aspects of himself or herself, he or she becomes aware of the universal interconnectedness and interdependence of all life. With this new holistic worldview, the differences among people take on a new meaning. This article explores the consequences of an alternate worldview on the way we conceptualize multiculturalism. The implications of this redefinition of multicultural counseling for training, practice, and research are explored. El entrenamiento de consejeros multiculturalmente competentes ha llegado a ser un tema oportuno¿ pero cuáles son las asunciones filosóficas que dan forma a este asunto? El movimiento multicultural sí ha contribuido a nuestro entendimiento y a la apreciación de las diferencias verdaderas entre grupos raciales, étnicos, y culturales. Sin embargo, el enfoque general de la influencia de la historia cultural del individuo no tiene que ser a costa de las influencias igualmente importantes de diferencias indiviudales y credos humanos universales. La nueva decada de multiculturalismo exige un balance. Este articulo intenta redefinir la consejería multicultural utilizando un teoria afrocéntrica, holística, y óptima que ve a los individuos como manifestaciones únicas del espíritu, compartiendo una esencia común. Desde está perspectiva, toda la consejería es multicultural. Se reconceptualizan las competencias de consejería multicultural como talentos fundamentales de consejería adquiridos por un auto-conocimiento y un cambio de visión universal. Mientras el consejero lleva varios aspectos de sí mismo al consciente, él o ella se da cuenta de la interconexión e interdependencia universal de todos los seres. Con esta nueva visión universal holística, las diferencias entre la gente llega a tener un significado nuevo. Este articulo explora las consecuencias de una visión universal alternativa de como conceptualizamos el multiculturalismo. Se investigan las implicaciones de esta redifinición de consejería multicultural en entrenamiento, práctica, e investigación.     

Language use in the Adult Attachment Interview: Evidence for attachment‐specific emotion regulation

Adult attachment classification is traditionally based on qualitative coding of participants' discourse about their attachment history. Word count‐based analyses have proven useful for assessing emotional states from narrative. To expand the understanding of how language is used in emotion regulation processes related to attachment, the authors assess 102 college‐aged adults' language on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Autonomous adults use more emotion words and, in particular, negative emotion words. Preoccupied adults use more anger words. Disorganized adults use more experientially connected language and more death/dying words, but also use more second‐person pronouns when discussing loss. Language use during the AAI explains variability in self‐reported emotional distress above and beyond attachment classifications. Results are discussed in terms of their relevance to emotion and attachment.     

WHY EMPLOYEES DO BAD THINGS: MORAL DISENGAGEMENT AND UNETHICAL ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

We examine the influence of individuals’ propensity to morally disengage on a broad range of unethical organizational behaviors. First, we develop a parsimonious, adult‐oriented, valid, and reliable measure of an individual's propensity to morally disengage, and demonstrate the relationship between it and a number of theoretically relevant constructs in its nomological network. Then, in 4 additional studies spanning laboratory and field settings, we demonstrate the power of the propensity to moral disengage to predict multiple types of unethical organizational behavior. In these studies we demonstrate that the propensity to morally disengage predicts several outcomes (self‐reported unethical behavior, a decision to commit fraud, a self‐serving decision in the workplace, and supervisor‐ and coworker‐reported unethical work behaviors) beyond other established individual difference antecedents of unethical organizational behavior, as well as the most closely related extant measure of the construct. We conclude that scholars and practitioners seeking to understand a broad range of undesirable workplace behaviors can benefit from taking an individual's propensity to morally disengage into account. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.     

An Analysis of Early vs. Later Responses on a Divergent Production Task Across Three Time Press Conditions

Traditional assessments of divergent production have employed standard time press conditions of three minutes for measures of fluency, flexibility, and originality. Recent studies have provided evidence that the traditional time press condition may impede both fluency and quality of responses and that differences in divergent production responses have been found under a variety of creative prompting conditions. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of three time press and three creative prompt conditions on early vs. later trial originality scores for three divergent production stimuli. The participants were 91 undergraduate students enrolled in Educational Psychology courses who were randomly assigned to one of six experimental groups. The six groups were counterbalanced across the three vignette tasks in time press requirements and creative prompting. Aggregate differences were found in which there was a higher frequency of originality scores for the latter portions of trials as compared with the early portion of trials for all time press and prompting conditions.     

Relational Control and Interactive Media Choice in Technology-Mediated Communication Situations

The study develops a framework to examine the communication goals of interacting partners and how these affect media choice. The study hypothesizes that in communication situations when the relational dimension of communication goals is competitive, relational control would affect media choice. Personal interviews were conducted among a nonrandom sample of 70 persons. The respondents were presented with different communication situations and asked if and why they would select one mode of communication over another. A content analysis of the responses supported the main argument of the study that in situations of relational competitiveness relational control would be a significant factor affecting media choice.     

Disability,Respect and Justice

Recent political philosophers have argued that criteria of social justice that defend distributing resources to individuals on the basis of the disadvantages of their natural endowments are disrespectful and disparaging. Clearly influenced by the social model of disability, Elizabeth Anderson and Thomas Pogge have recently defended criteria of social justice that distribute resources to people with disabilities on the basis of eliminating discrimination, not making up for so‐called natural disadvantage. I argue that it is implausible to suggest that just entitlements for people with disability can be secured solely by eliminating discrimination. Resources for people with disabilities must sometimes be justified on the grounds that some natural endowments pose disadvantages even in societies that do not discriminate. I argue further that there need be nothing at all disrespectful about this way of explaining disadvantage; nor have proponents of the social model of disability or political philosophers provided any compelling reasons for supposing that it is disrespectful. There is thus no motivation for Anderson's and Pogge's attempts to secure justice for people with disabilities by appealing solely to the imperative to eliminate discrimination.