In defense of Joy: C. S. Lewis and psychoanalysis

The imaginative experience of Joy, as he calls it, was central to the career of C. S. Lewis: it informed his work as literary scholar, writer, and religious thinker. Cognizant that psychoanalytic concepts held implications for the meaning of this experience, Lewis offers a critical commentary on these implications and their presuppositions with regard to literary imagery. His commentary suggests possible conflicts between a view of humankind that is psychoanalytically-derived and one which is aesthetically informed.     

The effects of spontaneous and voluntary facial reactions on surprise and humor

Two investigations were conducted to determine the nature of the relationship between facial reactions and surprise and humor ratings as suggested by the facial feedback hypothesis. In the correlational investigation, individual subjects showed a positive correlation between their spontaneous facial reactions and funniness ratings over 36 cartoons (within subjects). Subjects who were facially more reactive to all the cartoons, however, did not rate them as funnier than did subjects who were less facially reactive (between subjects). In the experimental investigation, spontaneous facial reactions were evoked by a discrepant weight and also were inhibited or amplified on verbal demand. Surprise and funniness ratings varied with spontaneous facial reactions but were unaffected when those reactions were voluntarily inhibited or amplified. The results were interpreted as not supporting the facial feedback hypothesis and suggested that facial reactions may only correlate with emotional experience.These investigations were supported by Ball State University Research Grants.     

In search of the Seven Dwarves: issues of measurement and meaning in alcohol expectancy research

Discusses substantive issues in predicting drinking patterns from expectancies, as well as issues of content and measurement of the scales developed to measure these expectancies. In recent years, much research has suggested that alcohol expectancies--or the beliefs that individuals hold about the effects of alcohol on their behavior, moods, and emotions--are an important factor in motivating drinking behavior. Although measures of these expectancies have consistently been shown to be correlated with measures of alcohol use, conceptual and methodological problems remain to be addressed. In order to progress in understanding this potentially important psychosocial factor in abusive and nonabusive drinking, alcohol expectancy research, which has been atheoretical in nature, should attend to potential contributions from other areas of research in psychology.     

Eating Disorders of White American,Racial and Ethnic Minority American,and International Women

Eating attitudes and behaviors related to anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and obesity of White American, African-American, Native American, and some international women are considered from the point of view of cultural influences such as sex role, the media, socioeconomic class, and acculturation to Western society.     

The Philosophical Foundations of Humanistic Psychology: A Reply to McMullen

McMullen (1982) attempted in his critique of humanistic psychology to attack its philosophical foundations, taking these to be phenomenology and a doctrine of self determination. In this paper we argue that McMullen has misrepresented the philosophical position of the humanists, then we examine McMullen's own philosophical assumptions. We show that he has assumed the philosophy of empirical realism which we argue is inadequate as a foundation for science. It is shown that it is the inadequacy of McMullen's assumptions which underlies his failure to comprehend the position of the humanists. We then present a version of theoretical realism and show how, in terms of this, a conception of being can be justified which allows for the emergence of hierarchical order. On the basis of this conception of being we reassess the nature of self-determination and motivation, showing how, in opposition to both the empirical realism of McMullen and the philosophical dualism of conventional humanistic psychology, a naturalistic form of humanistic psychology is justified.     

Glucose regulation and face recognition deficits in older adults: the role of attention

The present study investigated the perceptual, attentional, and memory processes underlying face recognition deficits observed in older adults with impaired glucoregulation. Participants were categorized as good glucoregulators or poor glucoregulators on the basis of an oral glucose tolerance test. Using event-related potential (ERP) methodology, 23 participants (62–88 years) performed a 2-stimulus oddball task. Participants were asked to rate and memorize 10 “target” faces, which were then presented amongst 120 unfamiliar foils. Behavioral results indicated that good glucoregulators were significantly more accurate at recognizing target faces. ERP markers of early visual perception (P1 and N170 components) and memory formation (P3 component) were unaffected by glucoregulatory efficiency. The P2 component, an index of attentional processing, was larger and delayed in the poor glucoregulators. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to suggest that face recognition deficits in poor glucoregulators may be due to impairments in attentional processing.     

Damned if they do,Damned if they don’t: the European Court of Human Rights and the Protection of Religion from Attack

The approach of the European Court of Human Rights to cases of religiously offensive expression is inconsistent and unsatisfactory. A critical analysis of the Court’s jurisprudence on blasphemy, religious insult and religious hatred identifies three problems with its approach in this field. These are: the embellishment and over-emphasis of freedom of religion, the use of the margin of appreciation and the devaluing of some forms of offensive speech. Nevertheless, it is possible to defend a more coherent approach to the limitation of freedom of expression under the European Convention of Human Rights, designed to protect religious liberty in a narrower category of cases.     

The effects of age and task domain on dual task performance: A meta-analysis

Recent research has provided mixed findings as to whether older adults find dual tasking problematic. Here, we examined whether methodological variations across studies can account for the discrepancies in the literature. Meta-analyses conducted on the results of 34 studies conducted between 1981 and 2003 found a strong overall effect size (d = .68), which indicated a clear age-related dual tasking impairment. However, this effect size was not representative of all the individual studies reported. Subsequent analyses, using an analysis of variance analogue (Hedges & Olkin, 1985), investigated potential moderators responsible for the variability in the effect sizes across studies. These secondary analyses included a comparison of dependent measure used, whether baseline differences in performance had been controlled for, and task domain. Task domain was found to be the critical moderator variable. Notably, tasks with a substantial controlled processing, or motor component showed greater dual task impairment than tasks that were relatively simple or relied on automatic processing.     

No‐man's Land: Adoption Storied Through the Aotearoa/New Zealand Adoption Act 1955

The Aotearoa/New Zealand Adoption Act 1955 legislated and governed adoption practices from 1955 to 1985. Through an exploration of the historical, cultural and social assumptions underlying the Adoption Act 1955, this article questions how the social power relations complicit with adoption legislation and policy produce and reproduce subject positions for adoptees. In‐depth narrative interviews were conducted with 12 adoptees from throughout Aotearoa/New Zealand. The researchers found the legal constitution of adoptees produces them as legitimate; however, they remain ‘other’ through dominant discourses of heteronormative blood kinship that reiterates their illegitimacy. The legal fiction of their legitimacy as if born to failed to secure them space within normative narratives of kinship and compromised adoptees' ability to take up responsibility as neoliberal citizens. Current New Zealand debate on adoption fails to take account of the experience of adoptees, focusing instead on the rights of married couples, including same‐sex couples, to continue practices of adoption. Our analysis informs the critical importance of listening to how adoptees experience repeated exclusions and enduring loss represented by the metaphor of no‐man's land. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.