TRACING ORIGINS OF TWENTY‐FIRST CENTURY ECOTHEOLOGY: THE POETRY OF CHRISTOPHER SOUTHGATE

With the goal of better understanding how science, religion, and poetic art came together in the work of Christopher Southgate, the authors first explore his spiritual poetry. They come away with a better understanding of the author's commitment to a broad naturalism that contributes, along with his own faith experience, to his prose works in the emerging field of ecotheology. The authors conclude that Southgate's work is part of the worldwide emergence of a theological rationale that supports environmentalism, the protection of species, and the conservation of biodiversity. The authors find Southgate's poetry warm, appealing, accessible, and re‐readable to good effect, but with a thread of danger and warning throughout. Both features are quite appropriate for the environmental movement in the twenty‐first century.     

Continuous self-monitoring of discomfort in the dental chair and feedback to the dentist

The purpose of this study was to examine a continuous measurement of discomfort given by patients during aversive and nonaversive dental activities. To demonstrate the sensitivity of the measurement, the degree of feedback to the dentist about discomfort and the belief in that feedback were varied during oral examination, topical application, and injection of anesthesia. Patients operated buttons which were connected to a recorder and to light which signaled levels of discomfort to the dentist. The lights were operating during the dental activities for the Actual Feedback Group but not for the Belief in Feedback or the No Feedback Group. Subjective ratings of discomfort were also taken after each dental activity. The behaviorally based self-monitoring measure was more sensitive to variations in dental activities than were self-ratings. It showed differences across groups during the aversive, but not the nonaversive, events; showed differences in the delay of discomfort across groups; and suggested a decay in the belief in feedback effect with noncontingent dental response to discomfort responses.This study was supported in part by Research and Training Center Grant 16-P-56812, RT-13 from the National Institute of Handicapped Research, Office of Special Education, Department of Education.     

On feeling in control: a biological theory for individual differences in control perception

This review aims to create a cross-disciplinary framework for understanding the perception of control. Although, the personality trait locus of control, the most common measure of control perception, has traditionally been regarded as a product of social learning, it may have biological antecedents as well. It is suggested that control perception follows from the brain's capacity for self regulation, leading to flexible and goal directed behaviours. To this account, a model is presented which spans several levels of analyses. On a behavioural level, control perception may be a corollary of emotion regulation, executive functions, and social cognition. On a neural level, these self-regulatory functions are substantiated in part by the dorsolateral and ventral prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex. In addition, a possible role of subcortical-cortical dopamine pathways underlying control perception is discussed.     

Computer‐based systems and organizational decision making: An architecture to support organizational innovation

Decision Support Systems (DSS) have been developed to support the computational, judgmental, and negotiation decisions typically encountered by organizational decision makers. Software for generating ideas has also become available. However, these systems typically operate on the individual or small group level, not on the broader organizational level. Also, their focus is usually on the decision‐making process while neglecting the product. This article first develops a framework relating decision types to current DSS. It then proposes an architecture for integrating these component systems to support innovation at an organizational level and to support assessment of the creative product as well as the process.     

Current issues and new directions in Psychology and Health: The costs and benefits of self-regulation – a call for experimental research

Abstract

This study was designed to assess the effects of exercise on psychological functioning in healthy Type A men. Seventy-three middle-aged men (M=42.2 years) were randomly assigned either to an aerobic exercise (AE) training group or to a strength and flexibility (SF) training group. Subjects completed a comprehensive psychological assessment battery prior to beginning the 12-week exercise programs, and after completing the programs. The psychological test battery included measures of depression, anxiety and stress, as well as various psychiatric symptoms. In addition, subjects underwent graded exercise treadmill tests (ETT) at both times of measurement in order to document changes in cardiorespiratory fitness. Aerobic exercise training consisted of walking, jogging or stair-climbing at an intensity of at least 70% of initial measured maximal oxygen consumption (VO₂max determined during the treadmill test). Strength and flexibility training consisted of circuit Nautilus training with no aerobic exercise. Results at the conclusion of the 12-week programs indicated that [Vdot]O₂max for the AE group increased by 15%, while the SF group did not change. Both groups improved on measures of psychological well-being; however, there were no differential effects of the two exercise programs on measures of psychological functioning. These results suggest that improved cardiovascular fitness is not necessary for psychological improvement among exercise participants.     

Acceptance,well-being and goals in adolescents with chronic illness: a daily process analysis

Objective: The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between acceptance and well-being in adolescents with chronic illness from a daily process perspective. Furthermore, we explored the role of daily experienced interference and facilitation of life goals by treatment goals as mediating mechanisms.

Methods: Thirty-eight adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF) or diabetes completed questionnaires assessing acceptance, negative life events and goal-related self-efficacy. Furthermore, an online diary assessing daily mood, daily experienced interference and facilitation of life goals by treatment goals was completed during three consecutive weeks.

Results: Acceptance of illness was positively related to daily well-being, but unrelated to daily goal interference and facilitation. Furthermore, daily goal interference and facilitation were unrelated to same-day and next-day well-being.

Conclusion: This study suggests that acceptance of illness plays an important role in the daily mood of adolescents with CF and diabetes. This relationship, however, was not mediated by daily experienced interference and facilitation of life goals by treatment goals. Further research is needed to determine whether interventions promoting acceptance are beneficial for adolescents with CF and diabetes.     

Assessing moderated mediation in linear models requires fewer confounding assumptions than assessing mediation

It is well known from the mediation analysis literature that the identification of direct and indirect effects relies on strong no unmeasured confounding assumptions of no unmeasured confounding. Even in randomized studies the mediator may still be correlated with unobserved prognostic variables that affect the outcome, in which case the mediator's role in the causal process may not be inferred without bias. In the behavioural and social science literature very little attention has been given so far to the causal assumptions required for moderated mediation analysis. In this paper we focus on the index for moderated mediation, which measures by how much the mediated effect is larger or smaller for varying levels of the moderator. We show that in linear models this index can be estimated without bias in the presence of unmeasured common causes of the moderator, mediator and outcome under certain conditions. Importantly, one can thus use the test for moderated mediation to support evidence for mediation under less stringent confounding conditions. We illustrate our findings with data from a randomized experiment assessing the impact of being primed with social deception upon observer responses to others’ pain, and from an observational study of individuals who ended a romantic relationship assessing the effect of attachment anxiety during the relationship on mental distress 2 years after the break‐up.     

Treating Primary Insomnia: Clinical Effectiveness and Predictors of Outcomes on Sleep,Daytime Function and Health-Related Quality of Life

Primary insomnia, as defined by DSM-IV-TR, refers to a persistent sleep disturbance which is not connected to a current psychiatric or physical condition, but significantly impairs social and occupational functioning. This study explored the impact of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i) on sleep, daytime functioning and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Next, we investigated which factors predicted positive treatment outcome by examining demographics, insomnia characteristics, baseline levels of daytime function, HRQoL, sleep-disruptive beliefs and psychological health on post-treatment sleep quality, daytime function and HRQoL. 138 consecutive primary insomnia patients completed questionnaires pre- and post-treatment and at 6 months follow-up. After CBT-i, robust clinical improvements were observed in sleep, daytime function and HRQoL, regardless of age, gender, type or duration of the complaint. Patients with pre-treatment severe insomnia, pronounced daytime impairment and low psychological well-being benefited most.