ideology and the stagnation of aoda treatment modalities in america

The disease model of alcoholism was adopted by the American Medical Assoication in 1956, and the intervening 47 years have seen the development of increasingly varied and sophisticated types of evidence for the biological sources of addiction to Alcohol and other drugs of abuse (AODA) . However, a synthesis of 12-step treatment with a confrontational and moralistic version of cognitive psychology remains the modal approach to AODA treatment, despite its inability to even engage many addicts. Simultaneously, the growing evidence for therapies that teach self-regulation of biopsychological processes, which treat clients supportively while encouraging their recognition of the problems and building their desire to change, has been largely ignored by practitioners. The epitome of this self-regulation approach, neurofeedback therapy, has been all but ignored despite reports of high success rates. This paper examines the confluence historical economic and ideological factors that maintain this divergence between knowledge and practice from the perspective of Gusfield's notion of moral passage based on deviant labels.     

Development of Recognition of Face Parts from Unfamiliar Faces

The present study examined developmental changes in the ability to recognize face parts. In Experiment 1, participants were familiarized with whole faces and given a recognition test with old and new eyes, noses, mouths, inner faces, outer faces, or whole faces. Adults were above chance in their recognition of the eye and mouth regions. However, children did not naturally encode and recognize face parts independently of the entire face. In addition, all age groups showed comparable inner and outer face recognition, except for 8‐ to 9‐year‐olds who showed a recognition advantage for outer faces. In Experiment 2, when participants were familiarized with eyes, noses, or mouths and tested with eyes, noses, or mouths, respectively, all ages showed above‐chance recognition of eyes and mouths. Thirteen‐ to 14‐year‐olds were adult‐like in their recognition of the eye region, but mouth recognition continued to develop beyond 14 years of age. Nose recognition was above chance among 13‐ to 14‐year‐olds, but recognition scores remained low even in adulthood. The present findings reveal unique developmental trajectories in the use of isolated facial regions in face recognition and suggest that featural cues (as a class) have a different ontogenetic course relative to holistic and configural cues. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Supporting generous purpose in adolescence: the roles of school climate and spirituality*

Evidence grows to support the role of purpose on the path to thriving during adolescence, but less is known about what may support purpose development during the adolescent period. The study described here drew from positive youth development (PYD) theory and utilised longitudinal survey data collected from 106 adolescents (M age = 14.15) to test the possible links among generous school climate, spirituality and generous purpose construal. Multivariate regression analyses revealed significant individual associations between generous purpose construal and both generosity among students and community-sensing spirituality. However, both generosity among students and community-sensing spirituality lost their significance as predictors of generous purpose construal when included in the same model. These results are interpreted in a PYD framework, pointing to the potential roles of peers and spirituality in the development of generous purpose, but also highlighting the complex issues at work when measuring correlated aspects of PYD.     

Epistemic Injustice and Resistance in the Chiapas Highlands: The Zapatista Case

Though Indigenous women in Mexico have traditionally exhibited some of the highest levels of maternal mortality in the country—a fact that some authors have argued was an important reason to explain the EZLN uprising in 1994—there is some evidence that the rate of maternal mortality has fallen in Zapatista communities in the Chiapas Highlands in the last two decades, and that other health indicators have improved. In this article, we offer an account of the modest success that Zapatista communities have achieved in improving their health levels. In particular, we argue that Zapatista women have implicitly used a form of feminist standpoint theory to diagnose the epistemic (and economic) injustice to which they have been traditionally subjected and to develop an epistemology of resistance that is manifested in actions such as becoming health promoters in their communities. We also argue that this epistemology of resistance is partially responsible for the improvement of health levels in their communities. Finally, on the basis of our discussion of the Zapatista case, we suggest that standpoint theory could play an important role in other healthcare settings involving oppressed minorities.     

Appealing to common humanity increases forgiveness but reduces collective action among victims of historical atrocities

Appealing to common humanity is often suggested as a method of uniting victims and perpetrators of historical atrocities. In the present experiment (N = 109), we reveal that this strategy may actually work against victim groups' best interests. Appealing to common humanity (versus intergroup identity) increased forgiveness of perpetrators but independently also served to lower intentions to engage in collective action. Both effects were mediated but not moderated by reduced identification with the victim group. We, thus reveal an important feature of appeals to common humanity: That this strategy may reduce social change at the same time as helping to promote more positive intergroup attitudes. These novel findings extend research on the human identity to a new theoretically interesting and socially important domain. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prolonged institutional rearing is associated with atypically large amygdala volume and difficulties in emotion regulation

Early adversity, for example poor caregiving, can have profound effects on emotional development. Orphanage rearing, even in the best circumstances, lies outside of the bounds of a species-typical caregiving environment. The long-term effects of this early adversity on the neurobiological development associated with socio-emotional behaviors are not well understood. Seventy-eight children, who include those who have experienced orphanage care and a comparison group, were assessed. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure volumes of whole brain and limbic structures (e.g. amygdala, hippocampus). Emotion regulation was assessed with an emotional go-nogo paradigm, and anxiety and internalizing behaviors were assessed using the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders, the Child Behavior Checklist, and a structured clinical interview. Late adoption was associated with larger corrected amygdala volumes, poorer emotion regulation, and increased anxiety. Although more than 50% of the children who experienced orphanage rearing met criteria for a psychiatric disorder, with a third having an anxiety disorder, the group differences observed in amygdala volume were not driven by the presence of an anxiety disorder. The findings are consistent with previous reports describing negative effects of prolonged orphanage care on emotional behavior and with animal models that show long-term changes in the amygdala and emotional behavior following early postnatal stress. These changes in limbic circuitry may underlie residual emotional and social problems experienced by children who have been internationally adopted.     

Neural markers of subordinate‐level categorization in 6‐ to 7‐month‐old infants

Subordinate‐level category‐learning processes in infants were investigated with ERP and looking‐time measures. ERPs were recorded while 6‐ to 7‐month‐olds were presented with Saint Bernard images during familiarization, followed by novel Saint Bernards interspersed with Beagles during test. In addition, infant looking times were measured during a paired‐preference test (novel Saint Bernard vs. novel Beagle) conducted at the conclusion of ERP recording. Slow wave activity corresponded with learning a familiarized category at the subordinate and basic levels, whereas Negative central (Nc) and P400 components were linked with novel category preference. The results provide the first evidence identifying the neural markers of subordinate‐level categorization observed in looking‐time tasks conducted with infants. Moreover, when considered in conjunction with prior research investigating the neural markers of basic‐level categorization in infants, the findings indicate that (1) slow wave and Nc components of infant ERP waveforms are general markers for processes of category learning on the one hand and novel category preference on the other, (2) novel category preference for a contrast category at the basic and subordinate levels have the Nc component in common, but novel category preference at the subordinate level is accompanied by an additional P400 component, a finding in keeping with the notion that subordinate‐level categorization is governed by mechanisms supplementary to those underlying basic‐level categorization, and (3) slow wave activity associated with subordinate‐level learning followed that associated with basic‐level learning by approximately 200 ms, a result in accord with a coarse‐to‐fine scheme for the emergence of category partitioning.