The nonconscious influence of religious symbols in motivated performance situations

Anthropological, sociological, and psychological theories suggest that religious symbols should influence motivational processes during performance of goal-relevant tasks. In two experiments, positive and negative religious (Christian) symbols were presented outside of participants' conscious awareness. These symbols influenced cardiovascular responses consistent with challenge and threat states during a subsequent speech task, particularly when the speech topic concerned participants' mortality, and only for Christian participants; similar images lacking Christian meaning were not influential. Results suggested that these effects were due to the learned meaning of the symbols and point to the importance of religion as a coping resource.     

Acetylcholine and olfactory perceptual learning

Olfactory perceptual learning is a relatively long-term, learned increase in perceptual acuity, and has been described in both humans and animals. Data from recent electrophysiological studies have indicated that olfactory perceptual learning may be correlated with changes in odorant receptive fields of neurons in the olfactory bulb and piriform cortex. These changes include enhanced representation of the molecular features of familiar odors by mitral cells in the olfactory bulb, and synthetic coding of multiple coincident odorant features into odor objects by cortical neurons. In this paper, data are reviewed that show the critical role of acetylcholine (Ach) in olfactory system function and plasticity, and cholinergic modulation of olfactory perceptual learning at both the behavioral and cortical level.     

Cumulative semantic inhibition in picture naming: experimental and computational studies

We report an experiment in which subjects named 120 pictures, consisting of series of five pictures drawn from each of 24 semantic categories (and intermixed with 45 fillers). The number of intervening trials (lag) between successive presentations of members of the same category varied from two to eight. Subjects' naming latencies were slowed by 30 ms for each preceding member of the category. This effect was both cumulative and linear, and unrelated to the lag elapsing since the previous presentation of a category member. These results definitively demonstrate the occurrence of cumulative interference for word retrieval by prior retrieval of other exemplars of the same semantic category-cumulative semantic inhibition. We claim that this inhibition effect could only occur if the spoken word production system possesses three specific properties (competition, priming, and sharing of semantic activation). We provide computational-modelling evidence in support of this claim. We show that no current theory of spoken word production has all of these properties. In their current form, all these theories are falsified by these results. We briefly discuss the obstacles that may be encountered by current models were they modified to account for our findings.     

When perspective taking increases taking: reactive egoism in social interaction

Group members often reason egocentrically, believing that they deserve more than their fair share of group resources. Leading people to consider other members' thoughts and perspectives can reduce these egocentric (self-centered) judgments such that people claim that it is fair for them to take less; however, the consideration of others' thoughts and perspectives actually increases egoistic (selfish) behavior such that people actually take more of available resources. A series of experiments demonstrates this pattern in competitive contexts in which considering others' perspectives activates egoistic theories of their likely behavior, leading people to counter by behaving more egoistically themselves. This reactive egoism is attenuated in cooperative contexts. Discussion focuses on the implications of reactive egoism in social interaction and on strategies for alleviating its potentially deleterious effects.     

Clients' attributions of recalled important or helpful events in a counseling interview

Clients' causal explanations for recalled important or helpful events between those of early and of late sessions of counseling interview have been examined. We predicted that (a) for clients' recalled important or helpful events, there will be more internal attribution in late than in early sessions and (b) clients' evaluation of counseling sessions would be positively related to their internal attribution of the recalled important or helpful events. Data were generated from 84 sessions of therapy, with 12 counselor-client dyads conducting seven sessions of therapeutic interviews each. Immediately after each interview, clients were requested to recall and explain the most important or helpful events that happened during the session. Clients' causal explanations of the events were analyzed by two trained judges. Results showed no statistically significant differences in frequencies of internal attribution. Similarly, internal attribution did not covary with clients' evaluation of counseling sessions. The implications of the results are discussed.     

The self-fulfilling influence of mother expectations on children's underage drinking

This research examined whether mothers' expectations about their children's drinking behavior influenced their children's future alcohol use through self-fulfilling prophecies. It also investigated whether children's self-esteem, family social class, or the valence of mother expectations moderated this process. Analyses of longitudinal data from 505 mother-child dyads yielded results consistent with a self-fulfilling prophecy. The inaccurate portion of mother expectations predicted children's future alcohol use after accounting for relevant control variables. Moderation analyses indicated that this effect was stronger among higher self-esteem children and when mother expectations were positively valenced (i.e., when mothers underestimated their children's future alcohol use). The findings are discussed in terms of parent-child relationship quality, peer influences, self theories, and out-group stereotypes.     

Ecumenism between the world religions

Conclusion We seem then to be left with the fourth position outlined above as the best solution we have to the problem of religious diversity. No doubt this will be far too radical for some religious believers in that, while it allows a believer to hold that his or her religion has some kind of paradigmatic status it also admits that genuine religious developments may take place in other religions. On the other hand it will not be radical enough for other people who will see it as denying the integrity and autonomy of other religious ways and sanctioning some degree of religious exclusivity and intolerance in that, by seeing Christianity as having some essential core of truth that Buddhism lacks, I am claiming superiority for Christianity. And vice versa, if I claim that Buddhism is the privileged way of enlightenment, I am claiming superiority for Buddhismvisà-vis Christianity. Nevertheless, even if this position does notsolve the problem of religious diversity it does at least show which of the alternative solutions are finally untenable, both on religious and philosophical grounds. And it does provide a basis for genuine ecumenical dialogue between the world religions. Indeed, by recognising that a religious believer can hold that genuine developments of religious values may take place in other religions, it makes such dialogue absolutely necessary in much the same way as the Christian Churches have been led to see ecumenical dialogue as not merely an option but a necessity.     

A test of psychotherapists' and nontherapists' recognition of correct and incorrect process in managing client resistance

Objective

Psychotherapist management of client resistance (i.e., opposition to change or the therapy process) has a significant impact on therapy outcomes. This study aimed at assessing psychotherapists' and nontherapists' abilities to recognise empirically supported correct and erroneous therapist responses to client resistance.

Method

Seventy-eight therapists and 111 nontherapists completed a rapidly administered novel skills test, Therapist Errors in Resistance Management (TERM), assessing recognition of correct and erroneous resistance management.

Results

Participants were, on average, less than half as accurate at recognising therapist errors (recognised below chance levels) compared with correct therapist responses to resistance (recognised above chance levels). Therapists outperformed nontherapists in accurate recognition of therapist responding. However, among the therapist group, greater clinical experience did not predict superior recognition of therapist errors.

Conclusion

These results indicate that therapists and nontherapists alike may have difficulty detecting erroneous therapist responses to resistance, tending to mistake empirically contraindicated directive responses for correct responding. This may reflect the difficult and unintuitive nature of correct resistance responding and may suggest a need for increased training in process acuity and resistance management in therapist education.     

Reducing Causality to Transmission

The idea that causation can be reduced to transmission of an amount of some conserved quantity between events is spelled out and defended against important objections. Transmission is understood as a symmetrical relation of copresence in two distinct events. The actual asymmetry of causality has its origin in the asymmetrical character of certain irreversible physical processes and then spreads through the causal net. This conception is compatible with the possibility of backwards causation and with a causal theory of time. Genidentity, the persistence of concrete objects, can be given an explanation in causal terms. The transmission theory is shown to escape difficulties faced by two important alternative theories of causation: Salmon's (1984) Mark Transmission Theory and Dowe's (1992a) Conserved Quantities Theory.