Editorial

Austrian economics ‐ the school of thought associated with Carl Menger, Frederick von Weiser, Eugen von Bohm‐Bawerk, and in this century, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, Murray N. Rothbard, and Israel Kirzner ‐ is based on a framework of methodological principles and assumptions much at variance with those of traditional or ‘orthodox’ economists. Robert Nozick, in his ‘On Austrian Methodology’, focuses attention on the most fundamental features of this framework, and subjects them to a thoroughgoing and scathing analysis. Singled out for detailed and critical review are: (1) the praxeological concepts of methodological individualism; (2) the claim that economics is an a priori science of human action; (3) the nature of preference and its relation to choice and action; and (4) the assumptions of time‐preference theory. Although Nozick does not consider Austrian views on business cycles, market process analysis, the coordinative and informational effects of the price system, competition, and several other fundamental aspects of praxeology, his criticism strikes at the very root of the praxeological school. This paper attempts to refute each criticism made of the praxeological school by Nozick on a point‐by‐point basis. It thus follows the same pattern as the original paper, and scrutinizes in detail the arguments made by its author.     

Enhancing positive affect and divergent thinking abilities: Play some music and dance

This study compares the effect of dance on affect and cognition to music or exercise, in a young, non-clinical population. Participants were asked to complete tests of mood and creativity before and after spending 5 min either listening to music, dancing, cycling or sitting quietly. Both dancing and passively listening to music enhanced positive affect, decreased negative affect and reduced feelings of fatigue. Cycling and sitting quietly had no effect on positive mood or feelings of fatigue. Moreover, dancing and passively listening to music had dissociable effects on different aspects of creativity, with greater change in positive affect being associated with greater enhancement in measures of verbal and non-verbal creativity, respectively. We suggest that these findings support the use of either short duration dancing or passively listening to music as potentially powerful tools in enhancing emotional well-being and different aspects of divergent thinking in non-clinical settings.     

Class Dismissed: Putting Social Class on the Critical Psychological Agenda

Despite persuasive arguments pertaining to the importance of social class in the shaping of human life, this has and continues to be neglected within psychological research. Using primarily a UK focus, we begin by outlining some of the ways in which ‘mainstream’ psychology typically conceptualises class (e.g. socio‐economic status) and argue that such an approach has a number of detrimental implications, for example, neglecting structural inequalities and oppression and ‘othering’ the working class. We then present a selection of ‘critical’ and feminist‐informed research on social class which, we argue, offers a more holistic and sophisticated understanding of class and, in particular, draws attention to the complexities involved in how people experience, understand and construct class, classed identities and class transitions. Further, such work provides insight into the many ways in which people reproduce, re‐work and resist classed discourse in everyday contexts such as the home, work place and beyond. However, we acknowledge the need for investigation into how those with more economic power justify class privilege and discursively protect and maintain their status.     

THE CORPORATE WOMAN OF THE 1990s

Attention to gender and the impact of perceived female/male differences on vocational choices, vocational behavior, and career opportunity peaked in the late 1970s and seemed to reach a plateau with the conclusion that most workplace gender differences can be accounted for by other variables, for example, job tenure and organizational level. Women who entered the workplace in the mid 1970s are now reaching the middle levels of organizations and provide a cohort group on which to test this hypothesis. This study examines gender comparisons on paper-and-pencil personality tests and interest surveys in a group of executive-level adults representing a wide variety of industries and job functions. Gender comparisons are discussed either as a function of occupational choice or membership in a minority group. Acknowledging and explaining gender differences where they exist can provide women with validation and support for their own experience.     

Can Community Indicators Live Up to Their Expectations? The Case of the Flemish City Monitor for Livable and Sustainable Urban Development

The City Monitor is a policy instrument and has been used to measure the state of 13 Flemish cities in 2004, 2006 and 2008. The community indicators of the City Monitor provide feedback on the evolution of a multitude of phenomena, and so they represent an opportunity for policy learning about the livability and sustainability of those cities. Indicators simplify the representation of societal problems and in that sense they are helping the communication between city authorities and their stakeholders. In this article we also focus on two innovative characteristics of the co-design methodology of the City Monitor. First of all, indicators were constructed on the basis of a normative vision about urban sustainability. We argue that a sustainability framework can give value added to map vital signs of the quality of life in Flemish cities. Secondly, the City Monitor was being developed with the participation of about 200 experts, coming from city governments and other administrations, civil society and academic world. It is our argument that the participatory approach fosters the use of community indicators and generates interesting side effects. As a third argument, we indicate the importance of the attitude of city authority people for its implementation within the city organisation. The City Monitor is certainly meant as an input for urban policy debate about the quality of life in the major Flemish cities. Does it live up to its expectations? And will the vision and indicators on urban sustainability stir up the debate about urban sustainable development?     

Neuropsychological Performance in Gulf War Era Veterans: Neuropsychological Symptom Reporting

Relationships between broad-based health symptoms and neuropsychological performance have been investigated previously in Gulf War (GW) veterans. However, very little has been done to assess relationships between severity of neuropsychological symptom complaints and performance on objective neuropsychological tests. In this study, relationships between level of self-reported neuropsychological symptom severity and objective neuropsychological performance measures were investigated. Participants included 240 veterans from three GW-era cohorts: GW-deployed veterans recruited from Ft. Devens, MA, (n = 142) and from New Orleans, LA (n = 51), and veterans deployed to Germany from a Maine National Guard unit (n = 47). Findings suggest that level of subjective neuropsychological complaints was associated primarily with mood symptoms in GW-era veterans. Among GW-deployed troops, high neuropsychological symptom reporters endorsed more tension, fatigue, and confusion and less vigor than those reporting fewer cognitive complaints. Current findings emphasize the importance of independent assessment of subjective symptoms and objective neuropsychological performance.     

Response to Crease's review essay: Exploring Animate Form

Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences -     

Relationships with Parents, Spousal Reciprocity, and Psychological Distress in Middle-Age Adults

Data from 301 middle-age couples were employed to investigate links between their recalled parents’ parenting styles and perceptions of reciprocity with their parents, as well as their current perceptions of spousal reciprocity, on their psychological distress. The research extends Baumrind’s theory of childhood parenting styles and Youniss’ theory of late adolescents’ perceived reciprocity to a developmental model for middle-age psychological distress. Differential effects were found according to the gender of both the offspring and the parent. There were significant positive findings only if the opposite-sex parent was perceived as authoritative, and significant negative findings if the same-sex parent was perceived as authoritarian. Regression models indicated mediated, integrated relationships (through maternal and spousal reciprocity) for females, but no mediations were found for males. Significantly more variance in emotional distress was explained by spousal reciprocity than by the parent related variables, and for the men than for the women.     

Pick Your Poison: Examining Adolescent Substance Use through Opportunity Theory

The present study examines substance use behaviors of middle and high school students, focusing on how varying influences of opportunity measures impact use of specific types of substances. The data used in the present study come from almost 4,000 students within 89 school contexts from students attending public school in a Southern state. Hierarchical logistic modeling is used to explore the influence of various opportunities at both the student and school levels on the use of different types of substances. Results indicate measures of opportunity at both the student and school levels were significant; however, measures at the individual level were consistently more influential.