SENSIBILITY THEORY AND CONSERVATIVE COMPLANCENCY

Abstract:  In Ruling Passions , Simon Blackburn contends that we should reject sensibility theory because it serves to support a conservative complacency. Blackburn's strategy is attractive in that it seeks to win this metaethical dispute – which ultimately stems from a deep disagreement over antireductionism – on the basis of an uncontroversial normative consideration. Therefore, Blackburn seems to offer an easy solution to an apparently intractable debate. We will show, however, that Blackburn's argument against sensibility theory does not succeed; it is no more supportive of conservative complacency than Blackburn's noncognitivism. A victory for noncognitivism cannot be so easily won.     

Predicting Job Seeking Frequency and Psychological Well-Being in the Unemployed

Unemployed (n = 118) and employed (n = 120) people were contrasted on variables of well-being, confidence, and employment commitment. The unemployed scored lower on the General Health Questionnaire (Goldberg, 1972) and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (Sherer et al., 1982). No differences were Identified on levels of employment commitment. For the unemployed sample, predictors of job-seeking behavior and well-being were then examined. Intention to seek work predicted job-seeking behavior, while self-efficacy, employment commitment, and intentions to seek work predicted well-being. Results are discussed in light of current theories of job seeking behavior, and recommendations are made for practice.     

Fringe Focus: Informal Economy and Green Career Development

What are now regarded as peripheral career development activities will move to the center of career counseling: Counseling in the informal economy and environmentally concerned career counseling will move up the agenda as traditional concepts of careers fade away. Fringe will become focus.     

Being better than others but otherwise perfectly normal: Perceptions of uniqueness and similarity in close relationships

The current research addresses individuals' self-generated thoughts regarding their own and others' relationships, examining the ways in which perceptions of uniqueness and similarity are manifested in judgments regarding own and others' responses to dissatisfying incidents. Consistent with the uniqueness bias, participants characterized their own relationships by a greater number of constructive responses and a smaller number of destructive responses relative to characterizations of others' relationships. Moreover, external raters judged own constructive responses to be more constructive than others' constructive responses. Consistent with the similarity bias, external raters judged items describing others' responses to be less frequently occurring and more extreme than their own responses. Also, this research revealed support for the claim that the similarity bias is more pronounced for destructive responses than for constructive responses. A recall task corroborated these findings, revealing very good recall for destructive responses enacted by others and poor recall for destructive responses enacted by oneself.