Systems without a graphical causal representation

There are simple mechanical systems that elude causal representation. We describe one that cannot be represented in a single directed acyclic graph. Our case suggests limitations on the use of causal graphs for causal inference and makes salient the point that causal relations among variables depend upon details of causal setups, including values of variables.     

For your Eyes Only: A Q-Methodology on the Ontology of Happiness Among Chronically Ill Filipino Elderly in a Penal Institution

Happiness is a positive phenomenon that is universal in nature and is therefore, pertinent to all human beings. However, the definition of happiness differs from person to person, and varies among cultures, economic status, social connectedness, spiritual upbringing and daily situations. An individual’s contextual perception of happiness can change when subjected to bleak conditions such as incarceration wherein inmates, especially those who are old and are experiencing health impairments are stripped off with their customary source of happiness. Since Filipinos are known to be as “happy people,” this study purports to surface the different facets of what constitute happiness in the context of a penal institution in the Philippine setting. The Q-methodology is the primary design used in the study. It combines the objectivity of quantitative approach with the essence of human experiences as explored in qualitative studies. The participants (P-sample) were twenty elderly inmates suffering from chronic ailments. They were asked to arrange 32 statements (Q-sample), derived from the initial interview, in the Q-sort table based on their degree of agreement, which were then further explicated in the post-sort interviews. The results were then subjected to by-person factor analysis with varimax rotation using the PQ Method version 2.11. Five profiles emerged from the by-person factor analysis, namely: (1) ‘Sense of Affinity’, (2) ‘Sense of Opportunity’, (3) ‘Sense of Indemnity’, (4) ‘Sense of Positivity’ and (5) ‘Sense of Resiliency’. The discussion focused on similarities and differences among profiles regarding the four principal themes (familial, social, internal and spiritual components of happiness) derived from the statements used as the Q-sample. The perception of happiness varies from profile to profile. The differences in views on what constitutes happiness among profiles are more prominent than their said similarities. Most leanings are directed toward the familial and spiritual aspects of happiness however, happiness can also be internally motivated and cognitively construed. While happiness has a direct relationship to an individual’s overall perception of well-being, the nurse, being the primary provider of holistic care, plays a pivotal role in promoting optimum health through awareness, knowledge, and appreciation of vis-a vis an unwavering involvement with the unique and distinct psychological and emotional needs of the elderly inmates characterized by respect, openness, authenticity and inter-subjectivity.     

A task‐ and role‐based perspective on super‐recognizers: Commentary on ‘Super‐recognizers: From the lab to the world and back again’

This article provides a commentary on recent work by Ramon et al. (2019, British Journal of Psychology) on super‐recognizers. The commentary advocates a task‐ and role‐based approach to SR research and greater collaboration between researchers and the applied community.     

Positive impact of prior military combat exposure on Terrorism Prevention work: Inoculation to stress

Forty-four Israeli security agents employed by the Israeli Government Terrorism Prevention Agency providing security services for the national Israeli airlines and the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles were administered the Subjective Stress Experience Scale (SSES). This scale measures stress at terrorism-prevention work, past stress during combat exposure, and subjects’ most stressful life events. Results support the hypothesis that terrorism prevention personnel who are also combat veterans appraise their work as less stressful than their noncombat exposed counterparts. Combat veterans also rated their combat experience as significantly more stressful than prevention team member’s other stressful life events. Subjects presented a uniform stress- inoculation effect but, combat veterans of the prevention team were more stress-inoculated than their noncombat exposed counterparts.     

Effects of wage inequities on work attitudes and performance

A replication and extension of the Adams and Jacobsen (1964) investigation of inequity theory was carried out using a 3 × 2 experimental design with three levels of compensation and two levels of qualifiedness. This design included an overcompensated condition in which the overpayment was not confounded with unqualifiedness, thereby allowing a comparison of differential predictions from inequity and expectancy theory. Comparisons of over and underpayment conditions were also made to test the differential threshold hypothesis of inequity theory. Attitudinal as well as performance data were collected to investigate the possibility of differing modes of inequity reduction.The major finding in the present study was that variations in manipulated perceptions of qualifiedness produced significant effects upon both quality and quantity measures of work behavior while induced variations in the amount of anticipated compensation only affected quality of work. The qualified conditions produced fewer pieces of higher quality. This finding was discussed from the point of view of inequity theory as well as an alternative “self-esteem” explanation.Differences in work performance across pay levels were nonsignificant with the exception of a work quality measure in which the overpaid qualified group produced significantly more errors than the standard pay-qualified group. Possible interpretations of these findings were discussed and a range of conditions which may affect perceptions of inequity were considered.     

“Why Won't My Parents Help Me?”: Therapeutic Assessment of a Child and Her Family

We present a case study of a child's psychological assessment using the methods of Therapeutic Assessment (TA). The case illustrates how TA can help assessors understand the process and structure of a family by highlighting how maladaptive family processes and interactions impact a child's development. It also illustrates how TA with a child can serve as a family intervention. In this case, it became apparent that the child's social difficulties were significant, not minor as initially reported by the parents, and were rooted in an insecure attachment, underlying depression, an idiosyncratic view of the world, and longing for attention, all of which were hidden or expressed in grandiose, expansive, and off-putting behaviors. In addition, the familial hierarchy was inverted; the parents felt ineffective and the child felt too powerful, leading to enhanced anxiety for the child. Intervention throughout, punctuated by the family session and feedback sessions, allowed the parents to develop a new “story” about their child and for the child to experience a new sense of safety. Following the TA, the parents and child indicated high satisfaction, enhanced family functioning, and decreased child symptomatology. Subsequent family therapy sessions allowed the family to further implement the interventions introduced in the TA.     

From apathy to social activism

The study of social change has neglected the dynamics motivating individuals to join mass movements. Particularly obscure is how apathetic people are transformed into social activists. Considering this problem the author suggests three stages of development through which the individual progresses in attaining a higher level of personal and social maturity. The first stage ‐ dreaming ‐emerges when the individual aspires to change while wishing to avoid the risks involved. The second ‐ the illusion of power ‐ occurs when the hunger for power and the fear of it are mediated. The third ‐ real power ‐ is promoted by the yearning for self‐respect and social acceptance and is manifested by competence in gaining supremacy and actual experience in struggle. As a consequence of this process the individual advances from a subjective self‐image to perceiving himself as a social being; society is humanized by the greater participation of individuals.