Stimulus intensity and information processing

The physiological and behavioral literature regarding effects of stimulus intensity on the time course of information processing is reviewed. The physiological data describe intensity effects on the sensory pathway. Reaction time studies show that the effect of intensity on behavioral responses also depends on and may be mediated by more cognitive processes. The degree to which intensity affects simple reaction time varies directly with the response criterion subjects use. The lack of this dependence in choice reaction time may indicate different intensity effects on energy and nonenergy pathways. The literature suggests that intensity affects the time course of information processing not only by influencing the speed of processing in sensory pathways, but also by affecting alertness and the time required to direct attention to a stimulus.     

LETTING REALITY BECOME REAL: On Mystery and Reality in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Ethics

In Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Ethics the notion of reality plays a central role. The present article focuses on the ethical implications of the Chalcedonian Christology underlying this concept. This approach is tied to the debate on the relationship between the universal and specific identity of Christian social ethics in public discourse. In the opening section the article outlines the pertinence of this debate with regard to Bonhoeffer's Christological ethic. In the following section the article analyzes Bonhoeffer's concept of reality and the implied Chalcedonian traits. With this foundation established the article raises the question about its social ethical implications. The final part of the article argues that Bonhoeffer's ethics and ecclesiology cannot be separated from each other, explaining why Bonhoeffer's notion of reality leads to an assertion of the church's role in letting reality become real. In the light of Bonhoeffer's notion of reality the last section argues for the reconciliation of Christian witness and participation in public discourse.     

On the determination of autistoid organizations in non-autistic adults

Psychogenic autistic phenomena occurring in non-autistic adults are being increasingly discussed in the psychoanalytical literature. The author endeavours to determine autistoid organizations, which are understood to be a particular form of pathological retreat. Together with the use of autistic objects, two-dimensional levelling out, the failure of unconscious communication, and of projective identification, a characteristic of these retreats is that they are meant to afford protection against paranoid-schizoid fears of the external and unintegrated states of the internal world. The formation of such autistic reactions should be sought not only in traumatic separations and the inadequate containment of primary objects, but also in constitutional weakening. Intolerance accompanying projective identification and damage to primal fantasies/preconceptions are discussed. In conclusion, a clinical illustration with autistoid and hypochondriacal retreats clarifies some of the aspects discussed.     

Reinforcer choice as an antecedent versus consequence

Four children with autism received opportunities to choose among several preferred stimuli either immediately before or after task responding. The response requirement for reinforcement systematically increased within each session. Two children engaged in higher levels of responding when reinforcement choice was provided as an antecedent to task completion, and 3 of the 4 children showed a preference for the antecedent choice condition.     

Standards of performance and aesthetics in counselling and beyond

ABSTRACT

In this article I discuss how drug counselling can be transformed through “aesthetic documentation”: a hybrid of art with narrative practice. After outlining the concepts of performance and standards, and a critique of “customising” counselling through formalised feedback, five claims are made about “aesthetic documentation”: The art works are prototypes rather than rigid standardisations; they represent collaboration rather than individualised performance; they both display and enact substantial meaning; they objectify and achieve recognition of clients and professionals; they facilitate flexible, diverse and transformative attributions of meaning and value; they address social problems rather than individualised malfunctions. This may help overcoming stigmatisation, and suggest a kind of trans-disciplinary knowledge that is different from the dominant scientific forms.