Impact of Motivational Climates on Claimed Self-Handicapping Strategies: Illustration in Tropical Environment

The purpose of the present study was to quantitatively and qualitatively examine whether claimed self-handicapping is increased in a performance motivational climate (PMC) compared with a mastery motivational climate (MMC) within a strictly controlled tropical environment. Participants completed measures of self-handicapping using open-ended questions before a physical test. The analyses revealed that (a) participants who engage in self-handicapping strategy were more numerous, (b) the number of self-handicap reported self-handicap score were greater, and (c) participants who engage in self-handicapping strategy reported more impediments in the PMC as compared with MMC. Information about the nature of self-handicapping claims is also provided.     

Towards a queer dharmology of sex

Lay practitioners of Buddhism, especially lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer persons, are given little guidance by the traditional Dharmology (Buddhist theology) of sex. The most extensive discussions are the detailed prohibitions in the monastic rule, which focus on the mechanics of sex rather than on love and relationships. What advice there is on sex for lay persons is either vague or over‐determined by its cultural context. Christianity, despite being homophobic and mistrustful of sex, has developed a positive attitude towards sex within heterosexual marriage. An investigation of this suggests a Dharmology of sex as relationship, based on central Buddhist doctrines such as interdependent arising. This Dharmology can be strengthened by queering it with reference to Harry Hay's notion that gay subject–subject consciousness is more compatible with Buddhist non‐duality than the hetero subject–object consciousness. It can be claimed, therefore, that Buddha Nature, and Buddhism itself, is queer.     

Music to the inner ears: Exploring individual differences in musical imagery

In two studies, we explored the frequency and phenomenology of musical imagery. Study 1 used retrospective reports of musical imagery to assess the contribution of individual differences to imagery characteristics. Study 2 used an experience sampling design to assess the phenomenology of musical imagery over the course of one week in a sample of musicians and non-musicians. Both studies found episodes of musical imagery to be common and positive: people rarely wanted such experiences to end and often heard music that was personally meaningful. Several variables predicted musical imagery, including personality, musical preferences, and positive mood. Musicians tended to hear musical imagery more often, but they reported less frequent episodes of deliberately-generated imagery. Taken together, the present research provides new insights into individual differences in musical imagery, and it supports the emerging view that such experiences are common, positive, and more voluntary than previously recognized.     

Invited Review—Survey of Value‐Focused Thinking: Applications,Research Developments and Areas for Future Research

Criteria are the central focus of multi‐criteria decision analysis. Many authors have suggested using our values (or preferences) to define the criteria we use to evaluate alternatives. Value‐focused thinking (VFT) is an important philosophy that advocates a more fundamental view of values in our decision making in our private and professional lives. VFT proponents advocate starting first with our values and then using our values to create decision opportunities, evaluate alternatives and finally develop improved alternatives. It has been 20 years since VFT was first introduced by Ralph Keeney. This paper surveys the VFT literature to provide a comprehensive summary of the significant applications, describe the main research developments and identify areas for future research. We review the scope and magnitude of VFT applications and the key developments in theory since VFT was introduced in 1992 and found 89 papers written in 29 journals from 1992 to 2010. We develop about 20 research questions that include the type of article (application, theory, case study, etc.), the size of the decision space (which, when given, ranged from $200K to billions of dollars), the contribution documented in the article (application benefits) and the research contributions (categorized by preferences, uncertainties and alternatives). After summarizing the answers to these questions, we conclude the paper with suggestions for improving VFT applications and potential future research. We found a large number of significant VFT applications and several useful research contributions. We also found an increasing number of VFT papers written by international authors. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Associations amongst disease severity,religious coping and depression in a cohort of Jamaicans with sickle-cell disease

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between disease severity (sickle-cell type and hospital, emergency room and clinic emergency visits (CEU)), religious coping (positive and negative) and depression. This was accomplished through secondary analysis of a data set based on a Comprehensive Sickle Cell Standardized Questionnaire compiled by a multidisciplinary team of professionals from Duke University Medical Centre, and administered to persons with sickle-cell disease being treated at the Sickle Cell Unit on the University of the West Indies Campus between November 2008 and January 2009. Disease severity was not a good predictor of depression within the population. On the other hand, depression was found to correlate with positive and negative religious coping, such that increases in the former were associated with decreases in depression scores; while the reverse was noted for the latter (negative religious coping). The results shed light on issues that could possibly impact the treatment plan for such individuals.