The Givenness of Other People: On Singularity and Empathy in Husserl

Human Studies - Other people figure in our experience of the world; they strike us as unique and genuinely other. This paper explores whether a Husserlian account of empathy as the way in which we...     

On the fate of psychoanalysis and political theory

The author explores the present structure of the relationship between psychoanalysis and political theory, finding that the two often attempt to integrate each other's findings as mere resources within the pursuit of fundamentally self-determined projects. This radically misconstrues the force and meaning of the insights upon which they draw. Especially when psychoanalytic interpretations of collective subjects (nations, regions, etc.) occur, the relationship between psychoanalysis and political theory may not be appropriately mediated, promoting suspiciousness about the interpretive and therapeutic efficacy of such nonclinical "interventions." The author proposes an alternative paradigm for a new working relationship between psychoanalysis and political theory.     

Willingness to use microbicides varies by race/ethnicity, experience with prevention products, and partner type.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate women's willingness to use vaginal microbicides to reduce/prevent HIV infection, using measures grounded in the individual, behavioral, and social contexts of sex. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study that enrolled a sample (N = 531) of 18-55 year old Latina, African-American, and White women in the U.S. between October, 2004, and July, 2005. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Willingness to use microbicides and individual- and context-related variables (e.g., demographics, relationship status). RESULTS: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a one-dimensional, 8-item scale, with high internal consistency (alpha = .91). Subgroup analyses within the Latina (n = 166), African- American (n = 193), and White sub-samples (n = 172) also supported a unidimensional scale with strong internal validity and high reliability. Race/ethnicity as a contextual factor, a woman's history of using prevention products, and the nature of the sexual partnership were predictive of willingness to use microbicides (R = .41). That is, women with greater frequencies of condom use, a history of spermicide use, and non-main sexual partners had higher predicted Willingness to Use Microbicides scale scores, while White women had lower predicted scores. CONCLUSION: The Willingness to Use Microbicides scale serves as the first psychometrically validated measure of factors related to microbicide acceptability. Developing and implementing psychometrically validated and contextualized microbicide acceptability measures, in an effort to understand microbicide users and circumstances of use, is crucial to both clinical trials and future intervention studies.     

Inhibitory and facilitatory location priming in patients with left-sided visual hemi-neglect

In visual search for pop-out targets, reaction times are facilitated when the target on the current trial appears at a previous target location, and inhibited when it appears at a previous distractor location, relative to when it appears at a previously empty (neutral) location (Maljkovic and Nakayama, Perception and Psychophysics 58:977–991, 1996). However, while normal subjects are able to positively/negatively tag selected target/rejected distractor locations to guide search on the next trial, patients with visual hemi-neglect may have a (uni- or bilateral) deficit in these functions that may contribute to their disturbed visual scanning behavior. To examine this, using a pop-out search task, the present study assessed cross-trial facilitatory and inhibitory priming in 14 patients with left-sided visual hemi-neglect and in 14 age-, education-, and IQ-matched control subjects. The group of neglect patients did show significant facilitatory and inhibitory priming. However, while control subjects exhibited balanced effects of facilitation and inhibition, inhibition was relatively reduced in magnitude in neglect patients. In particular, inhibition was virtually absent in two patients with lesions affecting superior regions of the frontal cortex, putatively encroaching on the frontal eye field of the right hemisphere. These findings provide neuropsychological evidence that facilitatory and inhibitory priming effects are based on dissociable mechanisms, consistent with Geyer et al. (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 33:788–797, 2007).     

Constructing adequate non‐speech analogues: what is special about speech anyway?

Vouloumanos and Werker (2007) claim that human neonates have a (possibly innate) bias to listen to speech based on a preference for natural speech utterances over sine-wave analogues. We argue that this bias more likely arises from the strikingly different saliency of voice melody in the two kinds of sounds, a bias that has already been shown to be learned pre-natally. Possible avenues of research to address this crucial issue are proposed, based on a consideration of the distinctive acoustic properties of speech. This is a commentary on Vouloumanos and Werker (2007).     

Multicultural Counseling: A 10‐Year Content Analysis of the Journal of Counseling & Development

The emphasis on multicultural counseling during the past 20 years has influenced the increase in scholarly publications on this topic. The authors report the findings of a content analysis of 102 multicultural‐centered articles. Journal of Counseling & Development issues spanning 1990–2001 were evaluated. Findings are reported for methodology, populations discussed, applied settings, and authors' roles and institutional affiliations. Findings indicate that there has been an increase of multicultural‐focused publications since 1990 and that publications are more exploratory and developmental rather than pathology‐oriented.     

Reactions of third-graders to recognition allocation after being peer-imitated

Being imitated has generally been regarded as a positive experience conducive to reciprocal imitation of and increased attraction to one’s imitator. An experiment on 3rd-graders, in an adaptation of a Thelen-Kirkland paradigm, investigates whether the receipt of public recognition for a good product would simply amplify those positive effects, or would tend to reverse them, and explores whether gender would moderate models, reactions under such conditions. Recognition allocation was manipulated by having an “authority” award a symbolic star solely to the model, to the confederate imitator alone, to the confederate nonimitator alone, or to no one. The results suggested that the boys rather than girls showed amplification effects of receiving sole recognition: they reciprocally imitated more, and expressed greater attraction to, their same-sex imitator than did the girls. Overall, models expressed relatively less attraction to the imitator than to the nonimitator. When interviewed, the models were equally divided as to which of the two deserved the recognition when they themselves or their imitator received it, but they stated unequivocally that the nonimitator who received the recognition deserved it. They also clearly stated a preference for those tasks on which they themselves had been imitated—given that they themselves or their imitator had received recognition credit, compared to models in the nonimitator-recognition and control conditions. It is clear that recognition allocation is an important construct that should be considered in investigating models, reactions to being imitated, particularly in the light of its significance in the adult world, at least of this culture. Several directions are proposed for pursuing this construct further.     

Managing Frustration for Children (MFC) Group Intervention for ADHD: An Open Trial of a Novel Group Intervention for Deficient Emotion Regulation

Deficient emotion regulation is a common and impairing area of difficulty among children with ADHD. Few interventions specifically address deficient emotion regulation. The Managing Frustration for Children With ADHD (MFC) group treatment was developed to specifically target deficient emotion regulation deficits common to children with ADHD. The MFC was developed as a 12-week multisystemic intervention for emotion regulation deficits among children with ADHD. An open trial assessed the effectiveness of the MFC as an adjunctive treatment for deficient emotion regulation among children with ADHD. Fifty-two children with ADHD ages 9–11 (42 boys, 10 girls) were enrolled in the MFC, with 44 completing treatment. The majority (71.2%) of participants had at least one comorbid internalizing, externalizing, or learning disorder. Intent-to-treat repeated-measures ANCOVA suggested significant decreases in emotion regulation deficits, mood difficulties, and externalizing difficulties following completion of treatment. More than half (53%) of children who completed treatment experienced reliable and clinically significant improvement in at least one area of functioning. The MFC demonstrated promising initial effectiveness in addressing the emotion regulation deficits of children with ADHD.