Right Action as Virtuous Action

I argue in favour of the central claim of virtue-ethical accounts of right action: that right action is virtuous action. First, I disambiguate this claim and argue for a specific interpretation of it. Second, I provide reasons to prefer target-centred over both agent-centred and motive-centred accounts of virtuous action. Third, I argue that an action is right if, only if, and because it is overall virtuous. Finally, I respond to important arguments to the contrary.     

Anger Can Help: A Transactional Model and Three Pathways of the Experience and Expression of Anger

Anger is a significant human emotion with far‐reaching implications for individuals and relationships. We propose a transactional model of anger that highlights its relational relevance and potentially positive function, in addition to problematic malformations. By evolutionary design, physical, self‐concept, or attachment threats all similarly trigger diffuse physiological arousal, psychologically experienced as anger‐emotion. Anger is first a signaling and motivational system. Anger is then formed to affirming, productive use or malformed to destructive ends. A functional, prosocial approach to anger organizes it for protective and corrective personal and relational adaptation. In our model, threat perception interacts with a person's view of self in relation to other to produce helpful or harmful anger. Inflated or collapsed views of self in relation to other produce distinct manifestations of destructive anger that are harmful to self, other, and relationship. Conversely, a balanced view of self in relation to other promotes constructive anger and catalyzes self, other, and relationship healing. Clinical use of the model to shape healing personal and relational contact with anger is explored.     

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Where Counseling and Neuroscience Meet

There is increasing evidence to support the biological basis of mental disorders. Subsequently, understanding the neurobiological context from which mental distress arises can help counselors appropriately apply cognitive behavioral therapy and other well‐researched cognitive interventions. The purpose of this article is to describe the neurobiological context underlying the formation and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorders, a mental disorder frequently encountered by counselors, from a cognitive therapy framework.     

Prior Trauma Exposure for Youth in Treatment Foster Care

Very little research has focused on rates of trauma exposure for youth in treatment foster care (TFC). Available research has utilized record review for assessing exposure, which presents limitations for the range of trauma types examined, as records are predominantly focused on abuse and neglect. The current study examines exposure rates and association with emotional and behavioral outcomes for 229 youth in 46 TFC agencies. The youth in this study had exceptionally high rates of trauma exposure by foster parent report, similar to youth in traditional foster care, with nearly half of the sample exposed to four or more types of traumatic events. A composite child abuse and neglect exposure variable was associated with child and adolescent emotional and behavioral outcomes. Implications for services provided as part of TFC are discussed.     

Physical activity status of academic professors during their early career transition: an application of the theory of planned behavior

Life-transitions (e.g. parenthood) have been linked to physical inactivity, yet the topic requires further exploration. In this study, we evaluated changes in the physical activity (PA) of adults during their early career transition using retrospective analysis and the theory of planned behavior. Recruitment from January to March 2010 yielded a random sample of 267 assistant professors, ages 25-44, employed within the last five years. Repeated measures analysis of variance (RM ANOVA) concluded that PA declined across the transition (d?=?0.36-0.43) and was further attenuated by marriage, work hours, and parenthood status. Discriminant function analysis (DFA) identified specific behavioral and control correlates about PA enjoyment, limited time, inconsistent schedule, work demands, and job pressures to distinguish between those who remained active from those who did not across the transition. PA interventions administered prior to career transitions may be needed to prevent physical inactivity.     

Dating Violence Prevention Programming: Directions for Future Interventions

Dating violence among college students is a widespread and destructive problem. The field of dating violence has seen a substantial rise in research over the past several years, which has improved our understanding of factors that increase risk for perpetration. Unfortunately, there has been less attention paid to dating violence prevention programming, and existing programs have been marred with methodological weaknesses and a lack of demonstrated effectiveness in reducing aggression. In hopes of sparking new research on dating violence prevention programs, the current review examines possible new avenues for dating violence prevention programming among college students. We discuss clinical interventions that have shown to be effective in reducing a number of problematic behaviors, including motivational interventions, dialectical behavior therapy, mindfulness, and bystander interventions, and how they could be applied to dating violence prevention. We also discuss methodological issues to consider when implementing dating violence prevention programs.     

Law Without Legitimacy or Justification? The Flawed Foundations of Philosophical Anarchism

In this article, I examine A. John Simmons’s philosophical anarchism, and specifically, the problems that result from the combination of its three foundational principles: the strong correlativity of legitimacy rights and political obligations; the strict distinction between justified existence and legitimate authority; and the doctrine of personal consent, more precisely, its supporting assumptions about the natural freedom of individuals and the non-natural states into which individuals are born. As I argue, these assumptions, when combined with the strong correlativity and strict distinction theses, undermine Simmons’s claim, which is central to his philosophical anarchism, that a state may be justified in enforcing the law, even if illegitimate or unjustified in existing.     

Monkey lipsmacking develops like the human speech rhythm

Across all languages studied to date, audiovisual speech exhibits a consistent rhythmic structure. This rhythm is critical to speech perception. Some have suggested that the speech rhythm evolved de novo in humans. An alternative account--the one we explored here--is that the rhythm of speech evolved through the modification of rhythmic facial expressions. We tested this idea by investigating the structure and development of macaque monkey lipsmacks and found that their developmental trajectory is strikingly similar to the one that leads from human infant babbling to adult speech. Specifically, we show that: (1) younger monkeys produce slower, more variable mouth movements and as they get older, these movements become faster and less variable; and (2) this developmental pattern does not occur for another cyclical mouth movement--chewing. These patterns parallel human developmental patterns for speech and chewing. They suggest that, in both species, the two types of rhythmic mouth movements use different underlying neural circuits that develop in different ways. Ultimately, both lipsmacking and speech converge on a ~5 Hz rhythm that represents the frequency that characterizes the speech rhythm of human adults. We conclude that monkey lipsmacking and human speech share a homologous developmental mechanism, lending strong empirical support to the idea that the human speech rhythm evolved from the rhythmic facial expressions of our primate ancestors.     

Specificity of the 21-Item Test in two elderly samples

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to measure the specificity of the 21-Item Test for detecting malingering in an elderly sample. The 21-Item Test was administered to 20 community-dwelling elderly individuals with means for age, education, and Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ) error scores of 76.25 years (SD?=?7.19), 14.30 years (SD?=?3.89), and 0.30 (SD?=?4.70). None of these healthy elderly participants were cognitively impaired. A second group of 53 nursing home residents had means for age, education, and SPMSQ error scores of 82.79 years (SD?=?8.56), 11.14 years (SD = 2.46), and 3.17 (SD?=?2.46). Approximately 60% of the nursing home participants had cognitive impairment based on the SPMSQ. The cut offs provided by Iverson (1998 , 21 Item Test Research Manual) for interpretation of the forced-choice component of the 21-Item Test were insensitive to age and relatively insensitive to cognitive deficits. Specificity was 100% since no elderly participant from either group scored in the range indicative of sub-optimal effort or biased responding.