“Hearing voices”: Auditory hallucinations as failure of top‐down control of bottom‐up perceptual processes

Auditory hallucination is a key characteristic of schizophrenia that seriously debilitates the patient, with consequences for social engagement with others. Hallucinatory experiences are also observed in healthy individuals in the general population who report “hearing voices” in the absence of an external acoustic input. A view on auditory hallucinations and “hearing voices” is presented that regards such phenomena as perceptual processes, originating from speech perception areas in the left temporal lobe. Healthy individuals “hearing voices” are, however, often aware that the experience comes from inner thought processes, which is not reported by hallucinating patients. A perceptual model can therefore, not alone explain the difference in the phenomenology of how the “voices heard” are attributed to either an inner or outer cause. An expanded model is thus presented which takes into account top‐down cognitive control, localized to prefrontal cortical areas, to inhibit and re‐attribute the perceptual mis‐representations. The expanded model is suggested to be empirically validated using a dichotic listening speech perception paradigm with instructions for top‐down control of attention focus to either the right or left side in auditory space. It is furthermore suggested to use fMRI to validate the temporal and frontal lobe neuronal correlates of the cognitive processes involved in auditory hallucinations.     

THE PRACTICE OF COMPETENCY MODELING

The purpose of this article is to define and explain a trend that has caused a great deal of confusion among HR researchers, practitioners, and consumers of HR-related services: competency modeling. The Job Analysis and Competency Modeling Task Force, a work group jointly sponsored by the Professional Practice Committee and the Scientific Affairs Committee of the Society For Industrial and Organizational Psychology, has recently concluded a 2-year investigation into the antecedents of competency modeling and an examination of the current range of practice. Competency modeling is compared and contrasted to job analysis using a conceptual framework (reflected in a 10-dimension Level of Rigor Scale) that practitioners and researchers may use to guide future work efforts, and which could be used as a basis for developing standards for practice. The strengths and weaknesses of both competency modeling and job analysis are identified and, where appropriate, recommendations are made for leveraging strengths in one camp to shore-up weaknesses in the other.     

THE QUESTION OF NATURE AND GRACE IN KARL BARTH: HUMANITY AS CREATURE AND AS COVENANT‐PARTNER1

This article describes and responds to criticisms of Karl Barth recently offered by John R. Betz and John Milbank concerning this set of issues in Barth's theology: nature and grace, analogy, and a natural desire for the supernatural. It attempts to defuse these complaints by giving attention to Barth's twofold determination of humanity as both creature and covenant‐partner. Within this material, it is argued, Barth employs doctrines such as election, Christology and analogy in order to orient nature towards grace in such a way that something like a natural desire for the supernatural is present in his theology.     

Marital aggression and child peer competence: A comparison of three conceptual models

This study examined longitudinal data linking marital aggression with child peer competence in kindergarten. The study compared 3 conceptual models for understanding the relation between marital aggression and child peer competence. Model 1 examines the direct effects of marital aggression, parental alcoholism, and parenting on child peer competence; Model 2 posits that this relation is mediated by child social problem‐solving abilities (social information processing theory); whereas Model 3 proposes that the relation is mediated by parental warmth/ sensitivity (spillover theory). Structural equation modeling was most supportive of Models 1 and 3, indicating that parenting behavior, but not social problem solving, partially mediates the relation between marital conflict and child peer competence.     

UNPROCTORED INTERNET TESTING IN EMPLOYMENT SETTINGS

As the Internet has become more accessible to individuals and organizations, the use of computerized testing has become more feasible. Computerized testing has brought with it a demand for unproctored testing that allows test takers to take employment tests at times and places convenient to them. However despite the advantages of costs and convenience, unproctored Internet testing (UIT) introduces a number of issues, many of which have not yet been resolved. These problems range from hardware and software issues to concerns about the security of the test content, the identity of candidates, and cheating. This article explores the pros and cons of unproctored, Internet testing. Six panelists share their opinions and experiences regarding issues around UIT and offer suggestions for appropriate use and future research.