The Kantian Roots of Merleau-Ponty's Account of Pathology

One of the more striking aspects of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Perception (1945) is his use of psychological case studies in pathology. For Merleau-Ponty, a philosophical interpretation of phenomena like aphasia and psychic blindness promises to shed light not just on the nature of pathology, but on the nature of human existence more generally. In this paper, I show that although Merleau-Ponty is surely a pioneer in this use of pathology, his work is deeply indebted to an earlier philosophical study of pathology offered by the German Neo-Kantian Ernst Cassirer in the third volume of the Philosophy of Symbolic Forms (1929). More specifically, I argue that Merleau-Ponty, in fact, follows Cassirer in placing Kant's notion of the productive imagination at the centre of his account of pathology and the features of existence it illuminates. Recognizing the debt Merleau-Ponty's account of pathology has to the Kantian tradition not only acts as a corrective to more recent interpretation of Merleau-Ponty's views of pathology (Dreyfus, Romdenh-Romluc), but also recommends we resist the prevailing tendency to treat Merleau-Ponty's philosophy as anti-Kantian. Instead, my interpretation seeks to restore Merleau-Ponty's place within the Kantian tradition.     

Evaluating Contingent Workers as a Recruitment Source for Full‐time Positions

The popularity of contingent work arrangements means that many people now begin working for organizations in a temporary capacity. However, no research has examined how contingent workers converted to full‐time status compared with new hires that are recruited from other sources. In this study, we found that converted contingent workers performed as well as new hires recruited externally through employee referral or online advertisements, but not as well as employees sourced internally from the organization, 1 year after being hired. However, contingent workers did not differ from other recruiting sources in their start‐up time or in how satisfied their managers were with their early adjustment two months after hire.     

The utility of socio-demographics,knowledge and health belief model variables in predicting reattendance for mammography screening: A brief report

Abstract

The aims of the present study were to investigate socio-demographic and knowledge variables as predictors of re attendance for mammography screening and to examine the utility of the Health Belief Model (HBM) in predicting reattendance for mammography screening above and beyond socio-demographic and knowledge variables. A total of 88 reattenders and 44 non-reattenders of an Australian breast screening service completed a questionnaire assessing socio-demographics (age, marital status, education, physician recommendation and family history), knowledge and HBM variables. Results showed that reattenders were more likely to be older, married and report physician involvement than non-reattenders. Family history and knowledge did not significantly predict reattendance. Of the HBM variables, perceived benefits was related to reattendance above and beyond socio-demographics. Results support the utility of the HBM as a focus for improving regular attendance for breast screening. It is concluded that non-reattenders should be investigated as a seperate group to women who have never attended for mammography screening.     

A Terror Management Perspective on the Role of Death-Related Anxiety in Psychological Dysfunction

Building on previous existential theorizing, terror management theory provides a unique approach to conceptualizing the development, maintenance, and impact of psychological disorders. The theory suggests that awareness of mortality creates the potential for anxiety, which is managed by an anxiety-buffering system consisting of one's cultural worldview, self-esteem, and interpersonal attachments. The pursuit of meaning, personal value, and interpersonal connections that motivates much human behavior is driven, in part, by the need to control this potential for death-related anxiety. This article provides an overview of terror management theory and a discussion of its implications for understanding clinical conditions, along with a review of research exploring the roles of death-related anxiety and the anxiety-buffering system in anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression.     

Multiple Representations in Number Line Estimation: A Developmental Shift or Classes of Representations?

Children's estimation patterns on a number line estimation task may provide information about the mental representation of the magnitude of numbers. Siegler and his colleagues concluded that children's mental representations shift from a logarithmic-ruler representation to a linear-ruler representation. However, there are important methodological issues with respect to their number-line studies that threaten the validity of the conclusions. We discuss these methodological issues and propose an alternative method to analyze estimation data. One hundred nineteen children from kindergarten, first, and second grade performed a number-line estimation task in which they had to estimate the position of 30 numbers on a 0-to-100 number line. The results supported the hypothesis that children show various kinds of estimation patterns. Five classes of children were distinguished, which were characterized by different estimation patterns. A remarkable result was that the logarithmic-ruler representation was not found. Although young children were more likely to show overestimation of small numbers than older children, this developmental trend was small and not significant.     

Sexual orientation and shifts in preferences for a partner's body attributes in short-term versus long-term mating contexts

This study assessed the effects of short- and long-term mating contexts on preferences for body characteristics of potential relationship partners in lesbians and heterosexual women. Lesbians (n = 41) rated figure drawings and computer-generated images of women that varied in body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, and breast size; heterosexual women (n = 95) rated computer-generated images of men that varied in muscularity and body fat. Both lesbians and heterosexual women showed a shift in preferences toward more physically attractive partners for shortterm relationships. All body aspects were affected, except that heterosexual women did not show a preference shift for male body fat. The results were interpreted in terms of a mating trade-off strategy in which mate preferences are the consequence of cost/benefit analyses and suggest that preferences for physical attributes of sexual partners may be shared by members of the same sex regardless of sexual orientation.