The six most essential questions in psychiatric diagnosis: a pluralogue part 1: conceptual and definitional issues in psychiatric diagnosis

In face of the multiple controversies surrounding the DSM process in general and the development of DSM-5 in particular, we have organized a discussion around what we consider six essential questions in further work on the DSM. The six questions involve: 1) the nature of a mental disorder; 2) the definition of mental disorder; 3) the issue of whether, in the current state of psychiatric science, DSM-5 should assume a cautious, conservative posture or an assertive, transformative posture; 4) the role of pragmatic considerations in the construction of DSM-5; 5) the issue of utility of the DSM - whether DSM-III and IV have been designed more for clinicians or researchers, and how this conflict should be dealt with in the new manual; and 6) the possibility and advisability, given all the problems with DSM-III and IV, of designing a different diagnostic system. Part I of this article will take up the first two questions. With the first question, invited commentators express a range of opinion regarding the nature of psychiatric disorders, loosely divided into a realist position that the diagnostic categories represent real diseases that we can accurately name and know with our perceptual abilities, a middle, nominalist position that psychiatric disorders do exist in the real world but that our diagnostic categories are constructs that may or may not accurately represent the disorders out there, and finally a purely constructivist position that the diagnostic categories are simply constructs with no evidence of psychiatric disorders in the real world. The second question again offers a range of opinion as to how we should define a mental or psychiatric disorder, including the possibility that we should not try to formulate a definition. The general introduction, as well as the introductions and conclusions for the specific questions, are written by James Phillips, and the responses to commentaries are written by Allen Frances.     

Doing as they would do: How the perceived ethical preferences of third-party beneficiaries impact ethical decision-making

Although unethical behavior often benefits third-parties not directly complicit in the misconduct, not all beneficiaries welcome these ill-gotten benefits. We investigate whether actors consider the ethical preferences of potential beneficiaries or rely solely on their own ethical predispositions when making decisions that affect others. Three studies demonstrate that the perceived ethical preferences of these beneficiaries can substantially influence the likelihood that actors behave unethically on their behalves. These studies show that actors consider the ethical preferences of beneficiaries only when their own ethical disposition is outcome-based.     

Screening for Psychopathy: Validation of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Short Form with Reference Scores

The current study reports validation results for the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) and its subscales, and for a newly developed PPI-Short Form (PPI-SF) in forensic and non-forensic populations. We also provide criterion reference scores for the PPI and the PPI-SF. In Study 1, we used PPI data from 1,065 participants and supplementary PCL-R data from a subsample of 91 forensic offenders. Mokken scale analysis was used to construct the PPI-SF. In Study 2, PPI-SF and PCL-R data were collected from 60 participants. The study yielded promising but preliminary support for the construct validity of the PPI and the PPI-SF. The PPI-SF is of interest for risk assessment because of its (a) strong relationship with the PCL-R total score and (b) subscales known for their predictive value for violence and criminal recidivism.     

New Directions in Sales Leadership Research

The changing environment facing sales organizations is characterized by the dimensions of complexity, collaboration, and accountability. Responding effectively to this dynamic environment requires a focus on specific leadership activities by senior sales leaders, field sales managers, and salespeople. A sales leadership framework is presented and used to identify and discuss specific leadership challenges and important research questions at different sales organization levels. Several new directions for sales leadership research are proposed to improve sales leadership thought and practice.     

Incentive Salience and Improved Performance

Using data from 441 call center employees at a large North American financial services firm, we studied how the frequency of thinking about an incentive available for performance led to increased output on an important performance metric. We find that people think more frequently about noncash tangible incentives (merchandise and travel) than cash incentives and that as the frequency of thought increases, performance increases. This leads to a larger performance boost for tangible incentives compared to a cash incentive of equal purchasing power. These results show an additional benefit from the use of tangible incentives and help answer the question regarding the psychological processes which make incentives motivating.     

Modelling the Direct and Indirect Effects of Positive Emotional and Cognitive Traits and States on Social Judgements

It was hypothesised that positive affective states and situational information-processing demands would differentially influence the favourability of social judgements of a target social group. These hypothesised direct effects on social judgements were subsequently incorporated into a broader statetrait model of the social judgement process, whereby direct and indirect effects of personality and cognitive traits, along with positive affective states and information-processing demands (i.e. cognitive state), were also hypothesised to influence social judgements. Three hundred and eight subjects reported their trait levels of introversion-extraversion and need for cognition, and were subsequently induced into an affective state (content, happy, surprise, or neutral) and a cognitive state (heuristic or substantive information processing). Results indicated that study participants who were manipulated into either a content or a happy affect state made more positive judgements about the target group than study participants who were manipulated into either a surprised or a neutral state. Moreover, when the cognitive demands of the situation were low, a cognitive trait (need for cognition) and the affective state directly influenced the social judgement. H owever, when the cognitive demands of the situation were high, only an indirect effect of affective state through a cognitive state influenced the social judgement. Discussion focused on the components of the state-trait model of the social judgement process as it applies to positive affective states.     

Objective and Interpretive Approaches to Equality in Marriage

This article differentiates two ways of studying equality in marriage: as an objective entity or as a socially constructed interpretation. Objective and interpretive researchers adopt divergent stances toward defining, measuring, and explaining marital equalities and inequalities. However, they also employ similar terms and methods, as well as exhibit mutual concern over the moral implications of research. Consequently, scholars may study marital equality in somewhat similar ways but produce reports that vary along an objective–interpretive continuum.     

Trespass, Animals and Democratic Engagement

Since at least the 1970s, one of the stock standard tools in the animal protection movement’s arsenal has been illegal entry into factory farms and animal research facilities. This activity has been followed by the publication of images and footage captured inside those otherwise socially invisible places. This activity presents a conundrum: trespass is illegal and it is an apparent violation of private property rights. In this paper we argue that trespass onto private property can be justified as an act of civil disobedience. We look at one particular type of justification: the use of information gathered through trespass in public policy formation. We then animate this analysis both with an historical overview of the effects of sharing information about animal agriculture, and with a specific case study of trespass undertaken recently.