Creativity and Ethics: The Relationship of Creative and Ethical Problem-Solving

Students of creativity have long been interested in the relationship between creativity and deviant behaviors such as criminality, mental disease, and unethical behavior. In the present study we wished to examine the relationship between creative thinking skills and ethical decision-making among scientists. Accordingly, 258 doctoral students in the health, biological, and social sciences were asked to complete a measure of creative processing skills (e.g., problem definition, conceptual combination, idea generation) and a measure of ethical decision-making examining four domains, data management, study conduct, professional practices, and business practices. It was found that ethical decision-making in all four of these areas was related to creative problem-solving processes with late cycle processes (e.g., idea generation and solution monitoring) proving particularly important. The implications of these findings for understanding the relationship between creative and deviant thought are discussed.     

Does stress run through the leash? An examination of stress transmission between owners and dogs during a walk

Animal Cognition - Humans and dogs have co-evolved for over 10,000 years. Recent research suggests that, through the domestication process, dogs have become proficient at responding to...     

Perceived variety,psychological needs satisfaction and exercise-related well-being

Objective: Perceived variety represents a psychosocial experience that gives rise to, and supports the maintenance of, an individual’s well-being. In this study, we developed an instrument to measure perceived variety in exercise (PVE), and examined whether ratings of PVE predict unique variance in indices of exercise-related well-being in addition to that explained by satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs (for competence, relatedness and autonomy) embedded within self-determination theory (SDT). We also examined the extent to which variance in perceived variety is empirically distinct from (or subsumed by) competence, relatedness and autonomy in the context of exercise.

Methods: A convenience sample of community adults (N?=?507) completed online surveys twice over a six-week period (n?=?367).

Results: PVE was found to prospectively predict unique variance in indices of exercise-related well-being, in addition to that explained by perceived competence, relatedness and autonomy. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic procedures, perceived variety was found to be empirically distinct from perceived competence, relatedness and autonomy.

Conclusion: Results from this work suggest that perceived variety holds potential for theoretical and applied advancements in understanding and predicting well-being in exercise settings.     

Executive-process interactive control: A unified computational theory for answering 20 questions (and more) about cognitive ageing

Although the effects of ageing on human information processing and performance have been studied extensively, many fundamental questions about cognitive ageing remain to be answered definitively. For example, what are the sources of age-related slowing? How much is working-memory capacity reduced in older adults? Is time-sharing ability lost with age? Answering such questions requires a unified computational theory that characterises the interactive operations of many component mental processes and integrates diverse data on cognitive ageing. Toward fulfilling this requirement, an executive-process interactive control (EPIC) architecture has been extended to model performance of both young and older adults. EPIC models yield accurate accounts of ageing effects on reaction times and accuracy in basic dual-task and working-memory paradigms. From these accounts, it appears that time-sharing ability and working-memory capacity decrease relatively little until after 70 years of age. Before age 70, at least some apparent performance decrements may be attributable to conservative executive processes and inefficient task procedures rather than decreased "hardware" functionality. By clarifying and deepening such insights, unified computational theories like EPIC will help answer many questions about cognitive ageing.     

Quiet Eye Duration,Expertise, and Task Complexity in Near and Far Aiming Tasks

Skilled (n = 12) and less skilled (n = 12) billiards players participated in 2 experiments in which the relationship between quiet eye duration, expertise, and task complexity was examined in a near and a far aiming task. Quiet eye was defined as the final fixation on the target prior to the initiation of movement. In Experiment 1, skilled performers exhibited longer fixations on the target (quiet eye) during the preparation phase of the action than their less skilled counterparts did. Quiet eye duration increased as a function of shot difficulty and was proportionally longer on successful than on unsuccessful shots for both groups of participants. In Experiment 2, participants executed shots under 3 different time-constrained conditions in which quiet eye periods were experimentally manipulated. Shorter quiet eye periods resulted in poorer performance, irrespective of participant skill level. The authors argue that quiet eye duration represents a critical period for movement programming in the aiming response.     

Strength of affective reaction as a signal to think carefully

Analytic processes reduce biases, but it is not known how or when these processes will be deployed. Based on an affective signal hypothesis, relatively strong affective reactions were expected to result in increased analytic processing and reduced bias in judgement. The valence and strength of affective reactions were manipulated through varying outcomes in a game or evaluative conditioning of a stimulus. Relatively strong positive or negative affective reactions resulted in less desirability bias. Bias reduction only occurred if participants had time to deploy analytic processes and indicators of the degree of analytic processing (in the form of attentional control) predicted less bias. Affective processes have long been acknowledged as a source of bias, but these findings suggest affective processes are also integral to bias reduction.     

The Developmental Trajectory from Amodal Perception to Empathy and Communication: The Role of Mirror Neurons in This Process

In a recent paper entitled “Mirror Neurons. Procedural Learning and the Positive New Experience” (Wolf et al., 2000), data were presented about a special type of neuron, the mirror neuron, originally located by Rizzolatti and his colleagues (1995). These neurons were discussed as they related to a particular developmental view of psychoanalysis, developmental systems self psychology (Shane, Shane, and Gales. 1997).

In this paper, we focus on how this mirror neuron system might contribute to the development of communicative abilities in humans. First we summarize the research findings about mirror neurons and how they apply to humans. We then attempt to demonstrate how the mirror neuron system might be involved in a developmental sequence hypothesized by Kohut (1984), Stern (1985), and others to begin in infancy. We postulate that this trajectory starts with the onset of “amodal perception” (Stern, 1985) and then proceeds to affect resonance, joint attention, and ultimately to symbolization of language. In this paper, we attempt to integrate these concepts with a formulation of empathy and demonstrate what might go awry in developmental disorders when the normative sequence of development described above does not take place.     

Psychoanalysis Unbound: A Contextual Consideration of Boundaries From a Developmental Systems Self Psychology Perspective

Each individual analyst has a unique way of evolving and developing over the years, in theory and in style of working with analysands. Different environmental conditions as well as one's personal inner life are significant influences. My analytic journey started in 1950 in Los Angeles and the turmoil of the psychoanalytic institutes had a significant impact on me. Often difficulties in the institutes were said to be about theory and ideas in psychoanalysis, but power issues were always present. The American Psychoanalytic Association was also involved in these matters with their attitude on “correct” theory. This paper discusses the interplay of these events and other aspects of my own evolution—from ego to self.