Things Old and New: Tradition and Innovation in Constructing Reformation Theology

In respect of the Reformation this study considers the interaction between the retrieval of ancient Christian texts, humanist methods and scholasticism in their various forms, citing illustrative examples. It argues that Reformation interpreters have traditionally tended to privilege the impact of the first two on the new religious developments. As a corrective to this common perception, the essay recalls and highlights the continuing and increasing positive influence of modified scholastic methodological norms and forms on evolving Reformation theology in order to meet both pedagogical and apologetical requirements. It is also pointed out that the specific humanist programme for the revamping of biblical study along linguistic and literary lines and facilitating access to the Church Fathers, accompanied with notions of tackling abuses in the Church, predated the Reformation.     

Neuroscience and learning: lessons from studying the involvement of a region of cerebellar cortex in eyeblink classical conditioning

How the nervous system encodes learning and memory processes has interested researchers for 100 years. Over this span of time, a number of basic neuroscience methods has been developed to explore the relationship between learning and the brain, including brain lesion, stimulation, pharmacology, anatomy, imaging, and recording techniques. In this paper, we summarize how different research approaches can be employed to generate converging data that speak to how structures and systems in the brain are involved in simple associative learning. To accomplish this, we review data regarding the involvement of a particular region of cerebellar cortex (Larsell's lobule HVI) in the widely used paradigm of classical eyeblink conditioning. We also present new data on the role of lobule HVI in eyeblink conditioning generated by combining temporary brain inactivation and single-cell recording methods, an approach that looks promising for further advancing our understanding of relationships between brain and behavior.     

The emotion-induced memory trade-off: More than an effect of overt attention?

Although it has been suggested that many effects of emotion on memory are attributable to attention, in the present study we addressed the hypothesis that such effects may relate to a number of different factors during encoding or postencoding. One way to look at the effects of emotion on memory is by examining the emotion-induced memory trade-off, whereby enhanced memory for emotional items often comes at the cost of memory for surrounding background information. We present evidence that this trade-off cannot be explained solely by overt attention (measured via eyetracking) directed to the emotional items during encoding. Participants did not devote more overt attention to emotional than to neutral items when those items were selectively remembered (at the expense of their backgrounds). Only when participants were asked to answer true/false questions about the items and the backgrounds—a manipulation designed to affect both overt attention and poststimulus elaboration—was there a reduction in selective emotional item memory due to an increase in background memory. These results indicate that the allocation of overt visual attention during encoding is not sufficient to predict the occurrence of selective item memory for emotional items.     

Social role effects on gender stereotyping in Germany and Japan

Social role theory postulates that gender stereotypes are restrained for men and women observed in the same social role. Cultural differences in the valuation of communal attributes might moderate this effect. To examine this possibility, 288 participants (144 German, 144 Japanese) estimated the communal and agentic attributes of an average man or woman described in a male‐dominated role, a female‐dominated role, or without role information. We hypothesized and found that in Germany and Japan, participants perceived men as more agentic than women without role information and as similarly agentic in the same role. However, for communion, German and Japanese participants reacted differently. German participants perceived women as more communal than men without role information and in male‐dominated roles and perceived men as more communal than women in female‐dominated roles. Japanese participants perceived all targets as similarly communal, regardless of role or gender, suggesting that communion is generally expected in Japan.     

Objective work–nonwork conflict: From incompatible demands to decreased work role performance

Research on work–nonwork conflict (WNC) is based on the assumption that incompatible demands from the work and the nonwork domain hamper role performance. This assumption implies that role demands from both domains interact in predicting role performance, but research has been largely limited to main effects. In this multi-source study, we analyze the incompatibility of demands by testing the interaction of work and nonwork demands on task performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The sample consisted of 61 employees of a German hospital and we used three independent sources of data: self-ratings of work demands, partner-ratings of nonwork demands, and colleague-ratings of performance. Results from hierarchical regression analyses revealed an interaction effect of work and nonwork demands on OCB, but not on task performance. We conclude that people maintain their effort invested in task-related aspects of the job even when conflicts between work and nonwork demands exist, but that they reduce their investment in activities that are perceived as more marginal and extra-role.     

Decoding the Binary: Reconsidering the Hacker Subculture through a Gendered Lens

ABSTRACT

Research has demonstrated that hacker subculture – like many other tech-oriented communities – is disproportionately composed of men. While prior attempts have been made to explain this disparity, few, if any, explore the role of subculture in this gendered divide. Drawing from feminist theories, subcultural theory, and cultural criminology, this theoretical analysis examines the intersection of gender, social structure, hegemony, situated action, and subculture to argue that hacker subculture is (1) male-dominated and androcentric, (2) mired in language, like meritocratic rhetoric, which masks inequity, and (3) conducive to forms of sexual harassment and gendered exclusion. Implications for hacking research and subcultural theory are discussed throughout.     

Editor’s note

Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science -