Distinguishing the desire to learn from the desire to perform: The social value of achievement goals

We sought to distinguish mastery goals (i.e., desire to learn) from performance goals (i.e., desire to achieve more positive evaluations than others) in the light of social judgment research. In a pilot study, we made a conceptual distinction between three types of traits (agency, competence, and effort) that are often undifferentiated. We then tested the relevance of this distinction for understanding how people pursuing either mastery or performance goals are judged. On self-perception, results revealed that effort was predicted by the adoption of mastery goals and agency by performance goals (Study 1). On judgments, results showed that (a) the target pursuing mastery goals was perceived as oriented toward effort, and (b) the target pursuing performance goals was oriented toward agency (Study 2). Finally, these links were shown again by participants who inferred a target’s goals from his traits (Study 3). Results are discussed in terms of the social value of achievement goals at school.     

Advancing a Richer View of Identity at Work: The Role‐Based Identity Scale

Identity has been studied extensively in several fields including organizational behavior, sociology, and psychology. Even though there have been significant advances, 2 areas of work deserve more attention. First, most empirical investigations have looked only at 1 or 2 identities at a time despite theoretical perspectives that indicate a need to address multiple identities simultaneously. Second, limited work using identity theory has been done in the human resource management (HRM) domain. The purpose of our research is to serve as a catalyst for future work by identifying 5 work‐relevant role‐based identities and creating a parsimonious measure for each. These metrics were tested, and initial evidence of their validity is provided using 6 independent samples. The empirical results suggest that the new measures in the role‐based identity scale can be useful in representing a more realistic and richer view of identity at work by simultaneously assessing 5 distinct role‐based identities.     

Considering Gestational Life

This paper is an exploration into the question, “What does considering gestational life add to analytic theory and practice?” It attempts to situate prenatal experience in the psychoanalytic dialogue, to explore its place in subsequent mental life, to discuss how this may be useful in clinical process, and to reconceptualize some theory in light of a gestational perspective. Neuro-psychoanalytic theory is utilized with an emphasis on nonconscious mental process which takes the form of implicit memory, providing people with a sense of continuity and well-being or stress. Intra-uterine experience can include pain and suffering. Fetal stress is an integral part of prenatal development and its metaphorical use in clinical practice. Three concepts—gestational being/becoming, geatational holding, and objectless intersubjectivity—are offered as ideas to introduce order and conceptual clarity into the ineffable mysteries of in utero process. A gestational perspective is used to describe how the analyst intuitively tracks the patient’s sense of well-being/stress.     

Genetic Counselor Workforce Issues: a Survey of Genetic Counselors Licensed in the State of Indiana

The aims of this study were to document movement of genetic counselors (GCs) out of clinical positions and identify factors that might help employers attract and retain clinical GCs. A confidential on-line survey of GCs ever licensed in the state of Indiana was conducted. Of the 46 respondents, most provide direct patient care (69.6 %), have worked in their current position for 5 years or less (72.1 %), and are experienced genetic counselors, having graduated between 6 and 15 years ago (43.5 %). One-third (32.6 %) reported thinking about leaving their current position at least monthly. GCs were more likely to think about leaving their current position when they provided direct patient care (p = 0.04) and worked in a hospital/clinic setting (p = 0.01). Among the 18 respondents that changed jobs in the past two years, 55.6 % currently work in a laboratory/industry setting and 44.4 % provide direct patient care, compared to 8 % of those in a stable position (N = 25) who work in a laboratory/industry setting (p < 0.01) and 88 % who provide direct patient care (p < 0.01). Genetic counselors who have changed jobs within the past 2 years were more satisfied with the possibility for advancement (p = 0.01), the recognition for work they do (p = 0.03) and feeling value from the organization (p = 0.04) in their current positions than those who have not changed jobs. Salary and flexibility were most often reported as reasons for changing jobs. This is the first documentation of the movement of GCs out of clinical roles into industry positions. This changing landscape may impact the access to clinical services and the training of genetic counseling students. This data will provide employers with data to help attract and retain GCs in clinical roles.     

Increased locus coeruleus tonic activity causes disengagement from a patch-foraging task

High levels of locus coeruleus (LC) tonic activity are associated with distraction and poor performance within a task. Adaptive gain theory (AGT; Aston-Jones & Cohen, 2005) suggests that this may reflect an adaptive function of the LC, encouraging search for more remunerative opportunities in times of low utility. Here, we examine whether stimulating LC tonic activity using designer receptors (DREADDs) promotes searching for better opportunities in a patch-foraging task as the value of a patch diminishes. The task required rats to decide repeatedly whether to exploit an immediate but depleting reward within a patch or to incur the cost of a time delay to travel to a new, fuller patch. Similar to behavior associated with high LC tonic activity in other tasks, we found that stimulating LC tonic activity impaired task performance, resulting in reduced task participation and increased response times and omission rates. However, this was accompanied by a more specific, predicted effect: a significant tendency to leave patches earlier, which was best explained by an increase in decision noise rather than a systematic bias to leave earlier (i.e., at higher values). This effect is consistent with the hypothesis that high LC tonic activity favors disengagement from current behavior, and the pursuit of alternatives, by augmenting processing noise. These results provide direct causal evidence for the relationship between LC tonic activity and flexible task switching proposed by AGT.     

Langdon Gilkey: In Memoriam

Abstract:  Langdon Gilkey died on November 19, 2004. This "Theology Update" reviews his career and examines elements in his systematic theology such as: (1) fallenness in human nature; (2) the transcendence and graciousness of God: (3) the Neo‐Orthodox agenda; (4) creation and the dialogue with science; and (4) inter‐religious dialogue. Gilkey's theological method of responding to human experience with the Christian message through a process of interpreting symbols is critically evaluated. This article is published simultaneously in Dialog and Theology and Science .     

NGO-government relations and immigrant services: Contradictions and challenges

This article critically examines the “Canadian model” of immigrant settlement service delivery. This is a system where most settlement services are provided through community-based, including ethno-specific, agencies funded primarily by the various levels of government. Although this model has been widely celebrated as an efficient, immigrant-friendly, and inclusive model to be emulated elsewhere, we argue that it is a system in crisis. Rather than continuing to promote this model uncritically, we examine the roots of this crisis and in this light offer a reconsideration of a series of current policy issues in immigrant service provision in Canada.     

KNOWLEDGE, SPEAKER AND SUBJECT

I contrast two solutions to the lottery paradox concerning knowledge: contextualism and subject-sensitive invariantism. I defend contextualism against an objection that it cannot explain how 'knows' and its cognates function inside propositional attitude reports. I then argue that subject-sensitive invariantism fails to provide a satisfactory resolution of the paradox.