Models of God

This essay compares and contrasts nine different conceptual models of God: atheism, agnosticism, deism, theism, pantheism, polytheism, henotheism, panentheism, and eschatological panentheism. This essay justifies employment of the model method in theology based on commitments within philosophical hermeneutics, philosophy of science, and the theological understanding of divine transcendence. The result is an array of conceptual models of the divine which have reference, but which make indirect rather than literal claims. Of the analyzed models, this essay defends “eschatological panentheism” as the most satisfying model for Christian constructive theology. This paper was delivered during the APA Pacific 2007 Mini-Conference on Models of God.     

Effects of contour proximity and lightness on Delboeuf illusions created by circumscribed letters

32 observers judged the size of a letter, either an "A" or an "S," which was surrounded by a circle. Both letters were overestimated, but larger surrounding circles reduced the illusion. Decreasing the lightness contrast of the surrounding circle relative to the central letter diminished the illusion. The results suggest that, like the Delboeuf illusion, these circumscribed letters illusions are produced by interactions among size-coding neurons.     

Acquaintance and the Problem of the Speckled Hen

This paper responds to Ernest Sosa’s recent criticism of Richard Fumerton’s acquaintance theory. Sosa argues that Fumerton’s account of non-inferential justification falls prey to the problem of the speckled hen. I argue that Sosa’s criticisms are both illuminating and interesting but that Fumerton’s theory can escape the problem of the speckled hen. More generally, the paper shows that an internalist account of non-inferential justification can survive the powerful objections of the Sellarsian dilemma and the problem of the speckled hen.     

Changes in students' motivation to learn during the first year of college

This study looks at changes in first-year college students' motivational orientation and whether these changes relate systematically to campus and classroom experiences. 130 college students (M age = 18 yr., 75% women) completed measures of learning orientation, grade orientation, and work avoidance from the LOGO II at the beginning and end of their first year. The year-end assessment also included questions regarding characteristics of students' classes and the amount of time they spent in campus activities. Students became more grade-oriented and work-avoidant and less learning-oriented over time. Changes in learning orientation and work avoidance were associated with classroom and campus experiences. Results are discussed in terms of the need for additional research on changes in college students' motivation and factors predicting this change.     

Stigma of mental and physical illness and the use of mobile technology

Research has shown the stigma attached to mental disabilities, yet little research has directly compared the experiences of people with physical disabilities and those with mental disabilities. Not only are both conditions likely perceived as stigmatizing, but the pervasive use of mobile technology may be one means by which people with disabilities can manage and understand their disability. Four hundred and eighty-seven individuals with physical and/or psychological disabilities completed a survey examining whether they would be willing to use mobile technology to manage their disability and how stigmatizing they perceived their disability to be. Willingness to use mobile technology was related to the age of the sample as well as the type of disability. Individuals with psychological disabilities were more likely to use certain forms of mobile technology relative to those with physical disabilities. Observed differences between physical and psychological disabilities are discussed in terms of the symbolic interaction stigma model.     

Linking Family-of-Origin Experiences and Perpetration of Sexual Coercion: College Males’ Sense of Entitlement

Sexual coercion on college campuses has become of major concern in recent decades. In recent years, researchers and policy makers have called for greater attention to this topic in order to reduce the sexual violence on college campuses. Recent research has examined the impact of family-of-origin experiences on the perpetration of sexual coercion. The current study examines the association between family-of-origin experiences, such as warmth and hostility between parents, inconsistent parenting, and overparenting during childhood, and the perpetration of sexual coercion among emerging adult males while examining feelings of entitlement as a possible mediator. Data from 326 male undergraduate students were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results show that warmth and hostility between parents has a significant association with parenting behaviors (i.e., overparenting and inconsistent parenting) and that hostility between parents is associated with the perpetration of sexual coercion by the offspring in young adulthood for males. Also, findings suggest that while overparenting and inconsistent parenting during childhood are not directly associated with the perpetration of sexual coercion during emerging adulthood, they are strongly related to feelings of entitlement, which in turn was found to be associated with the perpetration of sexual coercion for males. These results have important implications for family life education, including relationship and parenting education, and for future research.     

Relationship Contexts as Sources of Socialization: An Exploration of Intimate Partner Violence Experiences of Economically Disadvantaged African American Adolescents

Intimate partner violence (IPV) among African Americans is a serious public health concern. Research suggest that African Americans adolescents, particularly those from economically disadvantaged communities, are at heightened risk for experiencing and perpetrating dating violence compared to youth from other racial and ethnic groups. In the present study, we examined different relationship contexts that are sources of IPV socialization. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 economically disadvantaged African American adolescents. Content analysis yielded five relationship contexts through which the participants witnessed, experienced, and perpetrated IPV: (a) adolescents’ own dating relationships (64%), (b) siblings and extended family members (e.g., cousins, aunts, uncles) (59%), (c) parent-partners (27%), (d) friends (23%), and (e) neighbors (18%). Adolescents also frequently described IPV in their own dating relationships and in parent-partner relationships as mutual. Moreover, they appeared to minimize the experience of IPV in their own relationships. Efforts to reduce rates of IPV among economically disadvantaged African American adolescents should consider these relational contexts through which adolescents are socialized with regards to IPV and adolescents’ beliefs about mutual violence in relationships. Results highlight the importance of culturally relevant prevention and intervention programs that consider these relationship contexts.     

Sleep deprivation selectively impairs memory consolidation for contextual fear conditioning

Many behavioral and electrophysiological studies in animals and humans have suggested that sleep and circadian rhythms influence memory consolidation. In rodents, hippocampus-dependent memory may be particularly sensitive to sleep deprivation after training, as spatial memory in the Morris water maze is impaired by rapid eye movement sleep deprivation following training. Spatial learning in the Morris water maze, however, requires multiple training trials and performance, as measured by time to reach the hidden platform is influenced by not only spatial learning but also procedural learning. To determine if sleep is important for the consolidation of a single-trial, hippocampus-dependent task, we sleep deprived animals for 0–5 and 5–10 h after training for contextual and cued fear conditioning. We found that sleep deprivation from 0–5 h after training for this task impaired memory consolidation for contextual fear conditioning whereas sleep deprivation from 5–10 h after training had no effect. Sleep deprivation at either time point had no effect on cued fear conditioning, a hippocampus-independent task. Previous studies have determined that memory consolidation for fear conditioning is impaired when protein kinase A and protein synthesis inhibitors are administered at the same time as when sleep deprivation is effective, suggesting that sleep deprivation may act by modifying these molecular mechanisms of memory storage.