The ELCA at Twenty: A Young Church that Works

Abstract : This assessment, from a pastor who has served in all three of its ‘expressions' (congregation, synod, churchwide), and now heads one of its 8 seminaries, celebrates both major achievements as well as the interdependent ‘churchstyle’ exhibited by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America during its first 20 years.     

Bowling Alone but Working and Worshiping Together

Abstract : The following article reviews both the strengths and weaknesses of the ELCA on the anniversary of 20 years of existence. The article emphasizes the increased diversity in the denomination, particularly the increased participation of women both in scholarship and leadership in the church. It also lifts up the importance of the strong ecumenical work that continues to take place, both nationally and internationally, which is evidenced in the ELCA's full communion agreements. Commitments to social justice, global connectedness and economic stewardship are also discussed.     

Employing multiple theories and evoking new ideas: the use of clinical material

In this paper, I wish to illustrate how working with a patient who had a certain kind of narcissistic difficulty led me to develop particular clinical strategies to facilitate the development of a sturdier sense of self, greater affect tolerance and modulation, the diminution of harshness of her superego, and the ownership of projected parts of herself, and to decrease paranoid ideation. I call upon concepts from various theoretical schools of psychoanalysis to make sense of the dynamic intricacies of the patient's psychological organization as they revealed themselves in the analytic process. These conceptualizations of the patient's difficulties and of clinical interventions to address them result in a hybrid theory of both theory and technique. What transpired in the clinical work also led me to propose an additional way to understand this kind of patient's difficulties with accepting interpretations or any view that differed from the patient's subjectivity. I am proposing that 'otherness' itself, rather than only specific conflictual aspects of the self, is disowned. It is the analyst's empathic stance toward all that is repudiated--the specific disowned aspects of the self and 'otherness' itself--along with empathy for the patient's conscious state that will enable reinternalization and ultimately healing.     

Encounter with a traditional healer: Western and African therapeutic approaches in dialogue

The paper explores the extent to which cultural aspects contribute to the modalities of human relations and consequently to the qualities of the internal objects and the sense of identity. Therapeutic relationships and techniques, as well as the theories on which they are based, are seen as being equally embedded in their cultural context. An encounter with a traditional African healer offers the author, a western trained European analyst, an opportunity to think about similarities and differences in the therapeutic approach to mental distress, as well as in the training of therapists/healers in the two cultures. Special attention is given to the role of ancestor reverence in African culture. The notion of the ancestors is related to what psychoanalysis describes as internal objects. Cultural differences in the role and importance of verbal language in the therapeutic relationship are described, and the importance and meaning of non-verbal forms of communication are explored.     

权力感知对怀旧偏好的影响机制

作者考察了权力感知对消费者怀旧偏好的影响及其心理机制。通过3个实验, 作者发现低权力者比高权力者更加偏好怀旧产品或怀旧品牌, 而寻找生活意义的动机在该影响过程中起中介作用。具体而言, 权力的缺失导致个体认为自己的生活缺乏意义, 进而激发出寻找生活意义的动机。由于怀旧可以通过回忆有意义的事件和提供社会支持两条途径来帮助个体重拾生活意义, 因此低权力的消费者倾向于进行怀旧消费。这一研究发现进一步丰富了现有的权力和怀旧文献, 并对怀旧营销的设计具有重要的实践指导意义。     

班级朋友对抑郁的影响:一项社会网络分析

采用朋友提名和Beck抑郁问卷,以73个班级3034名大学生为被试,考察班级朋友网络中不同连接步数朋友的抑郁水平对个体抑郁的影响。结果发现:(1)互选朋友数量对抑郁存在显著的负向影响;(2)在控制了互选朋友数量的影响后,互选朋友中是否存在抑郁者,对个体自身的抑郁不具有显著的预测作用;(3)提名与被提名的直接朋友和两度距离朋友中,抑郁朋友数量对个体的抑郁具有显著的正向预测作用;(4)同性抑郁朋友的数量对个体的抑郁具有显著的正向预测作用,而异性抑郁朋友的数量对个体的抑郁则不具有显著的预测作用。综合上述结果可以得出以下结论:抑郁朋友在班级朋友网络中的影响范围仅限两度距离以内(包括两度),且这种影响不受朋友关系方向的限制。随着抑郁朋友的数量增多,个体抑郁的风险也显著增加,然而抑郁朋友对个体抑郁的影响,可能更多的是受到同性抑郁朋友的影响。     

心算活动中混合策略选择的ERP研究

考察问题大小、距离、奇偶及答案正误对心算策略选择的影响。采用先答案后算式的呈现方式, 记录了15名被试的64导ERP。研究发现, 在小问题中, 错误答案与正确答案相比, 诱发了算术不一致N400, 距离和奇偶因素影响其波峰及潜伏期。在大问题中, 距离和奇偶因素影响晚期正波, 近距离奇偶一致情境诱发了波幅较小的晚期正慢波。表明在混合情境, 距离比奇偶信息优先得到加工; 在小问题心算中距离和奇偶信息影响答案提取, 而在大问题心算中, 对于依靠距离信息较难直接判断的小距离问题, 在进一步的加工中会借助奇偶信息判断是否采用精确计算策略。     

康有为的古经新解与经学的近代转型

康有为揭橥孔子和经学的旗帜 ,并借用西学对其进行改铸 ,从而把孔子塑造成君主立宪政体的缔造者 ,把经典改造成君主立宪政体理论的载体。康有为之所以能这样做 ,与经学与时俱进的特征、自身学贯中西的知识储备以及现实社会的需要有很大关系。康氏所为 ,开援西入儒之先河 ,拓展了儒家的外王学与内圣学 ,促进了思想的解放 ,对构建当代新文化也具有借鉴意义。     

Notes on Cultures of Violence, Cultures of Caring and Peace, and the Fulfillment of Basic Human Needs

Some conditions in the lives of children, adults, and groups can be construed as fulfilling universal human psychological needs. The constructive fulfillment of these basic needs promotes caring and positive, helpful relations; their frustration creates an inclination toward hostility and aggression. The article describes diverse influences that can lead to violence between individuals, groups, and societies, as well as ways to halt and prevent genocide, mass killing, and other intergroup violence, including terrorism, in part by fostering culture changes that promote harmony and peace. Ideally such culture change would involve healing from past wounds, the creation of positive (rather than destructive) ideologies, supportive communities, reconciliation and the creation of a shared collective memory, education that promotes peace, and the development of inclusive caring in children. The article also refers to work in Rwanda that aims to foster healing and reconciliation, in part by helping people understand the roots of violence and its implication for prevention. Societies and families that help to fulfill basic needs promote goodness as well as optimal human functioning—the continued growth and development of individuals.     

Pluralism and Ambivalence in the Evolution of Morality

Much good work has been done on the evolution of human morality by focusing on how “selfish genes” can give rise to altruistic human beings. A richer research program is needed, however, to take into account the ambivalence of naturally evolved biopsychological motivators and the historical pluralism of human morality in religious systems. Such a program is described here. A first step is to distinguish the ultimate cause of natural selection from proximate causes that are the results of natural selection. Next, some proximate causes are suggested as possible conditions of biological and emotional valuing as well as of customary social morality and individual rational ethical thought. Finally, different moral perspectives of Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity are briefly presented in order to illustrate how one might inquire about the selection of a variety of biopsychological and cultural proximate causes that enable the evolution of a plurality of religious moral systems.