Deliverance,demonic possession,and mental illness: some considerations for mental health professionals

This paper outlines an unconventional treatment for mental illness, the exorcism or deliverance ritual used by Pentecostals and some other charismatic Christians. Deliverance beliefs and practices are based on the assumption that both mental and physical ills result from possession of the sufferer by demons, and are to be treated by the expulsion of those demons. Deliverance practitioners claim to treat schizophrenia, ADHD, and Reactive Attachment Disorder, and believe that these problems are related to sins either of the person in treatment or of an ancestor. Clinicians and counsellors dealing with clients who partially or completely espouse deliverance beliefs may need to understand their worldviews and to discuss their belief system before managing to engage them in conventional mental health treatments. Unusual ethical problems may also be met in the course of such work.     

Don't trust anybody: Conspiracy mentality and the detection of facial trustworthiness cues

Conspiracy theories express mistrust in common explanations and epistemic authorities. Independent of concrete content, the extent of endorsing conspiracy theories has also shown associations with interpersonal mistrust. Arguing from an evolutionary and error-management perspective, this increased interpersonal mistrust could either represent an enhanced sensitivity to untrustworthiness cues, or a limited ability to recognize trustworthiness, or non-specific mistrust without differentiations between (un)trustworthiness cues. In two experimental studies (N = 563), we manipulated facial trustworthiness and tested the differentiation of trustworthiness evaluations as a function of conspiracy mentality. We found that conspiracy mentality was associated with a generalized tendency to perceive others as untrustworthy, independent of facial trustworthiness, speaking to non-specific manifestations of mistrust. However, the association between conspiracy mentality and trust became non-significant once age was accounted for in Study 1. We discuss how conspiracy mentality may be associated with an increased propensity to view the world as having malevolent intentions.     

Freud's theory of paranoid delusion based on the Schreber case contrasted with related theories

The historic importance of Freud's analysis of the Schreber case is acknowledged, even though the theory it expounds is largely disavowed. The theory ascribes the cause of paranoid delusion to homosexual impulses unresolved in infancy or early childhood. This paper summarizes Freud's monograph on Schreber and contrasts his theory with the views of various revisionists. The writers focus on the Freudian concept of projection, which is intended to explain how much meaning can become reversed under the impetus of stress, and the reversal lead to delusional thinking. Based on their work in family therapy, where they observed one form of pathogenic relating termed learning to be possessed, the writers concluded that this form was also based on a type of projection which could culminate in delusional ideation. A relationship between learning to be possessed and H. S. Sullivan's theory of paranoid transformation is described. A learning factor is present in several of the psychological theories advanced to explain delusion, and the factor is akin to if not identical with Freud's concept of projection.Gerald Zuk, PhD, is in private practice at 25316 Pacy Street, Santa Clarita, California 91321-3343. Carmen Zuk, MD, is a child psychiatrist-partner affiliated with the Southern California Permanente Medical Group at its psychiatric clinic in Van Nuys, California. Both may be reached by telephone at (805) 252-7702.     

To buy or to sell: cultural differences in stock market decisions based on price trends

Four studies compared the stock market decisions of Canadians and Chinese. In two studies using simple stock market trends, compared with Chinese, Canadians were more willing to sell and less willing to buy falling stock. But when the stock price was rising, the opposite occurred: Canadians were more willing to buy and less willing to sell. A third study showed that for complex stock price trends, Canadians were strongly influenced by the most recent price trends: they tended to predict that recent trends would continue and made selling decisions without considering the rest of the trend patterns; whereas the Chinese made reversal predictions for the dominant trends and made decisions that took both recent and early trends into consideration. Study 4 replicated the finding with experienced individual investors. These findings are consistent with the previous literature on different lay theories of change held by Chinese and North Americans. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

注意瞬脱的瓶颈理论

综述了注意瞬脱的瓶颈理论的相关研究。主要包括：（1）高级中枢加工瓶颈形成的两阶段模型、中枢干扰理论、TLC假设和注意的延迟投入假设;（2）目标选择的控制瓶颈形成的输入过滤器与目标模板假说;（3）同时类型系列标记模型。最后从瓶颈理论在整个注意瞬脱理论中的片面性和注意瞬脱的瓶颈理论本身的不完善性两方面剖析了瓶颈理论的局限性     

Can fixed views of ability boost performance in the context of favorable stereotypes?

Prior research has demonstrated that stereotypes affect negatively stereotyped groups in part through the implied immutability of group members’ abilities. Accordingly, a belief that ability is malleable through effort and hard work has been shown to boost the performance of negatively stereotyped groups. We predicted, however, that among favorably stereotyped groups, a belief that ability is fixed would reinforce the immutability of the group differences upon which stereotype-induced social comparisons are made [Walton, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2003). Stereotype lift. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 39, 456–467] and result in enhanced performance. We found experimental support for these predictions in two favorably stereotyped groups in math: Asians (Study 1) and men (Study 2). Perceived difficulty of the math test helped explain the performance effects in Study 2. Implications of schooling emphasizing innate ability for exacerbating achievement gaps are discussed.     

Linkage Analysis as Evidence in Court: A Thematic Analysis of Mock Juror Deliberations

Linkage analysis has, albeit occasionally, been presented in courts across the world as evidence that a series of offences possess behavioural similarities and distinctiveness from other offences, meaning they have probably been committed by the same individual. It is therefore imperative to ascertain how linkage analysis is regarded by juries within the context of deliberations. Three groups of participants (N = 22) eligible for jury duty in England and Wales viewed a simulated rape and murder trial derived from an actual South African case. Linkage analysis formed the sole evidence against the defendant in the two later offences, although DNA matches and eyewitness identifications of the defendant were present in the two earlier offences. Participant deliberations were recorded and subjected to thematic analysis. Five themes were discovered: behavioural consistencies and inconsistencies, physical versus case linkage evidence, barriers to admissibility, potential uses of linkage analysis, and dependence of lay knowledge. Jurors' over‐reliance on erroneous lay knowledge contributed to their conclusion that linkage analysis is, at present, unrepresentative evidence that cannot independently indicate a defendant's culpability. However, participants believed that linkage analysis could be a useful tool within investigations and, with further research evidence, in court in England and Wales. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

应用认知理论来认识和解除大学生的情绪困扰

大学生是一个特殊的群体,一些大学生深受不良情绪的困扰而产生诸多心理问题。认知的冲突和失调是产生不良情绪的重要原因之一。认知理论在解除大学生情绪困扰的过程中有其独到的作用: (1)帮助大学生发现并改变不合理信念;(2)有助于大学生树立“换个思路”的生活法则;(3)帮助大学生学会合理运用情绪想象技术; (4)有助于大学生学会客观地评价自我。     

Lay Theories of Happiness

Over 230 young people completed a battery of questionnaires measuring personality, self-esteem, and happiness as well as one developed specifically for this study on their theories of the causes of happiness. The 36 causes factored into six internally coherent and interpretable factors. Self-reported happiness, extraversion and sex were correlated with the lay theory factors. Four of the six factors were modestly (r < 0.20) correlated with the Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI) scores. Path analysis, using the OHI as the dependent variable, showed self-esteem, extraversion and neuroticism direct predictors of happiness but that among the lay theories, only lay theories about optimism and contentment were direct predictors. Personality and demographic variables did predict the lay theories but the latter did not act as moderator or mediating factors between the former and happiness. The role and function of lay theories with respect to happiness are discussed.