An Examination of the “Greening of Christianity” Thesis Among Americans, 1993–2010

Some environmental and religious scholars, religious leaders, and media figures have claimed there has been a “greening of Christianity” in the United States since the mid‐1990s. Such a trend would be socially significant, as the integration of Christian values and environmental values may invigorate both domains. Using nationally representative data from the 1993 and 2010 General Social Surveys, we analyze how green self‐identified Christians in the U.S. general public are in their pro‐environmental attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Using structural equation modeling, we find no clear evidence of a greening of Christianity among rank‐and‐file Christians in the general public between 1993 and 2010. Indeed, the patterns of our results are quite similar to those from earlier decades, which documented that self‐identified Christians reported lower levels of environmental concern than did non‐Christians and nonreligious individuals. We did find evidence of some greening among evangelical Protestants, especially relative to mainline Protestants, between 1993 and 2010. We close by suggesting a few fruitful avenues for further research in this area via variable‐oriented, case‐oriented, and experimental studies and discussing some theoretical implications of our findings.     

Differential Effects of Personality Traits and Environmental Predictors on Reproductive and Creative Imagination

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to analyze the effects of both personality and environmental variables on the imagination of video/film major university students; and (2) to test the mediator effect resulting from the variable of social climate. The results of this study supported both indicators of imaginative capabilities and environmental influences. The hypothesis of the study—that the variable of social climate mediates the effects of personality/environmental predictors and both types of imagination—was partially supported. The structural model also showed that most personality traits have direct effects on imagination, whereas most environmental predictors have indirect effects. Practical applications of this study were suggested, future inquiries were discussed, and limitations were acknowledged.     

Not starting psychotherapy is more often initiated by the therapist than the patient

The phenomenon of not starting psychotherapy is seldom investigated. The present study of psychotherapy in the Swedish mental health services differentiates between patients applying for and being offered psychotherapy but choosing not to start (n = 69), patients recommended to receive no treatment, another type of treatment or treatment at another clinic (n = 133), and therapy starters (n = 1294). After the initial assessment, nearly twice as many patients did not start based on the therapist’s decision than on the patient’s. Cases of not starting psychotherapy decided by the therapist were more frequent among patients whose occupational status was less stable, presented a danger to others, had lower levels of initial therapeutic alliance, and by therapists with lower levels of psychotherapy training and those at less structured and more unstable clinics. Patients choosing not to start therapy had lower levels of mental ill-health than both starters and therapist-initiated nonstarters. The most frequently presented reason for a patient-initiated decision to not start therapy was “patient wished another treatment or therapist,” whereas the most common therapist-initiated reason was “recommended or referred to another treatment or clinic”.     

Who's the Pest? Imagining Human–Insect Futures Beyond Antagonism

Joining the effort to reimagine our relationships with insects, the Wellcome Collection's ‘Who's the Pest?’ programme attempts to challenge the stigma of insects as ill-disposed ‘bugs’. The article reviews two events in the series, the workshop ‘Insects au gratin’ and the debate ‘Insects vs. humans’, and places them in the context of recent engagements with ‘pests’ in the public realm.     

5～7岁自闭症谱系障碍儿童环境文字阅读的特点

以带有不同类型情境线索(包括颜色、图标和字体)的环境文字为材料,采用命名任务考察5～7岁28名自闭症谱系障碍儿童和30名正常儿童阅读环境文字的特点。结果发现:(1)在去掉环境文字中的图标后,自闭症谱系障碍儿童和正常儿童命名文字的得分都显著降低;(2)在消除环境文字的字体线索后,自闭症谱系障碍儿童命名文字的得分显著降低,但正常儿童却较少受影响;(3)在阅读环境文字时,无论是自闭症谱系障碍儿童还是正常儿童,识字量越多,儿童越少依赖图标线索的提示。这些结果表明,自闭症谱系障碍儿童在阅读环境文字时,受图标线索和字体线索的影响较大,为制定促进其阅读学习的早期识字干预方案提供参考。     

童年及当前环境压力对跨期选择的影响:时间感知的中介作用

本文分别以90名和70名大学生为被试,通过问卷调查和实验任务的方式,探究童年环境、当前环境压力、时间感知和跨期选择四者之间的关系。结果表明:(1)童年环境影响时间感知,相比童年社会经济地位高的个体,童年社会经济地位低的个体更倾向于高估时距。(2)在正常环境下,个体时间感知完全中介作用于童年环境和跨期选择之间的关系,童年环境通过影响个体时间感知进而影响个体的跨期选择。(3)在当前环境压力下,时间感知并未起到中介作用。研究表明,时间感知在童年压力与在当前环境压力条件下,对跨期选择的影响作用不同。     

Why people fail to bike the talk: Car dependence as a barrier to cycling

Antecedent conditions of cycling have been extensively studied, yet barriers that prevent individuals from choosing bicycle transportation are less known. The present study, conducted on a sample of individuals who were both cyclists and drivers (N = 280), investigated whether dependence on car transportation significantly reduces cycling frequency. It also assessed the predictive validity of a larger set of cycling determinants that included moral, objective environmental, demographic and car-related variables. Responses were analyzed using a structural equation modeling approach. Results show that moral considerations do little to predict cycling frequency and that car-related factors such as perceived behavioral control to reduce car use (β = 0.28) and car use habits (β = -0.27) have the strongest predictive power. Objective environmental factors such as temperature (β = -0.13) and altitude (β = -0.15) or demographic factors such as gender (β = 0.19) were also significant predictors of cycling frequency. The present study highlights a new perspective of understanding cycling behavior and pleads for the inclusion of car-related factors in its future conceptualizations and interventions to encourage it.