An overview of South African psychology

This overview of psychology in South Africa presents a concise and historical account of its science and practice, from its early origins in the late nineteenth century to the present, and traces seminal influences on the discipline. It is a review of how psychology in South Africa developed over more than a century to become one of the most popular subjects in universities and an established and recognized profession, whose members play a variety of roles in the South African polity and larger society. The impact that apartheid racism had on key aspects of psychology's development is traversed, and the influences that previous ruling party politics had on professional psychological organizations are delineated. The unification of psychology under the Psychological Society of South Africa, a few months before the advent of democracy in South Africa, is explicated. The protection of the title of psychologist in law and certain other changes in the legislative environment, enabling a greater role for psychologists, are reported. The primary research sites for psychology and its funding and the main university psychology programs are described, as are the requirements for registration and licensure. The genesis and the importance of the work of internationally acclaimed South African psychologists, such as J. Wolpe and A. A. Lazarus, are contextualized. With the increased participation of progressive black psychologists in leadership and research in the past two decades, a transformed psychology has the potential to play a significant role in addressing human issues confronting South Africa.     

Attention as a cueing function during kindergarten children's dimensional change task performance

The purpose of this experiment is to test whether shift flexibility in kindergarten children is a joint function of rule‐usage and inhibition of attention. Sixty‐six children were given either a distraction or facilitation condition in a computerized version of the dimensional change card sort task. In the distraction condition, the background of the post‐shift matching stimulus was inconsistent with the relevant matching dimension. In the facilitation condition, the background of the post‐shift matching stimulus was consistent with the relevant matching dimension. Results revealed that children made few errors in the standard version of the shift task, thereby supporting Cognitive complexity and control theory's contention that 5‐year‐old children shift easily across dimensions due to their use of higher‐order setting rules to solve contradictions. The proportion of errors increased however in the distraction condition suggesting that attention to the background interfered with children's ability to shift between dimensions. Therefore, these data provide evidence that refocusing attention to dimensions along with rule‐use processes affect shift flexibility and argue for the inclusion of both factors into theoretical accounts of shift performance. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

《周易》的“生态学”解读——从“还原”的角度

对于《周易》的研究,当代学者已从人文、象数、哲学乃至科学等角度进行解读,并取得了丰硕的成果。事实上,作为"天人之学"的《周易》蕴含了丰富的生态思想,其对生命的重视,对人与自然关系的认定乃至"与天与一"的宇宙观皆凸显了深层的生态关怀。无疑,在环境日益恶化的当下,回归经典寻求智慧不失为一种有益的探索。     

论张积中的三教观

自魏晋以来,儒释道三家思想并存发展成为了中国文化的显著特征之一。清末太谷学派作为流传于民间的一个学术派别,其三教观一直存在诸多争议。学派北宗传人张积中在山东肥城黄崖山聚徒讲学近十年,门人弟子遍及山左,现存遗著十九种,为太谷二传弟子中著述最多者。从张积中的三教观来看,他并非倡导三教合一,其三教观的核心是以弘扬儒家文化为基本理念,同时汲取佛道思想来完善其理论体系的太谷圣功之学,当属宋明"新儒家"思想在民间进行儒学传播的新尝试。     

创造者与大学生群体创造性思维品质的比较

比较两类群体在创造性思维品质的敏捷性、灵活性、深刻性和独创性四个方面的差异,进而分析差异产生的原因。采用词汇联想测验收集数据,被试为28位社会科学和艺术领域的创造者,30位相应学科大学生。结果:思维的深刻性和独创性方面差异显著,创造者明显优于领域新手,其他两方面没有显著差异。结论:作为专家的创造者在创造性思维的深度方面明显优于领域新手。在创造性人才的培养方面,应当注重学生思考力和思考深度的培养。     

Overvaluation of shape and weight in binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, and sub-threshold bulimia nervosa

Increasing empirical evidence supports the validity of binge eating disorder (BED), a research diagnosis in the appendix of DSM-IV, and its inclusion as a distinct and formal diagnosis in the DSM-V. A pressing question regarding the specific criteria for BED diagnosis is whether, like bulimia nervosa (BN), it should be characterized by overvaluation of shape and weight. This study compared features of eating disorders in 436 treatment-seeking women comprising four groups: 195 BED participants who overvalue their shape/weight, 129 BED participants with subclinical levels of overvaluation, 61 BN participants, and 51 participants with sub-threshold BN. The BED clinical overvaluation group had significantly higher levels of specific eating disorder psychopathology than the three other groups which did not differ significantly from each other. Findings suggest that overvaluation of shape and weight should not be considered as a required criterion for BED because this would exclude a substantial proportion of BED patients with clinically significant problems. Rather, overvaluation of shape and weight warrants consideration either as a diagnostic specifier or as a dimensional severity rating as it provides important information about severity within BED.     

Word use of outpatients with a personality disorder and concurrent or previous major depressive disorder

In a recent study, Rude, Gortner, and Pennebaker (2004) found word use to be related to depression and vulnerability to depression in the essays of college students. We sought to replicate and extend these findings in a clinical sample. Written essays of 304 psychiatric outpatients with a personality disorder and a mixed psychiatric profile on DSM-IV axis-I and 108 healthy controls were examined with word count software. Data on the tendency to be discrepant about the current self compared to a more ideal self were also gathered. We found that psychiatric outpatients in general used more words referring to the self and negative emotion words and fewer positive emotion words, compared to healthy controls. However, word-use proved unrelated to depression specifically. Actual-ideal self discrepancies were related to patient status and to current depression. Contrary to our hypothesis, these discrepancies did not correlate with the use of words referring to the self. We conclude that the negative content and self-focus of written essays and high levels of discrepancy reflect a negative thinking style that is common to a range of psychiatric disorders rather than being specific to depression.     

Covariation of self‐ and other‐directed aggression among inpatient youth: continuity in the transition to treatment and shared risk factors

Although other‐ and self‐directed aggression covary in very high‐risk youth, these forms of aggression infrequently are studied simultaneously. Understanding better their covariation is an important task for improving services to high‐risk youth. In this study, data from the clinical records of 476 youth admitted to secure inpatient treatment were analyzed to examine relations among self‐ and other‐directed aggression exhibit before and during inpatient treatment. Analyses tested the hypotheses that self‐ and other‐directed aggression would tend to covary and display continuity from pre‐treatment to in‐treatment. Also tested were the hypotheses that youth with histories of co‐occurring self‐ and other‐directed aggression would show the highest levels of aggression during treatment and the greatest degree of personal and contextual risk on entering treatment. These hypotheses were largely supported. Exploratory analyses revealed interesting discontinuities in aggression (aggression emitted only before or during treatment) with critical implications for research and practice with youth receiving clinical care, especially those in institutional placements. Aggr. Behav. 36:205–217, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

3～5岁幼儿在主题-规则冲突条件下的类比推理

本研究采用经典类比任务,考察了3～5岁幼儿在主题-规则冲突条件下类比推理发展的水平与特点.结果表明:(1)在无主题联想条件下,幼儿的单维类比推理在3～4岁迅速发展,4～5岁发展较为平缓,而双维类比推理在3～5岁仍处于较低水平.(2)在主题—规则冲突条件下,幼儿在单维类比推理中表现出一定的主题联想优势反应;幼儿在双维类比推理中表现出较强的主题联想优势反应,年龄特点为:3岁幼儿有较强的主题联想优势反应,4岁幼儿的主题联想优势反应明显下降,而5岁幼儿又表现出较强的主题联想优势反应.     

Are visual features of a looming or receding object processed in a capacity-free manner?

Numerous experiments have examined whether moving stimuli capture spatial attention but none have sought to determine whether visual features of looming and receding objects are extracted in a capacity-free manner. The current experiment (N = 28) used the task-choice procedure originated by Besner and Care (2003) to examine this possibility. Stimuli were presented in 3D space by manipulating retinal disparity. Results indicate that features of an object are extracted in a capacity-free manner for both looming and receding objects for participants who consciously perceive motion but not for participants who do not consciously perceive motion. These results suggest that the cognitive system is biased to process potentially animate objects, perhaps because of the evolutionary advantage this cognitive ability may provide.