Simul What? Toward a Grace for the Fearful

The doctrines of forensic justification and simul iustus et peccator assume a primarily moral theo‐cosmology. However, the former constricts the excessiveness of divine grace, while the latter fails to adequately capture the fullness of the human condition. Freeing divine grace and theological anthropology from the moral requires a shift in emphasis toward suffering and an acknowledgment that a deep root of sin is creaturely vulnerability. In this case, the incurved self might symbolize the fearful, pulling goods toward the self for protection. While accountability for sin remains important, the first response to the fearful, who act from a sense of deep vulnerability, is compassion rather than judgment. In this way grace attends to but ultimately exceeds the moral.     

Positive affect predicts less reacquisition of fear: relevance for long-term outcomes of exposure therapy

Much emphasis in fear conditioning research is placed on understanding extinction learning, partly because of its application in treating anxiety disorders. Return of fear after extinction is a problem affecting long-term maintenance of treatment gains. The present study evaluated whether positive affect (PA) is associated with lower rates of reacquisition, or, an increase in fear following re-pairings of the conditional stimulus (CS+) and unconditional stimulus (US; e.g. electric shock) after extinction. Results showed that higher PA before and after extinction was associated with less CS+ fear during reacquisition as measured by skin conductance arousal and US expectancy. Conversely, negative affect was not associated with reacquisition of fear using any measure. These results provide implications for reducing reacquisition with exposure therapy for anxiety disorders.     

干预条件性恐惧记忆表达的相关影响因素分析

创伤后应激障碍是个体经历严重应激后形成的一种焦虑障碍, 对其治疗的关键是熄灭由创伤应激导致的条件性恐惧记忆。条件性恐惧的动物模型研究发现恐惧记忆一旦获得后就难以熄灭, 容易复发, 而这一点也是PTSD的关键临床症状表现之一。因此, 如何更好更持久地熄灭恐惧记忆, 是一个具有重要理论和临床意义的研究热点。本文围绕促进恐惧记忆的长久消退和破坏恐惧记忆的再巩固两方面的行为或药理干预及机制进行综述。针对本文所述的几种基础实验处理, 临床上可以研究治疗创伤后应激障碍的相应疗法。     

The Fear of Death

Taking a somewhat indirect route that includes some autobiographical reflection, I address three questions. One is what it might mean to say, with Socrates, that philosophy is "studying for death". The second is why Christians should fear death at all, if the good of Heaven is really what they believe is beyond it. The third is the question what difference it makes to your philosophical view of death if you are a believer.     

Gender and Risk in Public Performance

The scarcity of women as contestants on the nationally televised quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire provided the impetus to study gender and risk. In three simulated studies we investigated perception of risk and decision making about whether to engage in a televised public performance. Gender differences consistent with the risk assessment literature were found. Women considered going on the show to be more personally risky, were more concerned about doing poorly in public, and were less likely to risk entering their names. Results were discussed in terms of motivation to avoid negative social consequences. Implications of the findings for women's participation in public life are discussed.     

Is pain-related fear a predictor of somatosensory hypervigilance in chronic low back pain patients?

Pain-related fear has been found to be associated with increased disability and increased pain perception in patients with chronic low back pain. A possible mechanism by which pain-related fear could lead to increased pain perception is heightened attention to somatosensory sensations. In the present study, chronic pain patients reporting either a high or low level of pain related fear and control participants performed an auditory reaction time task, while occasionally non-painful electrical stimuli--accompanied by threatening instructions--were given to the arm or back. In the primary task condition, participants had to perform the auditory task while ignoring the electrical stimuli. Next, the task was presented under dual task conditions in which participants had to respond both to tones as well as to detection of electrical stimuli. It was hypothesized that for the primary task, high fearful patients would show greater disruption of performance on the auditory task than low fearful patients and controls when stimuli were presented to the back. For the dual task, slower reaction times for the auditory task, in combination with faster detection of electrical stimuli was expected. The hypotheses were not confirmed but patients scoring high on pain-related fear did show an overall increase in reaction time for all conditions of the primary task, with or without simultaneous stimulation. Regression analyses demonstrated that high pain-related fear was associated with increased reaction time to tones both in patients and healthy controls, and that within patients pain-related fear was a better predictor of reaction time to tones than present pain intensity. The findings may be interpreted as showing that patients with elevated levels of pain-related fear habitually attend to somatic sensations, giving less priority to other attention-demanding tasks.     

Fear reactivity and effortful control in overt and relational bullying: a six-month longitudinal study

This study examined the roles of fear reactivity and emotional regulatory abilities in overt and relational bullying behaviors. Survey data were collected from 124 middle school students (mean age=10.3 years, 47% males, 61% Caucasian) and their teachers in the fall and spring of a school year. Surveys included teacher- and self-rated measures of students' overt and relational bullying along with self-reported fear reactivity and effortful control. Findings show that low levels of fear reactivity and effortful control predict higher future levels of overt bullying, but not relational bullying. These results suggest that despite high correlations between overt and relational bullying, these two forms of aggression develop through different processes. The findings from this investigation are discussed with respect to their implications for theory on the development of aggression as well as prevention and intervention programming for youth aggression.     

Demonstrating “Reasonable Fear” at Trial: Is it Science or Junk Science?

This paper explores how scientific knowledge is used in a criminal case. I examine materials from an admissibility hearing in a murder trial and discuss the dynamics of contesting expert scientific opinion and evidence. The research finds that a purported form of “science” in the relevant scientific community is filtered through, tested by, and subjected to legal standards, conceptions, and procedures for determining admissibility. The paper details how the opposing lawyers, the expert witness, and the judge vie to contingently work out what will count in court as appropriate scientific authority, methods and evidence, and as a scientifically valid and legally admissible account of “reasonable fear.” When science becomes enmeshed in legal controversies, science does not trump law. Rather, it is the court’s canons of proper procedure and measures of substantive adequacy that take precedence.

“成功恐惧”的研究述评

自20世纪60年代霍纳提出"成功恐惧"概念以来,它一直是学者们争相争论的神秘焦点,本文尝试解开"成功恐惧"之谜,介绍"成功恐惧"的概念,研究现状和原因.研究的测量方式.最后提出展望。     

Populism and religion: On the politics of fear

Our societies of fear go along with an increase of populist movements in politics. This article explains the basics of populism and shows how easily it joins highly likely political friend‐enemy patterns. Anthropologically, we have to deal with parochial altruism undergirded by a static type of religion. A further step deals with the relationship between politics and fear by referring to terror management theory and its insight into the relationship between mortality and fear. The concluding part addresses ways out of fear and in what way a dynamic type of religion helps to avoid scapegoating and political enmity.