Violence as Worship: Religious Wars in the Age of Globalization,by Hans G. Kippenberg,trans. Brian McNeil,Stanford University Press: Stanford,CA, 2011, viii + 286 pp. ISBN 978 0 8047 68726, US$70 (cloth); ISBN 978 0 8047 6873 3, US$21.95 (paperback)

The author argues in this paper that the ‘state effects’ generated by religious movements – even those operating at the margins of societies – require us to consider anew the impact of religious movements on state formation. In Sri Lanka, for instance, evangelicals are a minority. Yet their practice of proselytizing to new audiences was considered ‘unethical,’ generating opposition that was directed not only at them, but also at ruling elites for failing to stem what was seen as an intrusion of incompatible ‘Western’ ideals. Instead of considering how such Christian movements seek to ‘take over’ the functions of the ‘state’ as has been the experience in the United States and parts of Latin America, the author illustrates in this article why it makes more theoretical sense to ask how their activities impinge upon the conceptual frameworks through which the ‘state’ is imagined.     

Frequency and predictability effects in eye fixations for skilled and less-skilled deaf readers

The illiteracy rate in the deaf population has been alarmingly high for several decades, despite the fact that deaf children go through the standard stages of schooling. Much research addressing this issue has focused on word-level processes, but in the recent years, little research has focused on sentence-levels processes. Previous research (Fischler, 1985) investigated word integration within context in college-level deaf and hearing readers in a lexical decision task following incomplete sentences with targets that were congruous or incongruous relative to the preceding context; it was found that deaf readers, as a group, were more dependent on contextual information than their hearing counterparts. The present experiment extended Fischler's results and investigated the relationship between frequency, predictability, and reading skill in skilled hearing, skilled deaf, and less-skilled deaf readers. Results suggest that only less-skilled deaf readers, and not all deaf readers, rely more on contextual cues to boost word processing. Additionally, early effects of frequency and predictability were found for all three groups of readers, without any evidence for an interaction between frequency and predictability.     

The Influence of Phonological Context on the Sound Errors of a Speaker with Wernicke's Aphasia

A corpus of phonological errors produced in narrative speech by a Wernicke's aphasic speaker (R.W.B.) was tested for context effects using two new methods for establishing chance baselines. A reliable anticipatory effect was found using the second method, which estimated chance from the distance between phoneme repeats in the speech sample containing the errors. Relative to this baseline, error-source distances were shorter than expected for anticipations, but not perseverations. R.W.B.'s anticipation/perseveration ratio measured intermediate between a nonaphasic error corpus and that of a more severe aphasic speaker (both reported in Schwartz et al., 1994), supporting the view that the anticipatory bias correlates to severity. Finally, R.W.B's anticipations favored word-initial segments, although errors and sources did not consistently share word or syllable position.     

Neuroticism and extraversion share genetic and environmental effects with negative and positive mood spillover in a nationally representative sample

Work-family spillover research focuses on how negative and positive moods in one life domain carry over to another. Domain-specific etiologies (e.g., family conflict) are often emphasized to explain spillover. Yet, strong correlations exist between spillover variables of the same emotional valence but originating from different domains, suggesting individual differences in the tendencies to prolong mood-states. The current study (N = 1143 individuals) examined whether these general tendencies are associated with neuroticism and extraversion and how genetic and environmental effects contribute to these associations. Findings revealed that neuroticism and extraversion are related to these tendencies through both genetic and environmental pathways.     

Evolutionary perspective on indirect victimization in adolescence: the role of attractiveness, dating and sexual behavior

We studied indirect victimization from an evolutionary perspective by examining links between this type of victimization and several indicators of attractiveness (past sexual behavior, dating frequency and physical appearance). Two thousand three hundred and nineteen (56% female) students (ages 13-18) from a region of southern Ontario, Canada, completed self-report measures of indirect victimization, physical appearance, dating frequency, recent sexual behavior (number of partners in previous month) and past sexual behavior (number of lifetime partners minus number of partners in previous month) as well as indexes of depression, aggression and attachment security, which were used to control for psychosocial maladjustment. Consistent with an evolutionary framework, physical appearance interacted significantly with gender, wherein attractive females were at greater risk for indirect victimization, whereas for males physical attractiveness was a protective factor, reducing risk of victimization. Physical appearance also interacted with grade, being inversely related to indirect victimization for younger adolescents and having a nonsignificant association with victimization for older youth. Finally, recent sexual behavior was associated with increased risk of indirect victimization for older adolescents only, which we discussed with regard to peer perceptions of promiscuity and short-term mating strategies. These findings have important implications for the development of interventions designed to reduce peer victimization, in that victims of indirect aggression may represent a rather broad, heterogeneous group, including attractive individuals with no obvious signs of maladjustment.     

A Regression Framework for Causal Mediation Analysis with Applications to Behavioral Science

We introduce and extend the classical regression framework for conducting mediation analysis from the fit of only one model. Using the essential mediation components (EMCs) allows us to estimate causal mediation effects and their analytical variance. This single-equation approach reduces computation time and permits the use of a rich suite of regression tools that are not easily implemented on a system of three equations. Additionally, we extend this framework to non-nested mediation systems, provide a joint measure of mediation for complex mediation hypotheses, propose new visualizations for mediation effects, and explain why estimates of the total effect may differ depending on the approach used. Using data from social science studies, we also provide extensive illustrations of the usefulness of this framework and its advantages over traditional approaches to mediation analysis. The example data are freely available for download online and we include the R code necessary to reproduce our results.     

Next Steps in Research on Children Exposed to Domestic Violence

The papers in this special issue of Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review provided an overview of what is known about children's exposure to domestic violence, and include indications of gaps in extant research. These gaps and research needs are summarized in this conclusion. Specifically, there is need for further research in several broad areas: definition and measurement of children's exposure to domestic violence; development of research methods and statistical designs that provide detailed information and provide for evidence of intervention effectiveness; impact of domestic violence on parenting and family functioning; the role of child factors and exposure to violence factors in predicting developmental risk and resilience; medical and health consequences of exposure to violence; and the nature of child-system interaction in response to domestic violence. Research needs in these areas are discussed in greater detail, and specific questions are raised for further development.     

Treating a Chronically Depressed Adolescent Female Using the Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy: A Case Study

A case is presented of an adolescent female with double depression who was treated using the Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP). CBASP is designed to teach a social problem-solving procedure called Situational Analysis (SA). Generalized treatment effects were measured through monitoring of diagnostic status, two administrations of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent, weekly administrations of the Child Depression Inventory, and acquisition performance ratings on the SA task. The results showed that CBASP appeared to be an effective treatment. The double depressive disorder remitted, and the patient learned to identify behavioral consequences as well as target and attain her interpersonal goals. CBASP can be effective for adolescents, although modifications of the adult form of the therapy may be necessary.     

Testing the ability of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to accurately report the effects of medication on their behavior

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are often treated with central nervous system stimulants, making the evaluation of medication effects an important topic for applied behavior analysts. Because assessment protocols emphasize informant reports and direct observations of child behavior, little is known about the extent to which children themselves can accurately report medication effects. Double-blind placebo-controlled procedures were used to examine whether 6 children with ADHD could recognize the effects of their medication. The children were given math worksheets to complete for 15 min during each of 14 sessions while on medication and placebo. Children completed a self-evaluation form at the end of each session, and ratings were compared to observed behavior and academic performance. Results indicated that 3 children were able to accurately report their medication status at levels greater than chance, whereas the accuracy of reports by all children was related to dosage level, differences in behavior, and the presence of adverse effects. The implications of these results for placebo-controlled research, self-monitoring of dosage levels, and accuracy training are discussed.