Book Reviews

Books reviewed:
George E. Marcus, W. Russell Newman, and Michael MacKuen, Affective Intelligence and Political Judgment
Micha Popper, Hypnotic Leadership:Leaders, Followers, and the Loss of Self
James W. Davis, Jr., Threats and Promises: The Pursuit of International Influence
Mark R. Warren, Dry Bones Rattling: Community Building to Revitalize American Democracy
Tali Mendelberg, The Race Card: Campaign Strategy, Implicit Messages, and the Norm of Equality     

Model Building With Prospect Theory: A Cognitive Approach to International Relations

Despite the growing call for new models of politics grounded in the capacities of real–world decision–makers, much international relations theory still incorporates rationalist assumptions. Scholars defend such assumptions as the best way to produce parsimonious theoretical structures. Recent attempts to deploy prospect theory in the study of international politics are consistent with the call for empirically grounded models of political behavior. However, past attempts have often emphasized individualized comparisons of prospect theory with rational choice at the expense of building deductive theory. The analysis here demonstrates that prospect theory can produce deductive models for empirical comparison with those already manufactured under rational choice. The result is a new set of propositions concerning international politics securely anchored to the actual capacities of human actors.     

A Psychobiographical Analysis of Faith, Hope, and Despair in Suicide

This paper presents a psychobiographical analysis of a young woman who committed suicide over 50 years ago. Among the documents analyzed are her letters, a high-school diary, creative writing, college newspaper book reviews, and academic papers. Using both an Eriksonian and object-relational theoretical framework, the roles of faith, hope, and despair in suicide—and the ways in which these were represented in the young woman's self-system—are analyzed. Although she possessed strong elements of both faith and hope, along with a will to implement them in a purposeful manner, she was prone to the defense mechanisms of splitting, devaluation, and dissociation, which led to an inability to create an abiding sense of self that may have prevented her descent to despair. Among other issues discussed in the article are the usefulness of psychobiography as a method of studying suicide and both the benefits and limitations of spiritual faith in countering depression and suicide.     

类别与数量空间关系识别加工中的练习效应研究

本研究通过检测20名飞行员及其控制组的视觉空间关系识别中的认知加工水平,旨在探讨视觉空间关系识别中的类别关系和数量关系加工子系统所表现出的练习效应水平的高低。研究结果表明,在参与视觉空间关系判断的两个典型加工子系统中,负责数量(坐标)空间关系判断的加工子系统随系统训练而表现出功能增强的练习效应。相对而言,涉及类别空间关系判断的加工子系统则较少受到练习的影响。研究揭示,由于受大脑神经解剖结构特点以及加工任务性质的影响,练习效应在神经网络上的分布是不平衡的。相对于类别空间关系加工子系统,数量空间关系加工子系统更多地表现出了练习效应这一典型的认知神经加工特性。     

Greenpeace campaign case study — StopEsso

As some corporations begin to enjoy power and influence on a scale comparable with or even more extensive than governments, it is consumers rather than voters who are starting to hold the key to political and social change. Companies which fail to take consumer opinion into account face real threats to their brand image, and ultimately to their bottom line. This case study explores the Greenpeace‐led StopEsso campaign, detailing the campaign history, strategy and tactics, and assessing its impact so far. It shows how negative consumer perceptions of ExxonMobil (Esso), based around the issue of the company's approach to climate change, are damaging the company's interests and that the changing interactions of other key stakeholders with the company could also threaten Exxon's competitiveness. It concludes that as corporate power increases, so must corporate responsibility, for consumers are increasingly unwilling to accept dishonest or unfair behaviour, and increasingly willing to withdraw their financial support for companies which fail to respond to their expectations. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications Ltd.     

政府权能道德的理论探源

政府权能的道德基础和道德限度为西方无数思想家所关注 ,由此形成了流派各异的思想理论 ,主要有政府建立基于更大的善业的理性权能观、政府使命在于实现公平与正义的正义权能观、政府权力源于公民权利让渡的契约权能观和政府边界止于个人自由和权利的功利权能观。这些政府权能道德理论在今天仍有十分重要的启示意义。     

Bioethics—Eleven Approaches

Abstract:  Using a case study, the author reviews 11 different approaches to bioethics, examining both their implications in clinical practice and their importance for clergy. In addition to the popular stress on patients' rights and principles in bioethics, the approaches include perspectives drawn from feminist ethics, phenomenology, ethnography, covenant views, virtue ethics, postmodernism, and casuistry. Lebacqz shows that each perspective may be important for stressing something different in the clinical setting, and suggests that clergy should be prepared to extend the range of views that may be operating in a given case.     

Of Power and Compassion

Abstract: While military and economic power are obviously central instruments of policy in international relations, there are a number of reasons why power alone is insufficient to succeed in fighting terrorism. Three central reasons are discussed in this essay: the limitations and the dilemma of power; the proposition that the most threatening form of terrorism, such as al‐Qaeda's, is conducted by nonstate actors, conventional deterrence against whom is less effective; and the role of motivation in conflicts where the distribution of power is asymmetrical. In addition to these objective reasons, it is argued that the foreign‐policy strategies pursued ultimately affect the actors' own values.     

利用时频分析研究非相位锁定脑电活动

时频分析技术自20世纪80年代被引入到心理学脑电数据分析领域以来, 克服了传统的时域ERP方法只能分析相位锁定成分的缺陷, 可以帮助研究者挖掘到脑电信号中非相位锁定的成分。在心理学领域, 应用最多的时频分析方法是小波变换和Hilbert变换, 而能量、相位一致性和耦合是三个最常用的分析指标。研究者利用不同的分析指标来揭示不同的心智过程。不同频段的能量被认为体现了不同的认知过程, 如α能量被发现与注意选择性有关, 而γ能量则与特征整合相关。相位一致性常被用于讨论ERP产生的机制。耦合则通常说明了长距离脑区之间的信息交流以及高级脑区对低级脑区的认知控制, 在完成各种复杂认知任务的时候会表现出不同的耦合模式。     

信任者权力对其人际信任的影响

信任者权力对其人际信任的影响是基于双方权力的不对等实现的还是取决于信任者自身的权力水平的问题值得研究。为此,本研究在实验一中考查了信任博弈任务中信任者的权力感（与被信任者的权力水平无关）对其人际信任的影响,在实验二中通过角色扮演任务操纵信任者与被信任者的权力关系（对等vs.不对等）,同时测量信任者的人际信任倾向。结果表明：信任者自身的权力感影响其人际信任,低权力感个体比高权力感个体更信任他人;双方权力对等与否对信任者的人际信任倾向没有影响。可见,信任者权力更多是作为信任者自身的属性特征影响其人际信任,而不以双方权力层级不对等为前提。