Some Implications of Beliefs in Altruism,Free Will,and Nonreductionism

ABSTRACT

In this research, we explored correlates of individuals’ beliefs in altruism, free will, and nonreductionism, as opposed to contrasting beliefs in psychological egoism, determinism, and biological reductionism. Beliefs in altruism, free will, and nonreductionism were associated with heightened a) senses of meaning in life, b) levels of life satisfaction, c) beliefs in morality as a legitimate and important dimension of life, and d) standards of personal moral conduct; they were not associated with levels of social isolation. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Is an outgroup member in need a friend indeed? Personal and task‐oriented contact as predictors of intergroup prosocial behavior

Intergroup contact, particularly close personal contact, has been shown to improve intergroup relations, mainly by reducing negative attitudes and emotions toward outgroups. We argue that contact can also increase intergroup prosocial behavior. More specifically, we predict that different forms of contact will differentially impact on prosocial behavior directed at individual outgroup members and outgroups as a whole. Data of two studies (N₁ = 264, N₂ = 185), conducted with workgroups in two organizations, show that personal contact is a better predictor of prosocial behavior directed at individual outgroup members, whereas task‐oriented contact is a better predictor of prosocial behavior directed at an outgroup as a whole. Additionally, Study 2 provides evidence that empathy mediates the path from personal contact to individual‐directed prosocial behavior, whereas reward (but not cost) considerations mediate the path from task‐oriented contact to outgroup‐directed prosocial behavior. Implications for research on intergroup contact and prosocial behavior are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implementation and Development of Federally-Funded Systems of Care Over Time

This study describes development in federally funded systems of care. Data for this study were collected using the System of Care Assessment that rated grantees' enactment of system of care principles in the infrastructure and service delivery domains. Data were collected by trained raters who conducted several site visits over the funding period. This study described system development over time across 61 sites and tested whether gains were statistically significant. Latent profile analysis was used to explore whether sites could be meaningfully grouped based on their baseline service delivery domain scores. Differences across groups were tested in terms of community, system, and client characteristics. Differential growth across groups was also examined. Overall, systems of care developed over time in both the infrastructure and service delivery domains. Although infrastructure scores were generally lower than service delivery scores, greater gains were seen for the infrastructure domain. Three groups of sites were identified that could be distinguished in terms of degree of development overall, and for specific system of care principles. The groups of sites differed in terms of community factors, system features, and client characteristics. In addition, repeated measures analyses found differential growth in system development over time across groups.     

Systems Theory,Family Attachments and Processes of Triangulation: Does the Concept of Triangulation Offer a Useful Bridge?

This article reviews the usefulness of the systemic concept of triangulation as a bridge between systemic thinking and practice and attachment theory. Traditionally attachment theory has theorized and researched with dyads, parent‐child and adult romantic partners, whereas systemic theory has worked therapeutically with the triangle as the basic human relationship; that is, when any two people interact, their interactions are influenced by their respective relationships with the same third person. Here it is argued, for example, that a child's attachment representations are shaped not only by the relationship with each parent but with the relationship between them. Thus, the process of triangulation in intimate relationships is seen in this article to link attachment theory with systemic thinking, as systemic theory needs a theory of love and attachment theory needs to consider how intimate relationships are nested and interconnected in an attachment network.     

Beyond Resilience: Glimpses into Women’s Posttraumatic Growth after Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Little focus is given to the pathways victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) use to move toward posttraumatic growth. A sample of 32 female participants was recruited through advertising in domestic violence shelters. Women were interviewed about their experiences with four main themes emerging from women’s narratives related to posttraumatic growth: deliberateness of action, ending the cycle for the children, a changed perspective on life, and alternative perceptions of social support. Opportunities for professions working with this population in a number of various of settings is presented to promote long-term changes for women affected by IPV.     

Making decisions about now and later: Development of future-oriented self-control

This study explored factors underlying preschoolers’ ability to make future-oriented choices. In a delay-of-gratification choice task, quantity and visibility of the reward was systematically varied. Participants included 90 typically developing children aged 2–4 years. Children made more choices to delay gratification as the quantity of the reward increased from 1 to 4 stickers, but covering the reward did not have an effect. The study extends previous findings on delay of gratification choice tasks in suggesting a developmental pattern beginning with an early appearing “hot” motivational system. Having children think about the present self versus the future self presumably activates a second “cool” representational system. Age differences in the development of this system and its integration with the motivational system may be at the heart of the “U” shaped function observed in the present work, one in which simpler abilities underlying self-control develop in parallel and integrate to produce more complex behaviour. The study thus contributes to our understanding of the development of future-oriented self-control, a milestone central to socialization and the definition of the self.     

Nonlinear change processes and the emergence of suicidal behavior: A conceptual model based on the fluid vulnerability theory of suicide

Although ideation-to-action theories of suicide aim to explain the emergence of suicidal behaviors, researchers have primarily focused on the content of underlying mechanisms (i.e., who dies by suicide). Much less attention has focused on the temporal dynamics of suicide risk (i.e., when suicide occurs). The fluid vulnerability theory conceptualizes suicide as an inherently dynamic construct that follows a nonlinear time course. Newer research implicates the existence of multiple nonlinear change processes among suicidal individuals, some of which appear to be associated with the emergence of suicidal behavior. The cusp catastrophe model provides a useful model for conceptualizing these change processes and provides a foundation for explaining a number of poorly understood phenomena including sudden emergence of suicidal behavior without prior suicidal planning. The implications of temporal dynamics for suicide-focused theory, practice, and research are discussed.     

Beyond sensorimotor segregation: On mirror neurons and social affordance space tracking

Mirror neuron research has come a long way since the early 1990s, and many theorists are now stressing the heterogeneity and complexity of the sensorimotor properties of fronto-parietal circuits. However, core aspects of the initial ‘mirror mechanism’ theory, i.e. the idea of a symmetric encapsulated mirroring function translating sensory action perceptions into motor formats, still appears to be shaping much of the debate. This article challenges the empirical plausibility of the sensorimotor segregation implicit in the original mirror metaphor. It is proposed instead that the teleological organization found in the broader fronto-parietal circuits might be inherently sensorimotor. Thus the idea of an independent ‘purely perceptual’ goal understanding process is questioned. Further, it is hypothesized that the often asymmetric, heterogeneous and contextually modulated mirror and canonical neurons support a function of multisensory mapping and tracking of the perceiving agents affordance space. Such a shift in the interpretative framework offers a different theoretical handle on how sensorimotor processes might ground various aspects of intentional action choice and social cognition. Mirror neurons would under the proposed “social affordance model” be seen as dynamic parts of larger circuits, which support tracking of currently shared and competing action possibilities. These circuits support action selection processes—but also our understanding of the options and action potentials that we and perhaps others have in the affordance space. In terms of social cognition ‘mirror’ circuits might thus help us understand not only the intentional actions others are actually performing—but also what they could have done, did not do and might do shortly.     

A Trauma-Informed Call to Action: Culturally-Informed,Multidisciplinary Theoretical and Applied Approaches to Prevention and Healing

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of trauma and its negative impact on humankind has created a burgeoning awareness of the need for systems that are trauma-informed across the lifespan. A collaborative project with the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence (NPEIV) sought out research as a call-to-action to mitigate the impact of trauma. The following is an introduction to a special double-issue focused on theoretical and applied approaches to using trauma-informed care in multi-disciplinary, mental and physical health, criminal justice, school-based, and community settings. Consideration is given to essential issues such as resilience, self-care, and cultural awareness.