bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Superstitions Among Certain Groups of Lebanese Arab Students in Beirut
Authors: Za'Rour George I.
Published: March 2007

This study is partly exploratory to assess the extent to which superstitious beliefs and behavior are common among different groups of high school and university Lebanese Arab students in Beirut. Class level, sex, high school science achievement, and major were the main variables that were investigated as to their relevance to superstitiousness. More than 600 students in the 8th and 11th high school grades and university sophomores answered 59 items relating to superstitions with respect to acquaintance, belief in, and influence on behavior. It was found that superstitiousness significantly decreases with increasing level of education. Among the other variables investigated, the major findings were that among the university sophomore students, females and arts students were respectively more superstitious than males and science students.
Conservatism Measures in Papua New Guinea
Authors: Jones John , Shea John
Published: March 2007

A modification of a previously used "catch-phrase" approach in measuring conservatism was used in Papua New Guinea. Results were compared with data collected earlier in New Zealand. Problems of equating New Zealand and Papua New Guinea political affiliation in an effort to gauge subjects' conservatism led to the use of church attendance and divergent thinking abilities as external criteria. Degree of European contact, rapid social change, and homogeneity of religious experience may help account for the unexpected high, but nonlinear, relationship between high divergent thinking and high conservatism.
Cognitive Style in Urban and Rural Korea
Authors: Park Jong-Young , Gallimore Ronald
Published: March 2007

Differences in cognitive style between rural and urban children in the Republic of Korea were compared. A total of 271 boys and girls randomly sampled from the fourth to eighth grade in an urban center and a rural town were administered an embedded figures test and a test of conceptual styles. The urban children showed higher field-independence scores and higher analytic conceptualization. A hypothesis formulated by Witkin et al. (1974) suggests the rural-urban differences in field-independence may be attributable to differential importance attached by parents to social conformity. Differences in conceptual style may be similarly explained. The two cognitive variables were moderately correlated for this sample.
The Social Regulation of Responses to Moral Dilemmas among Brazilian Schoolchildren
Authors: Scheibe Karl E. , Spaccaquerche Maria Elci
Published: March 2007

Procedures developed by Bronfenbrenner for assessing the responses of children to moral dilemmas were applied to 234 brazilian children. Three forms of a questionnaire were administered under conditions in which responses were ostensibly to be reviewed by adults, by peers, or, in the base condition, by no group at all. Unlike the typical pattern of results when this technique has been applied in other countries, the Brazilian children were unaffected by the three experimental treatments. The general level of responses which corresponded to adult morality was quite high-higher than for any sample obtained in the Western Hemisphere. Sex differences for the Brazilian sample were atypical in that male responses tended to be more moralistic than female responses. Comparative data are presented on 19 previous applications of these procedures.
Values Expressed in Egyptian Children's Readers
Authors: Suleiman Michael W.
Published: March 2007

Several hypotheses concerning values and societal development, with special reference to Egypt between 1952 and 1972, were tested. Content analysis of stories in Egyptian children's readers for the pre- 1952 period and the 1972-1973 academic year showed no significant rise in achievement, affiliation, or power imageries and no significant decline in moral teaching in the later period. Two main arguments were offered to explain why the results of this study did not conform to popular "universal" theories. The first suggested that textbook writers in both periods came from similar social backgrounds. The second explanation maintained that motivation is a function of factors other than social and economic changes and that different countries might react differently to such changes.
Psychomotor Development of Two-Year-Old Children in Jerusalem
Authors: Palti Hava , Gitlin M. , Zloto Rivka
Published: March 2007

This investigation studied the effect of maternal region of birth and education on the psychomotor development of 512 two-year-old children born in Jerusalem. Children of immigrants from Western countries scored significantly higher in the Brunet-Lézine test than children whose parents came from Eastern countries. No statistically significant differences were found in the scores of children of Israeli-born mothers whether they originated from Eastern or Western countries. Mothers' education was significantly related to the developmental quotient (DQO of the child, whereas the effect of region of birth of mother was not significant when education was statistically controlled. A rise in education and acculturation of immigrants from Eastern countries in Israel may explain the lack of difference in the DQ score in the second-generation Israel children studied.
Color Bias among Young Japanese Children
Authors: Iwawaki Saburo , Sonoo Kenichi , Williams John E. , Best Deborah L.
Published: March 2007

Previous studies of preschool children in the United States and Western Europe had demonstrated a bias favoring the color white relative to the color black, and a bias favoring light-skinned human figures. In this study, procedures used in previous studies were translated and administered to Japanese preschoolers, aged 40 to 73 months. Both types of bias were found among the Japanese children indicating that pro-white and pro-light-skinned biases are not confined to Western groups. An interesting difference was the indication that the biases were more highly correlated with age among Japanese children and, hence, seemed more likely to be attributable to cultural learning.
Rote Learning and Semantic Clustering
Authors: Thomas Lynn , Bolton Ralph
Published: March 2007

A one-trial free recall test was administered to 27 children in a Quechua-speaking community in the highlands of Canchis Province, Peru. The responses were used to assess hypotheses that rote memorization processes and semantic clustering are employed by these subjects to recall words. Presentation-recall order correlations, distances on the presentation list of items recalled adjacently, "recall" of items not presented, and a matrix of distances between words for all pairs of words are discussed. The results indicate that rote processing and semantic clustering are used by these subjects. Sex differences in patterns of response are also explored, and suggestions are made concerning future directions which might be followed in designing free recall tests for cross-cultural research.
Sensorimotor Behavior of Baganda and Samia Infants
Authors: Kilbride Philip L.
Published: March 2007

Previous research has demonstrated that Baganda infants of Uganda are comparatively advanced in their rate of sensorimotor development. This finding of precocity has been replicated in a number of African societies, giving rise to the "African precocity" issue. The present study reports data on smiling, sitting, and crawling skills for the Samia of Kenya. These data are compared with Baganda and U.S. norms to show that an understanding of the African precocity issue is enhanced by taking into account the adult sociocultural order, societal values, and specific childcare practices conceptualized as an interrelated system. The present data are also considered in terms of a biocultural, ecological perspective which represents an alternate interpretation of precocious infant development.
Attitudes toward Rape
Authors: L'Armand Kathleen , Pepitone Albert , Shanmugam T. E.
Published: March 2007

In comparing attitudes toward rape in India and in the United States, it was predicted that: (1) because of the importance of female chastity in Indian society, information about victim chastity would influence judgments about rape more in India than in the United States, and (2) because of cultural differences in concepts of individual self-determination, Indian respondents would blame both criminal and victim less than would Americans. Respondents (N = 473) were asked to make judgments about varied rape cases. Information about victim chastity affected judgments by both groups of respondents, although Indian respondents stated this as a reason for their judgments much more frequently than did Americans. Indian respondents tended to blame both criminal and victim less than did Americans, emphasizing instead the circumstances surrounding the offense.
The Emic Strategy in the Identification and Assessment of Personality Dimensions in a Non-Western Culture
Authors: Church A. Timothy , Katigbak Marcia S.
Published: March 2007

The rationale for, and steps for executing, an emic (culture-specific) strategy in the identification and assessment of personality dimensions in non-Western cultures is discussed. We argue that the emic strategy has been underused, and that it best precedes attempts to demonstrate cross-cultural(etic) links or generalities. Four steps in the emic strategy are described: (1) identification of emic concepts, (2) generation of culture-relevant items to assess emic concepts,(3) emic validation of emic dimensions, and (4) relating emic and imposed-etic dimensions in a search for etic or universal dimensions. In a Philippine illustration of these steps, emic personality dimensions (scales) tapping Filipino college students' emic concepts of healthy personality showed variable links to existing U.S. personality dimensions, which in turn showed only fair generalizability to the Philippine setting.
Cultural Influences on Visual Scanning Patterns
Authors: Abed Farough
Published: March 2007

Visual scanning studies involving more than one cultural group have demonstrated differences in scanning behavior. These studies have all used recall to test for scanning patterns. Eye movement research, which directly records scanning behavior, has traditionally employed Western subjects. The present experiment used eye movement photography to study cultural influences on visual scanning patterns. Thirty adult subjects were tested, representing the Western, Middle Eastern, and East Asian cultures. Data on location of fixations and direction of saccades (horizontal or vertical and right to left or left to right) were collected. No significant differences were found for location of fixations. Data on the direction of saccades revealed significant differences, all of which reflected the reading habits of the different cultures. These data corroborated the results of previous cross-cultural studies.
A Cross-Cultural Study of Self-Report Depressive Symptoms among College Students
Authors: Crittenden Kathleen S. , Fugita Stephen S. , Bae Hyunjung , Lamug Corazon B. , Un Chien
Published: March 2007

A study of self-report depressive symptoms as measured by the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) was conducted in three Asian countries-Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan - and in the United States. Mean scores for the 966 college students varied significantly across countries, with Korean students reporting high levels of depressive symptoms. Further, there are marked differences between countries in symptomatic manifestations, even after controlling for between-country differences in response set and overall level of symptoms. Future research addressed to cross-cultural differences in level and manifestations of depression should incorporate (a) research designs that control for identifiable measurement artifacts and (b) triangulation of measurement strategies.
Beliefs, Value Orientation, and Culture in Attribution Processes and Helping Behavior
Authors: Betancourt Hector , Hardin Curtis , Manzi Jorge
Published: March 2007

Two experiments were conducted to investigate: (a) the influence of the "subjugation control over nature" value orientation, a dimension of cultural variation, on attribution processes; and (b) the effect of activation of beliefs associated with this value orientation on attribution processes and helping behavior. In Experiment 1, introductory psychology students were classified as either "control" or "subjugation" oriented according to scores obtained from a measure of the value orientation. Results suggest an effect of value orientation on attributions for a behavioral outcome. In Experiment 2, an attribution empathy model of helping behavior was examined in relation to activation of beliefs associated with the "control over nature" value orientation. This model was tested using Bentler's program for the analysis of structural equations. Results show that beliefs interact with empathy to influence helping behavior. Overall, the two studies suggest the importance and feasibility of investigating cultural factors in models of social behavior even when studies are conducted within a single culture.
Cooperation and Competition in Chinese and American Children
Authors: Domino George
Published: March 2007

The hypothesis that Chinese children would be more cooperative than American children was tested in a group of 76 Chinese children and 76 American children by use of the Social Values Task, a game-like choice task where each child selects a number of tokens for him- or herself and an unspecified other. Six patterns of outcome preferences are possible. Chinese children gave equality responses most often, followed by group enhancement responses, whereas American children gave individualistic and competitive responses more frequently.
Extreme Response Style and Acquiescence among Hispanics
Authors: Marin Gerardo , Gamba Raymond J. , Marin Barbara V.
Published: March 2007

Secondary analyses were carried out with four large data sets that included responses by Hispanics (N = 1,908) and by non-Hispanic Whites (N = 14,425). Results are fairly consistent in showing that Hispanics prefer extreme responses to a greater extent than non-Hispanic Whites. In general, Hispanics prefer to agree with a given item more than non-Hispanic Whites. Two significant variables seem to affect the rate at which these response styles are chosen. First, the level of acculturation among Hispanics affects the level of extreme and acquiescent responses so that as Hispanics acculturate they tend to choose these types of response less frequently. The less educated respondents (less than 12 years of formal education) tend to make more extreme choices than the more highly educated (those with at least a secondary education). Gender does not affect these response sets in a consistent fashion.
Cultural Differences and Cross-Cultural Similarities in Appraisals and Emotional Responses
Authors: Roseman Ira J. , Dhawan Nisha , Rettek S. Ilsa , Naidu R. K. , Thapa Komilla
Published: March 2007

To conduct a cross-cultural test of a theory specifying the appraisals that elicit particular emotions, undergraduates from India and the United States were asked how they appraised events that caused them to feel sadness, fear, or anger. In both cultures there was evidence that an appraisal of powerlessness characterized incidents leading to sadness and fear, rather than anger; and an appraisal that other persons caused negative events characterized incidents leading to anger, rather than sadness or fear. Also, Indians appraised events as less discrepant from what they had wanted than Americans did; this accounted for lower sadness and anger among Indians. Overall, cultural differences in appraisal explained cultural differences in emotion, due to underlying cross-cultural similarities in appraisal-emotion relationships.
The "Belief in a Just World" Construct in Hungary
Authors: Dalbert Claudia , Katona-Sallay Hedvig
Published: March 2007

Cross-sectional studies were conducted to examine whether the belief in a just world formed a unidimensional construct in Hungary. Overall, from 1991 to 1994, the scale became increasingly more homogeneous, ultimately measuring a unidimensional construct from 1993 onward. Studies conducted in Slovenia and Slovalia suggested hat these changes in the just world structure could not be explained by societal factors such as a changing political system. Support for the validity of the Hungarian just world scale was gained by finding positive associations between just world belief and satisfaction with one's (past) life and religiosity. Moreover, cross-sectional comparisons during 1993 indicated that Hungarian subjects differentiated more strongly between just world belief and belief in future compensation than did German subjects. Further, for Hungarian subjects, just world belief and belief in future compensation correlated positively with religiosity; for Germans, only the belief in future compensation correlated positively with religiosity.
Individualism-Collectivism
Authors: Fjneman Yvonne A. , Willemsen Madde E. , Poortinga Ype H. , Erelcin Fatos G. , Georgas James , Hui C. Harry , Leung Kwok , Malpass Roy S.
Published: March 2007

Individualism-collectivism emerges from the literature as a high-order concept, explaining cross-cultural differences over a wide range of situations, with collectivists more inclined than individualists to provide for others. The present study challenges this conceptualization. Not only the readiness to support others (input) but also the expectation to receive support (output) has to be taken into account. Subjects in Hong Kong, Turkey, Greece, The Netherlands, and the United States (New York State) completed a questionnaire asking how much support they expected to receive from and give to persons in a range of social categories. Results showed that (a) the ratio between input and output as well as (b) the patterning of input and output over social categories were similar in all samples. Ratings of emotional closeness that were also obtained could account for most variance between social categories. The findings fit an interpretation of cross-cultural differences in terms of specific patterns of interpersonal relationships.
Contextual Influences on Ethnic Identity among Hawaiian Students in the Mainland United States
Authors: Ichiyama Michael A. , McQuarrie Edward F. , Ching Kristine L.
Published: March 2007

A sample of 19 residents of Hawaii were surveyed after their social context changed from majority group to minority group status as a result of relocation to the mainland United States to attend college. Multivariate statistical methods were used to evaluate the effects of group attitudes and length of residence in the mainland on ethnic identity and affiliative behavior. Results showed (a) an internalization of the perceived attitudes of mainland students with respect to the attitudes held by Hawaiian students toward their own group, (b) a strong association between Hawaiian students' attitudes toward their own group and affiliation with other Hawaiian students, (c) a marked reduction in the perceived favorability of attitudes of mainland students after the first year of mainland residence, (d) a decline in Hawaiian identification with increasing years of mainland residence, and (e) no association between Hawaiian identification and affiliative behavior toward fellow Hawaiian students.
A Cross-Cultural Study of Moral Stage Structure in Hong Kong Chinese, English, and Americans
Authors: Ma Hing Keung , Cheung Chau-Kiu
Published: March 2007

The hierarchical structure of Kohlberg's stages of moral judgment development was tested by conducting unidimensional unfolding on the stage scores generated by the rating responses to Rest's Defining Issues Test. The sample consisted of 620 Chinese subjects in Hong Kong, 100 English subjects in London, and 353 American subjects in the United States. The results supported the hierarchical structure, provided that a reduced Stage 4 score was constructed by deleting a few Stage 4 issue statements. Results also indicated that there were obvious cultural differences in perception of the Stage 4 issue statements. The Chinese tended to regard the Stage 4 statements as more similar to those of Stages 5 and 6, whereas the English and Americans tended to regard the Stage 4 statements as more similar to those of Stages 2 and 3. This finding is interpreted in terms of a cultural difference in the perspectives on social order, norm, and law.
Observer Mood and Cross-Racial Recognition of Faces
Authors: Teitelbaum Stephanie , Geiselman R. Edward
Published: March 2007

Cross-race recognition (CRR) was examined for White and Black faces with participants from four racial groups: Whites, Blacks, Latinos, and Asians. Before viewing the faces, participants were asked to complete a passage to induce either a pleasant or an unpleasant mood. Each participant viewed a set of intermixed Black and White faces under each mood condition. A strong CRR effect was observed between Black and White participants, such that participants from either racial group were more likely to recognize faces of their own race and more likely to have a false alarm to faces of the other race. Latinos and Asians also were less accurate in their recognition of Black faces than Black participants, but they were no less accurate in their recognition of White faces than White participants. Face recognition was more accurate when participants from any of the racial groups were induced to be in unpleasant moods versus pleasant moods. However, mood did not interact with the CRR effect, and thus mood is unlikely to be a mediating variable for the effect.
A Comparison of Achievement and Aspirations of New Zealand Chinese and European Students
Authors: Chung Rita Chi-Ying , Walkey Frank H. , Bemak Fred
Published: March 2007

The study found significant differences in educational and occupational aspirations of New Zealand-born Chinese students and their European counterparts. These aspirations were consistent with parental expectations. Although the parental pressure motivated Chinese students to succeed, it appeared to have a negative effect on their perception of their abilities.
The Structured Assessment of Personality across Cultures
Authors: Paunonen Sampo V. , Ashton Michael C.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this article is to review several popular, structured, personality questionnaires in terms of their applicability in cross-cultural assessment contexts. Prior to our review, we describe the types of psychometric data that can be used to support claims of a measure's cross-cultural applicability. More important, we list several factors, not all of which have to do with the measure itself, that can undermine such cross-cultural evidence. We then review relevant cross-cultural data on the California Psychological Inventory, the Comrey Personality Scales, the 16 Personality Factors Questionnaire, the Pavlovian Temperament Survey, the Personality Research Form, and the Nonverbal Personality Questionnaire. We show that those inventories have each demonstrated mostly replicable factor structures across cultures. In contrast, relatively little data are available regarding the cross-cultural generality of their criterion validities.
Indigenous Personality Measures
Authors: Guanzon-Lapeña Ma. Angeles , Church A. Timothy , Carlota Annadaisy J. , Katigbak Marcia S.
Published: March 2007

After noting the need for indigenous scale construction efforts in the Philippines, the current article focuses on the development and current status of two multidimensional measures of Filipino personality constructs, plus two projects that are investigating indigenous Filipino personality structure. In a final section, we note apparent convergences between the personality dimensions identified and assessed by these four projects and consider how these dimensions might relate to purported universal dimensions of personality (i.e., the "Big Five" dimensions).
Emotional Expression in Japan and the United States
Authors: Stephan Cookie White , Stephan Walter G. , Saito Isamu , Barnett Shara Morrison
Published: March 2007

In this study, the impact of individualism-collectivism at the cultural and individual level on the expression of emotion in Japan and the United States was examined. Individualism-collectivism expectations at the cultural level were partially supported, and only weak effects of individualism-collectivism at the individual level were found. The data are consistent with socialization into individualistic and collectivistic values as well as the lessening of these influences in U.S. and Japanese society. They support the idea that individualism-collectivism is not a comprehensive and precise dimension but rather a loose collection of many different cultural characteristics.
Mediated Learning and Cognitive Modifiability
Authors: Tzuriel David , Kaufman Ruth
Published: March 2007

This study examines the relation between mediated learning experience (MLE) and cognitive modifiability among children who underwent cultural change. The case of Ethiopian immigrant children who had to adapt to Israeli society, tested by a dynamic assessment (DA) approach, was used. Our main hypothesis, based on L. S. Vygotsky’s (1978) zone of proximal development concept and R. Feuerstein’s (1991) MLE theory, was that these immigrants would reveal cultural difference but not cultural deprivation. A group of first-grade Ethiopian immigrants was compared with a group of Israeli-born children on the Colored Progressive Matrices (CPM), the Children’s Analogical Cognitive Modifiability test, and the Children’s Inferential Thinking Modifiability test. There were significant group differences on the CPM and on the Preteaching scores of both DA measures, indicating superiority of the Israeli-born comparison group. However, after a short but intensive teaching process, the Ethiopian group narrowed the gaps and performed at about the same level on Postteaching and Transfer tasks.
The Uses of Writing in Psychotherapy
Authors: Brand Alice Glarden
Published: March 2007

Tracing the uses of writing in psychotherapy over the last half century, we find that the earliest systematic practices were governed largely by a psychoanalytic medical model. Other, newer schools have challenged the deficiency-oriented Freudian perspective and view writing as an expressive art, integral to healthy and creative human development.

Consonant with this trend, the humanistic psychologies gathered adherents who used writing as a potent instrument of growth and as a vehicle for total life development.

Apart from the popular poetry therapy movement, other more recent practices have been developed such as correspondence, diary and journal keeping, and other more cognitive writing activities.

The literature presently documents the principal use of writing as an ancillary technique enhancing the more conventional therapies. However, its capacity to help people uncover new levels of self-awareness and its promise in terms of self-help offer unique potential for inner human exploration.
Social and Intellectual Attitudes Toward Drug-Induced Religious Experience
Authors: Bakalar James B.
Published: March 2007

This article is a comment on the ambiguity of the psychedelic experience itself and the peculiarities of the modern social response to it. I discuss three kinds of attitudes toward psychedelic religious experience and compare them with three attitudes toward religious tradition described by Peter Berger. These are, roughly, materialist reductionism, defense of the purity of an orthodox faith, and religion as personal experiences given form and meaning by traditional interpretation. The effects of psychedelic drugs are used by some to discredit both drugs and religion, by others to discredit drugs while justifying a certain definition of religion, and by still others to accept drug-taking as one mode of religious experience broadly conceived. This last attitude is the one usually taken by psychedelic drug users themselves, but it raises the difficult question of what is definably religious about personal experiences before they are given form by a doctrine, ritual, and community. In this connection I discuss the common view of psychedelic experience as a foretaste or preliminary to a more serious religious regimen.
The Expanding Self
Authors: Fox Hayward M.
Published: March 2007

Human consciousness is a manifestation of a single Consciousness. Human growth and evolution can be understood as integrating the self back into a larger, more inclusive Whole. Human development thus occurs as the self loosens its exclusive identification with some aspect or part, and reidentifies with a larger Whole. This more inclusive Whole embraces that which the self thought it was, and that which the self thought it was not. In this manner a succession of splits or dichotomies are healed and a more inclusive self emerges. It is through opening the constrictions of self-definition that one can appreciate the satisfaction and fulfillment that lies in the essence of our being.
Self-Transcendence in the Agoral Gathering
Authors: Biela Adam , Tobacyk Jerome J.
Published: March 2007

We present a psychological interpretation of the effects of Pope John Paul II's 1979 visit to Poland. It is demonstrated that participation in the massive gatherings that accompanied this papal visit facilitated experiences of self-transcendence in participants, and further that the effects of these gatherings on societal consciousness played a significant role in the development of the Solidarnoc movement in Poland in 1980. Approximately 12 million Poles (about 30% of the Polish population) directly participated in the massive gatherings that accompanied this nine-day papal visit. The notion of "agoral gathering" (a new kind of collective behavioral phenomenon) is introduced to describe these large-scale public gatherings that are inspired by higher moral/ social ideas. Participation in these agoral gatherings facilitated the experiences of self-transcendence in gathering participants by promoting (a) a deep identification with other participants and (b) an experience of expression, amplification, clarification, and verification of values. It is further demonstrated how this process of self-transcendence in the agoral gathering might be understood by analyzing (a) the expectations of participants, (b) the beliefs/ values of participants, (c) environmental cues, and (d) interaction among the expectations, belief/values, and environmental cues. Data supporting these interpretations are taken from written reports of participants, participant-observations, pictorial and taped records, and memorial books.
On Thinking about the future
Authors: Michael Donald N.
Published: March 2007

Based on 25 years of involvement, the author evaluates the generic characteristics of future studies, their usefulness, and pitfalls, with special reference to the perspectives of JHP readers. Future studies are necessarily based on no reliable theory of social change, no definitive historical referents, and on the inherent ambiguities of language. Psychological and cultural factors also shape content. Therefore they are ontologically and epistemologically questionable. Nevertheless they are imperative contributions to thinking about the directions of our turbulent world. Functionally, future studies are stories, and they do and should contribute to understanding in that spirit. Incentives and disincentives for their use are described as well as the kinds of morals to be drawn from them regarding their message and regarding appropriate comportment for the users and producers of these stories. Well done, future studies demand great methodological sophistication as well as insight into one's motives for using and producing them.
The Managed Care Revolution
Authors: Kuhl Victoria
Published: March 2007

The author provides an introduction to managed mental health care, reviews the concerns of practitioners, and speculates on the implications of managed care for humanistic psychotherapy. Humanistic practitioners are urged to become involved in psychology's efforts to respond to managed care while the health care system is still in flux.
Examining The Content and Context of Meditation
Authors: Shapiro Deane H.
Published: March 2007

Studies have primarily examined meditation's effects as a self regulation strategy for stress management. Fewer studies have examined its utility as a self exploration strategy for enhancing psychological health in psychotherapy and behavior change. And, few studies have examined meditation's effect regarding its original religious purpose as a self liberation strategy to enhance spiritual growth and wisdom, and cultivate compassionate service. This article examines the reasons underlying this differential proportion of studies on each of the above variables and details the merits and limitations of research that attempted to remove the religious and philosophical context of meditation in order to focus on its content. The article then examines why it has been necessary to reintroduce the context of meditation as a variable, whether that context be stress management, psychotherapy, or a religious perspective. Finally, based on the mentalist and cognitive revolution, this article asks: "Is God always a confounding variable in meditation research?"

If the only research tool a person has is a hammer, then all questions begin to look like the head of an undriven nail.

-Abraham Maslow

When a pickpocket meets a saint, all he sees are pockets.

Anonymous
Krishnamurti and Spirituality: A Comment on Wren-Lewis's View
Authors: Gopal Madan
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this article is to point out that in his reflections on Krishnamurti, Wren-Lewis (1994) has (a) uncritically accepted as source material a highly suspect narrative, (b) misrepresented Krishnamurti's notion of spiritual transformation, (c) unjustifiably attributed unethical conduct to him, and (d) proposed an approach for assessing spiritual progress that is at variance with Krishnamurti's teaching. A more sympathetic reading of Krishnamurti's life and work yields different results.

Knowledge is not compassion and without compassion knowledge breeds mischief.

-J. Krishnamurti

Krishnamurti's Journal
The Daimonic Development of the Malevolent Personality
Authors: Goldberg Carl
Published: March 2007

This paper examines the reluctance of the behavioral sciences to tackle the problem of evil. Whereas each of us as private citizens can attest to the calamitous presence of malevolence in our daily lives, the point of view I take in this paper is that as behavioral scientists most of us have acted as if the problem of evil could be safely ignored or the character structure of the perpetrators of heinous actions could be reduced to known and well-understood psychiatric disor-ders. This psychological denial and reductionism have not well served our mandate to provide meaningful explanations and solutions of social problems for the public. If the behavioral sciences are to have a relevant role in contemporary society, the problem of evil-perhaps the most important issue humankind has ever faced-must be meaningfully reexamined. This paper serves as an effort in this direction.

There are thousands hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the roots.

-Thoreau

(quoted in The New Dictionary of Thoughts, 1964)

Evil is but the shadow, that in this world, always accompanies good. You may have a world without shadow, but it is a world without light-a mere dim, twilight world. If you deepen the intensity of the light, you must be content to bring into deeper blackness and more distinct and definite outline, the shadow that accompanies it.

-F. W Robertson

(quoted in The New Dictionary of Thoughts, 1964)
Jung'S Contribution to Adullt Development: the Difficultand Misutnderstood Path of Individuation
Authors: Donlevy James G.
Published: March 2007

Although adult development and adult education researchers and theorists are sympathetic to the contributions of Carl G. Jung (1875-1961), there is little evidence in the literature of attention to the intricacies of Jung's plan for achieving individuation, the primary developmental task of adulthood, in his view. Jung's scheme involves a close attention to dream material and integration of the meanings they contain. Rigorous attention to, and integration of, unconscious material is the process by which adults begin to achieve individuation. In Jung's view, it is this difficult path that leads eventually to the improvement of society in general, through the advancement of individual adults who are willing to come to terms with the unknown psychic background.
The Erotic Encounter
Authors: Kleinplatz Peggy J.
Published: March 2007

What is the nature of eroticism? What is the role of eroticism in sexual interaction? The answers to these questions are explored as are their implications for the understanding and treatment of sexual desire problems. To the extent that sexuality has typically been defined in the sex therapy literature in terms of a pattern of physiological and observable, behavioral events, the phenomenology of erotic experience has been overlooked. Eroticism involves the intent to contact and arouse another. The erotic experience is to be found with a partner who values enhancing sexual pleasure for each other for its own sake rather than as a means to a goal, for example, tension release, orgasm, intercourse. The erotic encounter involves the shared exploration of sexual wishes, dreams, and fantasies. It is argued that eroticism is a central component in the maintenance of sexual desire. The absence of eroticism is linked to the prevalence of chronic sexual dissatisfaction and inhibited sexual desire among those who are otherwise fully functional. The taboos surrounding sexual arousal and the seeking of sexual pleasure are examined. The value of eroticism for the individual and the couple is discussed in terms of deepening of self-knowledge, self-affirmation, mutual trust, and intimacy. Implications for clinicians are addressed. A shift in paradigms is recommended from the prevailing one, focusing on sexual function versus dysfunction, to another that emphasizes the potential for sharing erotic experience.
Jim Bugental's Vision: the Next Step
Authors: Schneider Kirk J.
Published: March 2007

This article is a tribute not just to Jim Bugental but to his vision. As Jim himself has increasingly recognized, the implications of existential-humanistic practice stretch far beyond the individual and his or her immediate domain. Such notions as liberation, searching, responsibility, and presence have significant implications for the sociopolitical contexts that Jim's (and our) existential-humanistic clients invariably confront. This article argues that if we do not face these sociopolitical implications of our work, then the hard-won gains of our existential-humanistic clients will dissipate into the profit-motivated culture of which they are a part. An overview of these problems is presented along with concrete suggestions for redressing them.
Everyday Awareness of Death: A Qualitative Investigation
Authors: Widera-Wysoczañska Agnieszka
Published: March 2007

This article concerns two important topics. The first is the results of clinical qualitative research on death awareness experience in adults, and the second is research procedures of clinical qualitative investigations based on a hermeneutical approach. The theoretical assumptions of this study are based on humanistic-existential psychology and life-span developmental psychology. Descriptions of the death awareness experience from 12 physically healthy women were obtained and analyzed using a hermeneutical approach. Three components of the death awareness experience were obtained: context of death, psychological phenomenon related to death of the self and closely related persons, and the impact of an awareness of the death experience on one’s life. Clinical applications of the research are discussed.
Organisationally Induced Absenteeism
Authors: Knowles M.C.
Published: March 2007

Although absence from work may be due to any of a large number of factors, empirical evidence supporting the view that causal factors can be organisational in nature is scant. In the present study, however, levels of absenteeism on four different absence measures were found to be interrelated, so that from fourteen sub-units or sections of a company there was a number of sections with con sistently low levels of absenteeism, and this contrasted with another group of sections in which absenteeism was consistently high. At the same time consistent differences between the sections were also found with respect to other variables, showing that absence may be regarded as one facet of a wider behavioural problem pervading entire organisational sub-units. This finding suggests that absence could be used along with other variables as a valuable personnel statistic indicating areas of organisational dysfunction. This means that if levels of absenteeism in such cases as these were to be improved the solution should be looked for at the organisational level rather than at the individual or job level.
White-Collar Unionism 1969 to 1981: Some Determinants of Growth
Authors: Griffin Gerard
Published: March 2007

This paper examines the growth in membership of Australian white-collar unions between 1969 and 1981. The pattern of growth is briefly outlined and the impact of the following determinants of this growth are traced: the increase of white-collar employment, the preference decision of the Arbitration Commission, the actions of the federal government, the closed-shop agreement in the retail industry and the impact of industrial conflict.
Civil Society and Peacebuilding in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Authors: BELLONI ROBERTO
Published: March 2007

The concept of civil society has acquired an unprecedented worldwide popularity, especially in development programs. This article investigates the international effort to build civil society in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to foster peace and democratization, this in response to disappointment with traditional economic, military, and political strategies. The results of this major investment of resources, however, have been unsatisfactory. The international community's lack of a coherent long-term strategy and the adoption of a conception of civil society that is often at odds with Bosnian context and history hinder the transition to genuine reconciliation among the three ethnic groups. Examining two major areas of intervention - facilitating the advocacy role of local civic groups and fostering citizens' participation - I show that the international community has failed to comprehend both the political and the social meaning of its involvement. Although the focus on civil society is meant to overcome the limits of external regulation and to emphasize indigenous and community-based contributions to peacebuilding, the international community's approach is to make local development dependent upon the international presence. The result is a failure to address the structural problems that affect the country and to hinder, rather than foster, the formation of an open and democratic civil society.
Mediation and the Transformation of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Authors: Kriesberg Louis
Published: March 2007

During the 1990s, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict underwent a profound transformation, which has proceeded slowly and sometimes with severe disruptions and retrogressions. This article examines the diverse contributions of different kinds of mediators to the transformation at various stages of the process. Particular attention is given to the Oslo negotiations, their forerunners, and subsequent negotiations. Comparisons are made regarding the different kinds of contributions made by different kinds of mediators. Mediators include intermediaries with leverage, such as a United States President, and mediators with few material resources, such as unofficial facilitators. At various stages of a conflict's escalation and de-escalation, different kinds of mediators can make appropriate and effective contributions. Making and building peace in protracted conflicts requires a wide variety of complementary actions by diverse actors, including persons within the adversary sides as well as by intermediaries. Mediating effectiveness is constrained by the circumstances of each adversary, the adversary relations, and the historical context.
Making Power-sharing Work: Lessons from Successes and Failures in Ethnic Conflict Regulation
Authors: SCHNECKENER ULRICH
Published: March 2007

For managing and settling ethnic conflicts, power-sharing arrangements often seem an appropriate solution. The former antagonists are forced to work together and make decisions by consensus; the ultimate goal is to turn opponents into partners. Obviously, this concept can only be successful under specific conditions and by specific arrangements. Based on a comparative analysis of six cases of power-sharing, the article aims (1) to identify favourable conditions as well as (2) to evaluate the quality of regulations. For successful conflict regulation, both aspects have to be taken into account: if the most favourable conditions are missing or will not be attained over time, then the `best' power-sharing constitution will fail. If, in turn, `bad' or insufficient rules and procedures prevail, then even the presence of comparatively beneficial factors will probably not avoid failure. Success will be understood as achievement and sustainability of a particular solution. The article is subdivided into four sections. First, the concept of power-sharing (or consociationalism) will be mapped out. Second, successful and failed European cases of power-sharing will be briefly presented. Third, by comparing these cases, the relevance of a set of conditions - usually assumed to be favourable for success - will be examined. Fourth, the quality of the institutional design of power-sharing regimes will be evaluated in order to distinguish `better' regulations from more problematic or even counterproductive ones. In concluding, the author points to the crucial role of political elites in sustaining shared rule, but stresses at the same time that in most cases their behaviour is shaped by the institutional arrangements themselves. These have to be designed in a way that supports and fosters learning processes among decisionmakers.
Debt Relief and Civil War
Authors: ADDISON TONY , MURSHED S. MANSOOB
Published: March 2007

Reducing or writing off the debts of the 41 heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs) can potentially reduce social conflict by releasing resources from debt-service to enable governments to make fiscal transfers that lower the grievances of rebels (when conflict is partly rooted in grievances over past allocations of public spending and taxation). To explore these issues, this article presents a model of a civil war between a government and rebels, with both sides maximizing their expected utility from the states of war and peace. The government may accept debt relief but then renege on any promise to donors to use the resources to buy peace and instead keep the resources for itself and raise its military capability. The outcome that prevails depends on which party (peace or war) has the greatest influence on the government of the day. Unfortunately, even if debt relief is forthcoming, the fiscal system may be so institutionally weak that it cannot achieve the promised transfer. Also, the rebel leaders may capture most of the fiscal transfer, leaving the grievances of their followers to ferment into further conflict. And a transfer that could have prevented conflict may be insufficient to stop a war once it begins. The international community has only limited influence over these problems. But the international community can change the modality of debt relief itself so that peace-seeking governments can receive faster debt relief, thereby at least ensuring that peace is not delayed by the inevitable difficulties that wartime governments face in meeting donor policy conditionality.