bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Parameters and Limitations of Current Conceptualizations
Authors: Watts Fraser
Published: February 2013

The current state of the psychology of religion is reviewed, and it is argued that there would be mutual benefit in it having closer links with general psychology. At present the psychology of religion is too selective in the range of phenomena it covers, and it should be broader geographically and in terms of faith traditions. In view of the diversity of religion, better ways of classifying religious phenomena are needed if research is to work with homogeneous categories. Though questionnaire methods have played an important role, the psychology of religion would benefit from making more use of both experimental methods and qualitative, first-person accounts. The “outsider's” perspective of the psychology of religion could usually be brought into dialog with the insider's perspective of theology. Finally, there is a case for developing an approach to the psychology of religion that tackles applied practical, applied issues while remaining research based.
Overview and Development of a Trait-Based Measure of Numinous Constructs: The Assessment of Spirituality and Religious Sentiments (ASPIRES) Scale
Authors: Piedmont Ralph L.
Published: February 2013

Interest in spiritual and religious (numinous) constructs has grown rapidly in the past decade. Corresponding to this interest, numerous scales have been developed to capture these qualities. The presence of so many different measures has generated some difficulties for the field, including the lack of a developed database that supports the psychological validity of many of these instruments. The Assessment of Spirituality and Religious Sentiments (ASPIRES)1 scale addresses these concerns by clearly operationalizing spirituality and religiousness as psychological constructs that have universal relevance. This chapter provides an overview on the development and psychometric integrity of the scale. It also provides an overview of research that has examined the incremental, cross-cultural, and clinical validity of the instrument. It is concluded that the ASPIRES scale provides empirically sustainable definitions of spirituality and religiousness that reinforce their nonredundancy with established personality constructs and their relevance in predicting a wide array of psychosocially significant outcomes.
Nonlocality, Intention, and Observer Effects in Healing Studies: Laying a Foundation for the Future
Authors: Schwartz Stephan , Dossey Larry
Published: February 2013

All research domains are based upon epistemological assumptions. Periodic reassessment of these assumptions is crucial because they influence how we interpret experimental outcomes. Perhaps nowhere is this reassessment needed more than in the study of prayer and intention experiments: If positive results from this field of research are sustained, the reality of nonlocal consciousness must be confronted. This chapter explores the current status of healing and intention research, citing a number of major studies and using the “Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP) in Cardiac Bypass Surgery Patients: A Multicenter Randomized Trial of Uncertainty and Certainty of Receiving Intercessory Prayer” as a case study of this line of research. The chapter argues that the dose-dependent model typical of drug trials, and adopted for use in the STEP and other studies, is not the optimal model for intention-healing research, and critiques this approach in detail, citing apposite research from which we draw our recommendations and conclusions. The chapter suggests that the usual assumptions concerning blindness and randomization that prevail in studies using the pharmacological model must be reappraised. Experimental data suggest that a nonlocal relationship exists among the various individuals participating in a study, one which needs to be understood and taken seriously. We argue that it is important to account for and understand the role of both local and nonlocal observer effects, since both can significantly affect outcome. Research is presented from an array of disciplines to support why we feel these issues of linkage, belief, and intention are so important to a successful, accurate, and meaningful study outcome. Finally, we offer suggestions for new lines of research and new protocol designs that address these observer-effect issues, particularly the nonlocal aspects. The chapter finally suggests that if these effects occur in intention studies, they must necessarily exist in all studies, although in pharmacological studies they are often overshadowed by the power of chemical and biological agents.
Political Histories of Food
Authors: Ochoa Enrique C.
Published: February 2013

Although policies are in place to eradicate hunger, basic access to food remains a formidable problem worldwide. Scholars and policy analysts disagree sharply on the extent of hunger and malnutrition as well as their causes and solutions. Recent evidence suggests that foodways offer an important means of creating alternative and more egalitarian systems of food production and distribution. This article reviews the assumptions and ideologies underlying the politics of food over the past few centuries. It examines power relations shaped by shifting capitalist developmental policies and by various state and international institutions. The article first looks at the link between food, capitalism, and colonialism before turning to food shortages, famines, and political legitimacy. It also discusses food policies and nation-states from 1930 to the 1970s, along with corporate globalization and food politics from the 1970s to the 2000s. The article concludes by focusing on struggles for food sovereignty and considering alternatives to corporate food politics.
Sociology of Food
Authors: Burnett Sierra Clark , Ray Krishnendu
Published: February 2013

The study of food, an area associated with domesticity and women's work, has been neglected in sociology for decades. Folklorists and anthropologists in the past already recognized the importance of food in the development of cultures, religions, group dynamics, symbolism, communication, and other sources of meaning in human life. Sociologists, however, have been reluctant to focus on food. Even today, when food is already a major component of studies of class and stratification, labor, and consumption, there is little sociological work dedicated to food. Before discussing the merits of food studies in general and its lessons for sociology in particular, this article provides an overview of the discipline of sociology, its theories and methods, strengths and limitations that have been adapted to the study of food.
Agricultural Production and Environmental History
Authors: Evans Sterling
Published: February 2013

The traditional focus of agricultural history has been the study of rural landscapes, societies, and economies, as well as agricultural production and technologies. In contrast, environmental history has adopted a more interdisciplinary research approach, offering both ecological and political analyses, and addressing the world's current environmental crises from a historical perspective. Drawing on the environmental perspective, this article explores the development of human food production. Subsistence has been an important part of history from the earliest times to the advent of modern, industrial agriculture. The seasonal migrations of gathering and hunting peoples were based on their procurement of food. Although the emergence of farming and herding led to the rise of urban, elite classes specializing in other activities, food production remained the focus of the vast majority of people in agrarian empires. This article investigates the transitions between three basic modes of production: what I. G. Simmons has called the distinct "cultural ecologies" of gatherer-hunter, agrarian, and industrial societies.
Food and Empire
Authors: Sharma Jayeeta
Published: February 2013

Between 1926 and 1933, the Empire Marketing Board used a myriad of advertisements, posters, exhibits, and films to promote the empire's food products to British homes. The publicity campaigns were intended to show that tea from India or fruit from Australia was not foreign, but also British. Whether the Board was successful in its bid to promote intra-imperial food consumption, indeed, whether those efforts were needed in the first place, was not clear. This article focuses on foods from Asia and America that were originally thought to be exotic in Europe, initially served as indicators of elite status, and their gradual dissemination downwards. It also examines the role of long-distance trade and modern technologies in the production and distribution of new agro-industrial foods across networks of imperial knowledge and commodity circulation. The article concludes by assessing the impact of global food corporations' domination in the contemporary era, which in many ways can be seen as the equivalent of the European and American empire of the past.
Industrial Food
Authors: Petrick Gabriella M.
Published: February 2013

The years between 1880 and 1930 have been characterized not only as "Hell with the lid taken off" but also as a consumer revolution. Until recently, however, little attention has been paid to how industrialization changed the foods available to Americans. This article examines what Americans were eating in the first half of the twentieth century. It first defines industrial foods as foods that are mass produced in a factory setting and require no or very little cooking to make them edible. These foods are also packaged which make them highly portable. Examples of industrial foods are commercially canned goods; frozen foods; ice cream; breads, cakes, and pies purchased at bakeries and/or groceries and supermarkets; cake mixes; hot and cold cereals; instant mashed potatoes; pastry/pie shell mixes; and jams and jellies. Industrial foods are considered products of the Cold War and the Baby Boom Generation, rather than the Gilded Age or the Progressive Era. This article also discusses home economics, food consumption, and the national diet.
Food, Mobility, and World History
Authors: Gabaccia Donna R.
Published: February 2013

To determine how scholars have tackled the study of food as part of world histories, this article reviews research connecting the history of food with that of human mobility. It explores how and under what circumstances food practices "spread" or "diffuse" among human societies. It asserts that the study of food is becoming a more central theme in world history due to recent interest in mapping the links among the culturally distinct societies of the six continents over the course of human life on earth. Such histories offer a glimpse into the relationship of the general and particular in culinary culture. World histories indicate that trade, human migrations, and media are the mechanisms that allow particular foods, food practices, food technologies, and food knowledge to travel across space and time, and cultural boundaries to become general.
The Columbian Exchange
Authors: Earle Rebecca
Published: February 2013

The Columbian Exchange refers to the flow of plants, animals and microbes across the Atlantic Ocean and beyond. Coined in 1972 by the historian Alfred Crosby, the Columbian Exchange set in motion Christopher Columbus' historic voyage to the Americas in 1492. Crosby used the term "Columbian Exchange" to describe the process of biological diffusion that arose following Europe's colonization of the Americas. Crosby's The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492 chronicled the wide-ranging consequences of the transfer of diseases, plants and animals that ensued after 1492. The book, essentially consisting of a series of interlocking essays, documented the impact of Old World plants and animals on the Americas, the global dissemination of New World foods, and how European colonization resulted in the transmission of pathogens. Crosby made forceful arguments to support his claim that the most significant consequences of European colonization of the new world were biological in nature.
The Art of Chaos: Community and African American Literary Traditions
Authors: Ernest John
Published: February 2013

This article examines African American literary traditions during the nineteenth century. It suggests that African American literary history of this time is often taken to be a rather self-evident tradition and describes the collection of works published by African American writers that were considered to have a literary veil obscuring the real work of political protest and activism. The article analyzes the works of William Wells Brown, Martin Delany, and William Grimes in the context of African American literary and cultural theory.
The Visible and Invisible City: Antebellum Writers and Urban Space
Authors: Steele Jeffrey
Published: February 2013

This article examines the works of antebellum writers about city and urban space. It investigates how American writers accessed social and political phenomena which elude visual perception, and suggests that Lydia Maria Child, George Lippard, Fanny Fern, and other authors who toured, investigated, and ambled around city spaces confronted this challenge posed by urbanization. The article contends that in pioneering new structures of literary attention, a number of antebellum urban writers showed their readers vast areas of life which had hitherto been invisible.
Technology in the Lives and Schools of Adolescents
Authors: Ruthmann S. Alex , Dillon Steven C.
Published: February 2013

This article advocates a pedagogy wherein relationships form the basis for developing curricular and pedagogical ways of being with students. A relational pedagogy begins by considering these broad questions: Where are music and technology in the teacher and students' lives? Where do adolescents make meaning through music and technology? How can teachers develop a community of practice with their students through music and technology? It is argued that relationships should be placed at the center of pedagogical and curricular decision-making. Through this approach, music educators are better equipped to make space for and honor student agency and learning by harnessing the ways adolescents intuitively engage with music and technology.
Musical Instrument Learning, Music Ensembles, and Musicianship in a Global and Digital Age
Authors: Webb Michael , Seddon Frederick A.
Published: February 2013

This article, which focuses on aspects of learning to play a musical instrument, ensemble learning, and musicianship, begins by discussing approaches to musical instrument learning, with particular emphasis on digital settings and describing recent research on virtual learning. It then examines the new kinds of instrumental ensemble that now form part of world culture and discusses these in relation to their potential for music education. Next, the article briefly discusses the nexus of musical genre, pedagogy, and musicianship in relation to the pluralism that is a structuring feature of our global age. It proposes embracing the widening conceptions of musicianship made possible under conditions of pluralism, which can move us beyond the “classical/popular” binary thinking that has informed recent music education practice.
North American School Ensembles
Authors: Lee William R. , Worthy Michael D.
Published: February 2013

This article, which addresses the development of Canadian and US school ensembles from the early twentieth century to the present, identifies patterns of historical growth and speculates about larger successes and failures. In both countries, early school ensembles were regarded as a necessary part of an expanding secondary curriculum, emerging as they did in the midst of a reformist ethos positively disposed toward music. US and Canadian ensemble culture produced strong local leaders and administrators, who saw value in school ensembles in the education of children, and who worked with persistence and evangelical fervor to establish them in schools.
Youth Orchestras
Authors: Kartomi Margaret
Published: February 2013

Youth orchestras are central to the music education of tens of thousands of children and teenagers throughout the world, yet studies of their social function, cultural significance, and pedagogical value remain largely unexplored. Even if students receive their principal musical training through individual lessons and school ensembles, participating in a separate youth orchestra can be a life-changing experience for many musicians. This article defines youth orchestras in an international context, and then articulates and measures the pedagogical value of them in one particular case study: the ethos and educational outcomes of the Young Australian Concert Artists program of the Australian Youth Orchestra.
The Role of Imagery in Performance
Authors: Cumming Jennifer , Williams Sarah E.
Published: February 2013

Imagery is both a fundamental cognitive process for producing motor actions and a performance-enhancing technique widely used by athletes and dancers. In this chapter, we review findings from basic and applied research to comprehensively define imagery and describe its key characteristics. Using a cognitive neuroscience explanation, we discuss how imagery is involved with motor skill performance and the practical implications for this explanation in planning more effective interventions through application of the PETTLEP model (Holmes & Collins, 2001 ). We also focus on the development of imagery ability, an important individual difference variable impacting the value of imagery, and discuss how certain aspects of this characteristic can be improved. We then describe other imagery outcomes and offer a revised model based on our review to guide further research and application. We conclude with future directions for imagery research and its practical use for performers, including contemporary issues to be addressed by researchers in the field.
Modeling and Performance
Authors: McCullagh Penny , Law Barbi , Ste-Marie Diane
Published: February 2013

In this chapter we review theoretical and conceptual approaches in the sport and exercise psychology literature, as well as recognizing research in other domains (performing arts, education, medicine, health) to determine the influence that watching oneself or others can have on one's own performance, as well as on psychological variables such as self-efficacy, anxiety, and self-regulation. We recognize that various terms have been used to describe this phenomenon, including observational learning, modeling, and self-modeling, and we also review recent research that shows how athletes use observation in realistic sport settings. Finally, a brief discussion of role models and the influence that technology has had, including the influence of virtual models, is highlighted. Suggestions for future research are included throughout the chapter.
Leadership and Manifestations of Sport
Authors: Chelladurai Packianathan
Published: February 2013

After summarizing prevalent models of leadership in sport, the chapter identifies the inconsistencies among the guidelines emanating from these models. Based on the three distinct manifestations of sport—egalitarian sport, elite sport, and entertainment sport, a reconciliation and synthesis is offered based on the different purposes of sport participation—pursuit of pleasure and pursuit of excellence.
Physical Activity Interventions
Authors: Biddle Stuart J. H. , Gorely Trish
Published: February 2013

Physical activity is a key behavior in modern public health and is a topic of great concern to governments and health agencies. Psychologists can contribute to a better understanding of physical activity behavior by studying and explaining factors associated with participation in physical activity and interventions to change such behaviors. This chapter outlines the evidence on correlates for physical activity across the age span, what mediators might be important for behavior change, and what current evidence on interventions is available to guide thinking on behavior change.
The Role of the Sport and Performance Psychologist with the Coach and Team: Implications for Performance Consulting
Authors: Carr Christopher M.
Published: February 2013

The complex and dynamic relationships among the sport psychologist, the coach, and the team (athletes and staff) are discussed in this chapter. The consultative nature of the work of the sport and performance psychologist and how psychological interventions are applied in organizational settings are addressed and discussed. Specific relationship issues and consultation strategies related to coaches, support staff (e.g., sports medicine personnel), the team, and individual athletes are presented. Several common consultation issues, such as role definition, professional challenges (e.g., isolation), managing conflicts, and dealing with successful/unsuccessful performance, are discussed. I use a number of examples from my own experiences with professional consultations at the collegiate, Olympic, and professional sports levels to identify and describe key issues in organizational consulting. Based on lessons drawn from these experiences and on the fundamental principles of systems theory as applied to organizations, I offer a number of practical strategies to enhance consultant effectiveness when working with elite, high-performing teams.
Individual Differences
Authors: Murphy Kevin R.
Published: February 2013

Individual differences in cognitive and physical abilities, personality, interests, and core self-concepts are all relevant for understanding behavior in organizations. Cognitive abilities are hierarchically organized, which implies that general cognitive ability predicts performance on most tasks that involves active information processing. Physical abilities show a less well-defined structure; these abilities tend to be relevant to more narrowly defined tasks. Personality traits (especially the Big-Five—Neuroticism, Extroversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness) are most relevant to understanding interpersonal interactions. They are related to job performance, but this relationship is surprisingly weak. Interests are related to vocational choice, motivation, and satisfaction. Individual differences in core self-evaluations predict a willingness to take the initiative, to persevere, and to attempt to achieve challenging goals.
The Concept of Validity and the Process of Validation
Authors: Sackett Paul R. , Putka Dan J. , McCloy Rodney A.
Published: February 2013

In this chapter we first set the stage by focusing on the concept of validity, documenting key changes over time in how the term is used and examining the specific ways in which the concept is instantiated in the domain of personnel selection. We then move from conceptual to operational and discuss issues in the use of various strategies to establish what we term the predictive inference, namely, that scores on the predictor measure of interest can be used to draw inferences about an individual's future job behavior or other criterion of interest. Finally, we address a number of specialized issues aimed at illustrating some of the complexities and nuances of validation.
Person–Environment Fit in the Selection Process
Authors: Ostroff Cheri , Zhan Yujie
Published: February 2013

The purpose of this chapter is to review and synthesize theory and research on person–environment (PE) fit as it applies to selection and recruitment from both the organization's and applicant's perspective. PE fit conceptualizations are briefly reviewed, delineating different subtypes, modes, and operationalizations of fit, with particular attention to their role in selection. A heuristic model is then developed that explores how actual assessment of fit as well as perceptions of the degree of fit influence hiring decisions on the part of the organization and decisions to join the organization on the part of the applicant. Individual and organizational factors that influence the degree of fit during recruiting and selection are addressed as well as the effect of fit on initial work responses and behaviors. Implications of the framework are discussed to provide future directions for research and theory.
The Assessment of Physical Capabilities in the Workplace
Authors: Baker Todd A. , Gebhardt Deborah L.
Published: February 2013

The world of work has many arduous jobs that require the worker to possess greater levels of physical ability than found in the normal population. This chapter provides an overview of the underlying physiological principles associated with physical performance and methods to assess arduous jobs in the workplace. It includes an overview of test development and validation of physical tests and litigation related to their use in job selection and retention. The benefits of physical testing and the methods for reducing adverse impact are highlighted.
Background Data: Use of Experiential Knowledge in Personnel Selection
Authors: Mumford Michael D. , Barrett Jamie D. , Hester Kimberly S.
Published: February 2013

Background data, or biodata, measures are widely applied in personnel selection. In the present effort, it is argued that background data measures reflect the recall of differential experiential, or case-based, knowledge. The techniques for developing and scaling background data measures are described and evidence bearing on the reliability and validity of these measures is discussed. Critical contingencies bearing on the application of these measures in personnel selection are described. Potential directions for future research are examined along with issues bearing on the application of background data measures in personnel selection.
Web-Based Assessments
Authors: Scott John C. , Lezotte Daniel V.
Published: February 2013

Rapid advancements in computer technology and the explosive growth of the Internet over the past decade have led to a paradigm shift in the way we design and deliver personnel assessments. Measurement practice and theory have now evolved to the point at which test users can build and launch sophisticated assessment programs on a global scale to measure an almost limitless array of attributes. Candidates can be assessed in any language, for any position, with greater efficiency and precision than ever before. Web-based assessment, despite all of its proven and potential benefits, is not without its challenges. In fact, there are a host of measurement and operational issues that need to be considered and addressed to ensure that critical assessment decisions can be made with efficiency, accuracy, and integrity. The purpose of this chapter is to review the current and projected state of web-based assessment and discuss its critical role in talent selection and development.
Supervisory Performance Ratings
Authors: Woehr David J. , Roch Sylvia
Published: February 2013

Supervisory ratings of individual job performance are the most frequently used and studied manner in which employee performance is assessed. Volumes have been written on performance ratings, what they mean, and how to improve them. Our goal in this chapter is to provide a broad-level summary of the literature on performance ratings. Moreover, we seek to synthesize this literature with respect to best practices for the use of performance ratings as criteria for the evaluation of selection and assessment tools.
The Use of Objective Measures as Criteria in I/O Psychology
Authors: Borman Walter C. , Smith Tiffany N.
Published: February 2013

In this chapter, we consider objective performance indices and their relative advantages and liabilities. Problems with criterion contamination and deficiency are inherent in the use of any one or a subset of these outcomes. In addition, the inclusion of both objective performance as well as rating measures seems appropriate in most instances. Hence we describe a strategy for integrating objective measures into a multidimensional construct-oriented model of job performance, using the Project A research program as an example.
Employee Value: Combining Utility Analysis with Strategic Human Resource Management Research to Yield Strong Theory
Authors: Sturman Michael C.
Published: February 2013

The idea that an organization's employees have value has been both an implicit or explicit component of human resource management research throughout its history. Some attempts have been made to quantify this value; other research has simply assumed that human capital is a valuable resource without further detail as to this concept. This chapter reviews work related to employee value. In particular, it reviews work on both utility analysis and Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM), two areas that have relied most heavily and directly on the idea of employee value to make their predictions. Although research on utility analysis has diminished notably in the past decade, I argue that recent research efforts have been misplaced. By directly considering the idea of employee value and its relevance to SHRM research, utility analysis offers an opportunity to develop strong theory in SHRM and improve the precision of research in this area.
Contingent Workers: Who Are They and How Can We Select Them for Success?
Authors: Bauer Talya N. , Truxillo Donald M. , Mansfield Layla R. , Erdogan Berrin
Published: February 2013

The contingent workforce has become an integral part of the workplace, yet literature on the selection of the temporary or contingent workforce is relatively limited. This chapter describes who contingent workers are, the reasons why an organization may choose contingent (also known as temporary) workers, and how the selection process for these workers may differ from the process of hiring a long-term employee. Selection challenges associated with the contingent workforce and the key individual differences that may determine if a temporary worker is successful are examined. Finally, future research questions and topics to further the conversation on selection of contingent workers are offered.
Place Attachment
Authors: Korpela Kalevi M.
Published: February 2013

The review is focused mostly on the dynamics of place attachment on the individual level and is structured according to the antecedents, development, and consequences of place attachment. It is concluded that dimensional frameworks and models of place attachment provide researchers adequate taxonomies with which they can locate their studies. More studies to verify causal sequences, underlying needs, and processes/dynamics of place attachment are needed. The interplay between automatic affective reactions, self, personality, learning, and culture in place attachment is described but remains a largely open question for future studies. Theories for understanding the development of place attachment include attachment theory, the mere-exposure hypothesis, the theories of self-regulation, privacy and friendship regulation, theories of coping (with developmental tasks and stress), theories of identity development, and self-theories. Evidence for the positive connection between place attachment and conservation behavior is still mixed. Future research to deepen and integrate the theoretical work on place attachment is called for.
Response to Environmental Disasters
Authors: Lindell Michael K.
Published: February 2013

Popular accounts of people’s responses to disasters routinely report panic and psychological disorientation among disaster victims, but these reactions are quite rare. Instead, most people respond to crises by making the best decisions they can to protect persons and property, given their limited knowledge about the hazards they face and the situation that is unfolding, and their limited resources of time, money, and protective facilities and equipment. Current research is beginning to examine the timing and sequence of disaster response actions and the characteristics of warnings, environmental cues, and social cues that influence people’s perceptions of the threat, stakeholders, and alternative protective actions and, ultimately, their responses to a disaster. In addition, research on long-term hazard adjustments has generally found significant effects of three types of core perceptions (environmental threats, stakeholders, and alternative protective actions). This research also suggests the effects of hazard proximity, hazard experience, and hazard education programs on hazard adjustment adoption are mediated by the core perceptions.
Restorative Environments
Authors: Staats Henk
Published: February 2013

Restorative environment research is flourishing. Widespread appreciation of the concept has been spurred by two influential theories and has led to a substantive body of research. This chapter gives an overview of what has happened in this area. It begins with a description of the two theories, attention restoration theory and the psycho-evolutionary theory of stress reduction, their content, similarities, and differences, and then reports on the research done in a number of environmental domains: nature, both wild and managed, the home, the workplace, museums and religious environments, hospitals, other health care settings, and favorite places. The following paragraphs then discuss central concepts in restorative environment research: perceived restorativeness and its determinants, new approaches to visual analysis of environmental scenes, and the social context of restoration. The chapter closes with a look into the future, to new methods, expansion of theoretical approaches, and applications.
The Development of Conservation Behaviors in Childhood and Youth
Authors: Chawla Louise , Derr Victoria
Published: February 2013

With a focus on childhood and adolescence, this chapter seeks to understand how people come to act responsibly on behalf of the environment. It begins with a brief overview of selected theories related to the development of agency and the motivation to act as a framework for research reviews in three areas of young people’s experience: informal play and exploration in nature; environmental education programs in schools and in the field; and wilderness experience programs. The chapter compares research results in these areas with the goal of understanding the types of experiences that prepare young people to take action for the environment, considers how these results correspond with processes that would be predicted by developmental theory, and distills recommendations for the design of school-based programs, wilderness adventure programming, and the design of communities that facilitate free access to nature. Directions for future research are suggested.
Protecting Natural Resources: Psychological and Contextual Determinants of Freshwater Conservation
Authors: Corral-Verdugo Víctor , Frías-Armenta Martha , Tapia-Fonllem César O. , Fraijo-Sing Blanca S.
Published: February 2013

Water is one of the most valuable natural resources for humankind and other forms of life on earth, and this chapter addresses the topic of its conservation. Environmental psychology (EP) investigates the dispositional and contextual factors that incite both water waste/contamination and conservation. It also studies the psychological positive consequences that result from engaging in water conservationist practices. The obtained information has let us know the individual characteristics that promote water conservation behaviors, the extrinsic and intrinsic consequences that maintain those behaviors, and the situations that make people use water in a sustainable way. EP also participates in the design of interventional strategies aimed at the instauration of conservationist uses of freshwater, including water conservation campaigns, environmental education programs, and experiments intended to shift wasteful and contaminating water uses toward more sustainable water-consuming behaviors. A model integrating the knowledge on freshwater conservation determinants and its consequences is presented and future directions for research and interventions are outlined.
Psychology and Climate Change: Beliefs, Impacts, and Human Contributions
Authors: Swim Janet K. , Markowitz Ezra M. , Bloodhart Brittany
Published: February 2013

A surge of psychological research on or related to global climate change has occurred since 2006. This chapter reviews research on beliefs about climate change and educational efforts to address these beliefs, impacts of climate change and adaptation to and in preparation for these impacts, and human contributions to climate change and ways to encourage mitigation behaviors. More specifically the chapter describes: (1) characteristics of and changes over time in beliefs about global climate change, who holds these beliefs, and psychological sources of these beliefs; (2) psychological, interpersonal, and intergroup impacts of global climate change, the role of appraisals in the impacts, and vulnerability, resilience, and social justice issues related to adapting to the impacts are considered; and (3) behaviors that contribute to and mitigate climate change, psychological processes that predict these behaviors, and methods to encourage mitigation behaviors based upon research on social influence processes and systems theory.
Post-Acute Rehabilitation
Authors: Morris Jeri
Published: February 2013

Post-acute brain injury rehabilitation was initially developed in the early 20th century by some of the most brilliant thinkers in medicine and psychology. Remarkably, the pioneers in post-acute rehabilitation had such insights and vision that their work remains the bases for brain injury treatment a century later. Stimulated by the effects of wars and impeded at times by social and political forces, the field draws intensely caring professionals, and techniques continue to be refined and innovations put into practice.
Estimating Rural Poverty: Distributional Outcomes, Evaluations, and Policy Responses
Authors: Suryanarayana M. H.
Published: February 2013

Much of the theorizing and policy making for rural poverty alleviation in India lacks empirical appreciation of issues and challenges. Therefore, it is important to examine how valid the different interpretations of the Indian evidence justifying alternative policy imperatives are. This article illustrates one such issue with reference to the strategy for agricultural growth since the mid-1960s until now, and its impact evaluation in terms of inequality and poverty and the current enigma on hunger and deprivation. It deals with policy imperatives of development for eradicating poverty and deprivation. The article then examines the Indian evidence on its agricultural growth strategy and a policy outcome evaluation with reference to rural poverty in India during different phases of the Indian agricultural development strategy. It mainly examines the missing links in research methodology of these studies and their implications. Some evidence in terms of final estimates of consumption are provided.
Microfinance: The Shg-Linkage Program
Authors: Chowdhury Prabal Roy
Published: February 2013

The microfinance sector in Indian has followed two different models: the microfinance institute (MFI) model and the self-help-group (SHG) linkage model. The MFIs mostly follow the Grameen model, with some variations, whereas the SHG-linkage model has some interesting features typically not found in other microfinance institutions. This article focuses not only on the SHG-linkage program but also on its role as a conduit for channeling credit and on the role played by NGOs in this process. It provides a brief overview of the genesis and spread of the SHG-linkage program, and examines the social impact of microfinance, especially in the Indian (and Bangladeshi) context. It builds a simple formal model capable of comparing the efficiency implications of the SHG-linkage approach vis-a-vis the Grameen. Finally, the article concludes with some suggestions for future research.
Development, Displacement, and Food Security: Land Acquisition in India
Authors: Sarkar Abhirup
Published: February 2013

This article concerns the process by which agrarian land is acquired to build up infrastructure, industries, and various services, as well as that process's relation to the project of economic development. Recent strife in India over land acquisition for the purpose of industrialization is relevant to structural transformation in many developing countries. When trickle down is minimal, the question of compensation for those who lose out in the process of economic transformation becomes vital. The article suggests that most of India's large food production is the result of high net sown area, not productivity per acre. Therefore, allocating a small fraction of this land to industrialization would forego some food production, although this can easily be picked up by higher productivity in the remaining area. Fragmented land-holding patterns, however, prevent such productivity increases, which poses an important challenge.
Aspects of Bureaucratic Corruption
Authors: Bose Gautam
Published: February 2013

This article attempts to identify treatments of corruption that draw on characteristics of underdevelopment either as causes or as consequences. There is a very small amount of literature (both empirical and theoretical) on corruption in the Indian context. A primary reason for the lack of empirical work is the unavailability of data: Both parties typically benefit from corruption, and, therefore, neither has an incentive to report it. The article looks at three aspects of government corruption in developing countries, and in India in particular: red tape, rent-seeking, and the abundance of intermediaries (such as middlemen). The article argues that if wasteful red tape is specifically a characteristic of public provision (not private), then provision should be privatized, as suggested by the “efficient corruption” literature. The article emphasizes that there is very little work on intermediation (and the role of intermediaries) in corruption, an analysis of which is necessary to understand the structure of corruption markets, especially in the Indian context.
Distributive Conflicts and Indian Economic Policy: Some Notes On Political Economy
Authors: Bardhan Pranab
Published: February 2013

This article discusses political economy issues that arise from distributive conflicts and that govern economic policy in India. The article notes that contrary to popular perception, India may be one of the most unequal societies in the world when land and education inequality are so considered. Further, because the Gini coefficient in India is based on consumption expenditure, it tends to understate inequality because the rich tend to save more than the poor. The article then asks whether inequality matters for economic growth and argues that it clearly does, implying that equity and efficiency often go together, contrary to the opposite presumption of much of mainstream economics. The article essentially gives a qualitative and broad account of the different types of distributive conflicts that have become prominent in the process of economic development in India and how their influence will shape the nature of problems that afflict economic policy making and implementation.
India's Trade and Exchange-Rate Policies: Understanding the Bop Crisis and the Reforms Thereafter
Authors: Acharyya Rajat
Published: February 2013

This article provides an analytical discussion of the sources of the 1991 BOP crisis and the trade and exchange rate reforms that followed thereafter. The BOP crisis offers a natural experiment to study policy complementarities in the Indian context. This article hopes to encourage more formal modern macrowork in this area. The article argues that exchange controls (along with the pegged regime), implemented partly through import quotas, lead to a black market for foreign exchange and encouraged underinvoicing of exports, thereby, aggravating the BOP crisis. It discusses what exchange rate reforms were intended to come out of the crisis, and to what extent these have been effective in lowering the black market premium on foreign exchange and improving India's trade balance.
India at the WTO: From Uruguay to Doha and Beyond
Authors: Saggi Kamal
Published: February 2013

This article focuses on India's position at the WTO, especially during the WTO negotiations launched in Doha, Qatar, in 2001. The article notes that although trade in India has exploded— especially after 2002—India has the dubious distinction of being the world's leading user of antidumping duties. This suggests that trade liberalization since 1991 has been partly undone with the increase use of antidumping measures. With respect to Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, several issues are addressed such as whether the WTO is the right organization to implement an international agreement on intellectual property rights, and what—if any—is the relationship between intellectual property rights and international trade through channels such as technology transfers and increased FDI. The article examines India's stance on agriculture, one of the key issues surrounding the Doha round.
What More do we want to know about the Indian Economy?
Authors: Kotwal Ashok
Published: February 2013

This article first takes stock of what we know about the patterns observed in Indian development and speculates on the likely scenarios over the next few decades. The main question that the article concerns—and probably the biggest economic policy challenge today—is why has poverty in India declined so slowly? The article suggests that a proximate cause is the size and productivity levels of the informal sector—a bulk of India's labor force is engaged in low-productivity cottage-type activities with little physical or human capital. This hinders productivity. What then is responsible for the existence and continuation of constraints in the informal sector? If the poor incidence of entrepreneurship in the informal sector is because of poor infrastructure and weak financial inclusion, why have governance structures failed to alleviate these constraints? In addition, the formal sector has not expanded at the expense of the informal sector to absorb a greater part of the labor force. The article discusses a host of factors that could explain obstacles to productivity improvements in the informal sector, and hence the low growth–poverty elasticity: caste, collective action, the political economy of Indian democracy, the role of credit markets, and rural urban migration, among others.
Concepts and Categories: Memory, Meaning, and Metaphysics
Authors: Rips Lance J. , Smith Edward E. , Medin Douglas L.
Published: February 2013

The psychological study of concepts has two main goals: explaining how people's knowledge of categories such as tables or cats enables them to classify or recognize members of those categories, and explaining how knowledge of word meanings (e.g., the meaning of table and cat) enables people to make inferences and to compute the meanings of phrases and sentences. We review current theories and data relevant to these two functions of concepts, including recent insights from cognitive neuropsychology. Both kinds of theories have evolved in ways that suggest that people make use of mental representations at several levels of complexity, from sparse, atomic concepts to complex, knowledge-intensive ones. We examine the implications of this variety for issues including psychological essentialism and domain specificity.
Causal Learning
Authors: Cheng Patricia W. , Buehner Marc J.
Published: February 2013

This chapter is an introduction to the psychology of causal inference using a computational perspective, with the focus on causal discovery. It explains the nature of the problem of causal discovery and illustrates the goal of the process with everyday and hypothetical examples. It reviews psychological research under two approaches to causal discovery, an associative approach and a causal approach that incorporates causal assumptions in the inference process. The latter approach provides a framework within which to answer different questions regarding causal inference coherently. The chapter ends with a consideration of causality as unfolding over time. We conclude with a sketch of future directions for the field.