bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Subjective Well-Being: The Science of Happiness and Life Satisfaction
Authors: Diener Ed , Oishi Shigehiro , Lucas Richard E.
Published: February 2013

This chapter reviews the scientific research on subjective well-being. Subjective well-being consists of a person's cognitive and affective evaluations of his or her life. First, the authors will provide a brief historical review of research on subjective well-being. Second, they will summarize the main measurement issues (e.g., the validity of self-reports, memory bias). Third, they will present the major theoretical approaches to this area of research (e.g., need and goal satisfaction theories, process or activity theories, genetic and personality predisposition theories). Finally, the authors will review current findings (e.g., hedonic adaptation, the effect of intervention, cultural variation) and suggest future directions for the study of subjective well-being.
Creativity
Authors: Simonton Dean Keith
Published: February 2013

Because creativity is often viewed as a highly positive human capacity both at the individual and societal levels, the chapter provides an overview of what psychologists have learned about this phenomenon. After beginning with the definition of creativity in terms of adaptive originality, the review turns to how measurement depends on whether creativity is to be treated as a process, a person, or a product. The next section of the review concentrates on the principal empirical results, with special focus on the two findings that would seem to be especially germane for positive psychology, namely (a) the impact of early trauma on creative development and (b) the relation between creativity and psychopathology. This section is followed by a discussion of the two key theoretical issues that pervade research on creativity: the nature-nurture question and the small-c versus big-C creativity question. Once these empirical and theoretical matters have been discussed, the article can progress to a treatment of some practical applications. These applications concern creativity-improving techniques that can be implemented during childhood, adolescence, or adulthood. The chapter closes with a brief discussion of the most fruitful directions for future research on creativity. Despite the tremendous accumulation of knowledge about the phenomenon, a lot of unanswered questions remain.
Perspectives on Time
Authors: Boniwell Ilona
Published: February 2013

Time perspective is a preferential direction of an individual's thoughts toward the past, present, or future, which exerts a dynamic influence on their experience, motivation, thinking, and several aspects of behavior. This chapter discusses the theoretical and conceptual bases of this construct, as well as existing approaches to measuring time perspective, such as the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory. Major research findings with regard to time perspective are considered, including its influence on educational achievement, risk taking, and negative reminiscence. Further attention is paid to the patterns of relationships between various time perspective types and several aspects of well-being, highlighting the limitations associated with allowing any one time perspective to dominate. The idea of a balanced time perspective is suggested as an alternative to any particular temporal bias. In an optimally balanced time perspective, the past, present, and future components engage flexibly, in response to individuals' values and preferences, whilst taking into account a situation's context and demands at the same time.
Optimism
Authors: Carver Charles S. , Scheier Michael F. , Fulford Daniel
Published: February 2013

Optimism is expecting good things to occur in one's life. Such positive expectations are associated with higher subjective well-being, even under conditions of stress or adversity. In contrast, pessimists respond to adversity with more intense negative feelings. There are also differences in the manner in which optimists and pessimists try to cope with adversity. Optimists tend to put the best face on the adversity, but they acknowledge its existence and its importance, and they try to do as much as possible to resolve whatever problems can be resolved. Pessimists are more likely to distance themselves from the problem and put off doing anything about it as long as possible. They are also more likely to give up trying, if things remain difficult. Some kinds of problem solution is proactive, engaged in before the problem arises. Optimists also tend to engage in such proactive efforts, including taking actions to minimize various kinds of health risks. Perhaps, as a consequence of these preventive steps, optimists also tend to have better health than pessimists. They seem to heal faster from wounds, and there is some evidence that when they are seriously ill they experience slower disease progression. It has been suggested that optimists sometimes are no better off than pessimists, and sometimes are worse off: that their confidence can get them into situations where it is difficult to cope effectively. Evidence of such negative effects of optimism does exist, but it is relatively sparse.
Compassion
Authors: Cassell Eric J.
Published: February 2013

This chapter reviews historical and modern perspectives on the positive emotion of compassion. From the time of Aristotle, compassion has been defined as an emotion experienced when individuals witness another person suffering through serious troubles, which are not self-inflicted and that we can picture ourselves experiencing. Compassion at its core is, therefore, a process of connecting by identifying with another person. The identification with others generated from compassion can then provide the motivation to do something to relieve the suffering of others. Compassion is, therefore, an emotion that is vital to the practice of medicine, psychology, and other helping professions. The chapter concludes by proposing that one future topic for the field of positive psychology will be to develop interventions and educational programs that instill compassion in helping professionals.
Toward a Biology of Social Support
Authors: Dickerson Sally S. , Zoccola Peggy M.
Published: February 2013

The presence of close, supportive ties to others can have a wide range of positive effects on health; certain biological processes may play a key role in linking positive social relationships to salubrious health outcomes. In this chapter, we review the research that connects the presence of strong, supportive social ties to positive physiological functioning, with an underlying emphasis on the implications for health and disease. Cross-sectional and prospective studies demonstrate that high levels of social integration and/or social support are associated with positive biological profiles (e.g., lower levels of neuroendocrine activity, better functioning of the immune system), whereas social isolation and loneliness can have detrimental effects on these parameters. Other research provides evidence for the stress-buffering hypothesis; social support exerts beneficial effects via a downregulation of stress responses, including dampened sympathetic and neuroendocrine activity. Conversely, deficient social relationships or social conflict has been linked with negative biological profiles. Emerging animal and human research suggests that oxytocin and endogenous opioids may underlie some of these physiological and health effects. Further elucidating the pathways through which social support could influence health outcomes could subsequently be used to develop theoretically sound interventions to optimize physiological functioning and health.
Positive Institutions, Law, and Policy
Authors: Huang Peter H. , Blumenthal Jeremy A.
Published: February 2013

We analyze how positive institutions—democracy, strong families, free inquiry, free press, schools, businesses, communities, societies, work, and culture—can help foster human flourishing. We provide four examples of positive law and policy to illustrate the important role legal and social institutions can play in facilitating positive psychology. First, we explore positive psychology's potential interplay with law firm culture to reduce unhappiness of law firm associates. Second, we review the influence of civic participation in juries and democratic processes on citizens' well-being. Third, we identify the effects of policy changes on subjective perceptions of well-being in a wide range of contexts, and the complexities of evaluating such effects in light of individuals’ cognitive and emotional tendencies. Finally, we speculate about the role of government or other third-party institutional intervention in enabling individuals and communities to flourish and thrive. Our overarching goal is to generate discussion about positive psychology's role in developing institutions that can help improve individuals' quality of life.
Making Sense of Loss, Perceiving Benefits, and Posttraumatic Growth
Authors: Davis Christopher G. , Nolen-Hoeksema Susan
Published: February 2013

Reports of personal growth following adversity are quite common, and a general model of the process has been proposed. However, very little research has been offered in support of the process model. We review studies that suggest that more than one process may be operating and propose that benefits should be distinguished from growth. Whereas benefits tend to be incidental and transient, personal growth emerges from a process of renegotiating goals and priorities and involves disengaging from or revising former core projects, activities, and strivings and initiating new ones that are intrinsically meaningful.
The More You Know the Less You Know, But That's OK: Developments in the Developmental Approach to Intellectual Disability
Authors: Burack Jacob A. , Russo Natalie , Flores Heidi , Iarocci Grace , Zigler Edward
Published: February 2013

The adage “the more you know, the less you know” may best describe the contributions of the developmental approach to the study of persons with intellectual disability. Based on this premise, we trace the development of the approach from its origins in the 19th century, and highlight both the advances and difficulties of an increasingly precise science that involves differentiating among etiological groups and fine-tuned developmental concepts. We also provide an overview of the five sections of the volume.
Linking Genes to Cognition: The Case of Fragile X Syndrome
Authors: Cornish Kim M. , Bertone Armando , Kogan Cary S. , Scerif Gaia
Published: February 2013

This chapter draws together the plethora of findings from a decade of research on fragile X syndrome (FXS) in order to demonstrate how disruption to a single gene can impact across multiple levels (brain, cognitive, behavioral levels) and across developmental time. It begins by describing how some of the major advances in genetic, cognitive, and brain technologies have facilitated a decade of exploration of the gene–brain–behavior relationship in developmental disorders. It then illustrates the fruitfulness of this approach using the case of FXS. It focuses on the current knowledge of the fragile X cognitive phenotype and highlights the importance of using a cross-syndrome perspective to further delineate “signature” profiles. The chapter concludes with future research directions that specifically focus on comparisons of cross-syndrome performance over developmental time and the use of the cross-cultural context to delineate the contributions of similar genes within the context of different cultural environments to the developmental outcomes of different disorders.
Language Development in Childhood, Adolescence, and Young Adulthood in Persons with Down Syndrome
Authors: Chapman Robin S. , Kay-Raining Bird Elizabeth
Published: February 2013

This chapter summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of the emerging language profile in children, adolescents, and young adults with Down syndrome (DS). It reviews in detail studies of expressive language skill in vocabulary, speech—motor skill, syntax, and pragmatics, and includes a section on studies of receptive language skill in vocabulary and syntax. Finally, the chapter considers proposed causes of the behavioral language phenotype and individual variation in its expression, and discusses the implications of the findings.
Socioemotional and Brain Development in Children with Genetic Syndromes Associated with Developmental Delay
Authors: Niccols Alison , Thomas Karen , Schmidt Louis A.
Published: February 2013

This chapter reviews studies of social and behavioral development, emotional development and temperament, and brain development and psychophysiology in children with the six most common genetic syndromes associated with developmental delay (Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, Williams syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, and Angelman syndrome). We review recent research on relations among brain, psychophysiological, and socioemotional development in these children, placing particular emphasis on how each of these genetic disorders provides researchers with evidence and a model to understand the links among gene-, brain-, and behavior relations.
The Assessment and Presentation of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Associated Characteristics in Individuals with Severe Intellectual Disability and Genetic Syndromes
Authors: Moss Joanna , Howlin Patricia , Oliver Chris
Published: February 2013

This chapter considers the prevalence and nature of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and associated symptomatology in the intellectual disability population, with particular focus on three genetically determined syndromes—Fragile X syndrome, Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, and Rett syndrome—that have received particular attention with respect to their association with ASD. It then considers the importance of accurate assessment and diagnosis of ASD in individuals with genetically determined syndromes. It describes the methods and tools available for assessing ASD in individuals with intellectual disability, and explores the appropriateness of these assessments for identifying ASD in individuals with genetically determined syndromes associated with intellectual disability.
Family Well-being and Children with Intellectual Disability
Authors: Glidden Laraine Masters
Published: February 2013

This chapter examines the variability of parents' reactions to rearing children with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (IDD) in order to provide tentative conclusions regarding the factors that influence it. The intent is to update the review of published research, concentrating on the years since 1997 to avoid duplication with the 1998 reviews of Minnes and Shapiro et al. It highlights research with children with intellectual disability (ID), although evidence from studies of children with other developmental disabilities is included when it is conceptually and scientifically relevant. The chapter focuses on parental emotional responses and parent and family well-being, attending to positive emotions such as feelings of satisfaction, reward, pride, and happiness, as well as negative emotions such as depression, pessimism, anxiety, and anger.
Introduction: Philosophy and Cognitive Science
Authors: Samuels Richard , Margolis Eric , Stich Stephen P.
Published: February 2013

This chapter offers a high-level overview of the philosophy of cognitive science and an introduction toThe Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Cognitive Science. The philosophy of cognitive science emerged out of a set of common and overlapping interests among philosophers and scientists who study the mind. We identify five categories of issues that illustrate the best work in this broad field: (1) traditional philosophical issues about the mind that have been invigorated by research in cognitive science, (2) issues regarding the practice of cognitive science and its foundational assumptions, (3) issues regarding the explication and clarification of core concepts in cognitive science, (4) first-order empirical issues where philosophers participate in the interdisciplinary investigation of particular psychological phenomena, (5) traditional philosophical issues that aren’t about the mind but that can be informed by a better understanding of how the mind works.
Reasoning and Rationality
Authors: Allen Colin , Todd Peter M. , Weinberg Jonathan M.
Published: February 2013

The article explores five parts of Cartesian thought that include individualism, internalism, rationalism, universalism, and human exceptionalism demonstrating the philosophical and psychological theories of rationality. Ecological rationality comes about through the coadaptation of minds and their environments. The internal bounds comprising the capacities of the cognitive system can be shaped by evolution, learning, or development to take advantage of the structure of the external environment. The external bounds, comprising the structure of information available in the environment, can be shaped by the effects of minds making decisions in the world, including most notably in humans the process of cultural evolution. The internal constraints on decision-making including limited computational power and limited memory in the organism and the external ones include limited time push toward simple cognitive mechanisms for making decisions quickly and without much information. Human exceptionalism is one of the strands of Residual Cartesianism that puts the greatest focus on language and symbolic reasoning as the basis for human rationality. The invention of symbolic systems exhibits how humans deliberately and creatively alter their environments to enhance learning and memory and to support reasoning. Nonhuman animals also alter their environments in ways that support adaptive behavior. Stigmergy, an important mechanism for swarm intelligence, is the product of interactions among multiple agents and their environments. It is enhanced through cumulative modification, of the environment by individuals.
Emotions: How Many Are There?
Authors: Prinz Jesse J.
Published: February 2013

This article focuses on a particular theory of the emotions, somatic appraisal theory, which explain the range of emotions effectively. The somatic appraisal theory is designed to compensate for the flaw in James's formulation according to which emotions are perceptions of patterned changes in the body. James's theory does not capture the idea that emotions are meaningful. Somatic appraisal theory mentions that emotions are perceptions of changes in the body and also carry information about circumstances that bear on well-being. The bodily changes that occur and the perception thereof have the function of carrying information about loss. They were set up as responses to loss. Somatic appraisal theory has much in common with Ekman's Darwinean modules. Ekman states that each emotion is associated with a physiological pattern. Ekman mentions that the patterns are evolved adaptations, and that is also true in somatic appraisal theory. He also says that emotions exploit automatic appraisals. Ekman mentions that appraisals are components of emotions, while somatic appraisal theory reports that they are causes, rather than components, but the difference is not especially important for present purposes. Somatic appraisal theory is compatible with three ways of acquiring new emotions. Emotions are individuated by their semantic content and their somatic profile (the pattern of bodily changes the perception of which constitutes the emotion). A change in semantic content could lead to the creation of a new emotion, and the introduction of new bodily patterns could as well.
Broad-Minded: Sociality and the Cognitive Science of Morality
Authors: Doris John M. , Nichols Shaun
Published: February 2013

The article gives an overview on the concept of individualism in cognitive science. Individualism maintains that optimal human reasoning is substantially asocial, and therefore implies that sociality does not facilitate, and may impede, reasoning. The cognitive science of morality very frequently proceeds with individualist assumptions. The individualist may allow that normal development requires sociality, but deny that optimal reasoning in mature individuals requires it. The optimal cognitive functioning is both developed and sustained through sociality. The optimal exercise of rationality is a socially embedded process. It means that sociality is not just a precondition of rationality, but that even among those with normal cognitive functioning, the optimal exercise of rationality typically occurs as part of a social process. The sociality has a significant role in substantial cognitive achievement, such as scientific and technological discovery. A large body of research indicates that motivation plays a crucial role in reasoning. The optimal human reasoning is substantially asocial, and sociality is necessary for the development of optimal reasoning. The sociality is necessary for the sustenance of optimal reasoning, and for the transmission of information. One important feature of group interactions is that they are likely to induce emotional responses. Many familiar emotions such as anger, guilt, and sympathy are characteristically triggered by cues in social interaction.
Dualistic Forms
Authors: Rehding Alexander
Published: February 2013

This article explores some of the consequences of Riemann's harmonic dualism that were not pursued by Riemann himself. The question of musical forms is one that Riemann intriguingly leaves unresolved—despite the fact that he is considered a formalist theorist, his ideas about musical form remain comparatively underdeveloped. The root of the problem is assumed to be related to the skepticism with which harmonic dualism is widely regarded. In exploring the idea of a dualistically based concept of form, the article takes Riemannian ideas further than Riemann did and (re-)constructs a Riemannian theory of forms based on the concept of harmonic symmetries.
On a Transformational Curiosity in Riemann'sSchematisirung der Dissonanzen
Authors: Gollin Edward
Published: February 2013

This article explores the less examined aspect of Riemann's Skizze, the Schematirisung der Dissonanzen. The article focuses in particular on Riemann's category of Doppelklänge, by examining the conceptual origin of the category in the Skizze and its relation to Riemann's harmonic theories. Doppelklänge are dissonant chords that arise through a combination of two consonant triads in a coordinate relationship. While the Doppelklänge category is short-lived, it nevertheless fascinating for its relation to Riemann's taxonomy of harmonic relations. Specifically, Riemann classifies Doppelklänge according to the Harmonieschritte that relate their component Klänge, reflecting within those dissonant chordal structures the same relations that organize harmonic progression in music. The article then examines how an explicitly transformational reinterpretation of Riemann's Doppelklänge can offer analytic insights into tonal, post-tonal and transitional musical repertoires such as by Chopin, William Grant Still, and Ravel. The article ends by providing an appendix that presents a translation of Schematirisung der Dissonanzen.
Tonal Interpretation, Transformational Models, and the Chromatic Calls to Repent in Franck'sLe chasseur maudit
Authors: Cook Robert C.
Published: February 2013

This article provides an analysis of Cesär Franck's Le chasseur maudit, which serves as an extended and elegant reflection on the potential and limitations of various analytical frameworks. This article is placed with respect to notions of chromatic music, specifically on the idea that chromaticism poses analytical difficulties that Riemannian and neo-Riemannian perspectives are particularly well suited to address. After discussing the work from both linear and functional perspectives, and examining the conceptual problems that attend each, the article then demonstrates how a contextual, neo-Riemannian view can capture the work's important gestures, and offers a balance between a desire to understand the work as a reflection of an orderly and coherent relational system, and the need to engage the aural experience of the music.
Happiness
Authors: Davies Brian
Published: February 2013

This article presents a definite and positive view of Aquinas about happiness. Aquinas distinguished between what he calls actus hominis (an act of a human being) and actus humanus (a human action). Actions are often bodily processes through which people go, but some of them occur without thinking about them at all while others involve reflection. Aquinas believed that human action is deliberative and goal-directed. It typically results from a process of practical reasoning. Aquinas argued that human action is essentially directed to what people take to be good, attractive, satisfying, and fulfilling. He thought of it as always happiness-oriented. Aquinas's theory of human action focuses on the desire for happiness. Aquinas held that thinking, knowing, and understanding are categorically different from sensations that are private property. Aquinas has a general or defining notion of happiness. He takes happiness to be the perfection of the totality of a well-lived human life. The English word ‘happiness’ can be used to translate at least two different Latin terms that include felicitas and beatitudo. Aquinas makes the use of both of these words to describe happiness. He speaks of felicitas when he means happiness enjoyed by people before death. He takes beatitudo as the ultimate good for people that include the union with God after death.
The Cavellian Turn
Authors: Rhu Lawrence F.
Published: February 2013

The article is all about the works and viewpoints of Stanley Cavell, an American philosopher who increasingly followed his vocation through the examples of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Responsiveness amounts to the primary virtue in Cavell's Transcendental philosophy: a willingness to hear and heed the summons of thought and feeling as it becomes manifest in the unfolding of our lives. The article describes the way Cavell followed Emerson. He pointedly put Emerson first among the philosophers under review in Cities of Words (2004). For Cavell, Platonic forms and other definitive features of Platonic idealism were secondary in the epistolary instruction that he offered in “documents of a certain intimacy,” which constituted the chapters of his book. The article states that there were many turns in the plot of the story of Cavell's inheriting and transmitting American Transcendentalism.
Aesthetics
Authors: Wilson G. Terence
Published: February 2013

For centuries, literary critics have made a division between poetry and prose, believing that poetry focuses on complex interactions between sound and sense, while prose centers on lucid significance. However, this article states that the major Transcendentalists believed that no clear distinction existed between poetry and prose. Supposing that the poetic is at one with the organic, they concluded that prose, if it approached the powers of nature, could qualify as poetry. Hence, the general aesthetics of American Transcendentalism are not confined to poetry but rather include poetry and prose alike. The aesthetic theories of Transcendentalists were vast and deep. They touched all the natural elements and resources and they were defined beautifully elucidating the aesthetic concepts of the Transcendentalists. Emerson tried to write about the world in his earliest book, Nature. Margaret Fuller and Henry David Thoreau, too, persistently worked to transform creatures into conceits and tropes into flora and fauna.
Science and Technology
Authors: Walls Laura Dassow
Published: February 2013

The article enlarges upon the impact of specific sciences on Transcendentalism. It explores how the popularity of botany both enlarged and limited the world of intellectual women such as Mary Moody Emerson and Sarah Ripley and how Thoreau turned his own love of botany into a new science that would eventually be called “ecology”. Apart from discussing how the Transcendentalists reacted when Charles Darwin used evolution to blow the snug universe to smithereens, the article also talks about how every graduate of Harvard was taught how natural philosophy (now called physics) complemented moral philosophy, completing a satisfying view of a universe designed by an artful God. Considering Emerson and Thoreau the article states that the connections between science and Transcendentalism run so deep as to be definitive.
The Dynamics of Interviewing
Authors: Quinlan Mary Kay
Published: February 2013

The focus of this article is the dynamics of oral history and the significance of interviewing while recording oral history. From the profound to the perfunctory, question-asking permeates modern society. Sometimes, of course, the questioner does not want information, like the alumni association solicitor. At other times, the respondent, wise to the conventions of culture, knows that the question—How are you today?—is not really a question at all but an alternate way of saying hello. Nonetheless, the purposeful exchanges of questions and answers—these commonplace mini-interviews—characterize our days. This article discusses researches that are interview based with references to broadcast interview, print interview as well as ethnographic interview. While these three interview-based research methods share certain similarities, and their practitioners can learn constructive techniques from each other, their differences are more notable. This article elaborates the factors affecting interview and ways of documenting an interview.
Case Study: Rome's House of Memory and History: The Politics of Memory and Public Institutions
Authors: Portelli Alessandro
Published: February 2013

This article centers around the case study of Rome's House of Memory and History to understand the politics of memory and public institutions. This case study is about the organization and politics of public memory: the House of Memory and History, established by the city of Rome in 2006, in the framework of an ambitious program of cultural policy. It summarizes the history of the House's conception and founding, describes its activities and the role of oral history in them, and discusses some of the problems it faces. The idea of a House of Memory and History grew in this cultural and political context. This article traces several political events that led to the culmination of the politics of memory and its effect on public institutions. It says that the House of Memory and History can be considered a success. A discussion on a cultural future winds up this article.
Case Study: “Above all, we need the WITNESS”: The Oral History of Holocaust Survivor
Authors: Wiederhorn Jessica
Published: February 2013

Holocaust survivor and witness accounts began long before the Second World War ended. Diaries, journals, letters, notes hidden, buried, and stuffed into jars or between floor boards were mostly lost and destroyed, but those that have been recovered express desperation to tell, to document, to bear witness, and to commemorate. This article records the oral history of holocaust survivors. Together with the countless thousands of testimonies that would be recorded during the next sixty years, these eyewitness accounts would change the face of research and education, not only in the field of Holocaust studies but across academic boundaries. Together with the countless thousands of testimonies that would be recorded during the next sixty years, these eyewitness accounts would change the face of research and education, not only in the field of Holocaust studies but across academic boundaries. The second half of the twentieth century saw a renewed interest in holocaust narratives.
Doing Video Oral History
Authors: Williams Brien R.
Published: February 2013

Oral historians once tended to regard the sound recording of interviews as only the collecting stage of their enterprise. They considered the transcript as the authoritative document of record. This article focuses on the role of historians in capturing oral history through video. Later, however, aural recordings acquired more authority and began to be seen as a legitimate, if not co-equal, version of the interview. Now, oral historians are steadily adding video recording to their work. Foremost among the advantages of using video is the increased information obtained even in a simple “talking head” interview. This article enlists an extensive guideline for carrying out videohistory beginning with equipments and production techniques such as the equipment needed will include a consumer-grade video camera with at least one external microphone input, a camera tripod, and one or more quality microphones. A detailed description of video tour and ways of capturing video history concludes this article.
Motivating the Twenty-first-Century Student with Oral History
Authors: Whitman Glenn
Published: February 2013

This article focuses on the teaching of oral history in the twenty-first century. The article discusses the importance of educators when it comes to teaching oral history to students. According to this article educators can bring into the classrooms and programs of the twenty-first century a historical process once used by Thucydides to chronicle the Peloponnesian Wars, and use that process to challenge students with learning opportunities. The student-oral historian has many roles to play like preservation, and publication of the past and present for future generations, a revelation that emerges as they consider the variety of oral history projects being conducted at all levels. Classroom oral history projects generally fall into one of two categories: those that focus on individual biographical/life review interviews, and those that deal with a particular period or place following the oral history training method which allows students to understand the challenges associated with oral history as a methodology.
“The Road into the Open”: From Narrative Closure to the Endless Performance of Subjectivity in Mahler and Freud at the Turn of the Century
Authors: Toews John E.
Published: February 2013

This article studies selected works of Gustav Mahler and Sigmund Freud as enacting the history of subjectivity as a problematic narrative of the deconstruction and construction of identity. It views Mahler and Freud's cultural productions as historically parallel examples of a certain way of imagining human subjectivity as a reflective activity. It studies their ideas on identity as a form of assimilation, and looks at how their “works” took a turn towards subjectivity. The article shows that Freud, Mahler, and their modernist contemporaries did not opt to live in their songs and selves, but instead found a new way to imagine the relations among individuals.
Modalities of National Identity: Sibelius Builds a First Symphony
Authors: Hepokoski James
Published: February 2013

This article discusses Jean Sibelius, a Finn composer who emerged during the golden age of Finnish nationalist art. It first studies the gap between the elite-urban European art and Finnish-revered originary culture. Preserved literary and musical collections, the concept of strategic triangulation, and the construction of Sibelius' first symphony are discussed. The article also proposes a methodological model that is generalizable to the study of other art-music inflections of nationalism in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century music.
Beethoven, Napoleon, and Political Romanticism
Authors: Plantinga Leon
Published: February 2013

This article discusses the influence of Napoleon on the works of Beethoven. It begins by describing how the conflict between Napoleon and the Austrians interrupted Beethoven's career as a composer. It then examines the role Napoleon had in Beethoven's political and philosophical outlook. This is followed by a study of the Landsberg 5, one of the compositions Beethoven was working on during Napoleon's invasion. The article introduces the concept of political romanticism and shows that Napoleon's meteoric rise served as an inspiration and a threat to Beethoven's musical career.
The Eye of the Needle: Music as History after the Age of Recording
Authors: Botstein Leon
Published: February 2013

This article is concerned with the examination of music history. It first shows that the methodological and scholarly trends of the past two decades explicitly and implicitly reflect three modern cultural and political obsessions. It then shows that the shifting context and character of musical perception have influenced how people interpret what is historically significant in the history of music. The next section discusses the influence of recording in music history, as well as its parallelism in art historical scholarship.
Designing and Conducting Interventions to Enhance Physical and Mental Health Outcomes
Authors: Westmaas J. Lee , Gil-Rivas Virginia , Silver Roxane Cohen
Published: February 2013

Health-focused interventions can prevent the devastating effects of many illnesses by encouraging changes in behavior. Interventions that recognize the multiple influences on behavior will have the greatest likelihood of success, but increased sensitivity to their costs, convenience, and reach has led to innovative new treatments, for example internet programs for post-traumatic stress disorder or smoking cessation. Nonetheless, although the landscape in which interventions can be delivered has changed, attention to principles of design and methodology remain the same. This chapter describes proven scientific methods in designing and evaluating interventions, and illustrates how understanding the causes of illnesses and health, and using theoretically driven and multilevel approaches to develop interventions, can save lives by promoting health and preventing illness.
Physician–Patient Communication
Authors: Hall Judith A. , Roter Debra L.
Published: February 2013

This chapter focuses on the various aspects of physician–patient communication. It begins with a discussion of relationship-centered medicine, which considers the relationship as part of the therapeutic picture, depending not just on the patient’s attributes (values, background, etc.) but also on those of the physician in a dynamic relation with the patient. It then discusses the theoretical and philosophical basis of the therapeutic relationship, the assessment of physician–patient communication, quantitative approaches to interaction analysis, correlates of physician–patient communication, and the clinical outcomes of communication.
HIV/AIDS
Authors: Temoshok Lydia
Published: February 2013

This chapter discusses key human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) issues, developments, research, and clinical/policy implications for the United States. The first section focuses on psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) and biobehavioral HIV research. It summarizes critical information and biomedical research on HIV, and then reviews in some detail examples of PNI and biobehavioral HIV/AIDS research, especially research on plausible PNI mechanisms in HIV progression that is conversant with the basic science discoveries starting in the mid-1990s. The second section considers the much more voluminous record of psychosocial and behavioral clinical research, including interventions. It argues that this research, which has addressed almost exclusively two main areas— HIV behavioral prevention and adherence to HIV medications— would be more successful in terms of impacting these areas if this research and these interventions were better informed by biomedical research. Thus, a critical consideration of the impact of this research, as well as future research directions, will necessarily include references to significant biomedical research in the areas of HIV prevention and treatment.
Behavior Genetic Perspectives on Cli nical Personality Assessment
Authors: South Susan C. , Krueger Robert F. , Markon Kristian E.
Published: February 2013

This article explores how the field of behavior genetics—the genetic and environmental contributions to individual differences in human behavior—can aid and inform personality assessment. These two fields of study are often quite distinct: personality assessment applies to the study of a singular individual; behavior genetics typically is used to describe population-level individual differences. However, behavior genetic methodology has been vital in helping to understand how genetic and environmental influences transact in the development of personality. Nature and nurture are both important contributors to variation in human personality and newer methodologies from both behavior and molecular genetics hold great promise for understanding how different etiological factors interact in the development of personality. The article considers biometric models and the important contributions from decades of behavior genetic research into personality, and how research using newer biometric moderation models allows for group-specific estimates of heritability and environmental influences on personality. It also examines how twin studies work and what they have taught us about personality, as well as what adoption studies have taught us about personality.
Test Theory and Personality Measurement
Authors: Drasgow Fritz , Chernyshenko Oleksandr S. , Stark Stephen
Published: February 2013

This article reviews traditional approaches for the psychometric analysis of responses to personality inventories, including classical test theory item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and item response theory. These methods, which can be called “dominance” models, work well for items assessing moderately positive or negative trait levels, but are unable to describe adequately items representing intermediate (or average) trait levels. This necessitates a shift to an alternative family of psychometric models, known as ideal point models, which stipulate that the likelihood of endorsement increases as respondents' trait levels get closer to an item's location. The article describes an ideal point model for personality measures using single statements as items, reanalyzes data to show how the change of modeling framework improves fit, and discusses the pairwise preference format for use in personality assessment. It also considers two illustrative ideal point models for unidimensional and multidimensional pairwise preferences and shows that, after correcting for unreliability, correlations of personality traits assessed with single statements, unidimensional pairs, and multidimensional pairs are very close to unity.
Construct Validation of Personality Measures
Authors: Smith Gregory T. , Cyders Melissa A.
Published: February 2013

Over the last century, both validation theory and personality theory have made enormous strides, and progress in the two domains has been closely linked. A great deal of the history of validation theory in psychology has been driven by the need to assess personality-based dysfunction; at the same time, progress in understanding how to validate measures of unobservable personality constructs has led to improvements in personality theory and assessment. This article presents an overview of this history and then discusses recent advances in construct validation theory of personality measures. One important, recent advance is a growing appreciation of the need to make measures of unidimensional, rather than multidimensional, constructs the focus of both construct validation and theory validation. The article provides examples of the kinds of advances in knowledge that have been realized in personality and psychopathology research following the introduction of construct validity and also following appreciation of the need to focus on homogeneous psychological entities. Finally, it highlights the need to validate measures in relation to humans' day-to-day and moment-to-moment reactions and behaviors.
Incorporating Base Rate Information in Daily Clinical Decision Making
Authors: Finn Stephen E.
Published: February 2013

What are your chances of being hit by lightning? Of winning the lottery? Of developing schizophrenia? The probabilities of these events, usually expressed in a percentage, are called base rates. Base rates are often calculated in clinical settings. They have important implications for a wide variety of issues in clinical practice. Although sometimes overlooked, base rates affect the prediction of behaviors (for example, suicide), the interpretation of test data (for example, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 scores), and decision making regarding diagnosis. This article discusses the need for practitioners to consider the relative frequency of phenomena (base rates) in particular clinical settings in order to make diagnoses and interpret psychological test scores appropriately. First, it explains what base rates are, and then discusses base rates and predictive power, implications of base rates for clinical practice and test use, and how to use base rates in daily clinical decision making.
Personality Disorders Assessment Instruments
Authors: Widiger Thomas A. , Boyd Sara E.
Published: February 2013

This article discusses the assessment of personality disorder, focusing in particular on self-report inventories and semistructured interviews. It summarizes the convergent validity reported in sixty-eight studies among five semistructured interviews, one rating form, and ten self-report inventories. The article also explores discriminant validity; the boundaries with Axis I disorders; the boundaries with normal personality functioning; the boundaries among the personality disorders; and culture, ethnicity, and gender bias.
The Assessment of Psychopathology in Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Authors: Gray-Little Bernadette
Published: February 2013

As accurate assessment is critical to diagnosis and treatment, understanding the association between race or ethnicity and the assessment of psychopathology has important practical significance. However, detecting and mitigating racial bias in assessment is a profoundly complex challenge. This article examines several conceptual issues germane to assessing minority groups in the United States, and reviews efforts to address ethnic and racial bias in frequently used adult-assessment instruments. It discusses ethnic identity and acculturation, assessment of psychopathology by means of the clinical interview and psychological testing, self-epressive assessment of psychopathology using projective tests, the Rorschach inkblot test, picture-story tests, and sentence completion and figure-drawing tests.
Writing Clinical Reports
Authors: Ownby Raymond L.
Published: February 2013

Psychological assessment is a key aspect of professional practice and one that distinguishes psychology from other disciplines. Reporting the results of assessments is thus an important professional function, but surveys suggest that many consumers of reports are dissatisfied. Three concepts from psycholinguistics are particularly relevant to writing clinical reports: the given-new contract, coherence, and cohesion. This article reviews problems with psychological reports and discusses the expository process model, which uses insights from basic psycholinguistic research to inform reporting practices.
How to Use Computer-Based Reports
Authors: Butcher James N.
Published: February 2013

Computers have become an indispensable component in psychological assessment in most health-care, forensic, mental health, and personnel settings. This article addresses several aspects of the use of computer-based psychological test reports. It describes the rationale and value of using computerized psychological tests in clinical assessment. Computer-based psychological test results can be obtained quite rapidly, saving practioners' valuable time for use in early clinical sessions. The methods of computer test data processing that practitioners can employ are varied and include the following data-entry methods: mail-in service, in-office computer processing, fax-processing option, and Internet-based test applications. The article also considers shortened or abbreviated forms of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), computer adaptive testing, MMPI-2 feedback as an intervention, and use of computer-based psychological reports in forensics.