bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dispersed Ownership: The Theories, the Evidence, and the Enduring Tension between “Lumpers” and “Splitters”
Authors: Coffee John C.
Published: February 2013

This article argues that dispersed ownership resulted less from inexorable forces and more from private ordering. Neither legal nor political conditions mandated or prevented the appearance of dispersed ownership. Rather, entrepreneurs, investment bankers, and investors—all seeking to maximize value—sometimes saw reasons why selling control into the public market would maximize value for them. But when and why? That is the article's focus. It argues that law played less of a role than specialized intermediaries—investment banks, securities exchanges, and other agents—who found it to be in their self-interest to foster dispersed ownership and who compensated for weak legal protections. Initially, relying on reputational capital, self-regulatory institutions, and contractual mechanisms, entrepreneurs found ways to assure investors that they would not be exploited if they invested in their companies as minority shareholders. This resulted in a localized dispersion of ownership with control remaining with the founder/entrepreneur.
A Competition Law Analysis of Private Equity “Club Deals”
Authors: Barrachdi Faysal
Published: February 2013

This article explains how syndicate relationships in certain market structures have implications for competition policy. It studies the legal position of private equity club deals and shows how they should be treated under the current European Competition Law framework. It first describes private equity and club deals and then studies the elements and structure of club deals within modern European Union law framework.
The Real Effects of Private Equity Buyouts
Authors: Tåg Joacim
Published: February 2013

This article analyzes the real effects of private equity buyouts. It defines private equity buyouts as gains of established companies accepted by private equity firms. Private equity buyouts are also referred to as leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, and bootstrap acquisitions. The first section explains why buyouts have real economic effects, while the second section presents a survey of empirical literature on the relation between buyouts and employment, productivity, long-run investments, and bankruptcy. The final section of the article discusses further research and summarizes the findings.
Listed Private Equity and the Case of Exits
Authors: Müller Götz , Vasconcelos Manuel
Published: February 2013

This article studies the return effects seen on listed private equity funds, which are the result of exit events of portfolio companies. It shows that private equity as an asset class has long been connected to sophisticated investors, including high-net-worth institutions or individuals. It then hypothesizes that exit announcements cause significantly positive share price reactions and provides data that was gathered from all exit announcements made by firms. This article determines that the hypothesis is true, and that it is due to the fact that a better price may be achieved in an IPO.
Venture Capital and the Financial Crisis: An Empirical Study across Industries and Countries
Authors: Block Joern , De Vries Geertjan , Sandner Philipp
Published: February 2013

This article analyzes the effect of the 2007–2009 financial crisis on the venture capital market. It shows that the crisis is associated with a decrease in the number of initial funding rounds as well as with a decrease in the amount of funds raised in later funding rounds. The effects of the crisis differed across industries and were stronger in the United States than in other countries. The article suggests that the crisis has led to a severe “funding gap” in the financing of technological development and innovation.
Corporate Venture Capital: From Venturing to Partnering
Authors: McCahery Joseph A. , Vermeulen Erik P.M. , Banks Andrew M.
Published: February 2013

This article analyzes the importance of the rise of corporate venture capital and considers the role of government venture capital. It also studies the emergence of international industry clusters relative to regional clusters. Corporate venturing is on the resurgence as large corporations increasingly look to young entrepreneurial businesses for innovation. Corporations should pursue a strategic alliance approach when making corporate venturing decisions. For instance, allying directly with start-up companies or, indirectly, with traditional venture capitalists could lead to a win-win situation, provided that the incentives of the parties are aligned. Governments should co-invest in venture capital funds with one or more corporate investors. By doing so, governments pursue two main goals: co-investment signals the trustworthiness of venture capital initiatives and promotes the emergence of a sector-specific venture capital market.
The Role of Geographic Proximity in Venture Capital
Authors: Cumming Douglas , Dai Na
Published: February 2013

In practice, venture capital (VC) is not about the people you know, but rather where you are. Some VCs even make their investment decisions based on the “twenty-minute rule,” which is that if a start-up company seeking venture capital is not within a twenty-minute drive of VCs' offices, it will not be funded. Generally speaking, both theoretical work and empirical evidence is consistent with these recent observations in the popular press. However, prior evidence on local bias in venture capital markets has not fully investigated how local bias depends on VCs' characteristics. Further, whether and how local bias differs for VC markets versus other forms of financial intermediation has not been fully considered. As well, there is no or little empirical evidence on the performance implications of local bias, which should be important for the diversification and specialization issue in VC fund management. This article aims to fill this gap. First, it discusses relevant theory and develops empirically testable predictions, and then describes the sample and data employed in this study. It develops measures of local bias in VC investments and examines whether there is local bias in VC investments. Next it analyzes the factors that contribute to local bias and links the geographic distance to VC investment performance. The last section summarizes the main findings.
Well-Being, Aging, and Immunity
Authors: Friedman Elliot
Published: February 2013

Aging is associated with progressive declines in multiple aspects of immune function and with corresponding increases in vulnerability to immune-related disease. At the same time, older adults consistently report that they are happier and more satisfied with their lives than adults in middle or early adulthood. There is also growing evidence that well-being is not merely the absence of stress and depression, and that it makes unique contributions to health and longevity, particularly in later life. This chapter examines the intersection of these age-related phenomena. With a particular emphasis on two different aspects of well-being—hedonic and eudaimonic—we consider the extent to which greater well-being is associated with healthier profiles of integrated immune responses, functions of specific immune cell types, and molecular aspects of immune regulation. Physiological and behavioral mechanisms that may underlie these associations, as well as the potential to improve well-being in later life, are also considered.
Stress and Immune System Aging
Authors: Effros Rita B.
Published: February 2013

Aging of the immune system is responsible for increased severity of infections, reduced vaccine responsiveness, and higher cancer incidence in the elderly. These outcomes can be attributed to several types of stress, including latent viral infections, oxidative stress and psychological stress. The major infectious stressors are herpes viruses, which are usually acquired early in life, persist for many decades and drive certain T cells to replicative senescence, a terminal state characterized by reduced immune function, shortened telomeres, and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Chronic psychological and oxidative stress are also associated with shortened telomeres and reduced immune function. Given the wide range of deleterious effects associated with telomere shortening and the resultant immune dysfunction and inflammation, research aimed at retarding the process of replicative senescence—for example, by enhancing telomerase in T cells or by life-style and stress-reduction techniques—are promising approaches for enhancing healthspan in older persons.
Physiological Correlates of Self-Conscious Emotions
Authors: Dickerson Sally S.
Published: February 2013

Self-conscious emotions, such as shame and embarrassment, are painful and intense emotions, yet they have been understudied within psychoneuroimmunology. However, several studies have examined the biological correlates of self-conscious emotions, and far more have demonstrated that the social-evaluative stressors, which can induce these emotions, are potent elicitors of physiological reactivity. Self-conscious emotions—and the social contexts that elicit them—can be associated with immunological changes, including increases in pro-inflammatory cytokine activity. These conditions can also lead to increases in cortisol and sympathetic nervous system activity, which have implications for immunological functioning. The self-conscious emotional and physiological changes can occur in concert under social-evaluative threat, leading to correlations between the affective and physiological responses. Future research should continue to examine the specificity of the associations between self-conscious emotions and physiological outcomes, the role of the social context in eliciting these changes, and the health implications of these effects.
Positive Emotions and Immunity
Authors: Pressman Sarah D. , Black Lora L.
Published: February 2013

In this section, we examine the evidence tying positive emotions to immune function. Studies reviewed here focus on the short-term alterations in immune function that occur as a result of experimentally induced emotions as well as naturally occurring emotional states. We begin by discussing the larger theoretical concerns in this field, such as measurement of positive emotions, independence from related constructs, and the pathways by which positive feelings might lead to alterations in immune outcomes. We follow with a brief review of the literature showing ties between manipulations of positive emotions and immune outcomes, as well as studies tying short term, naturally occurring states to immunity. We conclude that this literature is suggestive in that many studies show immune enhancing benefits of positive emotions. However, a number of studies have methodological concerns making it difficult to determine the true effect sizes and active components of these associations and we, therefore, make a call for further work in this area.
Social Support and Immunity
Authors: Uchino Bert N. , Vaughn Allison A. , Carlisle McKenzie , Birmingham Wendy
Published: February 2013

Social support has been reliably related to lower rates of morbidity and mortality across a number of diseases. However, little is known about the more specific pathways and mechanisms responsible for such links. In this chapter, we argue that part of the link between social support and health is explained by immune-system alternations that, in turn, influence broad-based disease outcomes. Recent studies suggest that social support is related to lower IL-6 and better immune function in biologically relevant contexts (e.g., vaccinations, cancer patients). The implications of these findings are discussed in light of a broad model hypothesizing that social support may influence health outcomes via behavioral (e.g., health behaviors), psychological (e.g., stress appraisals), and neuroendocrine-immune mechanisms. Important future research areas are also emphasized, especially the need to uncover the psychological pathways by which social support may be health-promoting.
Socioeconomic Status, Inflammation, and Immune Function
Authors: Steptoe Andrew
Published: February 2013

Socioeconomic status (SES) is a major determinant of health and well-being in childhood, adult life, and old age, with people of lower SES, as defined by education, occupation, income, and neighborhood deprivation being at higher risk for a range of communicable and noncommunicable diseases. Psychoneuroimmunological processes may contribute to links between SES and health outcomes. There is extensive population evidence that SES is inversely associated with chronic inflammation indexed by markers such as C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and fibrinogen. Both childhood and adult SES contribute to this pattern. Evidence for SES differences in acquired immunity is more sparse, but it also implicates lower SES in the dysregulation of immune responses. There is limited experimental data from humans showing that lower SES is associated with heightened inflammation following acute stress. There is an inverse correlation between SES and seropositivity for common infections acquired early in the life course that may in turn contribute to low-grade inflammation in adult life. SES differences in immunity and inflammation are also mediated in part by variations in health-related behaviors such as smoking and energy balance, and by direct stress-related processes. Research linking SES, psychosocial adversity, immune function, and health outcomes longitudinally is needed, together with intervention studies that explore the impact of modifying links in the causal chain.
Seasonal Rhythms in Psychoneuroimmunology
Authors: Weil Zachary M. , Nelson Randy J.
Published: February 2013

Animals experience substantial and generally predictable, annual changes in environmental conditions. The changing seasons each present different challenges for animals to address. Mechanisms have evolved in many small mammals to confine breeding to the relatively mild conditions of spring and early summer. In addition to adjustments in reproductive function, other physiological systems including many aspects of immune function and stress responses also vary across the year. The goals of this chapter are to review the current state of our knowledge regarding how psychoneuroimmunological processes vary across the year in small mammals. In the second half of the chapter, we will address what is known about seasonal fluctuations in immune function in humans and the consequences of these rhythms for psychiatric, inflammatory, and infectious diseases.
Methods, Variance, and Error in Psychoneuroimmunology Research: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Authors: Segerstrom Suzanne C. , Smith Gregory T.
Published: February 2013

Every researcher deals with error at some level. In psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) research, there may be error due to substantive fluctuations in immune parameters (e.g., as related to stress, time of day, or activity). This error is significant for some parameters, but it can and should be minimized by taking multiple measurements or converted into “good,” substantive variance by measuring variables that can predict the fluctuations. Type I and Type II “bad” errors are of more concern; many PNI studies have far too few subjects for the number of effects they test. Of studies included in a recent meta-analysis of stress and human immunity, several studies actually had fewer subjects than they had statistical tests. Finally, variance due to assay or supply variability contributes to “ugly” error, and it should be addressed by analysis of covariance or partial variance. However, too often, important variance due to factors such as age is designated as “ugly” rather than incorporated into the model. We suggest solutions for addressing “good,” “bad,” and “ugly” error and look into the future of physiometrics.
Prevention and Counseling Psychology
Authors: Vera Elizabeth M. , Polanin Megan K.
Published: February 2013

Abstract In the introductory chapter of this handbook, core aspects of prevention science and practice will be presented. Included in this presentation are definitions of prevention; how prevention has been conceptualized within the field of psychology; why prevention is necessary; why counseling psychologists are particularly well suited to engage in prevention activities; the benefits of including mental health prevention as part of a larger wellness agenda; and how prevention is part of a commitment to social justice and cultural relevance. It is hoped that presenting these ideas will help orient the reader to what is to come in the remaining chapters as well as ground the volume in a common language and philosophical base.
Ethical Principles for the Practice of Prevention
Authors: Schwartz Jonathan , Hage Sally M. , González Dianna Marisol
Published: February 2013

Abstract The role of prevention in the field of psychology, due to increasing evidence of the utility of prevention, has grown significantly in recent years. Unfortunately, although there has been increasing attention to training competent prevention practitioners, there has been less attention to explicating meaningful guidelines for ethical issues raised in prevention. In this chapter we will discuss the importance of prevention, identify unique ethical issues in prevention, highlight previous guidance provided for addressing these issues, and suggest ideas for starting a new ethical code for prevention practice.
Understanding and Preventing Adolescent Bullying, Sexual Violence, and Dating Violence
Authors: Espelage Dorothy , Low Sabina
Published: February 2013

Abstract In this chapter, the social ecological framework was used to identify unique and shared risk and protective factors of bullying experiences (victimization, perpetration), sexual violence, and dating violence perpetration in adolescents. Individual predictors included sex, race, anger, empathy, callousness, and impulsivity. Family violence, parenting style, and parental monitoring are discussed as risk factors. Attitudes and behaviors of friendship also contribute to the onset and continuation of these outcomes. Teacher’s attitudes and school climate play a very important role in exacerbating bullying and sexual violence, but can also serve as protective agents. When prevention programs are designed or selected from the many marketed programs, it is important for consumers to consider the extent to which the programs include many of the risk and protective factors.
Keeping the Dragons at Bay
Authors: Priester Paul E. , Jones Janice E.
Published: February 2013

Abstract Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse (ATODA) is a critical public health issue. Research suggests that there are some principles that can guide effective prevention activities. This chapter explores not only what content should be included in such prevention activities, but also what processes and which contexts are best suited for optimal results. In general, research supports the use of developmentally appropriate activities that decrease risk factors and increase protective factors. Certain skills such as relationship skills and drug refusal skills are shown to be effective components of prevention work. Components that have not been successful include: affective skills training and the didactic imparting of drug information to elementary school students. Specific culturally responsive techniques are required for students of color, as the drug use profiles and risk/protective factors differ by ethnic/racial groups. A discussion of the political and fiscal contextual variables that impact the delivery of prevention activities is also presented.
Dropout Prevention
Authors: Shin Richard Q. , Kendall Mone’t A.
Published: February 2013

Abstract Despite the intense focus on school dropout over the past 40 years, this pervasive social injustice continues to plague the United States. This chapter will provide a review of the extant literature on school dropout risk factors as well as the research on effective intervention and prevention programs. The chapter will begin with a rationale for focusing specifically on schools that serve students and families of color who reside in high poverty communities. The authors will critique the deficit-oriented framework that has been pervasive in school dropout literature. We hope to interrupt the dominant discourses that position poor students of color as inherently “at risk” for school dropout. The authors will present a case for counseling psychologists to develop social justice dropout prevention programs that focus primarily on institutional and structural changes. The chapter will also include a discussion of future directions for the field of counseling psychology.
Integrative Approaches to the Prevention of Eating Disorders and Obesity in Youth
Authors: Mazzeo Suzanne E. , Gow Rachel W. , Bulik Cynthia
Published: February 2013

Abstract Both eating disorders and obesity are serious public health concerns. Given the chronic course of these conditions, there is a major emphasis on their prevention. However, many concerns have been raised about the optimal approach to the prevention of both eating disorders and obesity. This chapter reviews controversies in the prevention of eating disorders and obesity, including potential iatrogenic effects of prevention, and whether programming should be implemented at the level of public policy. Next, we review the debate regarding the integration of prevention efforts for these conditions, including the feasibility and acceptability of these integrated approaches. The chapter continues with a brief review of some of the best practices for the integrated prevention of both obesity and eating disorders identified in previous research. Finally, we discuss newer perspectives in this research, including broadening targets of prevention, integrating technology, and enhancing the cultural sensitivity of eating disorder and obesity prevention.
Toward the Prevention of Risky Sexual Behavior Among Latina Youth
Authors: Edwards Lisa M. , Stubbs Lucia J.
Published: February 2013

Abstract Sexual risk-taking among Latina youth has been noted as a critical health concern within the United States. In this chapter, the importance of prevention of risky sexual behavior among Latina youth will be discussed. Current prevalence rates and consequences associated with sexual behavior among Latino/as will be reviewed, along with factors that are relevant to understanding the prevention of sexual activity. Finally, programs that have been developed to prevent risky sexual behavior among Latinas will be reviewed and suggestions for prevention efforts will be presented.
Promoting College Retention in First-Generation College Students
Authors: Thompson Mindi N. , Phillips Julia C.
Published: February 2013

Abstract First-generation college students (FGCS) are those students whose parents did not attend or graduate from college. They are at greater risk for not graduating from college in comparison to students whose parents are college graduates. Counseling psychologists working in higher education are well situated to aid in retention of FGCS through various prevention efforts given our values and expertise. This chapter reviews the literature on characteristics of FGCS. First, we summarize existing empirical research relevant to the experiences of FGCS in institutions of higher education. Second, we offer a brief overview of relevant theories that provide explanatory context for understanding the success of FGCS. Third, we highlight strategic points of intervention for FGCS in order to prevent negative outcomes and overview avenues by which counseling psychologists have been involved in prevention efforts with FGCS. Finally, we explore approaches by which counseling psychologists can contribute to these prevention efforts. Directions for research, theory, and practice will be suggested for current and future generations of counseling psychologists.
Career Development as Prevention
Authors: Brown Steven D. , Lamp Kristen , Telander Kyle J. , Hacker Jason
Published: February 2013

Abstract The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the potential preventive implications of career development interventions, focusing primarily on how school dropout might be prevented and school performance might be promoted. We first use social cognitive career theory (SCCT) as a template by summarizing SCCT’s models of interest development, choice, performance, and satisfaction and outlining how these models can be used to design preventively oriented career interventions. We then introduce a social cognitive model of vocational hope that integrates SCCT with other relevant literatures (e.g., causes and consequences of school dropout, multicultural psychology). We define vocational hope, present hypotheses about how it might be promoted, and outline the types of short and long-range outcomes that might be associated with changes in vocational hope.
Preventing Racial Injuries, Promoting Racial Justice
Authors: Neville Helen A. , Spanierman Lisa B.
Published: February 2013

Abstract Although most people publicly abhor individual, interpersonal, and institutional forms of racism, racial oppression persists in the United States. This oppression manifests itself in a host of racial inequalities. In this chapter, we define racism and its corollary White privilege and we outline their contemporary expressions. We present the disrupting racism ecological model to describe the multiple and interlocking systems that create and perpetuate racial oppression. We discuss tertiary and social justice prevention-interventions on college campuses that are designed to increase students’ critical consciousness and antiracism action. Next, we review the empirical literature on the influence of diversity courses in general, dialogue courses more specifically, and particular pedagogical practices on developing students’ critical consciousness. Additionally, we review the research supporting the effects of cocurricular diversity experiences such as interracial friendships. We conclude with a discussion of the limitations of the extant research and provide future directions for prevention-intervention researchers.
Forecasting with Real-Time Data Vintages
Authors: Croushore Dean
Published: February 2013

When researchers develop forecasting models, they usually pull down data on a variety of economic variables from a current database. But the potential drawback is that the researcher is using data which are not the same as the data that will face a forecaster in real time. This article discusses issues which arise once it is acknowledged that the values of economic variables taken from the latest available database will not be the same as the data which the forecaster or researcher would have faced in real time. It discusses data revisions and their impact on forecasts, and optimal forecasting when data revisions exist.
Forecast Combinations
Authors: Aiolfi Marco , Capistrán Carlos , Timmermann Allan
Published: February 2013

This article studies two issues in forecast combination, first considering ways to combine forecasts from surveys and time series models. Second, it considers the possibility, advanced by Hendry and Clements (2004), that model instability can help explain the gains in forecasting performance resulting from combination. The article is organized as follows. Section 2 discusses the design of the universe of forecasting models used in combining forecasts from time series models and subjective survey forecasts. Section 3 undertakes an empirical analysis using forecasts from univariate and multivariate linear models, nonlinear models, and survey forecasts. Section 4 provides analytical results that shed light on the performance of forecast combinations under model instability. Section 5 presents empirical results on forecast combinations under breaks. Section 6 concludes.
Testing for Unconditional Predictive Ability
Authors: Clark Todd E. , McCracken Michael W.
Published: February 2013

This article provides an overview of methods for constructing tests of unconditional predictive ability. Section 2 begins by describing the necessary notation for delineating these results. Sections 3 and 4 provide a discussion of the two main forms of the null hypothesis: population-level unconditional tests of predictive ability and finite-sample unconditional tests of predictive ability. For each, the main methodological approaches to conducting inference are discussed, emphasizing results in Clark and McCracken (2001, 2005a, 2009a), Giacomini and White (2006), McCracken (2007), and West (1996). In both instances, the discussion is in the context of using estimated parametric models to form a point prediction of a scalar-dependent variable y. Other types of forecast are referenced when relevant. Section 5 provides a brief overview of other developments in this literature and suggests new directions for future research. Section 6 provides Monte Carlo evidence on the efficacy of selected methods, and Section 7 concludes.
Testing Conditional Predictive Ability
Authors: Giacomini Raffaella
Published: February 2013

This article discusses out-of-sample evaluation based on assessing the conditional predictive ability of forecasting models, which stands in contrast to the notion of unconditional predictive ability testing. Here the word “conditional” refers to any approach in the literature that has gone beyond assessing the forecasting performance of models on average. The common thread which unites the papers discussed in this article is the argument that focusing solely on the average, or global, performance of a model may result in a loss of information and possibly lead to incorrect forecast selection decisions. Most of the discussion focuses on the problem of comparing the performance of two competing forecasts, but some extensions to different testing environments are also pointed out.
Analyzing Three-Dimensional Panel Data of Forecasts
Authors: Davies Antony , Lahiri Kajal , Sheng Xuguang
Published: February 2013

This article illustrates how frameworks built around multidimensional panel data of forecasts can be used not only to test the rational expectations hypothesis correctly, but also to study alternative expectations-formation mechanisms, to distinguish anticipated from unanticipated shocks, and to distinguish forecast uncertainty from disagreement.
Economic Value of Weather and Climate Forecasts
Authors: Katz Richard W. , Lazo Jeffrey K.
Published: February 2013

This article, which deals with methods for quantifying the economic value of weather and climate forecasts, is organized as follows. Section 2 provides some background on methods used to produce weather and climate forecasts, including the distinction between “weather” and “climate.” Section 3 introduces the concept of the economic value of imperfect information, based on the framework of decision theory and expected utility maximization. Section 4 reviews specific decision-analytic studies of the economic value of weather and climate forecasts. As a complement to the decision-theoretic approach, nonmarket valuation of weather and climate forecasts based on stated preference methods are described in Section 5. As an example, a recent survey of the public to obtain willingness-to-pay estimates for the economic value of improved hurricane forecasts is treated in detail. Finally, Section 6 consists of a discussion focusing on future research directions that could result in improved assessment of the economic value of weather and climate forecasts.
Election Forecasting
Authors: Lewis-Beck Michael S. , Tien Charles
Published: February 2013

This article, which reviews the nature of election forecasting, first defines forecasting as it applies to elections, and next looks at election forecasting history. Then, it examines the different approaches to election forecasting, focusing on statistical models. After presentation of a generic example of such a model specification, the article reviews template equations for more than one country, and shows that a political economic explanation is at the core of most equations. An issue that arises here concerns which economic predictor variables are preferred. This question receives thorough discussion, through explication of the UK case. Penultimately, the article discusses how to evaluate model quality, and concludes with the development of a leading example, that of forecasting US presidential elections.
Poetry and Rhetoric
Authors: Nicholls Peter
Published: February 2013

This article illustrates “rhetoric” as a multivalent term, encompassing deliberate deception, false fluency, redundancy, and inflated self-emphasis. It is a deeply unstable term, with one writer's meat invariably being another one's poison. Defined as cliché, commonplace, and unoriginal, though, rhetoric becomes a sort of inescapable ground against which literary innovation struggles constantly and “impossibly.” Ezra Pound had defined “rhetoric” as “the use of cliché unconsciously,” thereby perhaps leaving room for his own late invention of a consciously commonplace language of ethical injunction derived from Confucianism. Pound would not have seen the point of today's conceptual writing, though in one sense Goldsmith's work, with its blunt rejection of originality might be read as a programmatic and perhaps inevitable embrace of a rhetoric that was, for modernism, both a threat and a temptation.
Antisocial Behavior in Individuals and Groups
Authors: Castano Emanuele
Published: February 2013

In this chapter a broadened perspective on antisocial behavior is proposed, which includes not only what is customarily considered antisocial behavior (e.g., aggression, theft, bullying) but also prejudice and discrimination toward outgroup members. This broadening is balanced by a narrowing of the causal factors that are considered, with an exclusive focus on empathy, or lack thereof, as the psychological dimension underlying the diverse types of antisocial behavior. It is argued that antisocial behavior is facilitated by low levels of dispositional empathy, but also by social psychological processes that actively curtail empathic reaction to others (us versus them distinction, dehumanization). The discussion of empathy as a thread common to a variety of antisocial behaviors also serves as a bridge between the personality and social psychological literature.
Attachment Theory Expanded
Authors: Mikulincer Mario , Shaver Phillip R.
Published: February 2013

In this chapter we move from the original form of attachment theory and research to a more comprehensive behavioral systems theory of personality, motivation, and social behavior that considers both individual differences and the impact of relationship partners and other aspects of social situations. We begin by explaining the behavioral systems construct, including its species-universal and individual-differences aspects, which interact with social situations to shape social behavior. We discuss the behavioral systems studied to date: attachment, exploration, caregiving, sex, and power. We place more emphasis on the attachment system than on the other behavioral systems because it has received more research attention, but we also summarize new research related to the other behavioral systems. We suggest avenues for further theorizing and research that will lead to a more complete behavioral systems theory of personality and social behavior.
Multiculturalism
Authors: Benet-Martínez Verónica
Published: February 2013

This chapter discusses the psychological and societal processes involved in the phenomenon of multiculturalism. An emphasis is placed on reviewing and integrating relevant findings and theories stemming from cultural, personality, and social psychology. The chapter includes sections devoted to defining multiculturalism at the individual, group, and societal level, discussing the links between acculturation and multiculturalism, how to best operationalize and measure multicultural identity, the issue of individual differences in multicultural identity, and the possible psychological and societal benefits of multiculturalism. The chapter concludes with a discussion of future challenges and needed directions in the psychological study of multiculturalism.
Traumatic Stress in Special Populations
Authors: Mueser Kim T. , Lu Weili
Published: February 2013

Special populations are individuals who by virtue of psychiatric, behavioral, cognitive, or physical disabilities are more likely to be exposed to psychological trauma. Individuals with severe psychiatric disorders, substance use disorders, developmental disabilities, and persons who are incarcerated are more likely to experience trauma throughout their lives, especially interpersonal victimization, and are more likely to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Trauma and PTSD have a negative impact on special populations, often exacerbating psychiatric symptoms and substance abuse, and interfering with community functioning. Despite the high rates of trauma and PTSD in special populations, these problems are often not identified, and when they are, they are rarely treated. Recent progress has been made in adapting treatments developed for PTSD in the general population to special populations, including persons with severe mental illness and individuals with substance use disorders.
Empirically Supported Psychological Treatments: Cognitive Processing Therapy
Authors: Chard Kathleen M. , Schuster Wachen Jennifer , Resick Patricia A.
Published: February 2013

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) has been recognized by the Institute of Medicine (2007) as one of the most effective treatments for PTSD. This chapter provides a brief overview of the CPT session content, the underlying mechanisms of the therapy, a review of the empirically based literature outlining the treatment effectiveness, limitations of the therapy, and areas of future research. In addition, the authors discuss the utility of the various versions of CPT, including cognitive only (CPT-C), group, individual, and combination. Further the research supporting the effectiveness of CPT for treating PTSD related to a variety of traumas, (e.g., combat, child abuse, and rape) and the significant impact CPT can have in areas of mental health related to PTSD (e.g., anger, guilt, social functioning) are described.
Empirically Supported Psychological Treatments: EMDR
Authors: Spates C. Richard , Rubin Sophie
Published: February 2013

In this chapter we review the empirical foundation for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reproessing Therapy (EMDR) for posttraumatic stress disorder. We present a brief description of the therapy, critically review recent primary and meta-analytic investigations concerning its efficacy and effectiveness, offer a summary of recent primary investigations that addressed the mechanism of action for EMDR, and based on this overall review, we suggest limitations with recommendations for future research. Recent empirical investigations of the efficacy of EMDR have improved along a number of important dimensions, and these along with the few completed effectiveness trials, position this therapy among evidence-based frontline interventions for PTSD. What is less thoroughly researched, and thus less well understood, are putative models of its theoretical mechanism of action. In addition to continuing specific improvements in research concerning efficacy and effectiveness, we recommend more and higher quality empirical studies of its mechanism of action.
Quantum Physics, Consciousness, and Free Will
Authors: Hodgson David
Published: February 2013

This article begins with an account of how quantum physics represents physical systems and how it differs from classical physics, focusing on three features of quantum theory that have been thought to be relevant to free will: indeterminism, nonlocality, and observer-participation. It examines various interpretations of quantum theory, including deterministic interpretations, such as the “many-worlds” interpretation and hidden variable interpretations. It considers other topics, puzzles about Schrodinger's cat and a recent challenge to deterministic interpretations of quantum theory, called “the free will theorem” by mathematicians John Conway and Simon Kochen. It discusses the views of three thinkers who have argued in different ways for the relevance of quantum theory to both consciousness and free will: mathematician Roger Penrose, physicist Henry Stapp, and neuroscientist and Nobel laureate John Eccles.
Compatibilism Without Frankfurt: Dispositional Analyses of free Will
Authors: Berofsky Bernard
Published: February 2013

This article considers recent debates about the adequacy of conditional analyses of freedom and classical compatibilism. It begins with a discussion of objections to conditional or hypothetical analyses of freedom that began to surface in the 1950s and 1960s. It discusses four such objections to conditional analyses, some of which can be successfully rebutted by classical compatibilists, but several of which present serious problems. These problems, the article argues, have led over the past fifty years to the abandonment of conditional analyses of freedom by many “new” compatibilists inspired by the work of Harry Frankfurt, P. F. Strawson, and others. The discussion notes that compatibilists must look beyond conditional accounts of freedom if they are to fully blunt the force of incompatibilist arguments.
Who'sStillAfraid of Determinism? Rethinking Causes and Possibilities
Authors: Taylor Christopher , Dennett Daniel
Published: February 2013

This article argues, in defense of compatibilism, that objections to compatibilist accounts of free agency are based on a flawed understanding of the relationship of such notions as possibility and causation to freedom and agency. It undertakes an analysis of the relevant notions of possibility and causation to show this. The article develops a compatibilist view, with special attention to technical issues about the nature of causation and possibility. In the process, it discusses recent technical views about the nature of causality, particularly that of Judea Pearl. It also develops some interesting analogies concerning the functioning of computers to argue that the flexibility, reflexivity, and creativity that free will requires are consistent with the hypothesis that human behavior, like that of intelligent machines, is determined.
Agent-Causal Theories of Freedom
Authors: O'Connor Timothy
Published: February 2013

This article provides an overview of recent agent-causal theories, explaining what motivates them to postulate an “ontologically primitive” notion of causation by an agent or substance that is not reducible to ordinary modes of event-causation. It considers different accounts of the agent-causal view which have been defended by libertarians. It also poses the question whether agent-causal theories require a substance dualism of mind and body since they posit a causal relation between an agent and action irreducible to ordinary modes of causation. It argues that agent-causal theories do not necessarily require substance dualism, but may require causal powers and properties that are ontologically emergent.
Free-Will Skepticism and Meaning in Life
Authors: Pereboom Derk
Published: February 2013

This article discusses and defends a hard incompatibilist position. It first explains why it rejects both compatibilism and libertarianism as adequate solutions to the free-will problem. This rejection of compatibilism is based upon the so-called “four-case manipulation argument.”. Regarding libertarianism, the article notes that the two most prominent theories, (centered) EC libertarianism and agent-causal (AC) libertarianism, fail for different reasons. The former falls prey to the “luck objection,” whereas the latter is not plausible, the article states, given the best scientific theories. The article argues in general that the consequences of hard incompatibilism would not be as destructive as many people believe and would be compensated by benefits in the form of more humane treatment of others.
Free Will, Fundamental Dualism, and the Centrality Of Illusion
Authors: Smilansky Saul
Published: February 2013

This article's view is unusual among contemporary views of free will. It is defined by two radical theses. The first, Fundamental Dualism, says that we can and should be both incompatibilists and compatibilists about freedom and responsibility. There is no reason, the article argues, why it should not be the case that certain forms of moral responsibility, desert, and blame require libertarian free will, whereas other forms can be sustained without it. Thus, if libertarian free will is impossible, there is no reason why we have to choose between hard determinism or compatibilism. The second thesis, Illusionism, is even more radical. It notes that the consequences for humanity of widespread belief that we lack libertarian free will would be dire and destructive. Illusion about free will is therefore morally necessary.
Free Will and the Bounds of the Self
Authors: Knobe Joshua , Nichols Shaun
Published: February 2013

This article appeals to experimental studies in order to elucidate the reactions of ordinary persons to the picture of the human mind that is prevalent in contemporary cognitive science. According to this prevalent cognitive-scientific picture, the mind is made up of states and processes that interact according to certain rules to generate specific behaviors. The discussion argues that this picture is disturbing to ordinary persons, who reason that if the mind works that way, we would not be morally responsible for what we did because our behaviors would inevitably result from facts about the configuration of states and processes within us. It concludes that people have access to different conceptions of the self, on some of which cognitive science is a genuine threat to free will, on others not. The puzzlement people feel about free will is therefore not merely a superficial muddle that can be dissolved by conceptual clarification.
The Role of Death in Life: Existential Aspects of Human Motivation
Authors: Kesebir Pelin , Pyszczynski Tom
Published: February 2013

The capacity for self-reflection, which plays an important role in human self-regulation, also leads people to become aware of the limitations of their existence. Awareness of the conflict between one's desires (e.g., to live) and the limitations of existence (e.g., the inevitability of death) creates the potential for existential anxiety. In this chapter, we review how this anxiety affects human motivation and behavior in a variety of life domains. Terror management theory and research suggest that transcending death and protecting oneself against existential anxiety are potent needs. This protection is provided by an anxiety-buffering system, which imbues people with a sense of meaning and value that function to shield them against these concerns. We review evidence of how the buffering system protects against existential anxiety in four dimensions of existence: the physical, personal, social, and spiritual domains. Because self-awareness is a prerequisite for existential anxiety, escaping self-awareness can also be an effective way to obviate the problem of existence. After elaborating on how existential anxiety can motivate escape from self-awareness, we conclude the chapter with a discussion of remaining issues and directions for future research and theory development.