Psychotherapy and moral discourse.

Argues that psychotherapy's (PT's) claim to be a universal scientific practice that objectively treats ahistorical illnesses is untenable. PT is a cultural product, so it both reflects and reproduces its cultural context. Because cultural context is in part composed of moral traditions embedded in political structures, PT is unavoidably a moral practice with political consequences. Implicit moralities in current practices are discussed. Philosophical hermeneutics in PT practice are offered as an alternative. In a discussion of intersecting traditions, it is suggested that a hermeneutic perspective can portray the keeping of family secrets as a commitment to a particular moral code, rather than the products of a "dysfunctional family." If PT theories can be changed so that they are more historically situated, and if PT practices can be changed to use hermeneutics, then a different moral frame can be put forth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The emotional dog and its rational tail: A social intuitionist approach to moral judgment.

Research on moral judgment has been dominated by rationalist models, in which moral judgment is thought to be caused by moral reasoning. The author gives 4 reasons for considering the hypothesis that moral reasoning does not cause moral judgment; rather, moral reasoning is usually a post hoc construction, generated after a judgment has been reached. The social intuitionist model is presented as an alternative to rationalist models. The model is a social model in that it deemphasizes the private reasoning done by individuals and emphasizes instead the importance of social and cultural influences. The model is an intuitionist model in that it states that moral judgment is generally the result of quick, automatic evaluations (intuitions). The model is more consistent than rationalist models with recent findings in social, cultural, evolutionary, and biological psychology, as well as in anthropology and primatology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual moral judgment and cultural ideologies.

Moral judgment cannot be reduced to cultural ideology, or vice versa. But when each construct is measured separately, then combined, the product predicts powerfully to moral thinking. In Study 1, 2 churches (N?=?96) were selected for their differences on religious ideology, political identity, and moral judgment. By combining these 3 variables, a multiple correlation of .79 predicted to members' moral thinking (opinions on human rights issues). Study 2 replicated this finding in a secular sample, with the formula established in Study 1 (R?=?77). Individual conceptual development in moral judgment and socialization into cultural ideology co-occur, simultaneously and reciprocally, in parallel, and not serially. Individual development in moral judgment provides the epistemological categories for cultural ideology, which in turn influences the course of moral judgment, to produce moral thinking (e.g., opinions about abortion, free speech). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A technique of sexual counselling

A method of sexual counselling based on the technique originally proposed by Masters and Johnson but modified to suit local conditions is described. The method is basically "client-centred" and depends on interviewing both partners of a sexually inadequate relationship so that the clients themselves set the level of desired sexual achievement. Factors which may inhibit a sexual relationship are explored, particularly those involving cultural, moral, religious, education or financial matters. Ejaculatory problems and orgasmic dysfunction are treated in the manner described by Masters and Johnson, whilst other interpersonal and communicative problems are handled by making use of Kagan's Interpersonal Recall snselling clinics are discussed.     

Forgiveness Therapy: The Context and Conflict.

This paper is a critique of forgiveness therapy that focuses on the cultural contexts in which forgiveness therapy arose, with a special focus on the movement to address the victimization of women. I describe forgiveness as described by forgiveness therapy advocates and the moral and non-moral benefits claimed on its behalf. I then describe the cultural context that may explain the popularity of this form of therapy at this historical moment; the first context is a broad cultural context, looking at ideologies and practices that support forgiveness as a therapeutic intervention; the second context is the more narrow context of a movement within the field of psychology called "positive psychology" that also supports forgiveness interventions; and the third context, is the ideologies and narratives around victimization and in particular victimization against women that have led to an application of forgiveness therapy for victims of abuse (Freedman & Enright, 1996). After describing these three contexts in which forgiveness therapy arose, I present a critique from a feminist as well as a broader humanistic/psychodynamic perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Values expressed in American children's readers: 1800-1950.

"Content analysis of children's readers from schools in the United States demonstrated a rise in achievement imagery from 1800 to about 1900 and then a steady decline… . A steady decline over the period 1800-1950 was found in the amount of moral teaching in readers… [and] an increase in affiliation imagery… . the data correspond… with certain cultural trends pointed out by students of cultural change." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

国外高校思想道德教育的特点及对我们的启示

由于世界经济政治格局的变化和各国发展战略的需要,思想道德教育的地位越来越重要。各国的教育体制、文化传统和经济环境的差别,决定了它们思想道德教育的目标、方法、手段等各具特征。对反映一般教育规律的特征进行比较分析,可博采众长,为我国高校思想政治教育工作提供有益的借鉴。     

A comparison of personality characteristics of Mennonites with non-Mennonites.

The value system of 204 Mennonite young people was compared with a comparable control group of 200 non-Mennonites using a battery of five psychological tests. The findings suggest that Mennonites are more strongly motivated to interpret behaviour in "religious" terms, which includes feeling the need for punishment for wrong doing, being more concerned about moral issues, and having a greater need to orient their life around religious values. Urban Mennonites were found to be more dominant and to feel more guilt than rural Mennonites. The greater dominance of the urban Mennonites possibly reflects the result of being exposed to surrounding cultural pressures, which may then increase anxiety as the influence of the primary value system is challenged. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Culture and psychotherapy: Toward a hermeneutic approach.

Outlines a hermeneutic model of the self and its relationship to culture based on an integration of the hermeneutic work of M. Heidegger, H. Gadamer, and C. Taylor, and the cultural anthropologist C. Geertz. The author begins by first summarizing a hermeneutic theory of culture. Next, how the reigning Western understanding of the person, ontological individualism, makes it difficult to grasp how thoroughly people are shaped by culture is examined. The author then turns to Heidegger's notion of "being-in-the-world" as an alternative non-Cartesian ontology of the human agent that compliments an interpretive view of culture. Also addressed is Taylor's claim that culture is a moral framework that orients us to the good. The author then explores how the hermeneutic notion of dialogue can provide a framework for engaging with those from different cultural backgrounds. Finally, these concepts are applied to a cross-cultural case study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prenatal infant feeding intent and perceived social support for breastfeeding in Manitoba first nations communities: a role for health care providers

In a prospective study of pregnant women (n = 36) in four southern Manitoba First Nations communities to test a breastfeeding decision-making model, maternal perceptions of the impact of referents (individuals and groups which impact a woman's decisions) was measured. A quantitative "referent score" comprised of a measure of the referent's "breastfeeding-supportiveness" and a measure of maternal compliance with the referent. The woman's own mother, the community health nurse, and the physician were perceived as highly supportive of breastfeeding, and as people with whom the woman was most likely to comply. Women also identified the timing of their infant feeding decisions, as reported in the third trimester of pregnancy. Only 22% had decided prior to pregnancy. During the third trimester, 36% did not know their infant feeding choice. Women forced to verbalize a "choice" prior to being informed may make decisions based on the perceived cultural norm, which may be bottle feeding. A neutral attitude by health professionals may be harmful if it prevents informed choice by pregnant or postpartum clients. Prenatal education of the pregnant woman with her own mother, and adolescent school education of the peer group (sisters, close friends and male partner) may need to be incorporated into a community strategy to promote breastfeeding.     

The ethics of managed care: Part 3--Toward a common vision

A common set of values is one of the primary unifying elements of any systematized group. The moral crisis in health care today has more to do with value dis-integration than economic dis-array. The use of resource allocation mechanisms like managed care expand the needs of conscience with those of man-willed choice. If health professionals are to meet the ethical challenges of "managed care," they must start by reminding themselves of what the scientific and ethical commitments both promise and imply.     

The forms and limits of medical ethics

As medical ethics has evolved over the past several decades, it has come to be regarded as a domain of applied ethics, that is, the application of a rationally based, philosophical theory to moral problems in health care. But an array of difficulties arise in the attempt to apply general moral theories or norms to concrete problems, difficulties that expose the incompleteness and indeterminacy of philosophical moral theory. The doubtful ability of applied ethics to be practically helpful has led to the development of two main competitors. One is the attempt to reprise and rehabilitate the tradition of moral casuistry, which focuses on the analysis of specific cases rather than on the defense and application of theories and norms. The second is the search for moral insight and guidance in narratives or stories. These alternatives suffer from some of the same difficulties that plague applied ethics, however. Another trend in medical ethics rejects the theoretical preoccupation of applied ethics in favour of contextualism--an insistence on situating moral problems in institutional and organizational structures and in social and cultural backgrounds. Social science investigations of medical ethics pay attention to the former, while feminist critiques of medical ethics are concerned with exposing and eradicating cultural biases against women. Contemporary work in medical ethics is diverse, but these manifold approaches hold out the promise of improving our understanding of morality as a truly practical enterprise.     

中美两国大学德育方法比较

中美两国大学德育有着相同的地方,都开设与德育相关的课程并采取课堂教学的方式,都注重通过各种活动来提高德育的效果,都注重通过社会化来实现德育的可持续发展。也有不同之处,在课程教学的侧重点上,在教育方式的选择上都有所不同。     

Measurement of moral values: A review and critique.

A historical review of the literature on efforts to assess strength of moral values led to the conclusion that existing instruments have weaknesses which limit their utility for psychological research. The most important of these weaknesses are: (1) questionable assumptions about the relationship of moral values and moral behavior, (2) a focus on moral abstractions rather than moral behavior in realistic contexts, (3) reliance on subjective and inferential scoring procedures which stress "correct" moral values, and (4) inadequate standardization. It is concluded that moral values are best conceptualized as subjective and individual attitudes whose measurement is most meaningfully achieved independent of a concern with moral behavior and conventional standards of moral evaluation. (2 p. ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moral conduct and moral character: A psychological perspective.

Suggests that moral conduct can be explained and the development of moral character described in terms of 5 concepts or dimensions: moral knowledge, socialization, empathy, autonomy, and a dimension of moral judgment. These dimensions arise from a conception of man as a rule-formulating and rule-following animal and a view of morality as a methodology, a result of biological and cultural evolution, which regulates and moderates social conduct. Each concept is given a theoretical and an operational definition, its developmental antecedents are discussed, and evidence is provided concerning its usefulness as a means for understanding moral conduct. Finally, the model as a whole is evaluated. (52 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A story of a pot: or A cross-cultural comparison of basic moral evaluations: A response to the critique by Turiel, Nucci, and Smetana (1988).

Turiel, Nucci, and Smetana's (1988) critique of Nisan (1987) merely serves to emphasize the difficulty involved in distinguishing between the moral and the conventional without reference to the cultural meaning of the act. Their criticism of the findings is shown to be based on underestimation of the comprehension of the subjects and on implausible interpretation of the results. It is suggested that the research of Turiel on the distinction between the moral and the conventional dealt with prima facie moral evaluations of decontextualized acts; the more complex and contextualized a moral judgment is, the more it is affected by culture and age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gordon Allport, character, and the "culture of personality," 1897–1937.

Examines the cultural context of early American personality psychology through a consideration of the early career of Gordon Allport. Between 1921 and 1937, Allport was among the leading figures in the movement to establish personality as a research category in American psychology. Far from being a strictly scientific concern, Allport's project was deeply embedded in the cultural politics of the age. Of particular importance was the gradual erosion of the language of character and the self-sacrificing, morally grounded self that it supported. Allport's "psychology of personality" helped fuel this trend while simultaneously attempting to resist it. His experience illustrates the elasticity and moral ambiguity of the newly emerging category of personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moral aspects of risk and innovation

In all areas of technological innovation and application, there are nontechnical (moral, cultural, religious, political, and regulatory) risk factors and uncertainties that have to be taken into account if research design and introduction of new devices and applications are to be successful. Products and methods will be beneficial to the patient if they meet personal and cultural expectations. Value assessment of individual patients and of cultural preferences and obstacles therefore has to be included in complex technology assessment. Successful recognition and management of moral and cultural risk factors may require changes in governmental regulation and research design and the development of risk recognition competence within professional organizations.     

Affect, culture, and morality, or is it wrong to eat your dog?

Explored whether disgusting or disrespectful actions are judged to be moral violations, even when these actions are harmless. Stories about victimless yet offensive actions (such as cleaning one's toilet with a flag) were presented to Brazilian and US adults and children of high and low SES (N?=?360). Results show that college students at elite universities judged these stories to be matters of social convention or of personal preference. Most other Ss, especially in Brazil, took a moralizing stance toward these actions. For these latter Ss, moral judgments were better predicted by affective reactions than by appraisals of harmfulness. Results support the claims of cultural psychology (R. A. Shweder, 1991) and suggest that cultural norms and culturally shaped emotions have a substantial impact on the domain of morality and the process of moral judgment. Suggestions are made for building cross-culturally valid models of moral judgment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Symposium on relationships between religion and mental health: Discussion.

"To prepare to serve the personal needs of those who come to the pastor, psychology and clinical training have come into the curriculum of theological education… . It may be noted… that the deeper the psychotherapy the more like a religious conversion it becomes." Ostow finds that the most effective psychological controls in animal and human behavior "are exactly those which religion has developed with conspicuous success." Goodwin Watson notes that amoral therapy is a contradiction in terms, for every personal choice is a moral one. "Mental health is everybody's business. Every profession and every discipline of knowledge is responsible to give from its wisdom to the cause of healthy living on this planet. Psychology and psychiatry are making notable contributions. Religion and ethics too are disciplines needed on this frontier. From the ultimate concern of ethical religion we may ask faithful devotion to the human quest for wholeness." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)