Hermeneutics and psychology: A review and dialectical model.

The authors encourage psychologists to transcend the simple but often made a contrast of quantitative and qualitative epistemologies by reissuing a call to consider a hermeneutical realist perspective. The authors recognize that such calls are not new and have largely gone unheeded in the past, perhaps because of how a more radical hermeneutical perspective has been conceptualized and communicated. Rooted in P. Ricoeur's (1981) philosophy of distanciation, the authors propose a dialectic of understanding and explanation that values both quantitative and qualitative methodologies by (a) tracing the philosophical development of hermeneutics as a paradigm for knowing, (b) demonstrating useful hermeneutical applications to psychology as a whole and to some specific subdisciplines, and (c) illustrating how a hermeneutic realist approach is beneficial to the multicultural study of virtue. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

From ecological to moral psychology: Morality and the psychology of Egon Brunswik.

Moral judgment and behavior are uniquely resistant to psychological analysis because morality generally is defined in terms that do not admit of psychological predication. Principal among these is the idea of freedom. An agent can act morally only on the condition that it is also free to do otherwise. The respective theoretical premises of C. Sunstein (1997) and E. Brunswik (1966) are contrasted in order to suggest that Brunswikian theory constitutes a distinct and highly promising new approach to the psychology of moral judgment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Positive psychology, happiness, and virtue: The troublesome conceptual issues.

This article subjects the recently prominent theory of positive psychology to critical conceptual scrutiny, with emphasis on its general take on happiness, virtue, and positive emotion. It is argued that positive psychology suffers from internal divisions (such as divergent views of its proponents on what happiness is), ambiguities (e.g., regarding the possibility of nonvirtuous happiness), ambivalence (concerning self-realism vs. anti-self-realism), and at least one serious misconception (the assumption that any view that makes overall evaluative judgments thereby prescribes). Nevertheless, many of the charges commonly urged against positive psychology, in particular by Aristotelian theorists, do not stick, and we may be well advised to give it the benefit of our doubt. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Positive psychology and war: An oxymoron.

The author was deeply disturbed by the January 2011 issue of the American Psychologist, which engendered a series of emotions in the author: first dismay, then anger, and finally a sense of shame about the current state of the profession. This was ostensibly an exposition of “positive psychology” principles and how they are to be applied in a colossal experiment designed to support our military in their fight against the ideology of jihadist Islam. The author found it hard to see what was positive in the presentation. Not one of the authors in this special issue discussed applying positive psychology principles to the reduction of conflict between nations, to the prevention of war, or to the promotion of peace. How about a positive psychology that questions the wisdom of leaders who tell us that the use of force is unavoidable, and seeks instead to help them find alternative, peaceful solutions? A true positive psychology should be primarily addressed to eradicating the disease of war, not to supporting those who fight it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special section: Ecological momentary assessment in health psychology.

Health psychology, like most branches of behavioral science, relies heavily on self-report as a primary source of data. Because data obtained through self-report methods are typically unreliable, researchers have adopted a variety of methods, which have been labeled ecological momentary assessment, or the experience sampling method, for collecting moment-by-moment data in real-world settings. This article provides an introduction to a special section on ecological momentary assessment in health psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Epilogue: Watching for light: Spiritual psychology beyond materialism.

The special section and subsequent commentary on “Watching for Light: Spiritual Psychology Beyond Materialism” has initiated a discussion in our collective scholarly space predicated on the possibility that consciousness can exist independently from matter. Our contemporary colleagues in the physical sciences of physics, biology, and engineering have embraced this discussion to great theoretical benefit and enthusiasm within their fields. As theory and research in a spiritually oriented psychology builds outward from this discussion, we have ground to explore well beyond merely empirical proof of the premise; there exists an entirely new vista to emanate from this set of possibilities. The articles and commentaries over these two issues of Psychology of Religion and Spirituality (PRS) propose a set of bearings for exploring new ground within research. Among the major themes to emerge are four sets of possibilities, which in this epilogue I offer as being among areas for creative exploration and innovative research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reconciling the self and morality: An empirical model of moral centrality development.

Self-interest and moral sensibilities generally compete with one another, but for moral exemplars, this tension appears to not be in play. This study advances the reconciliation model, which explains this anomaly within a developmental framework by positing that the relationship between the self’s interests and moral concerns ideally transforms from one of mutual competition to one of synergy. The degree to which morality is central to an individual’s identity—or moral centrality—was operationalized in terms of values advanced implicitly in self-understanding narratives; a measure was developed and then validated. Participants were 97 university students who responded to a self-understanding interview and to several measures of morally relevant behaviors. Results indicated that communal values (centered on concerns for others) positively predicted and agentic (self-interested) values negatively predicted moral behavior. At the same time, the tendency to coordinate both agentic and communal values within narrative thought segments positively predicted moral behavior, indicating that the 2 motives can be adaptively reconciled. Moral centrality holds considerable promise in explaining moral motivation and its development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biology as technology: A social constructionist framework for an evolutionary psychology.

The analogy between biology and engineering in evolutionary psychology is argued to be insightful but limited. A broader analogy is therefore proposed called "biology as technology." Biological evolution, that is, is best understood as the design and production of technical systems rather than engineered mechanisms. On that basis, a social constructionist theory of technology is used to found a revised analogy. This theory distinguishes primary instrumentalization processes of functionalization from secondary instrumentalization processes that realize technical systems in surrounding contexts. Using this framework, the revised analogy bridges between adaptationist accounts in standard evolutionary psychology and interactionist accounts critical of standard evolutionary psychology. Implications of this revised analogy for the evolution of mindedness and sociality are identified and discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The decade of behavior: An opportunity for family psychology.

In the past, we have had the decade of the brain. Now, as behavioral scientists and practitioners, it is our turn and the period from 2000-2010 is the Decade of Behavior. The American Psychological Association's Board of Scientific Affairs initiated this idea, which is now sponsored by a host of behavioral and social science organizations. With an advisory committee representing a dozen disciplines, this is a ground-breaking multidisciplinary effort that aims to raise awareness of the importance of behavioral aspects of our lives. Five major themes guide this initiative: health, safety, education, prosperity, and democracy. I want to bring this important idea to your attention as both readers and authors of articles in the Journal of Family Psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Scientific communication: The dissemination system in psychology and a theoretical framework for planning innovations.

"About 1000 persons make presentations at a single annual national convention of APA, and an equal number appear before meetings of regional associations affiliated with APA. There are close to 1000 journals of some interest to psychologists. About 20 of these journals may be considered central. 200-300 technical books relevant to psychological work are published each year." There appear to be "only about 2000 psychologists who are extremely active in scientific communication within psychology." 2 diagrams are provided, one indicating in detail the process of the dissemination of scientific information from work production to secondary publication and the other suggesting an innovation on the system for the dissemination of scientific information in psychology. Major sections are: Discussion of some findings. Dissemination as a dynamic process. Effects of innovation upon the dynamic process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)