{"title":"Making sense of the modularity debate","authors":"Jonathan Egeland","doi":"10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101108","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101108","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>For several decades scientists and philosophers studying how the mind works have debated the issue of modularity. Their main disagreements concern the massive modularity hypothesis, according to which all (or most) of our cognitive mechanisms are modular in nature. Pietraszewski and Wertz (2022) have recently suggested that the modularity debate is based on a confusion about the levels of analysis at which the mind can be explained. This article argues that their position suffers from three major problems: (1) the argument is unsound, with untrue premises; (2) it glosses over important empirical issues; and (3) the guidelines it offers are not sufficient for avoiding future confusions. As these criticisms are developed, this article will provide a way of making sense of the modularity debate—with an eye for what really is at stake both conceptually and empirically—and, by identifying a false assumption often shared by proponents and opponents of the massive modularity hypothesis alike, it will sketch out some guidelines for moving the debate forward.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51556,"journal":{"name":"New Ideas in Psychology","volume":"75 ","pages":"Article 101108"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0732118X24000369/pdfft?md5=fe86b4fd82e2841e1af691f00ef5651f&pid=1-s2.0-S0732118X24000369-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141541434","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Refining the prevalence inflation hypothesis: Disentangling overinterpretation from self-fulfilling prophecies","authors":"Isaac L. Ahuvia","doi":"10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101106","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101106","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The prevalence inflation hypothesis suggests that mental health awareness efforts can lead to an increase in rates of mental illness, first because awareness efforts encourage individuals with subclinical levels of distress to see their problems as mental illnesses (“overinterpretation”), and second because these individuals may then think and act in ways that promote actual mental illness (“self-fulfilling prophecy”). In this discussion paper, I argue that these two components are best understood—and best studied—as two distinct hypotheses. I present each hypothesis, discuss early evidence regarding each one, and outline the benefits of studying them independently.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51556,"journal":{"name":"New Ideas in Psychology","volume":"75 ","pages":"Article 101106"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141541433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Researching causal relationships from the first-person perspective. An Expansion of the micro-phenomenological method","authors":"Terje Sparby","doi":"10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101105","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101105","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>While first-person methods have made steps in the direction of becoming scientifically recognized, the value of the kind of knowledge such methods uncover may still be regarded as limited. One of the main objectives of scientific research is to deliver insight into causal relationships. First-person research is mostly understood as not providing causal knowledge. Rather, a common view is that phenomenology exclusively seeks to describe and never to explain. Here I will explore a view that is radically opposed to this. I will propose and discuss two claims: (1) Only first-person experience gives us full insight into causal relationships. (2) First-person methods can provide causal knowledge with general applicability. The discussion draws on recent work on the philosophy of dispositions by Mumford and Anjum, as well as ideas proposed by Kiene et al. in the context of clinical case studies. It is also shown how causal investigation may be integrated into the micro-phenomenological interview, one of the most widely used and recognized first-person methods in current research.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51556,"journal":{"name":"New Ideas in Psychology","volume":"75 ","pages":"Article 101105"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141438714","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Juan Pablo Rojas-Saffie , Nicolás García-Matte , Vicente Silva-Beyer
{"title":"Allport, Aristotle and Aquinas: An interdisciplinary definition of personality","authors":"Juan Pablo Rojas-Saffie , Nicolás García-Matte , Vicente Silva-Beyer","doi":"10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101096","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101096","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Countless definitions of personality have been proposed throughout history. As a consequence, contemporary psychology lacks a definition that elicits broad consensus and avoids ambiguity. To overcome this difficulty it seems beneficial to draw on the field of philosophical anthropology, as an epistemologically prior and more general discipline. Understanding that a single manuscript cannot achieve consensus, an interdisciplinary contribution is proposed through a dialogue between two definitions of personality. On the one hand, that elaborated by the father of personality psychology, Gordon Allport, which is the best known and most cited of all. On the other hand, the one developed by Martín Echavarría, inspired by the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition. From this interdisciplinary dialogue, a variant of Echavarría's definition and a brief definition of personality are proposed. It is expected that this contribution would not only help to the study of personality, but also to the interdisciplinary development of the discipline of psychology.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51556,"journal":{"name":"New Ideas in Psychology","volume":"75 ","pages":"Article 101096"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141324309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Using artworks to understand human memory and its neural mechanisms","authors":"Wei Liu , JinPeng Guo , Hongxiao Li","doi":"10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101095","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101095","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Artwork is a unique tool for studying human memory and its neural underpinnings. This review evaluates the role of art in memory research, employing novel experimental and computational methods to understand how art is stored and retrieved. We underscore the significance of naturalistic neuroimaging and advanced statistical analysis in understanding the memory encoding of artworks. We suggest that the memorability of artwork may be tied to enhanced memory consolidation during rest or sleep. Art triggers more than simple recall; it involves a personalized reconstruction of memories. To measure this reconstruction, we propose using drawing and memory-based writing as innovative memory tests, and Deep Neural Networks (DNN) to compare behavioral and neural patterns during both encoding and retrieval phases. Art thus emerges as a profound medium to probe the complex interactions between memory and cognitive, emotional, and social processes, with implications for disciplines including art and communication.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51556,"journal":{"name":"New Ideas in Psychology","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101095"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141067119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"When sensitivity means strength: Distinguishing between soft and hard threats as part of the personality","authors":"Marija Eterović","doi":"10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101094","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101094","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Some people are more sensitive to environmental threats that are easier to objectify and are generally accepted as serious - <em>hard threats</em>, while others are more sensitive to threats that are more subjective, peculiar, and less predictable - <em>soft threats</em>. Defensive denial of distress creates an illusion of mental health and seems to be related to sensitivity to hard threats. People sensitive to soft threats may be more resilient to hard threats. Data from outpatient visits in the aftermath of the 2020 Zagreb earthquake support these hypotheses and could explain why various patient populations (manifestly distressed) seem to cope better with pandemics and natural disasters (sample examples of hard threats) than the general population which consists of genuinely healthy people and those with illusory mental health.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51556,"journal":{"name":"New Ideas in Psychology","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101094"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140818114","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lukas Kirchner , Anna-Lena Eckert , Max Berg , Dominik Endres , Benjamin Straube , Winfried Rief
{"title":"An active inference approach to interpersonal differences in depression","authors":"Lukas Kirchner , Anna-Lena Eckert , Max Berg , Dominik Endres , Benjamin Straube , Winfried Rief","doi":"10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101092","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101092","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Depression is characterized by different distortions in interpersonal experience and behavior, ranging from social withdrawal to overt hostility. However, clinical psychological research has largely neglected the need for an integrative framework to operationalize these different phenomena and their dynamic change more accurately in depression. In this article, we draw on active inference theory, a comprehensive theory of perception, action, and learning, to provide a formal model explaining how variations in patients' internal belief-systems lead to differences in social experience and behavior. In this context, we assume that individuals cannot directly grasp the characteristics of their social environment. Instead, they must infer them indirectly from ambiguous social observations, which they themselves generate and alter through their actions. Differences in interpersonal experience and behavior arise from the interplay of patients’ prior expectations, their propensity to infer particular social states from certain observations, and their beliefs in their ability to influence these situations through specific actions. We then use concrete examples to demonstrate how future research can take our approach to identify systematic differences in interpersonal experiences and behaviors among depressed patients (or patient subgroups) and to investigate their changes in response to new social experiences. We also discuss potential applications of our approach in diagnosing and treating depression. This work is a move towards understanding the interpersonal aspects of depression in more detail, recognizing their importance in etiology, diagnosis, and treatment.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51556,"journal":{"name":"New Ideas in Psychology","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101092"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-04-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0732118X24000205/pdfft?md5=39e750ed89e78d021268cc41cf6935e0&pid=1-s2.0-S0732118X24000205-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140646861","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does mental toughness predict happiness over and above resilience, self-efficacy and grit?","authors":"Helen St Clair-Thompson, Jessica London","doi":"10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101093","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101093","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>There is conceptual overlap between mental toughness and resilience, self-efficacy, and grit, although few studies have empirically examined the overlap between them. In addition, little research has examined the extent to which there is an empirical advantage of using the mental toughness framework to predict outcomes of interest. The current study therefore explored the predictive validity of mental toughness, specifically in terms of the extent to which it predicts happiness over and above the cognate constructs of resilience, self-efficacy, and grit. Three hundred and sixty-seven participants completed measures of mental toughness, resilience, self-efficacy, grit, and happiness. The correlations between the variables were explored, and a hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to examine the extent to which mental toughness predicted happiness over and above resilience, self-efficacy, and grit. There were significant correlations between mental toughness, resilience, self-efficacy, and grit. When resilience, self-efficacy and grit were entered into the regression each of them was a significant predictor of happiness, but when mental toughness was added they were no longer significant predictors, with the commitment, control of emotion, control of life, confidence in abilities, and interpersonal confidence components of mental toughness being significant predictors. Therefore, despite conceptual overlap, if the aim of research or practice is to identify individuals at risk of poor wellbeing, then this aim is better met when using the construct of mental toughness. The role of mental toughness in happiness also suggests value in examining the impact of mental toughness interventions in the domain of wellbeing.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51556,"journal":{"name":"New Ideas in Psychology","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101093"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0732118X24000217/pdfft?md5=71d4adabaaa71a63f6ca2944cf7d7063&pid=1-s2.0-S0732118X24000217-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140646816","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A theoretical analysis of the implications of self-determination theory in explaining the effectiveness of feedback-seeking behaviors and the seeker's reaction to feedback: A research agenda","authors":"Seyyed Babak Alavi","doi":"10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101091","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101091","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper proposes that Self-Determination Theory (SDT) has considerable potential for filling some crucial feedback-seeking behavior (FSB) literature gaps. Some key issues are theoretically addressed. First, the influence mechanism of FSB on performance improvement may be explained by the role of motivational factors introduced by this theory in forming positive feedback reactions and the quality of feedback received by the feedback seeker. Second, SDT can be used to explain the feedback seekers' subjective well-being during the FSB process, which is almost overlooked in the FSB literature despite its importance. Third, this paper also relates motivational self-regulation mechanisms to FSB dimensions (e.g., method, sign, type) beyond the popular dimension of FSB frequency analyzed in the literature. The paper also suggests that the quality of FSB, based on these dimensions, is related to the quality of the feedback-seeker's motivation. This paper presents avenues for future empirical studies on different aspects of FSB based on SDT.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51556,"journal":{"name":"New Ideas in Psychology","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101091"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140621129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A new perspective on trends in psychology","authors":"Andrea Zagaria, Luigi Lombardi","doi":"10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101078","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101078","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The current paper aimed to analyze quantitatively the trends of four major schools of thought in scientific Psychology (neuroscience, cognitivism, behaviorism, psychoanalysis) and their intersections, covering the period from 1979 to 2020. We utilized a rigorous methodology across three distinct sources: Mainstream Psychology (MP), Highly Influential Journal (HIJ), and non-English papers (NEP). Our findings align with previous research in two aspects: psychoanalysis and behaviorism have significantly declined, cognitivism remains a prominent trend. However, we deviate from prior studies by recognizing that neuroscience may be considered the most influential trend and that trends exhibit less linearity than previously assumed. We also acknowledge the significance of NEP, which manifest an independent pattern as compared to the other sources and that may reveal what happens in the “periphery” of Psychology. It is noteworthy that NEP demonstrated a still lively contribution from psychoanalysis. Our study also highlights the insularity and lack of cross-fertilization among psychological subdisciplines, despite the widespread claims to the contrary. It eventually supports the inference that scientific Psychology is a non-paradigmatic or pre-paradigmatic discipline, pointing out the dominance of applied psychology and confuting the notion of overarching \"grand theories\".</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51556,"journal":{"name":"New Ideas in Psychology","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101078"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0732118X24000060/pdfft?md5=3d82c8fa3ccc288962716ed94dd2f5c9&pid=1-s2.0-S0732118X24000060-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140297057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}