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Fear
Kinds of Fear Terms modified by Fear Selected AbstractsEXTENDING SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION THEORY: MODELING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN COHESION, DISORDER, AND FEAR,CRIMINOLOGY, Issue 2 2001FRED E. MARKOWITZ In this study, we build on recent social disorganization research, estimating models of the relationships between disorder, burglary, cohesion, and fear of crime using a sample of neighborhoods from three waves of the British Crime Survey. The results indicate that disorder has an indirect effect on burglary through fear and neighborhood cohesion. Although cohesion reduces disorder, nonrecursive models show that disorder also reduces cohesion. Part of the effect of disorder on cohesion is mediated by fear. Similar results are obtained in nonrecursive burglary models. Together, the results suggest a feedback loop in which decreases in neighborhood cohesion increase crime and disorder, increasing fear, in turn, further decreasing cohesion. [source] FEAR, TV NEWS, AND THE REALITY OF CRIME,CRIMINOLOGY, Issue 3 2000TED CHIRICOS Data from a 1997 survey of 2, 250 Florida residents are used to assess whether and how the reality of crime influences the relationship between watching TV news and fear of crime. Local crime rates, victim experience, and perceived realism of crime news operationalize the reality of crime and are included in ordinary least squares (OLS) estimates of the TV news and fear of crime relationship. These measures of reality are also used as contexts for disaggregating the analysis. Local and national news are related to fear of crime independent of the effects of the reality of crime and other controls. Local news effects are stronger, especially for people who live in high crime places or have recent victim experience. This contextual pattern of findings is consistent with a conclusion that TV news is most influential when it resonates the experience or crime reality of respondents. [source] SELF-EFFICACY AND FEAR OF FALLING: IN SEARCH OF COMPLETE THEORYJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 2 2006Helen W. Lach PhD First page of article [source] ANGST IN SHANGRI-LA: JAPANESE FEAR OF GROWING OLDJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 9 2005Yumiko Arai MD No abstract is available for this article. [source] FEAR OF FLOATING IN EAST ASIA?PACIFIC ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 2 2009Soyoung Kim Abstract., We examine the de facto exchange rate arrangements in eight East Asian countries during the post-Asian crisis period. The empirical results suggest that three countries adopted a hard peg or a peg with capital account restrictions, whereas five countries moved toward a more flexible exchange rate arrangement in the post-crisis period. Three of these five countries (Korea, Indonesia and Thailand) achieved a level of exchange rate flexibility close to the level accomplished in a free floater such as Australia. These results suggest that ,fear of floating' in East Asia is not prevalent in the post-crisis period, supporting the bipolar view of the optimal exchange rate regime. [source] NO FEAR OF FOUNDATIONS: REFLECTIONS ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN CONTEMPORARY JEWISH PHILOSOPHYTHE HEYTHROP JOURNAL, Issue 6 2009ALAN MITTLEMAN First page of article [source] DUAL ACTIVATION OF CARDIAC SYMPATHETIC AND PARASYMPATHETIC COMPONENTS DURING CONDITIONED FEAR TO CONTEXT IN THE RATCLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHARMACOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 12 2006Pascal Carrive SUMMARY 1The present study investigates the contribution of the sympathetic and vagal parasympathetic systems to the tachycardic response of long-lasting (40 min) conditioned fear responses to context. 2The conditioned fear response evoked by re-exposure to a footshock chamber was tested 10 min after intravenous injection of the ,-adrenoceptor antagonist propranolol (2 mg/kg) or the muscarinic antagonist atropine methyl nitrate (2 mg/kg) in rats implanted with radiotelemetric probes. 3Compared with saline controls, the drugs did not change the behavioural component of the response (freezing, 22 kHz ultrasonic vocalizations) or its pressor component (+28 mmHg). 4Propranolol abolished the tachycardic response of fear, whereas atropine more than doubled it (from +75 to +175 b.p.m. above resting baseline). 5The results demonstrate that both sympathetic and vagal parasympathetic outflows to the heart are strongly activated during conditioned fear. The vagal activation may act to hold back cardiac acceleration while the animal waits for the aversive stimulus to come. [source] The Illness/Injury Sensitivity Index: an examination of construct validityDEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 6 2006R. Nicholas Carleton M.A. Abstract The 11-item Illness/Injury Sensitivity Index [ISI; Taylor, 1993: J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 24:289,299] measures fears of injury and illness and has the potential to delineate some mechanisms underlying anxiety-associated chronic health conditions. In a principal components analysis in 2005, Carleton et al. [2005a: J Psychopathol Behav Assess 27:235,241] indicated that a two-factor solution (Fear of Injury and Fear of Illness) best explained the structure of the ISI. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the structural and construct validity of the ISI. Results supported a two-factor solution after removal of two overinclusive items. Although the measure demonstrated good factorial validity, convergent and discriminant validity require further evaluation. In addition, a substantial correlation with fear of pain suggests a shift in our perspective on what constitutes a fundamental fear. Future research implications are discussed. Depression and Anxiety 23:340,346, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Phobia of self-injecting and self-testing in insulin-treated diabetes patients: opportunities for screeningDIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 8 2001E. D. Mollema Abstract Aims To define clinically relevant cut-off points for severe fear of self-injecting (FSI) and self-testing (FST) (phobia) in insulin-treated patients with diabetes, and to estimate the magnitude of these phobias in our research population. Methods, FSI and FST were assessed in a cross-sectional survey using the Diabetes Fear of Injecting and Self-testing Questionnaire (D-FISQ). A sample of 24 insulin-treated adult diabetic patients was selected from the high-scorers on FSI and/or FST (, 95th percentile). FSI and FST were re-assessed, after which patients participated in a behavioural avoidance test (BAT), thereby determining the current level of avoidance of either self-injecting or self-testing. FSI and FST scores were linked to the outcome of the BATs. Cut-off scores for severe FSI/FST were determined and extrapolated to the total study population (n = 1275). Results, Seven patients participated in the self-injecting BAT: two patients refused to perform an extra injection. In the self-testing BAT (n = 17) four patients declined to perform the extra blood glucose self-test. Extrapolation of FSI and FST cut-off scores to the total research population showed that 0.2,1.3% of the population scored in the severe FSI range. In FST, 0.6,0.8% of the total study population obtained scores in the cut-off range. Conclusions, Severe FSI and FST, characterized by emotional distress and avoidance behaviour, seems to occur in a small group of insulin-treated patients with diabetes. The D-FISQ can be of use to health care professionals (physicians, nurse specialists) in quickly providing valuable information on levels of FSI and FST in diabetes patients. Diabet. Med. 18, 671,674 (2001) [source] Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear,by Scott Bader-SayeDIALOG, Issue 1 2010Phil Ruge-Jones No abstract is available for this article. [source] The Engendering of Anticommunism and Fear in Chile's 1964 Presidential Election*DIPLOMATIC HISTORY, Issue 5 2008Margaret Power First page of article [source] Operation Candor: Fear, Faith, and FlexibilityDIPLOMATIC HISTORY, Issue 5 2005Ira Chernus First page of article [source] Experiences of alcohol drinking among Swedish youths with type 1 diabetesEUROPEAN DIABETES NURSING, Issue 1 2009A Leger RN Diabetes Nurse Abstract Background: Alcohol consumption in Europe and North America is greatest in 18,25-year-olds. This behaviour can be seen as a transitional stage from childhood to adulthood, where consuming alcohol is perceived as a typical feature of adult behaviour. Youths often start to consume alcohol when they are 14,15 years of age, and one in five youngsters around 15 years of age report binge drinking. Studies of alcohol consumption among youths with type 1 diabetes have not been undertaken but it is well known that, in these people, alcohol drinking can cause hypoglycaemia and worsen the capacity to feel and interpret the symptoms of hypoglycaemia. Aim: The overall aim was to explore experiences of alcohol consumption among youths with type 1 diabetes. Another objective was to identify strategies as to how they deal with situations when they drink alcohol. Methods: Semistructured interviews with ten 18-year-old youths with type 1 diabetes, using Burnard's content analysis method. Results: This study illustrates that informants strive for security, independence and control. Frequency of binge drinking did not seem to differ from rates in other teenagers. Informants exposed themselves to considerable risks and many had met with serious incidents. Moreover, the result exemplifies how symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis (such as nausea and vomiting) can easily be misinterpreted as a hang-over or gastroenteritis. Informants lacked age-appropriate knowledge about diabetes and the effects of alcohol, but had tested things out themselves; some involved their friends in their diabetes treatment. Moreover, three strategies occurred with the aim of normalisation and security: the 'low-consumption' strategy, the ,ambitious' strategy and the ,rather-high-than-dead' strategy. Fear of hypoglycaemia was a significant concern and the consequence was poor diabetes control. Conclusion: To increase youths' independence and security, the diabetes care team should provide adequate and relevant information about alcohol. Treatment plans might contain practical steps such as advice about responsible alcohol intake and adjustments of insulin and meals, and could also encourage young people with diabetes to carry diabetes ID and inform friends about hypoglycaemia (and how to handle situations involving alcohol). Copyright © 2009 FEND [source] The Fear of Dental Pain questionnaire: construction and validityEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORAL SCIENCES, Issue 1 2003Arjen J. Van Wijk Anxiety, fear and pain play an important role in the context of dental treatment and patients' well-being. The Fear of Pain Questionnaire (FPQ)-III is a recently developed self-report questionnaire measuring pain-related fear of a variety of painful stimuli. The present study was undertaken in order to develop a dental equivalent of the FPQ-III, called the Fear of Dental Pain questionnaire (FDP), to determine standard psychometric characteristics and to assess the instruments' validity. Four experienced dentists generated the initial pool of items and two methodologists constructed the initial questionnaire. Two studies were performed. In the study one, a sample of psychology freshmen (n = 309) was taken in order to analyse response patterns. In study two, a sample (n = 176) of patients, dental students and the general population was examined. Results from both studies were used to determine reliability and validity. High internal consistency (0.93) with satisfactory test,retest reliability (0.75) was obtained. Factor analysis revealed a strong one-dimensional factor underlying almost all items. Finally, the proposed FDP version was related to a measure of dental fear and a general measure of fear of pain. All a priori hypotheses were confirmed, thereby providing evidence for the validity of the FDP. The FPD may prove to be a clinically useful tool in the dental setting, and a potentially important covariate in dental pain perception research. [source] The structure of negative emotion scales: generalization over contexts and comprehensivenessEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 2 2002Dirk J. M. Smits In this article, we tested whether a four-dimensional individual-difference structure of negative emotions (Sadness, Fear, Anger, Shame) as described e.g. by Diener, Smith and Fujita can be found in self-report data when the emotions are explicitly linked to three different specific contexts. In addition, we check the comprehensiveness of the structure by adding terms people spontaneously use to directly express negative affect. A situational questionnaire was constructed, based on the emotion terms from Diener et al., and it was administered to 161 participants. The structure we obtained was five dimensional instead of four dimensional: the Shame scale turned out to be two dimensional, with guilt and regret defining one factor, and shame and embarrassment defining another factor. Between these two, there is a moderate positive correlation. The structure is shown to be nearly identical for all three situations. The minor differences we found do contextualize the meaning of the emotional responses. The newly added terms could be captured quite well by the factor Anger. No separate factor was needed, meaning that the obtained five-dimensional structure may be considered comprehensive enough for the field of negative emotions. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Facing guilt: Role of negative affectivity, need for reparation, and fear of punishment in leading to prosocial behaviour and aggressionEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 3 2001Gian Vittorio Caprara The present study aims to further corroborate and to extend the scope of previous findings regarding the path of influence between negative affectivity, need for reparation and fear of punishment when examining the determinants and the motivational components of guilt. Data were collected from three different European countries (i.e. Italy, Hungary, and the Czech Republic). About 1100 young adolescents were involved in the research. The generalizability of a nomological network linking individual differences in Negative Affectivity to Need for Reparation, Fear of Punishment, Prosocial Behaviour, and Aggression has been investigated across countries and gender, by means of structural equation modelling. Need for Reparation turns out to be positively related to Prosocial Behaviour and negatively related to Aggression. Fear for Punishment turns out to be positively related to Aggression and negatively related to Prosocial Behaviour, with the exception of Hungary. Alternative paths of influence among considered variables have been examined. Practical implications for prevention and education are underlined. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Picture this: emotional and political responses to photographs of the Kenneth Bigley kidnapping,EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2006Aarti Iyer The use of photographs to augment media reports of kidnapping victims in Iraq has sparked debates over the effects of such images on the public and, ultimately, the politics surrounding the event. We considered the effects of such images in a sample of British university students during the 2004 kidnapping of British citizen Kenneth Bigley. Drawing on emotions theory, we examined the effects of graphic images on emotional reactions and attitudes towards negotiations. Half of the participants were exposed to photographs of the victim that had recently been published in a national newspaper. The other half were not shown any images. As predicted, the photographs increased fear reactions amongst participants compared to no photograph controls. Fear and sympathy, but not anger, predicted attitudes towards negotiation. The photographs used in this study thus indirectly increased participants' support for negotiating with and submitting to the demands of the captors. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The emotions in war: fear and the British and American military, 1914,45HISTORICAL RESEARCH, Issue 185 2001Joanna Bourke In modern warfare, technological innovations are applied to terrifying effect. On the machine-dominated battlefields of the twentieth century, the ability of individuals to master their emotions is crucial to the whole martial enterprise. Fear has widely been recognized as the most fraught of all emotions: it may stimulate combatants to fight and it may cause them to flee. This article examines the proliferation of theories about the nature of this emotion within the British and American forces during the First and Second World Wars. The military recognized the impact of new technologies upon human physiology and psychology, elaborated ways of interpreting the particular threat posed by ,fear' in modern conflicts, and prescribed ways of disciplining the emotional lives of combatants. [source] Fear, worry, and ritualistic behaviour in childhood: developmental trends and interrelationsINFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2009Sarah V. Laing Abstract Previous studies of childhood fear, worry, and ritualistic behaviour have been limited by restricted age ranges, narrow ranges of anxiety phenomena, non-comparable methodologies, and assessment of typical behaviour within a pathological context. Content and intensity of fear, worry, and ritualistic behaviour, and associations among these variables, were assessed through a semi-structured interview individually administered to 142 children aged 7,16 years. Common themes in the content of fear, worry, and ritualistic behaviour varied predictably with age. Intensity ratings for all three phenomena decreased with age, although this decline was only significant between 7 and 10 years. Levels were higher in girls than boys. Fear and worry were positively related, and the regular performance of rituals was related to anxiety across the age range. Worry was more strongly related than fear to engagement in ritualistic behaviour. We consider implications for the understanding of anxiety and ritualistic behaviour in typical and atypical development. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Fear of blood/injection in healthy and unhealthy adults admitted to a teaching hospitalINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 3 2007S. Kose Summary Blood/injury phobia is one of the specific phobias. The aim of this study was to determine the fear of injection and blood in patients and healthy people. This study was carried out at Tepecik Hospital, Clinical Biochemistry Laboratory and Blood Center. Data were collected from 1500 adults who agreed to participate in the study (237 patients with chronic diseases and 1263 healthy people) during the period from January 2003 to February 2005. All participants completed two self-administered questionnaires (17-item Symptom Questionnaire and 20-item Blood/Injection Fear Scale) after giving blood samples by blood donation. 30.1% of the patients and 19.5% of the healthy adults reported that they had fear of blood/injection. Symptoms related to having blood drawn or injection were more frequently reported among women than men. Patients' educational level was also associated with the Symptom Questionnaire and fear of blood/injection scores. Fear of blood/injection was significantly higher in patients with chronic diseases. Fear of blood/injection should be considered by healthcare professionals as it is important for assessing the treatment-seeking individuals. [source] Pathways to help-seeking in bulimia nervosa and binge eating problems: A concept mapping approachINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS, Issue 6 2007Natasha Hepworth PhD Abstract Objective: To conduct an in-depth study, using concept mapping, of three factors related to help-seeking for bulimia nervosa and binge eating: problem recognition, barriers to help-seeking, and prompts to help-seeking. Method: Semistructured interviews were conducted to elicit information about help-seeking with 63 women (18,62 years) with past or present bulimic behaviors. Results: Using Leximancer software, factors identified as associated with problem recognition were Changes in Behavior, Interference with Life Roles, Comments about Changes and Psychological Problems. Salient barriers to help-seeking were Fear of Stigma, Low Mental Health Literacy/Perception of Need, Shame, Fear of Change and Cost. Prompts to help-seeking were increased Symptom Severity, Psychological Distress, Interference with Life Roles, Health Problems, and Desire to Get Better. Conclusion: Results highlighted the need for awareness campaigns to reduce both self and perceived stigma by others towards bulimic behaviors, and the need to enhance awareness of available interventions for people ready to engage in treatment, to increase help-seeking. © 2007 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Five cases of male eating disorders in Central ChinaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS, Issue 1 2005Jun Tong MD Abstract Objective Despite the recent surge of eating disorders among women in large Asian cities, male eating disorder cases remain rare. The current article described 5 male eating disorder cases that presented within a period of 2 years in Wuhan, a city in central China. Methods The authors described 4 cases of anorexia nervosa (2 restrictive, 2 bulimic) and 1 case of normal weight bulimia nervosa. Results Fear of fat was reported for all 5 cases, and none of the cases reported homosexuality. Discussion Sociocultural changes and westernization most probably accounted for the increasing incidence of eating disorders among male and female youngsters in China today. © 2004 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Fear of blood, injury, and injections, and its relationship to dental anxiety and probability of avoiding dental treatment among 18-year-olds in NorwayINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRIC DENTISTRY, Issue 3 2008MARGRETHE VIKA Background:, More knowledge about the relationship between blood,injury,injection phobia (BIIP) and dental anxiety (DA) may give new clinically relevant information in the assessment and management of children with DA. Objective:, The aims of this study were to explore the relationships between BIIP and DA, and to explore to what extent the two subtypes of BIIP in combination with DA are related to self-reported probability of avoiding dental treatment if a dental injection is needed. Methods:, The subjects were a random sample of 1385 18-year-olds attending high schools in a county of Norway, and the data were collected by use of questionnaires completed in classrooms. The survey instruments applied were Dental Fear Survey, Injection Phobia Scale-Anxiety, and Mutilation Questionnaire. Results:, About 11% of the subjects with DA and subtypes of BIIP, respectively, reported high probability of avoiding dental treatment in a situation where a dental injection was possibly needed. In multiple regression analysis, only DA contributed to self-reports of high probability of avoiding dental treatment. Conclusion:, The results indicate that among adolescents, BIIP is relatively often connected with DA. Clinical implications are discussed. [source] Nothing to Fear but Fear: Governmentality and the Biopolitical Production of Terror,INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY, Issue 4 2009François Debrix Moving beyond the political framework of both Hobbes and Schmitt that privileges a centralization of power as a way of dealing with the fear of violent death, this article turns to Foucault's discourses of war, power over life, and governmentality to illuminate the contemporary reproductive potential of fear in exercises of preservation of life in society. The decentralization of fear and power in governmentalized modernity encourages various public agents/agencies to mobilize the specter of danger, threat, insecurity, or enmity to normalize populations. This article reflects on the effects of this (re)productive mobilization of fear and emphasizes the proliferation of dispositifs of terror that engender a fear of not being able to live one's normal life. [source] Laissez Fear: Assessing the Impact of Government Involvement in the Economy on Ethnic ViolenceINTERNATIONAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2008David A. Steinberg Does government involvement in the economy promote ethnic peace, or does it contribute to ethnic violence? Two theories, grievances and opportunity, suggest that government involvement in the economy reduces ethnic violence. We present an alternative security-based logic that focuses on the role of economic rents in political competition. Our theory of insecurity predicts that free market economies reduce violent ethnic conflict by reducing fear and insecurity. We present statistical analyses, using data from the Minorities at Risk project and the Index of Economic Freedom, showing that government involvement in the economy increases ethnic rebellion. Our results suggest that the overall size of the public sector is less important than government interference with the market allocation mechanism. We conclude by discussing the policy implications of our findings. [source] Fear in International Politics: Two PositionsINTERNATIONAL STUDIES REVIEW, Issue 3 2008Shiping Tang There are two,and only two,fundamental positions on how to cope with the fear that is derived from the uncertainty over others' intentions in international relations (IR) literature. Because these two positions cannot be deduced from other bedrock assumptions within the different IR approaches, the two positions should be taken as an additional bedrock assumption. The first position, held by offensive realism, insists that states should assume the worst over others' intentions, thus essentially eliminating the uncertainty about others' intentions. The second position, held by a more diverse bunch of non-offensive realism theories, insists that states should not always assume the worst over others' intentions and that states can and should take measures to reduce uncertainty about each others intentions and thus fear. These two different assumptions are quintessential for the logic of the different theoretical approaches and underpin some of the fundamental differences between offensive realism on the one side and non-offensive realism theories on the other side. Making the two positions explicit helps us understand IR theories and makes dialogues among non-offensive realism theories possible. [source] HIV infection: Fear of contagion, reality of riskJAPAN JOURNAL OF NURSING SCIENCE, Issue 1 2008William L. HOLZEMER Abstract Purpose:, The purpose of this presentation at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Japan Academy of Nursing was to give an overview of the HIV pandemic from global, Asian, and Japanese perspectives and to address the issues related to potential occupational exposure to HIV infection. Selected topics in the areas of prevention, treatment, and care were also addressed. Discussion:, The session challenged the audience to understand that, while there is a risk of acquiring HIV infection through occupational exposure, the reality is that health-care workers and others are much more likely to contract HIV through their own personal behaviour. [source] Using Distraction to Reduce Reported Pain, Fear, and Behavioral Distress in Children and Adolescents: A Multisite StudyJOURNAL FOR SPECIALISTS IN PEDIATRIC NURSING, Issue 2 2000Karen L. Carlson ISSUES AND PURPOSE. Distraction during painful procedures has been shown to be effective in previous studies, yet this simple intervention is not used routinely. This study examined the effectiveness and feasibility of distraction in reducing behavioral distress, pain, and fear during venipuncture or intravenous insertion. DESIGN AND METHODS. A two-group randomized design with 384 children in 13 children's hospitals. RESULTS. Age was a significant factor in observed behavioral distress, reports of fear, and self-reported pain. The use of a kaleidoscope, however, did not significantly reduce pain or distress during venipuncture or IV insertion. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS. Failure of the distraction intervention to reach statistical significance in this study is puzzling, given anecdotal reports of clinical efficacy. Methodological issues may have obscured actual differences between experimental and control groups. [source] Fear of the Dead as a Factor in Social Self-OrganizationJOURNAL FOR THE THEORY OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR, Issue 2 2005AKOP P. NAZARETYAN The image of dead person returning to life was the most ancient source of irrational fear (i.e. fear not caused by objective menace) appeared in culture. This conclusion is argued with empirical data from archeology and ethnography. Fear has been expressed in funeral rites, the tying of extremities, burning and dismemberment of dead bodies, and ritual cannibalism (compensatory necrophilia) etc. At the same time, it was attended by effective care for helpless cripples, which seems to descend to the Lower Paleolithic as well. Dread of posthumous revenge played a decisive regulative role at the earliest stage of anthropogenesis, as the disparity between artificial weapons (the tools) and natural aggression-retention mechanisms (the instincts) became self-destructive. In the new conditions, individuals with normal animal mind were doomed to catastrophe. Those hominid groups proved viable, in which mystical fear, a product of unnaturally developed imagination, bounded lethal conflicts among kinsmen. The phobias corresponded to the psycho-nervous system's "strategic pathology"; that was a condition for early hominids' self-preservation. As a result, a causal connection between instrumental potential, cultural regulation quality and social sustainability (the techno-humanitarian balance law) was formed, which has been a mechanism of social selection for all of human history and prehistory. [source] Electroconvulsive Therapy and the Fear of DevianceJOURNAL FOR THE THEORY OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR, Issue 1 2002James Giles After reaching the verge of obsolescence, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is once again on the increase. There remains, however, no sound theoretical basis for its use. By 1948 at least 50 different theories had been proposed to account for the workings of ECT. Today there are numerous more. Further, there is no good evidence for its therapeutic effectiveness. Although some studies show what are claimed to be positive results, others show significant amount of relapse, even with severe depression (the disorder against which ECT is supposed to be most effective), while even other studies show ECT to have little more effect than a placebo. Finally, there is much evidence for ECTs damaging effects, particularly to cognitive functioning like memory, general intelligence level, and perceptual abilities, and quite possibly to brain functioning. Some studies even suggest that the alleged therapeutic effects of ECT are essentially the effects of organic brain damage. The question, then, is why, despite these problems, does ECT continue to be used? ECTs salient features suggest an answer here. These are the features of dehumanization, power, control, punishment, and others, all of which can be traced back to the fear of deviant psychotic behavior. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||