In the study reported here, the EBS was translated into German and administered to a sample of Ge... more In the study reported here, the EBS was translated into German and administered to a sample of Germans living in southern Germany, revealing a Cronbach's alpha of .94 for total score (validity was not formally assessed). Discussion centers on comparing the German sample's scores on the natural beauty, artistic beauty, and moral beauty subscales of the EBS with the American sample's scores.
This article aims to illustrate four major concepts shared by the protagonists of cognitive-devel... more This article aims to illustrate four major concepts shared by the protagonists of cognitive-developmentalism, such as Piaget, Kohlberg, and Kegan, and the primary authors of the sacred writings of the Bahá’í Faith—Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi. These concepts include: a developmental teleology, the stage-like nature of development, the importance of an epistemic focus, and selflessness. As the Bahá’í teachings stress a developmental approach to self and a universal approach to moral education, and as the Faith is rapidly growing, it would be helpful for psychologists and educators a universal approach to moral education, and as the Faith is rapidly growing, it would be helpful for psychologists and educators to become familiar with a Bahá’í view of development. Additionally, as the Bahá’í writings stress access to science, it will be beneficial for Bahá’í readers to become acquainted with the cognitive-developmental research program as an important body of psychologi...
This review of the trait of appreciation of beauty (AoB) draws from the literature in personality... more This review of the trait of appreciation of beauty (AoB) draws from the literature in personality psychology, philosophy, religion, neuroscience, neuro-aesthetics, evolutionary psychology, and the psychology of morality. We demonstrate that AoB can be mapped onto a definition of appreciation that includes perceptual, cognitive, emotional, trait, virtue, and valuing elements. A classic component of defining beauty, unity-in-diversity, is described based on the works of a variety of major philosophers. We next describe that there are at least four channels of appreciation of beauty: natural beauty, artistic beauty, moral beauty, and beautiful ideas. Examining the neuro-aesthetics research indicates that many networks of the brain are involved in mental acts of appreciating beauty, but the medial orbital front cortex (mOFC) is implicated across all four channels of beauty. We then explain how the trait of AoB is a member of three different families of traits: traits of love, traits of ...
ABSTRACT The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery and the Sequential Tests of Educational P... more ABSTRACT The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery and the Sequential Tests of Educational Progress were given to a sample of 37 Yakima Indian students. The predictive validity of the Academic Ability Scale was statistically significant with respect to four of five STEP subtests.
ABSTRACT Danto has argued that beauty isn’t simply a value we live by, but a value that defines w... more ABSTRACT Danto has argued that beauty isn’t simply a value we live by, but a value that defines what a human life is. It is, therefore, important to help support students’ development of their understanding of experiences of beauty. The research described herein provides a tentative roadmap for teachers to apply toward the cognitive development of their students’ understandings of their experiences of beauty. A preliminary cognitive-developmental schema of stages of understanding experiences of beauty is presented. A cross-sectional group of participants, N = 105, ranging from ages four to 89 completed the Understanding Beauty Interview (UBI). Subjects’ responses to the UBI were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed vis-a-vis cognitive-developmental stage level. Inter-rater reliability and concurrent validity were demonstrated, respectively, by a kappa coefficient of .76 and a strongly positive correlation (r = .92) with a well-established measure of cognitive development, Kohlberg’s Moral Judgment Interview. A high-moderate correlation of UBI stage with age (r = .61) supported the UBI’s criterion-related validity; and discriminative validity was reflected in a medium-low correlation of the UBI with a measure of trait engagement with beauty (r = .39). No gender differences were found regarding stage levels of understanding beauty. It appears that analysis of Understanding Beauty Interviews can produce a reliable and valid cognitive developmental stage schema. Implications for the educational application of this cognitive-developmental schema are addressed in the Discussion section.
of the Year. He has an EdD in human development from Harvard. His research interests include psyc... more of the Year. He has an EdD in human development from Harvard. His research interests include psychology of beauty and moral development, and he has recently published in the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts and the Journal of Moral Education. His book, Psyche and Eros: Bahá'í Studies in a Spiritual Psychology, was published in 2007 by George Ronald, Oxford.
Does working on developing character strengths and relative character weaknesses cause lower life... more Does working on developing character strengths and relative character weaknesses cause lower life satisfaction than working on developing character strengths only? The present study provides a preliminary answer. After 76 college students completed the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (C. Peterson & M. E. P. Seligman, 2004), the authors randomly assigned them to work on 2 character strengths or on 1 character strength and 1 relative weakness. Combined, these groups showed significant gains on the Satisfaction With Life Scale (E. Diener, R. A. Emmons, R. J. Larsen, & S. Griffin, 1985), compared with a 32-student no-treatment group. However, there was no significant difference in gain scores between the 2-strengths group and the 1-character-strength-and-1-relative-characterweakness group. The authors discuss how focusing on relative character weaknesses (along with strengths) does not diminish-and may assist in increasing-life satisfaction.
This paper argues for the use of action research in improving the effectiveness of teaching by pr... more This paper argues for the use of action research in improving the effectiveness of teaching by professors and briefly discusses the reasons why this is important. The paper stresses that if the purpose of education is student development, then teachers should also be developing in their chosen field of service. Action research helps bring faculty and students together in the teaching/learning process and lets both the professor and the student evaluate its effectiveness. In fact, in order for action research to be critical or emancipatory, students and professors should co-determine the ends of the research and whether these ends are met. This creates a single entity out of the researchers and those being researched. Action research then can become an explicit aspect of a course, with the mutual determination of ends/objectives and their successful completion. (GLR)
This paper discusses moral development as an integral part of the educational process and develop... more This paper discusses moral development as an integral part of the educational process and development of college students. The paper's first section places the concept of development within a network of meaning that indicates "ethical development" to be redundant; i.e., if something enhances development, it is ethical, and if it is ethical, it enhances development. The second section proposes hypotheses for using the cognitive-development framework to encourage morality in students; however, these hypotheses indicate the manner in which behavioral-reinforcement theories and value clarification approaches can be in unity with the cognitive-development approach, rather than opposed to, or separate from it. The third section reviews previous studies in the ethical development of college students, and uses them to illustrate the ideas in sections one and two of this paper. (Contains 60 references.) (Author)
This report describes activities from 1986 through 1990 of the Mastery in Learning Project, which... more This report describes activities from 1986 through 1990 of the Mastery in Learning Project, which focused on "restructuring the school" and "sharing decision making" at one elementary school in Lewiston, Idaho. Based on need surveys of various constituents of school life (administrators, students, teachers, and parents), a faculty-led movement within the school formed four guidance committees: a Teacher-to-Teacher Committee, a Teacher-to-Administrator Committee, a Teacher-to-Student Committee, and a Teacher-to-Community/Parents Committee. A fifth committee, the Steering Committee had representation from the other four committees and the building prin-ipal. From an initial focus on faculty autonomy in shared decision making with administrators, the faculty moved towards democracy and shared decision making within their classrooms, involving students in curriculum decisions, playground arbitration, and other aspects of their school lives. Appendixes include a school statement on shared decision making, a survey for curriculum input, and a faculty inventory and its results. Contains 15 references.
In the study reported here, the EBS was translated into German and administered to a sample of Ge... more In the study reported here, the EBS was translated into German and administered to a sample of Germans living in southern Germany, revealing a Cronbach's alpha of .94 for total score (validity was not formally assessed). Discussion centers on comparing the German sample's scores on the natural beauty, artistic beauty, and moral beauty subscales of the EBS with the American sample's scores.
This article aims to illustrate four major concepts shared by the protagonists of cognitive-devel... more This article aims to illustrate four major concepts shared by the protagonists of cognitive-developmentalism, such as Piaget, Kohlberg, and Kegan, and the primary authors of the sacred writings of the Bahá’í Faith—Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi. These concepts include: a developmental teleology, the stage-like nature of development, the importance of an epistemic focus, and selflessness. As the Bahá’í teachings stress a developmental approach to self and a universal approach to moral education, and as the Faith is rapidly growing, it would be helpful for psychologists and educators a universal approach to moral education, and as the Faith is rapidly growing, it would be helpful for psychologists and educators to become familiar with a Bahá’í view of development. Additionally, as the Bahá’í writings stress access to science, it will be beneficial for Bahá’í readers to become acquainted with the cognitive-developmental research program as an important body of psychologi...
This review of the trait of appreciation of beauty (AoB) draws from the literature in personality... more This review of the trait of appreciation of beauty (AoB) draws from the literature in personality psychology, philosophy, religion, neuroscience, neuro-aesthetics, evolutionary psychology, and the psychology of morality. We demonstrate that AoB can be mapped onto a definition of appreciation that includes perceptual, cognitive, emotional, trait, virtue, and valuing elements. A classic component of defining beauty, unity-in-diversity, is described based on the works of a variety of major philosophers. We next describe that there are at least four channels of appreciation of beauty: natural beauty, artistic beauty, moral beauty, and beautiful ideas. Examining the neuro-aesthetics research indicates that many networks of the brain are involved in mental acts of appreciating beauty, but the medial orbital front cortex (mOFC) is implicated across all four channels of beauty. We then explain how the trait of AoB is a member of three different families of traits: traits of love, traits of ...
ABSTRACT The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery and the Sequential Tests of Educational P... more ABSTRACT The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery and the Sequential Tests of Educational Progress were given to a sample of 37 Yakima Indian students. The predictive validity of the Academic Ability Scale was statistically significant with respect to four of five STEP subtests.
ABSTRACT Danto has argued that beauty isn’t simply a value we live by, but a value that defines w... more ABSTRACT Danto has argued that beauty isn’t simply a value we live by, but a value that defines what a human life is. It is, therefore, important to help support students’ development of their understanding of experiences of beauty. The research described herein provides a tentative roadmap for teachers to apply toward the cognitive development of their students’ understandings of their experiences of beauty. A preliminary cognitive-developmental schema of stages of understanding experiences of beauty is presented. A cross-sectional group of participants, N = 105, ranging from ages four to 89 completed the Understanding Beauty Interview (UBI). Subjects’ responses to the UBI were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed vis-a-vis cognitive-developmental stage level. Inter-rater reliability and concurrent validity were demonstrated, respectively, by a kappa coefficient of .76 and a strongly positive correlation (r = .92) with a well-established measure of cognitive development, Kohlberg’s Moral Judgment Interview. A high-moderate correlation of UBI stage with age (r = .61) supported the UBI’s criterion-related validity; and discriminative validity was reflected in a medium-low correlation of the UBI with a measure of trait engagement with beauty (r = .39). No gender differences were found regarding stage levels of understanding beauty. It appears that analysis of Understanding Beauty Interviews can produce a reliable and valid cognitive developmental stage schema. Implications for the educational application of this cognitive-developmental schema are addressed in the Discussion section.
of the Year. He has an EdD in human development from Harvard. His research interests include psyc... more of the Year. He has an EdD in human development from Harvard. His research interests include psychology of beauty and moral development, and he has recently published in the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts and the Journal of Moral Education. His book, Psyche and Eros: Bahá'í Studies in a Spiritual Psychology, was published in 2007 by George Ronald, Oxford.
Does working on developing character strengths and relative character weaknesses cause lower life... more Does working on developing character strengths and relative character weaknesses cause lower life satisfaction than working on developing character strengths only? The present study provides a preliminary answer. After 76 college students completed the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (C. Peterson & M. E. P. Seligman, 2004), the authors randomly assigned them to work on 2 character strengths or on 1 character strength and 1 relative weakness. Combined, these groups showed significant gains on the Satisfaction With Life Scale (E. Diener, R. A. Emmons, R. J. Larsen, & S. Griffin, 1985), compared with a 32-student no-treatment group. However, there was no significant difference in gain scores between the 2-strengths group and the 1-character-strength-and-1-relative-characterweakness group. The authors discuss how focusing on relative character weaknesses (along with strengths) does not diminish-and may assist in increasing-life satisfaction.
This paper argues for the use of action research in improving the effectiveness of teaching by pr... more This paper argues for the use of action research in improving the effectiveness of teaching by professors and briefly discusses the reasons why this is important. The paper stresses that if the purpose of education is student development, then teachers should also be developing in their chosen field of service. Action research helps bring faculty and students together in the teaching/learning process and lets both the professor and the student evaluate its effectiveness. In fact, in order for action research to be critical or emancipatory, students and professors should co-determine the ends of the research and whether these ends are met. This creates a single entity out of the researchers and those being researched. Action research then can become an explicit aspect of a course, with the mutual determination of ends/objectives and their successful completion. (GLR)
This paper discusses moral development as an integral part of the educational process and develop... more This paper discusses moral development as an integral part of the educational process and development of college students. The paper's first section places the concept of development within a network of meaning that indicates "ethical development" to be redundant; i.e., if something enhances development, it is ethical, and if it is ethical, it enhances development. The second section proposes hypotheses for using the cognitive-development framework to encourage morality in students; however, these hypotheses indicate the manner in which behavioral-reinforcement theories and value clarification approaches can be in unity with the cognitive-development approach, rather than opposed to, or separate from it. The third section reviews previous studies in the ethical development of college students, and uses them to illustrate the ideas in sections one and two of this paper. (Contains 60 references.) (Author)
This report describes activities from 1986 through 1990 of the Mastery in Learning Project, which... more This report describes activities from 1986 through 1990 of the Mastery in Learning Project, which focused on "restructuring the school" and "sharing decision making" at one elementary school in Lewiston, Idaho. Based on need surveys of various constituents of school life (administrators, students, teachers, and parents), a faculty-led movement within the school formed four guidance committees: a Teacher-to-Teacher Committee, a Teacher-to-Administrator Committee, a Teacher-to-Student Committee, and a Teacher-to-Community/Parents Committee. A fifth committee, the Steering Committee had representation from the other four committees and the building prin-ipal. From an initial focus on faculty autonomy in shared decision making with administrators, the faculty moved towards democracy and shared decision making within their classrooms, involving students in curriculum decisions, playground arbitration, and other aspects of their school lives. Appendixes include a school statement on shared decision making, a survey for curriculum input, and a faculty inventory and its results. Contains 15 references.
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