On the psychological basis of economics and social psychology

Neoclassical economic theory, with its roots (partly) in the marginal revolution of the Nineteenth Century, has been the dominant paradigm for economic thought throughout most of the Twentieth Century?up to the present day. However, for the past several decades economists have been deeply divided on the validity of neoclassical theory, thereby rendering the discipline less effective than it could be in helping to understand socio-economic change. A mathematical synthesis of prominent contributions to psychological and economic theory since the mid-Nineteenth Century has emerged in recent years, resulting in a substantive formulation of individual behavior. Rather than incorrectly assign utility directly to consumables thereby excluding time as an essential parameter, as is the case in mainstream economic theory, this new methodology assigns instantaneous utility exclusively to the expected (intertemporal) process-of-knowing attending mental/physical activity. The result is a canonical theory that represents the expectational and?barring surprise?actual time-dependent interaction of the individual with his environment, including other agents. The paper will provide an overview of basic and applied theory, and its relation to the mainstream and Austrian schools. Applications at the microeconomic level, including the psychological contribution to the real interest rate and the essential relationship between capital and labor, will be addressed. Also discussed will be the initial perceptions yielded by this new mathematical theory on the social psychology of group behavior, including the social-identity approach. New results will be provided on capital function, the etiology of interest rates, the nature of value, the determination of market prices, and other topics of interest.

A discourse analysis of Gender Perceptions, Twitter, the 2018 Progressive Convervative Leadership Race, and the 2018 Provincial Election

The research seeks to bring awareness to how online discourse on Twitter can contribute to the reinforcement of unequal power relations against female electoral candidates. This project is a discourse analysis of gender perceptions of the 2018 Progressive Conservative Leadership Race and the 2018 provincial election as portrayed on Twitter. Using understandings of Liberal Feminism and Intersectionality, this project demonstrates the struggle of gender discrimination against women in political life and attempts to recognize the efforts of women attempting to shatter the glass ceiling. The findings suggest female candidates experienced Twitter as a gendered and bullying platform, while male candidates were shown an underlying value for “maleness.” The purpose of the study was to raise awareness of the realities facing female candidates and politicians who are women both on and off Twitter. This research added to the discussion of women in politics, media, and gender

THE DISTRIBUTION OF ATTITUDINAL ATTACHMENT TO THE MALE BREADWINNER ROLE: A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF THE PLYMOUTH TRAVEL-TO-WORK AREA

This thesis is concerned with men's attitudes towards the breadwinner role. A representative sample of 330 men, aged between 17 and 84, and drawn from the Plymouth Travel-To-Work Area, participated in the study by completing a postal questionnaire. The aim of the study was to explore attachment to the breadwinner role, and to discover if greater or lesser attachment exists among particular socio-demographic or socio-economic clusters. The quantitative approach and the application of a random sample distinguish this study from those in the literature concerned with 'men and masculinities'. The study applies an empirical perspective to overview the trajectory of the breadwinner family in Britain from the early industrial to the contemporary period. It is argued that although there have been peaks and troughs in the extent to which British families have been financially supported by a sole male provider, the breadwinner role continues to be an important ideological tool. It is suggested that the 'male as provider' doctrine shapes the internal dynamics of various familial arrangements. Only a handful of men are found to support a strict gender-coded division of labour in the household and labour market. The respondent's age is the strongest explanatory factor. Among those demonstrating lesser attachment, attitudes towards the breadwinner role are noted to be contextual and inconsistent. Greater support is also found for the traditional female role than the male role. It is argued that these findings represent new contributions to the debates. They are applied to challenge claims that the growth of the 'dual-earner' family has diminished the relevance of the breadwinner role in contemporary society. In doing so, this study concludes that many men maintain a dominant position in various family types, and a gendered distribution of privilege and inequality continues to shape men's and women's respective experiences of 'the family'

Gambling disorder and its relationship with substance use disorders: Implications for nosological revisions and treatment.

BACKGROUND: Gambling disorder, recognized by the DSM-5 as a behavioral addiction, affects .4-1.6% of adults worldwide, and is highly comorbid with other mental health disorders, particularly substance use disorders (SUDs). OBJECTIVES: To provide a concise primer on the relationship between gambling disorder and SUDs, focusing on phenomenology/clinical presentation, co-morbidity, familiality, cognition, neuroanatomy/neurochemistry, and treatment. METHODS: Selective review of the literature. RESULTS: Scientific evidence shows that gambling and SUDs have consistently high rates of comorbidity, similar clinical presentations, and some genetic and physiological overlap. Several treatment approaches show promise for gambling disorder, some of which have previously been effective for SUDs. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: It is hoped that recognition of overlap between gambling disorder and SUDs in terms of phenomenology and neurobiology will signal novel treatment approaches and raise the profile of this neglected condition. (Am J Addict 2013;XX:1-6).This research was supported by a Center for Excellence in Gambling Research grant by the National Center for Responsible GamingThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1521-0391.2013.12112.

Salivary Inflammatory Markers in Trichotillomania: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Immune dysregulation has been hypothesized to be important in the development and pathophysiology of compulsive disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), which has a high comorbid overlap with trichotillomania (both are OC-related disorders). The role of inflammation in the pathophysiology of trichotillomania has garnered little research to date. METHODS: Individuals with trichotillomania provided saliva sample for analysis of inflammatory cytokines. Additionally, these participants were examined on a variety of demographic variables (including body mass index [BMI], previously found to relate to inflammation) along with clinical measures (symptom severity, functioning, and comorbidity). RESULTS: Thirty-one participants, mean age of 24.7 (±10.2) years, 27 (87.1%) females were -included. The mean score on the Massachusetts General Hospital Hair Pulling Scale was 15.7 (±4.2), reflective of moderate symptom severity. Compared to normative data, the mean inflammatory marker levels in the trichotillomania sample had the following Z scores: interleukin-1β (IL-1β) Z = -0.26, IL-6 Z = -0.39, IL-8 Z = -0.32, and tumor necrosis factor-α Z = -0.83. Levels of inflammatory markers did not correlate significantly with BMI, depressive mood, symptom severity, or disability. CONCLUSIONS: The relatively low level of inflammatory saliva cytokines observed in the current study (negative z scores versus normative data with medium effect sizes) indicates that evaluation of blood inflammatory levels in trichotillomania versus matched controls would be valuable in future work. If a hypoinflammatory state is confirmed -using blood samples, this would differentiate trichotillomania from other mental disorders (such as OCD, schizophrenia, and depression), which have typically been linked with high inflammatory measures in the literature, at least in some cases