Positive psychology and the demise of defamation

Defamation is one of the more complex and fluid areas of the law and varies considerably across the Australian jurisdictions. There are moves to unify defamation law. The threshold issue that is raised in any such process is whether there is in fact a justification for continuation of defamation law. Recent advances in happiness studies and positive psychology suggest that the chief interest protected by defamation law, reputation, is over-rated and is not in fact conducive to human well-being. What others think of us is not relevant to our well-being. Anecdotally it seems that people spend much time and energy in a bid to impress others in the hope that they will grow in the estimation of others and the world at large. Hence, the results of the studies into human well-being so far as reputation is concerned may appear counter-intuitive. Nevertheless, the studies are far more convincing than lay assumptions. People are often wrong about what is in their interests. This is recognised in the concept of regret. Individuals yearn for some things, but sometimes when they acquire them they discover that the journey was wasted. Reputation is one such thing. Defamation law perpetuates the myth that reputation is intrinsically important. Defamation should be abolished. In its place, a new cause of action should be introduced whereby damages are awardable for misleading and deceptive communications which cause damage to the individual who is the subject of the communication. This cause of action should be modelled on the misleading and deceptive conduct provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth).

Issues arising from an online resource-based learning approach in first year psychology

This paper reports on an evaluation of an innovative, online resource-based learning (RBL) approach used in first year psychology at Deakin University. The evaluation revealed a number of critical issues that must be considered to ensure effective implementation of an RBL approach. Emphasis is giveen to educational considerations covering the use and value of a diversity of print and electronic learning resources, online discussions and face-to-face teaching arrangements. The importance of strong integration of all elements of the learning environment, and provision of clear guidelines to learning are highlighted.

From online enhanced to wholly online: reflections on e-learning developments in teaching psychology

Deakin University has determined that every undergraduate student enrolled from 2004 will undertake at least one unit wholly online, without the usual face to face teaching that is a major component in on campus study. In response to this policy, Research methods in psychology has been developed as a wholly online unit and offered in 2004 as one of the first wholly online units to be run in the University. The design of the unit builds on the development and use of digital media and online technologies in teaching first and second year units. This paper outlines the antecedents of the unit’s design and operation, along with its current wholly online teaching and learning environment. The relationship between the use of digital resources and online features is mapped against key concepts and skills to be mastered in the unit. Distinctive student attributes to be developed in relation to the subject being offered wholly online are considered. The move to new e-learning territories of wholly online environments raises important research questions. An approach to researching wholly online teaching and learning environments in the discipline of psychology is detailed as a response to illuminating key dimensions of a significant development in e-learning in higher education.

Practicality of a technological tool for the teaching of the first year psychology students

The current paper discusses the applicability of an online manual for the teaching of first year psychology laboratory programs and compares it with conventional teaching methods. For the first time, in 2001, the manual for the first year program was made available via a website. This method was in contrast to the text manual that was utilised previously. When the text manual was used, students needed to bring it each week to class. However, with the online manual, students were required to be cognisant of several aspects of the week's laboratory agenda prior to attending the class and did not have immediate access to the manual in class. This was quite uncustomary to both students and staff members and therefore necessitated a great amount of time to be spent reviewing the contents of the week's work before attending class. It also caused inconvenience both in terms of students not having ready access to necessary information, and staff having to photocopy bulk information as and when required. What was discovered at the end of the semester was that a technological tool, because of its ability to provide easy access, may not be applicable to teach all subjects, particularly not the psychology lab program, and hence a thorough evaluation of the practicality of the device is required prior to adoption.

Therapeutic Discourse and the American Public Philosophy: On American Liberalism's Troubled Relationship with Psychology

I explore the main currents of postwar American liberalism. One, sociological, emerged in response to the danger of mass movements. Articulated primarily by political sociologists and psychologists and ascendant from the mid-fifties till the mid-seventies, it heralded the "end of ideology." It emphasized stability, elitism, positive science and pluralism; it recast normatively sound politics as logrolling and hard bargaining. I argue that these normative features, attractive when considered in isolation, taken together led to a vicious ad hominem style in accounting for views outside the postwar consensus. It used pseudo-scientific literature in labeling populists, Progressives, Taft conservatives, Goldwaterites, the New Left and others "pathological," viz. mentally ill. Hence, "therapeutic discourse." I argue that philosophical liberalism, which reasserts the role of political theory in working out norms and adjudicating disagreement, is a more profitable way of thinking about and defending from critics liberalism. I take the philosopher John Rawls as the tradition's modern representative. This inquiry is important because the themes of sociological liberalism are making a comeback in American public discourse, and with them perhaps the baggage of therapeutic discourse. I present a cautionary tale.

No limits : exploring the psychology of unsolicited credit card limit increase offers

The issue of credit card debt has become an increasing concern in recent years. In Australia, for example, there is currently $42.5 billion worth of outstanding debt on credit cards, with $30 billion (over 70 per cent) bearing interest. Further, in 2001, Visa reported that 32 per cent of consumers had not paid their card off in the previous 12 months, which suggests that interest-bearing debt in Australia is held by approximately only 113 of credit card borrowers. An important element of credit card marketing is the use of psychological manipulations to encourage consumers to take-up credit. In this article, we examine the use of language and imagery in unsolicited credit card limit increase offers, and how these might influence consumers' decisions to increase their credit card limit. The analysis found that the use of terms that focused on the benefits of credit card use, such as "choice", "freedom", and "peace of mind" were used consistently to convince consumers to increase their credit card limit, whereas the use the of terms that could be considered more pragmatic and with direct reference to the nature of the product, such as "debt", "repayment" and "loan", were rarely used. Similarly, the use of colour, text changes, and images, were used which may have an influence over a consumer's ability to rationally consider whether the increase is appropriate for them. The paper concludes by recommending that government and representative bodies need to take into account the psychological manipulations used by credit card providers when developing consumer policy and codes of ethics.