RE: [xmca] Developmental position at the University of Edinburgh

[Elizabeth Hadley Nickrenz <nickrenz@uchicago.edu>]

Unfortunately, the answer to most questions about what people on the autism spectrum understand is "depends on the person/situation" - there's a huge amount of diversity, given that "autism spectrum" is a really broad diagnostic category full of really quirky, unpredictable people. That being said, a lot of times people on the spectrum have an easier time with top-down, consistent categorizations than complex, ad hoc social nuances. So a person on the spectrum could probably learn a rule like "sometimes doctors do things that hurt you because it's part of their job, and it doesn't mean they want you to suffer"  way more easily than they could understand, for example, why Johnny did something to hurt them because he was angry they got a better score on the math test than he did.  But if no-one had ever explained to our hypothetical person on the spectrum that the doctor didn't want them to suffer, they certainly could get confused about that, especially if they'd already learned that when people hurt you it's usually because they want you to suffer. They might not pick up on the institutional structure intuitively unless it's pointed out to them. 

Elizabeth Fein, Ph.D.
Department of Comparative Human Development
University of Chicago
Postdoctoral Fellow, SociAbility

________________________________________
From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] on behalf of Martin Packer [packer@duq.edu]
Sent: Monday, March 25, 2013 6:34 PM
To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
Subject: Re: [xmca] Developmental position at the University of Edinburgh

Elizabeth,

Given your interests and experience with SocioAbility, can I ask a question? As I understand it, people on the autistic spectrum have difficulty understanding the motivations behind another person's actions. Do they also have difficulty understand the institutional basis for actions? I mean, for example, that when a doctor performs a painful procedure, this is due to the responsibilities of the job, not for any personal motivation.

Martin

On Mar 24, 2013, at 6:01 PM, Elizabeth Hadley Nickrenz <nickrenz@uchicago.edu> wrote:

> Gladly! SociAbility (www.sociabilitychicago.org) is a private therapy practice in Chicago's north suburbs, where we work with people on the autism spectrum to help them develop their social skills. It's every bit as weird and interesting a place as one might expect from the name.
>
> Elizabeth Fein, Ph.D.
> Department of Comparative Human Development
> University of Chicago
> Postdoctoral Fellow, SociAbility
>
> ________________________________________
> From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] on behalf of Martin Packer [packer@duq.edu]
> Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2013 11:38 AM
> To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
> Subject: Re: [xmca] Developmental position at the University of Edinburgh
>
> Elizabeth, having entered (albeit unintentionally) into the xmca discussion, you *have * to explain this: SociAbility!  :)
>
> By the way, I'd second Huw's comments: Edinburgh's a great place. Though the weather gets a bit chilly. What does your husband say?
>
> Martin
>
> On Mar 23, 2013, at 10:32 AM, Elizabeth Hadley Nickrenz <nickrenz@uchicago.edu> wrote:
>
>> OH! my goodness I did not mean to send that to the whole list (it was meant to go to my husband, who understandably has some opinions about where we might live). However, having done so, I thank you for your input!
>>
>> Elizabeth Fein, Ph.D.
>> Department of Comparative Human Development
>> University of Chicago
>> Postdoctoral Fellow, SociAbility
>>
>> ________________________________________
>> From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] on behalf of Huw Lloyd [huw.softdesigns@gmail.com]
>> Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2013 9:11 AM
>> To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
>> Subject: Re: [xmca] Developmental position at the University of Edinburgh
>>
>> On 23 March 2013 12:45, Elizabeth Hadley Nickrenz <nickrenz@uchicago.edu>wrote:
>>
>>> Edinburgh y/n?
>>>
>>>
>> y!  It's a great place, but not for the weather shy.
>>
>> "High-flying"  sounds like a complete put-off though.  It reads "has no
>> values of their own and will stand on other people in order to try to look
>> good".   I suggest they send the person who wrote it to do city finance.
>>
>> Huw
>>
>>
>>> ________________________________________
>>> From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] on behalf
>>> of mike cole [lchcmike@gmail.com]
>>> Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2013 6:43 AM
>>> To: eXtended Mind, Culture,Activity
>>> Subject: [xmca] Developmental position at the University of Edinburgh
>>>
>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>> From: *Hugh Rabagliati*
>>> Date: Friday, March 22, 2013
>>> Subject: [COGDEVSOC] Developmental position at the University of Edinburgh
>>> To: cogdevsoc@virginia.edu, info-childes@googlegroups.com
>>>
>>>
>>> (apologies for cross-posting)
>>>
>>> Dear all,
>>>
>>> The University of Edinburgh is looking to hire our third (!) developmental
>>> psychologist of the year. Please consider applying, or forwarding the ad on
>>> to high-flying postdocs and students. We're building a great group, and
>>> want a fantastic colleague to join us.
>>>
>>> This particular position is called a "Chancellor's Fellowship", and it is
>>> an amazing deal. This is a research-intensive post at the Assistant Prof.
>>> level, with an extremely low teaching load initially, allowing the
>>> successful applicant to focus on building a productive research program and
>>> group. The Fellowships are part of a University-wide initiative to hire
>>> highly-productive, independent young scientists and scholars.
>>>
>>> The listing can be found here:
>>>
>>> https://www.vacancies.ed.ac.uk/pls/corehrrecruit/erq_jobspec_version_4.jobspec?p_id=012088
>>>
>>> The closing date is soon -- 5pm GMT on April 18 -- but the application
>>> procedure is not arduous, so I want to encourage applications from
>>> individuals who only planned on entering the job market arena next year.
>>>
>>> The area of interest within developmental psychology is open. The
>>> department has particular strengths in Language & Cognition, Human
>>> Cognitive Neuroscience, and Differential Psychology, but we would be also
>>> be interested in individuals who can boost our strengths in
>>> underrepresented areas, such as social development.
>>>
>>> Edinburgh is a historic, world-class university, with particular strengths
>>> in the behavioural and biomedical sciences. The interdepartmental cognitive
>>> science community is amongst the world's largest, and the psychology
>>> department has made a large number of junior hires in the last year.
>>>
>>> For those unclear about the non-academic benefits, I invite you to perform
>>> a google image search for "edinburgh". The city is both beautiful and
>>> culturally rich, with the world's largest cultural festival season every
>>> summer. An extinct volcano overlooks the Old Town, and the Scottish
>>> highlands are a short trip away.
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Hugh Rabagliati
>>> __________________________________________
>>> _____
>>> xmca mailing list
>>> xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
>>> http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca
>>>
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