Journal•ISSN: 0033-0175
Professional Psychology
American Psychological Association
About: Professional Psychology is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Mental health & School psychology. It has an ISSN identifier of 0033-0175. Over the lifetime, 1056 publications have been published receiving 15108 citations.
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TL;DR: The incest taboo is universal in human culture as discussed by the authors and it is considered to be the foundation of all kinship structures, and it has been considered as the basic social contract in many cultures.
Abstract: The incest taboo is universal in human culture. Though it varies from one culture to another, it is generally considered by anthropologists to be the foundation of all kinship structures. Levi-Strauss describes it as the basic social contract; Mead says its purpose is the preservation of the human social order.1 All cultures, including our own, regard violations of the taboo with horror and dread. Death has not been considered too extreme a punishment in many societies. In our laws, some states punish incest by up to 20 years’ imprisonment.2
783 citations
236 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that cognitive developmental stages associated with ages below 11-13 years might exclude such minors from meaningful consent, and existing evidence provides no psychological grounds for maintaining the general legal assumption that minors at age 75 and above cannot provide competent consent.
Abstract: This article discusses the cognitive and behavioral characteristics of minors in relation to the question of competence to consent to treatment. The legal standard (knowing, intelligent, and voluntary) that is used to judge the effectiveness of consent is translated into psychological concepts, especially cognitive abilities. Then a review of developmental psychological research examines these concepts as they relate to minors' abilities to satisfy the legal standard. It is suggested that cognitive developmental stages associated with ages below 11-13 years might exclude such minors from meaningful consent. In addition to cognitive considerations, certain results suggest that the tendency toward deference in early adolescence is so normative that capacity for voluntary consent is questionable through age 14. But existing evidence provides no psychological grounds for maintaining the general legal assumption that minors at age 75 and above cannot provide competent consent. Suggestions are made for further developmental and applied research focused on critical questions in the area of a minor's ability to consent.
228 citations