The elimination of de re formulas

It is shown that de re formulas are eliminable in the modal logic S5 extended with the axiom scheme x x.     

The nonclassical mereology of olfactory experiences

Synthese - While there is a growing philosophical interest in analysing olfactory experiences, the mereological structure of odours considered in respect of how they are perceptually experienced...     

The sampling of experiences in situ

The experience sampling method (ESM) attempts to sample randomly from people's everyday experiences Typically, subjects carry beepers and report their experiences immediately following a signal ESM stresses ecological validity and potentially permits the study of the stream of thought or behavior Within personality psychology, ESM allows for the investigation of interactions between person and situation variables without some of the limitations of other approaches A detailed presentation of the practical issues involved in the use of ESM is included, along with a discussion of some procedural and technological variants An assessment of the method discusses issues of data quality and validity, possible other areas of application for the method, as well as limitations that require the continued empirical assessment and future refinements of the method     

The nature experiences of a Mississippi watercolorist

Watercolorist Walter Anderson, after a series of hospitalizations for mental illness, began a series of private journeys to a barrier island off the Mississippi coast, where he had a number of ecstatic, mystical experiences vis-à-vis nature and painted the myriad images he found. It is argued that these episodes were not pathological. Anderson's relationships with archetypes and with death are presented as central elements of a spiritual journey.     

Eco-restrictive experiences forming extraordinary consumer experiences

This article contributes to different research traditions when proposes to reflect on theoretical fields, such as consumer culture and contemporary marketing. The study in a tourist and ecological conservation project revealed eco-restricted extraordinary experiences. We found a group of volunteers that build meanings and practices connected with new actions and habits that offer, not only ecological and sustainable benefits, but new value consumption relations. In contextualizing our findings, we highlight experiences and curiosities that are glossed over in academic and practical accounts that celebrate the extraordinary experience. It was observed, by analyzing data from various qualitative techniques, that the findings cross borders of mundane ingrained practices and bring an emerging domain, where both, consumption and anti-consumption experiences, offer insights into to a diversity of areas of knowledge.     

Sleep experiences,dissociation, imaginal experiences,and schizotypy: The role of context

Watson (2001) reported moderate correlations between the Iowa Sleep Experience Survey (ISES) and self-report measures of dissociation and schizotypy. Subsequent investigations (Fassler, Knox, & Lynn, 2003; Watson, 2003) reported similar, although somewhat more modest, correlations between the ISES and measures of dissociation and schizotypy, as well as with measures of absorption and negative affect. The present study tested subjects in conditions in which the measures of sleep experiences were administered with other measures in either the same (N = 86) or a different (N = 87) test context. We determined that sleep experiences were associated with measures of dissociation, absorption, and schizotypy. We closely replicated Watson (2001) and found that the ISES correlations with other measures were not affected by the test context. We suggest that Watson’s (2001) hypothesized common domain of unusual cognitive and perceptual experiences (e.g., sleep experiences) may be underpinned by common ties to imaginative experiences.     

Putting the onus on authority: A review of obedient behavior and why we should move on

The obedience to authority domain arose in psychological research between the 1950s–1960s as a combination of interest in obedience, conformity, and compliance that expanded after Milgram's shock experiments. Each of these components compared different forms of submissive behavior as a response to authority and social pressure, but over the past fifty years the domain has merged these three components and become more centered around the shock of submissive behavior than the authority that causes it. As a result, many modern investigations use inconsistent understandings of these constructs and often leave out manipulation of the second half of the paradigm – authority. If we reintroduce the distinctions for each form of submissive behavior, we can notice patterns of how each is related to differences in authority and the systemic benefits of studying the nuances of authoritative systems. Understanding the impact of power dynamics on submissive behavior and what truly separates obedience from conformity and compliance not only allows for a more dualistic approach to this discipline, but allows the authority domain to provide insight into other domains such as education, workplace behavior, and conformity to mass media.     

Evaluations of pleasurable experiences: The peak-end rule

Prior research suggests that the addition of mild pain to an aversive event may lead people to prefer and directly choose more pain over less pain (Kahneman, Fredrickson, Schreiber, & Redelmeier, 1993). Kahneman et al. suggest that pain ratings are based on a combination of peak pain and final pain. Similarly, people rate a happy life that ends suddenly as being better than one with additional years of mild happiness (Diener, Wirtz, & Oishi, 2001), even though the former objectively consists of less pleasure than the latter. Applying these concepts to material goods, we investigated the impact of positivity and timing on the retrospective evaluations of material goods. We found strong evidence that the peak-end rule applies to both material goods and pain.     

Adolescent boys with obesity: The lived experiences

This study explored and described the lived experiences of adolescent boys who are obese. Participants were a purposive sample of nine boys between the ages of 13 and 18, six of them currently with obesity and with BMI levels at or above the 95th percentile for weight for height, and three with a history of obesity. Data were collected using in-depth phenomenological interviews, direct observations and field notes. Thematic coding was applied during the analysis process. Four themes emerged from the thematic analysis to characterise the adolescent boys’ experiences of being obese: living an empty life in a full body; vulnerable self-concept and low self-esteem; and being teased and humoured. They reported to cope with lived obesity by actively using motivation such as fear of death to lose weight and passively coping by wearing a mask. Obesity carries significant physical and psychological health risk to children in adolescence.