Does the Kantian state dominate?: Freedom and majoritarian rule

Recently, scholars have criticized what they call the “Kantian-Republican” thesis of freedom as non-domination. The main complaint is that domination is unavoidable. This concern can be separated into the problem of state domination, which suggests that the state's intervening powers necessarily dominate its citizens, and the problem of majority domination, which suggests that the People necessarily dominate individual citizen as a result of the potential to form dominating majorities.     

Does jury deliberation really improve jurors' memories?

The courts assume that jury deliberation corrects errors in jurors' memories, so that the verdict is based on accurate memory for the trial. We evaluated the validity of this assumption by examining jurors' memories and verdicts both before and after deliberation. Unlike previous studies, we tracked how event memories changed as a function of how they were discussed in deliberation. Overall, deliberation resulted in only a slight memory improvement. Deliberation corrected errors and did not introduce distortions. Reasons for such slight memory improvement are that jurors did not think they had memory gaps and thus did not use the deliberation process to improve their memory, and jurors who controlled deliberation were not always the most accurate in their memories. Finally, those most likely to change their verdict as a result of deliberation were not those who had the least accurate memories, but rather those who had the least confidence in their memories. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The immoral gene: Does it really exist?

Over the last years several European patents were opposed for protecting technology violating the morality requirement under Article 53(a) EPC. Attempts have been made by the Appeal Boards of the European Patent Office (EPO), as well as by amendments introduced into the Implementing Regulations of the European Patent Convention (EPC), to address this sensitive patentability requirement more precisely. The most recent hot topic coming up in this context is the patentability of stem cells. It is to be expected that this discussion will still go on in the field of biotechnological inventions for the next several years. An earlier version of this paper was presented at an international conference, “The Ethics of Intellectual Property Rights and Patents,” held in Warsaw, Poland on 23–24 April, 2004.     

Strategy shifts in classification skill acquisition: Does memory retrieval dominate rule use?

In two experiments, we demonstrated two types of strategies (rule-based and memory-based) and strategy transitions within the same binary classification task. The strategy that dominated later in practice depended on the difficulty of the operative classification rule and on the salience of the cue for that rule. Accuracy increased over practice trials, and response times were faster for the dominant strategy, either rule or memory. Rule retention was superior to stimulus item retention, so that, even for participants who preferred a memory-based strategy, a rule-based strategy dominated at least temporarily after a 1-week interval. Strategy use over trials and the retention interval reflected a given task's affordance of a shift between rule- and memory-based processes.     

Does betrayal aversion really guide trust decisions towards strangers?

Trust is a double-edged sword. When warranted, it leads to positive and rewarding interactions. When not, it leads to disappointment and anger. Therefore, it has been argued that people will display “betrayal aversion” in trust situations (i.e., avoid trusting to avoid betrayal). Yet, people also feel tense and uneasy when they signal distrust to another person and thus show signs of “principled trustfulness” (i.e., choosing to trust others although being skeptical of their trustworthiness). These two theoretical orientations imply directly opposite influences on trust behavior. Thus, we conducted two laboratory studies (with a total of 841 participants) with binary trust games (implying a risk of being betrayed) and extended lottery games (implying no such risk). In both studies, we varied the payoff structures of both games. Further, we made sure that the average perceived likelihood of winning or losing money when choosing the risky option was identical in both games, as was the distribution of these likelihoods. Neither study showed any sign of betrayal aversion. Rather, participants were more willing to risk their money in the trust game than they were to invest their money in a lottery, supporting the principled trustfulness view. We discuss possible explanations why, unlike previous studies, we did not find any indication of betrayal aversion.     

Does neighborhood size really cause the word length effect?

In short-term serial recall, it is well-known that short words are remembered better than long words. This word length effect has been the cornerstone of the working memory model and a benchmark effect that all models of immediate memory should account for. Currently, there is no consensus as to what determines the word length effect. Jalbert and colleagues (Jalbert, Neath, Bireta, & Surprenant, 2011a; Jalbert, Neath, & Surprenant, 2011b) suggested that neighborhood size is one causal factor. In six experiments we systematically examined their suggestion. In Experiment 1, with an immediate serial recall task, multiple word lengths, and a large pool of words controlled for neighborhood size, the typical word length effect was present. In Experiments 2 and 3, with an order reconstruction task and words with either many or few neighbors, we observed the typical word length effect. In Experiment 4 we tested the hypothesis that the previous abolition of the word length effect when neighborhood size was controlled was due to a confounded factor: frequency of orthographic structure. As predicted, we reversed the word length effect when using short words with less frequent orthographic structures than the long words, as was done in both of Jalbert et al.’s studies. In Experiments 5 and 6, we again observed the typical word length effect, even if we controlled for neighborhood size and frequency of orthographic structure. Overall, the results were not consistent with the predictions of Jalbert et al. and clearly showed a large and reliable word length effect after controlling for neighborhood size.     

Does conspicuity enhance distraction? Saliency and eye landing position when searching for objects

While visual saliency may sometimes capture attention, the guidance of eye movements in search is often dominated by knowledge of the target. How is the search for an object influenced by the saliency of an adjacent distractor? Participants searched for a target amongst an array of objects, with distractor saliency having an effect on response time and on the speed at which targets were found. Saliency did not predict the order in which objects in target-absent trials were fixated. The within-target landing position was distributed around a modal position close to the centre of the object. Saliency did not affect this position, the latency of the initial saccade, or the likelihood of the distractor being fixated, suggesting that saliency affects the allocation of covert attention and not just eye movements.     

Letting go of unmet goals: Does self-focused rumination impair goal disengagement?

Self-regulation of behavior frequently requires that people disengage from goals that are too difficult to attain. The current studies investigate whether self-focused rumination hinders the execution of this crucial self-regulatory competence. In study one, participants attempted to solve anagrams, some of which were unsolvable, and their predisposition to engage in self-focused rumination was assessed. The tendency to ruminate was associated with getting stuck in the attempt to solve unsolvable anagrams. In study two, ruminative thoughts were manipulated by asking participants to focus on their self, personality, and goals in life, a task frequently employed to induce rumination. Compared to participants undergoing a distraction induction, ruminating participants were more likely to get stuck trying to solve unsolvable anagrams. These results suggest that self-focused rumination hinders disengagement from unattainable goals.     

Does goal relevant episodic future thinking amplify the effect on delay discounting?

Delay discounting (DD) is the preference for smaller immediate rewards over larger delayed rewards. Research shows episodic future thinking (EFT), or mentally simulating future experiences, reframes the choice between small immediate and larger delayed rewards, and can reduce DD. Only general EFT has been studied, whereby people reframe decisions in terms of non-goal related future events. Since future thinking is often goal-oriented and leads to greater activation of brain regions involved in prospection, goal-oriented EFT may be associated with greater reductions in DD than general goal-unrelated EFT. The present study (n = 104, M_age = 22.25, SD = 3.42; 50% Female) used a between-subjects 2 × 2 factorial design with type of episodic thinking (Goal, General) and temporal perspective (Episodic future versus recent thinking; EFT vs ERT) as between factors. Results showed a significant reduction in DD for EFT groups (p < 0.001, Cohen’s d effect size = 0.89), and goal-EFT was more effective than general-EFT on reducing DD (p = 0.03, d = 0.64).     

Does gaze direction really trigger a reflexive shift of spatial attention?

Previous studies have found that the gaze direction of a centrally presented face facilitates response time (RT) to a lone peripheral target. The widely accepted interpretation of this finding is that gaze direction triggers a cortically mediated reflexive shift of spatial attention. In the present study we tested an alternative explanation, that a target appearing abruptly on its own in the visual field triggers a subcortically mediated reflexive shift of spatial attention, which is modulated by compatibility with gaze direction. Using central gaze cues, we compared RT to a single peripheral onset target with RT to a peripheral onset target accompanied by an equivalent distractor at the mirror opposite location. In both cases the facilitation effect was the same, demonstrating conclusively that the observed orienting is attributable to the reflexive effects of the gaze cue.     

Does matter really matter? Computer simulations,experiments, and materiality

A number of recent discussions comparing computer simulation and traditional experimentation have focused on the significance of “materiality.” I challenge several claims emerging from this work and suggest that computer simulation studies are material experiments in a straightforward sense. After discussing some of the implications of this material status for the epistemology of computer simulation, I consider the extent to which materiality (in a particular sense) is important when it comes to making justified inferences about target systems on the basis of experimental results.     

Does treatment really make psychopaths worse? A review of the evidence

We aimed to evaluate critically the evidence behind the perceived inverse association between the degree of psychopathy as reflected by a high score on the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and treatment response. A literature search with the key identifiers of PCL-R (or its derivatives) and treatment response produced 24 studies that were then systematically evaluated. This showed that only three studies were of an appropriate research design to answer the question and of these, none met our standard for an acceptable study. We conclude therefore that the commonly held belief of an inverse relationship between high-scores on the PCL-R and treatment response has not been established.     

Mind-wandering and negative mood: Does one thing really lead to another?

Mind-wandering is closely connected with negative mood. Whether negative mood is a cause or consequence of mind-wandering remains an important, unresolved, issue. We sought to clarify the direction of this relationship by measuring mood before and after mind-wandering. We also measured the affective content, time-orientation and relevance of mind-wandering to current concerns to explore whether the link between mind-wandering and negative mood might be explained by these characteristics. A novel experience-sampling technique with smartphone application prompted participants to answer questions about mind-wandering and mood across 7 days. While sadness tended to precede mind-wandering, mind-wandering itself was not associated with later mood and only predicted feeling worse if its content was negative. We also found prior sadness predicted retrospective mind-wandering, and prior negative mood predicted mind-wandering to current concerns. Our findings provide new insight into how mood and mind-wandering relate but suggest mind-wandering is not inherently detrimental to well-being.     

Does the courage measure really measure courage? A theoretical and empirical evaluation

Courage has seen an explosion of research in all branches of psychology, and the most popular measure is Norton and Weiss’s the courage measure (CM). Despite widespread use, limited investigations into its psychometric properties and validity have been performed. To ensure the strength of findings drawn from the scale, the current study performs a theoretical, psychometric, and empirical analysis of the CM. The results demonstrate that the CM has theoretical concerns stemming from the operational definition of courage used during its creation, and may not actually measure courage. Also, the CM was shown to consist of two dimensions separated by regular and reverse coding. Next, the scale demonstrated slight concerns with method effects, and its construct validity was analyzed. Together, the results demonstrate that the CM would benefit from the removal of reverse coded items, and may actually gage persistence despite fear rather than courage.     

Brainstorming rules as assigned goals: Does brainstorming really improve idea quantity?

In two experiments (n = 264 and 339), I treat brainstorming rules as assigned goals and compare their effectiveness to that of quantity goals as interventions to improve the number of ideas generated by individuals. Controlling for goal commitment, I find that brainstorming rules alone do not convey an advantage over even a vague quantity goal presented alone for enhancing the number of ideas generated in two common tasks. Detailed contrasts revealed that specific, difficult goals were only partially effective on their own, as expected when goal commitment is moderate. However, I find evidence in both studies that brainstorming rules are useful adjuncts to specific, difficult quantity goals. Importantly, their combination was the only consistently effective improvement over both vague quantity goals and brainstorming rules presented alone. I discuss implications for future research adopting a goal-based view of intervention in idea generation.

Does autonomy increase with age? Comparing the goal motivations of college students and their parents

We found that parents of college students report greater goal-autonomy than their children, consistent with organismic, humanistic, and trait perspectives upon positive aging. Parents also had higher levels of positive affect and lower levels of negative affect than their children. In a second, retrospective test of the age-to-autonomy relationship, parents reported more autonomy now compared to their own former selves, in addition to greater life-satisfaction. Finally, autonomy partially mediated the age-to-SWB effects, in both types of test. Overall, results support the proposal that personality functioning typically improves between the college years and middle age, providing normative SWB benefits.     

The outcomes and correlates of job search objectives: searching to leave or searching for leverage?

The authors investigate a previously overlooked yet important objective for employee job search--seeking leverage against the current employer. They explore the outcomes and correlates of leverage-seeking search and how it may differ from the more traditional objective for engaging in job search--to change jobs. Results show that leverage-seeking and separation-seeking search objectives associate with different outcomes. The authors also find that characteristics of the work situation and individual differences associate with leverage-seeking search and relate differently with the 2 job search objectives. Implications for practice and the advancement of job search research are discussed.