Rights and Morals, Issues, and Candidate Integrity: Insights into the Role of the News Media

In recent American political discourse, elections and debates tend to be presented by the news media as collisions of basic principles, with opposing parties advancing beliefs about what is right and what is wrong. When news coverage of an election campaign focuses on issues that emphasize rights and morals, voting behavior may be affected in two ways: Citizens become likely to form and make use of evaluations of the integrity of the candidates, and citizens become motivated to seek an issue-position "match" with candidates on those issues for which discourse is ethically charged (particularly when they hold a similar interpretation of the issue). These ideas were tested in an experiment in which labor union members and undergraduate students were presented with news stories about the contrasting positions of fictional candidates for elective office. Across three political environments, all information was held constant except for systematic alteration of a different issue in each environment. These three issues (abortion, gun control, and health care) vary in the types of value conflicts emphasized in news coverage. The results shed light on how individuals process, interpret, and use issue coverage in choosing among candidates.     

New Insights into the role of the phonological loop in task switching: evidence from three different age groups

ABSTRACT

The phonological loop plays an important role in task switching. Until now, however, it has been unclear whether it is the maintenance of the task sequence or the retrieval of the task goal that requires phonological processing. In the present study, 60 participants (20 children, 20 adolescents, 20 young adults) performed three phonological working-memory tests before they switched between two tasks in a cue-present condition (random task sequence) and in a cue-absent condition (predictable task sequence). Results revealed that better phonological and central-executive working-memory performance predicted lower switch costs. In line with age-differentiation of cognitive abilities switching was less coupled with working memory in adults compared to children and adolescents. Interestingly, however, relations were only demonstrated in the cue-present but not in the cue-absent condition, indicating that it is more the retrieval of the task goal than the maintenance of the task sequence that requires the involvement of phonological processing.     

The Role of the Face and Body in Unfamiliar Person Identification

Information useful for identifying a person can be found both in the face and body. Previous studies indicate that when an entire person is visible, we rely strongly on the face for identification, even if the body can be useful. We measured the utility of the face versus body for identification, by using images of unfamiliar people that varied in the quality of identity information in the face. Face quality was varied using similarity scores generated by state‐of‐the‐art face recognition algorithms from an international competition. These algorithms estimated the similarity of faces in a large set (>1 000 000) of image pairs that showed ‘people’, including the face and the top half of the body. By using these similarity scores, image pairs were stratified into three groups representing good, moderate, and poor performance for the face recognition algorithm. Participants matched identity in image pairs sampled from the three groups, by using versions of the stimuli edited digitally to show only the face or body. Consistent with the algorithm stratifications, performance with the face declined across the three conditions. The face supported more accurate identification than the body in the good and moderate conditions. In the poor condition, performance from the face and body was comparable. Using data from a previous study, we compared the face‐only and body‐only identity judgments with judgments based on the original image. The original unedited image supported the best overall performance in the good and moderate conditions. Notably, performance in the poor condition was equivalent for the face, body, and original images. The results indicate that in poor viewing conditions, identification decisions from the body may be as accurate as those made from the face or the entire person. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the Development of Harmonious and Obsessive Passion: The Role of Autonomy Support, Activity Specialization, and Identification With the Activity

ABSTRACT Recent research ( Vallerand et al., 2003 ) has supported the existence of two types of passion for activities: a harmonious and an obsessive passion. The purpose of this investigation was to study the processes likely to lead to the development of passion. Three studies using correlational and short-term longitudinal designs with varied populations ranging from beginners to experts reveal that identification with the activity, activity specialization, parents' activity valuation, and autonomy support predict the development of passion. Furthermore, results show that children and teenagers whose environment supports their autonomy are more likely to develop a harmonious passion than an obsessive one. Conversely, children and teenagers who highly value activity specialization, who rely heavily on their activity for self-definition, and whose parents highly value the activity are more likely to develop an obsessive passion.     

Development and Practice of the Systems Paradigm in Argentina, Chile and Peru

The systems paradigm has been developing in the southern region of South America for more than three decades, albeit at different paces and with a variety of achievements as can be expected when describing the process of countries as diverse as Argentina, Chile and Peru. This article describes the circumstances and actions that have enabled the systemic approach to gain a legitimate place in the local psychotherapy field permeating family, marital/couple, and individual therapy. Moreover, the family/contextual perspective has attained a valued respectability in the family legal system as well as in community interventions. Overall, the community is aware of and at ease with this efficacious contextual approach. As in other parts of the world, the universities have joined the private entities in the training endeavor and the accreditation process is a complex goal with obstacles that have not yet been surmounted.     

The Effect of Attachment Insecurity in the Development of Eating Disturbances across Gender: The Role of Body Dissatisfaction

The present study examined the effects of insecure attachment on the development of negative body image as a contributing factor to the development of disturbed-eating patterns in male and female university students. Participants were nonclinical male (n = 100) and female (n = 381) university students. Administering self-report questionnaires, the authors assessed demographic information (gender, age), anthropometric data (Body Mass Index [BMI], age), romantic attachment (ECRS-R; R. C. Fraley, N. G. Waller, & K. A. Brennan, 2000), body dissatisfaction (BSQ), and disturbed eating (EAT-26). The authors found body dissatisfaction to fully mediate the relationship between attachment anxiety and disordered eating in women. Body dissatisfaction mediated anxious attachment and dieting in men. In addition, attachment avoidance had a direct impact on eating behaviors for both genders, without the mediation of any variables measured in this study. The findings of the present study suggest that the anxiety and avoidance dimensions of attachment insecurity affect eating behaviors differently, and the effects are different across genders. The authors discuss results in the context of therapeutic interventions design.     

Validation of the Chinese Version of the Body Image Acceptance and Action Questionnaire and the Mediating Role of Body Image Flexibility in the Relationship Between Body Dissatisfaction and Psychological Distress

The psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Body Image Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (C-BI-AAQ) and its short form (C-BI-AAQ-5) were examined with a sample of Chinese undergraduates (n = 1,068, 52.6% female). The factor structure, measurement reliability, measurement invariance across gender, and latent gender mean difference of the two scales were explored. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the factor structure of the C-BI-AAQ and the C-BI-AAQ-5. The original one-factor structure was replicated for both the C-BI-AAQ and the C-BI-AAQ-5. Both the C-BI-AAQ and C-BI-AAQ-5 showed good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity (e.g., relationship patterns in the expected directions with theoretically similar psychological flexibility, and with theoretically dissimilar body dissatisfaction, and psychological distress). The C-BI-AAQ-5 was shown to be equivalent to the C-BI-AAQ. Furthermore, strict measurement invariance across gender was confirmed for both the C-BI-AAQ and C-BI-AAQ-5, and latent mean difference tests showed that men had higher levels of body image flexibility than women. Thus, both the C-BI-AAQ and C-BI-AAQ-5 appear to be psychometrically sound instruments for use in the Chinese young adult population. In addition, body image flexibility measured by both the C-BI-AAQ and the C-BI-AAQ-5 fully mediated the relationship between body dissatisfaction and psychological distress.     

Examining the Development of Attention and Executive Functions in Children With a Novel Paradigm

The development of attention and executive functions in normal children (7–12 years) was investigated using a novel selective reaching task, which involved reaching as rapidly as possible towards a target, while at times having to ignore a distractor. The information processing paradigm allowed the measurement of various distinct dimensions of behaviour within a single task. The largest improvements in vigilance, set-shifting, response inhibition, selective attention, and impulsive responding were observed to occur between the ages of 8 and 10, with a plateau in performance between 10 and 12 years of age. These findings, consistent with a step-wise model of development, coincide with the observed developmental spurt in frontal brain functions between 7 and 10 years of age, and indicate that attention and executive functions develop in parallel. This task appears to be a useful research tool in the assessment of attention and executive functions, within a single task. Thus it may have a role in determining which cognitive functions are most affected in different childhood disorders.     

“法”与“术”:数字经济平台市场支配地位之探微

数字经济平台以数据作为竞争基础,依托算法等技术扩展竞争优势,已成为一种新型法律关系主体。近年来大型数字经济平台涉嫌滥用市场支配地位的案件层出不穷,而市场支配地位的认定难点颇多。数字经济平台处于动态市场结构中,难以适用趋于静态考察的市场份额推定方法;同时,数据的竞争属性也在市场支配地位认定实践中被忽略。因此,需在遵循《反垄断法》这一法基础的前提下,结合数字经济特性调整市场支配地位认定方法。宜重点从市场进入壁垒与市场扩张壁垒角度进行精细化分析,审慎分析竞争相关数据获取及运用能力,此即数字经济平台市场支配地位认定之术。     

小麦中烟曲霉生长温度与水分活度预测模型的建立

为快速预测和监控引起小麦霉变的烟曲霉的生长,在15～40℃温度及0.70～0.96水分活度下进行小麦储藏模拟实验,建立和验证烟曲霉D6生长的一级和二级预测模型。结果表明,一级生长模型中Bo-ltsmann模型优于Logistic模型。以Boltsmann模型拟合数据建立二级模型,采用平方根模型拟合,得烟曲霉D6的最低生长温度和水分活度分别为5.784℃和0.721。经验证,平方根模型能较好描述烟曲霉D6最大比生长速率与温度、水分活度之间的对应关系。     

On the Moral Value of Physical Activity: Body and Soul in Plato's Account of Virtue

It is arguable that some of the most profound and perennial issues and problems of philosophy concerning the nature of human agency, the role of reason and knowledge in such agency and the moral status and place of responsibility in human action and conduct receive their sharpest definition in Plato's specific discussion in the Republic of the human value of physical activities. From this viewpoint alone, Plato's exploration of this issue might be considered a locus classicus in the philosophy of sport. Indeed, it is in this place that Plato offers a highly distinctive account of the value of physical education in terms of its vital contribution to the development of a part of the soul that he characterises in terms of ‘spirit’, ‘energy’ and/or ‘initiative’. Drawing on more recent work in ethics and philosophy of action, this paper sets out to revisit and evaluate Plato's argument. While concluding that Plato's case ultimately flounders on fundamental uncertainty regarding the logical role of spirit in the explanation of agency, the paper concludes that there is much to be learned – in the philosophy of sport and elsewhere – from the instructive failures of Plato's argument.     

Telemetry provides new insights into entrainment of activity wheel circadian rhythms and the role of body temperature in the development of ulcers in the activity-stress paradigm

Two methods of monitoring the circadian rhythm of activity in rodents: (1) an activity wheel cage, which detects the number of wheel revolutions, and (2) an internal radio transmitter, which records gross motor activity (GMA) of the animal, were compared in both normal circadian cycles and during the development of activity-stress ulcers. Rats were implanted with a biotelemetry transmitter that detected GMA and body temperature (BT) and placed in activity wheel cages. A 12 hour/12 hour light/dark cycle was maintained throughout the experiment. Subjects were subdivided into two groups: (1) unlimited access to activity wheel (AW) cages and (2) locked activity wheel (LW) cages. Following an ad-libitum habituation period, animals were allowed food access for 1 hour/day during the light. In the habituation period, the animals showed higher GMA and BT during the dark phase when housed in AW cages than in LW cages. Both GMA and number of wheel revolutions increased dramatically after the onset of food restriction for the AW animals. There was a deleterious drop in BT in AW animals as the food-restricted period continued and a significant correlation existed between severity of ulcerations and BT. The findings of this experiment demonstrate that the activity wheel imposes an alternation of the circadian cycle, which, in turn, influences rhythmicity through reentrainment. Additionally, in the activity-stress paradigm, a significant drop in BT correlates with severity of ulcerations. A disrupted circadian cycle, involving hypothermia, is proposed as the mechanism underlying the demise of animals in the activity-stress paradigm.     

In-Between Spaces. Pluralism and Hybridity as Elements of a New Paradigm for Religion in the Modern Age

We are living in an age of pluralization in which religiosity and secularity are not mutually exclusive. With subversive intent, Peter L. Berger relativizes with this thesis his criticism of secularization theory. In the light of the persistence and widespread nature of religion and religiosity, Berger still considers secularization theory’s assumption that modernization and secularization go hand in hand to be empirically untenable. At the same time, however, he acknowledges that a “secular discourse” has asserted itself globally and has achieved a dominant position in society. This secular discourse also spreads throughout the mind of each individual, without (necessarily) driving out religiosity. The present article traces the lines of argumentation in Peter L. Berger’s works that lead to the thesis of two pluralisms: the coexistence of different religions and the coexistence of religious and secular discourse. Moreover, it establishes a connection between the question of the simultaneity of religiosity and secularity and the debate on hybridity that is currently being conducted within German-speaking sociology. The author postulates that this focus on “in-between” spaces—that is, on plurality and hybridity—rather than on dichotomies has the potential to trigger a new paradigm for religion in the modern age.     

The Role of the Object in Drive Cathexis and Psychosexual Development

Alternate axes are explored in the orthodox formulation of drive cathexis and psychosexual development, with implications for corresponding object relation modes engendered by these processes. Somatic and defensive aspects are shown to impact on the function of the “other” as the individual matures. The separation/individuation process is subsumed into this overall developmental continuum, and the centrality of the object as a focus in cathexis and drive delineation is critically evaluated. The homeostatic notion of equilibration is appealed to in synthesizing the factors emerging from the analysis.     

海南黎族青少年身心发展的特点与对策研究

近年来,我省民族地区中小学在改善和提高学生身体和心理健康方面做了不少有益的探索。部分中学已建立了学生心理卫生服务机构,开设心理健康教育课程和心理健康咨询。因此,全面了解黎族青少年的身心健康状况,对我省民族教育卫生事业的建设和进一步发展具有重要的意义。     

New Directions for Research on the Role of Parents and Teachers in the Development of Gender-Related Math Attitudes: Response to Commentaries

We frame our response to the commentaries by Cheryan (2011), Lane (2011), and Shapiro and Williams (2011), in terms of two broad points made by Lane (2011). First, we agree that the various constructs that we termed “math attitudes”—including math-gender stereotypes, math anxiety, math self-concepts, and achievement motivation in math—are in fact distinct (Gunderson et al. 2011b). Nevertheless, we argue that investigating common mechanisms underlying the transmission of these constructs from adults to children is a productive approach because it can lead to general interventions to boost children’s performance and dispositions toward math. Second, we argue that research on the development of gender-related math attitudes exists at the intersection of multiple research areas, including research on attitudes (broadly defined), math, gender, social learning, and child development, and that drawing on well-developed theories in these areas can lead to novel research questions and predictions. The three excellent commentaries broaden the scope of our article on gender-related math attitudes to include the transmission of implicit attitudes from adults to children, stereotype threat, and gender roles in math-related careers (Cheryan 2011; Gunderson et al. 2011b; Lane 2011; Shapiro and Williams 2011).     

Encoding Strategies in Primary School Children: Insights From an Eye-Tracking Approach and the Role of Individual Differences in Attentional Control

The authors explored different aspects of encoding strategy use in primary school children by including (a) an encoding strategy task in which children's encoding strategy use was recorded through a remote eye-tracking device and, later, free recall and recognition for target items was assessed; and (b) tasks measuring resistance to interference (flanker task) and inhibition of attention to task-irrelevant stimuli (distractibility). Results revealed that the ability to inhibit distraction and resist interference undergoes developmental changes between the ages of 7–10 years. At the same time, children's capability to strategically focus on task-relevant aspects also continues to improve in primary school years. Although there were substantial relationships between encoding strategies and later recognition, encoding strategies appeared to be unrelated to basic aspects of attentional control.     

The Role of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Nanotechnology Research and Development

The experience with genetically modified foods has been prominent in motivating science, industry and regulatory bodies to address the social and ethical dimensions of nanotechnology. The overall objective is to gain the general public’s acceptance of nanotechnology in order not to provoke a consumer boycott as it happened with genetically modified foods. It is stated implicitly in reports on nanotechnology research and development that this acceptance depends on the public’s confidence in the technology and that the confidence is created on the basis of information, education, openness and debate about scientific and technological developments. Hence, it is assumed that informing and educating the public will create trust, which will consequently lead to an acceptance of nanotechnology. Thus, the humanities and social sciences are seen as tools to achieve public acceptance. In this paper, the author argues that this is a narrow apprehension of the role of the humanities and social sciences. The humanities and social sciences have a critical function asking fundamental questions and informing the public about these reflections. This may lead to scepticism, however, the motivation for addressing the social and ethical dimensions of nanotechnology should not be public acceptance but informed judgement. The author illustrates this critical function by discussing the role, motivation and contribution of ethics as an example. Lastly, the author shows that a possible strategy for incorporating the humanities and the social sciences into nanotechnology research and development is Real-Time Technology Assessment, where the purpose is to integrate natural science and engineering investigations with ethical, legal and social science from the outset.