Lifestyle traits as predictors of driving behaviour in urban areas of Greece

The aim of this study was to examine possible links between different lifestyle patterns and aberrant driver’s behaviour. Personal interviews were conducted in a representative sample of 324 adults (18–65), all residents of Crete. Aberrant driver’s behaviour was assessed by the ‘driver behaviour questionnaire’ (DBQ). Also to measure different dimensions of lifestyle, first, a 26-items questionnaire was used, and second, three questions measuring ‘driving without destination’, related in previous findings with road accident risk. Four lifestyle patterns: ‘religion/tradition’, ‘driving aimlessly’, ‘sports’ and ‘culture’ are significant predictors of ordinary violations. ‘Driving without destination’ has a significant effect all three DBQ factors (b positive). ‘Religion/tradition’ was related only to ordinary violations (b negative) and ‘sports’ has a positive impact on ordinary violations and a negative impact on ‘errors’. Two lifestyle factors are related to more dangerous driving: ‘Driving without destination’ and/or pursuing a more ‘athletic way of living’. Road safety campaigns must teach the first group to use other hobbies and activities to vent their feelings and the second, not to overestimate their abilities, while driving.     

The psychophysics of chasing: A case study in the perception of animacy

Psychologists have long been captivated by the perception of animacy – the fact that even simple moving shapes may appear to engage in animate, intentional, and goal-directed movements. Here we report several new types of studies of a particularly salient form of perceived animacy: chasing, in which one shape (the ‘wolf’) pursues another shape (‘the sheep’). We first demonstrate two new cues to perceived chasing – chasing subtlety (the degree to which the wolf deviates from perfectly ‘heat-seeking’ pursuit) and directionality (whether and how the shapes ‘face’ each other). We then use these cues to show how it is possible to assess the objective accuracy of such percepts, and to distinguish the immediate perception of chasing from those more subtle (but nevertheless real) types of ‘stalking’ that cannot be readily perceived. We also report several methodological advances. Previous studies of the perception of animacy have faced two major challenges: (a) it is difficult to measure perceived animacy with quantitative precision; and (b) task demands make it difficult to distinguish perception from higher-level inferences about animacy. We show how these challenges can be met, at least in our case study of perceived chasing, via tasks based on dynamic visual search (the Find-the-Chase task) and a new type of interactive display (the Don’t-Get-Caught! task).     

Beyond perception: Testing for implicit conceptual traces in high-load tasks

The present commentary addresses the main results obtained in the Butler and Klein [Butler, B. C., & Klein, R. (2009). Inattentional blindness for ignored words: Comparison of explicit and implicit memory tasks. Consciousness and Cognition, 18, 811–819.] study and discusses them in relation to the Perceptual Load Theory of Lavie [Lavie, N. (1995). Perceptual load as a necessary condition for selective attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 21, 451–68.]. The authors claim that the use of implicit indexes of conceptual distractor processing in high-load situations would be an important addition to the load literature, which would benefit the research field regardless of their positive or negative findings.     

Intertheoretical Identity And Ontological Reductions

I argue that there are good reasons to assume that Quine’s theory of reference and ontology is incompatible with reductive statements – such as ‘Heat is molecular motion’ or ‘Rabbits are conglomerations of cells’. Apparently, reductive statements imply certain intertheoretical identities, yet Quine’s theory of reference and ontology seems incompatible with intertheoretical identities. I argued that treating, for the sake of reconciliation, reductive statements along the lines of Quine’s theory of an ontological reduction (which does not imply intertheoretical identity) fails. Then I discussed two alternative strategies on behalf of Quine to handle reductive statements: the Holistic Strategy (which appeals to Quine’s notion of an all-encompassing background theory) and the Individuative Strategy (which draws on Quine’s notion of an apparatus of individuation). I argue that the Individuative Strategy promises to succeed. However, the Individuative Strategy obliges to revising Quine’s theory of an ontological reduction – a revision that, as I argue, can and should be implemented.     

Myth, identity and belonging: The Rishi of Bengal/Bangladesh

This essay discusses the politics and relevance of myth and myth making in relation to the subordination of Untouchables in South Asia. Through the case study of one particular group – the Muchi-Rishi of Bengal/Bangladesh, traditionally skinners, leather-workers and musicians – it is argued that ex-Untouchables do not share the ideology of caste which places them on the lowest echelon of society. This is in contrast with the case of ‘Untouchable myths of origin’ offered by anthropological research (Michael Moffatt, Robert Deliège) in South India, Tamil Nadu. However, another set of counter-myths recounted by the Rishi, centred around the figure of Ruidas, offers an alternative which allows them to gain a self-ascribed identity. Far from engaging in a ‘theological’ struggle, the idiom of religion and myth becomes for these ‘ex-Untouchables’ and subaltern groups a ‘place of resistance’ from which they can hope to better themselves also in the economic, social and political spheres, as part of their overall endeavour to achieve full human dignity. For some Rishi, this process has taken the form of a long journey from being defined an ‘Untouchable’ to becoming a Dalit.     

How brain arousal systems determine different temperament types and the major dimensions of personality

Theory and research is described which led to the hypothesis that the choleric (E+N+) and melancholic (E−N+) temperaments are determined by differences in thalamocortical inhibition of brain-stem processes. An opportunity to test this hypothesis was provided by the recent discovery of 4, 7, and 10 Hz response waves confounded in EEG averaged evoked potentials [Robinson, D. L. (1999b). The technical, neurological, and psychological significance of ‘alpha’ ‘theta’ and ‘delta’ waves confounded in EEG evoked potentials: 1. A study of peak latencies. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 110, 1427–1434; (2000). The technical neurological, and psychological significance of ‘alpha’, ‘delta’, and ‘theta’ waves confounded in EEG evoked potentials: A study of peak amplitudes. Personality and Individual Differences, 28, 673–693]. These responses are attributed to the brain-stem, limbic, and thalamocortical arousal systems, respectively, and in the cited reports principal components analysis of data obtained from 93 participants confirmed the existence of predicted excitatory and inhibitory relationships. ANOVA was used in the present study to test the further prediction that there should be strong inhibition of the 4 Hz system by the 10 Hz system in melancholics (E−N+) and weak inhibition of the 4 Hz system in cholerics (E+N+), with median inhibition predicted for the other temperament types. There was a large and statistically significant difference between the mean scores on the PCA inhibition factor obtained for the temperament groups, with temperament defined in terms of high and low EPQ extraversion (E) and neuroticism (N) scores. The significance of these results is discussed with reference to fundamental questions raised by Pavlov's pioneering research but left unanswered for the best part of a century. Implications for the future conduct of personality research are also considered.     

Religion in the service of an elite: A sociologicallydefined imposture. the case of ancient Sparta

The following article is based upon the socio-theological framework elaborated in mybook, Heilsgeschidllicht verfasste Theologie and Männerbiinde, (Theology based on the History of Salvation versus ‘Märmerbünde‘). It attempts to correlate the recurring appearance of a gnostic worldview with the socio-psychological structures of ‘Männerbünde’ or ‘male-groups’. In doing so, it traces the gnostic method of interpreting the human condition from efforts to build an ideological superstructure in order to secure the interests of solely secular groupings; the so-called “Männerbünde’. By developing pseudo-theological constructions with their hint of true ‘theo’-logy, these secular groupings attempt to seduce people into following these newly-developed pseudotheological systems which in fact deliver them helplessly into the grip of the ‘Männerbünde’. It is through means such as these pseudo-theologies that the ‘Männerbünde’ endeavour to win almost unlimited power over the common people; hence the article's title, ‘Religion in the service of an elite’.The second element of the title, ‘A sociologically defined imposture’, refers to myunderstanding that the creation of the pseudo-theology by the ‘Minnerbünde’ does not follow the demands of theological truth but is instead ‘defined’ by the sociological rules which are to be observed if one wants to subject others to one's own private aims.Whereas the book exemplifies the proposed ideas on a larger scale by centring on historical situations taken principally from ancient and modern indo-european contexts, the present article focuses on one of the best known ‘Männerbünde’, namely, the Spartan commonwealth. Sparta's special structures, which are highly relevant in illustrating this thesis, were not considered in the book.Finally, the analysis of the Spartan material has been effected through an abstractgeneral approach, and through a socio-psychological exposition of the structures which underly and interpret the ‘Männerbünde’ text, which mainly consists of historical arguments. It is this general approach which I shall consider first.     

Henry Cavendish and Asperger’s syndrome: A new understanding of the scientist

Although it has recently been suggested that Henry Cavendish (1731–1810) suffered from Asperger’s syndrome (James, 2005; Sacks, 2001), there has yet to be a systematic exploration of this claim. For various reasons, Cavendish is considered here through the diagnostic framework described by Gillberg (1989), with further support from the DSM-IV (APA, 1994). The potential for such a retro-diagnosis is evident, given Cavendish’s biographers’ lament of Cavendish as the ‘incomplete man’: the oddly misanthropic man characterised by negations. Such an impression is evident in the memoirs of Cavendish’s contemporaries but finds its best expression in Wilson’s (1851) biography. With a new and cautious interpretation from an Asperger’s syndrome perspective, this fragmented picture dissipates and Cavendish emerges as a man of remarkable intellect whose syndrome stunted his social development and expression, yet so crucially enabled his research into a paradoxically catholic taste of scientific study. Topics relevant to a ‘retro-diagnosis’ are first addressed, before Cavendish is compared to Gillberg’s and the DSM-IV criteria.     

Conjoining Mathematical Empiricism with Mathematical Realism: Maddy’s Account of Set Perception Revisited

Penelope Maddy’s original solution to the dilemma posed by Benacerraf in his (1973) ‘Mathematical Truth’ was to reconcile mathematical empiricism with mathematical realism by arguing that we can perceive realistically construed sets. Though her hypothesis has attracted considerable critical attention, much of it, in my view, misses the point. In this paper I vigorously defend Maddy’s (1990) account against published criticisms, not because I think it is true, but because these criticisms have functioned to obscure a more fundamental issue that is well worth addressing: in general – and not only in the mathematical domain – empiricism and realism simply cannot be reconciled by means of an account of perception anything like Maddy’s. But because Maddy’s account of perception is so plausible, this conclusion raises the specter of the broader incompatibility of realism and empiricism, which contemporary philosophers are frequently at pains to forget.     

Peter Singer’S Argument for Utilitarianism

The paper begins by situating Singer within the British meta-ethical tradition. It sets out the main steps in his argument for utilitarianism as the ‘default setting’ of ethical thought. It argues that Singer’s argument depends on a hierarchy of reasons, such that the ethical viewpoint is understood to be an adaptation – an extension – of a fundamental self-interest. It concludes that the argument fails because it is impossible to get from this starting-point in self-interest to his conception of the ethical point of view. The fundamental problem is its mixing the immiscible: the Humean subordination of reason to interest with the Kantian conception of reason as universal and authoritative.     

An item and factor analysis of the FSS(III)

In view of the apparent need for an anxiety scale specifically for South African Indians, this study examines the characteristics of one such group on a stimulus-oriented measure of anxiety. The 73-item Fear Survey Schedule III (FSS) was administered to a representative sample of Natal Indians.Results suggest that this scale has good construct validity and internal consistency for the Ss. Item analyses indicate that stimuli associated with ‘tissue damage’ or ‘interpersonal’ situations are most anxiety-provoking and also correlate highest with test score remainders. A factor analysis reveals three dimensions of situational anxiety for South African Indians: ‘physical danger’, ‘interpersonal situations’ and ‘animals’. These findings support the contention that situational trait anxiety is a multi-dimensional phenomenon.     

Religion and Mestrovic's postemotional society: the manufacturing of religious emotion

Work on the social theory of emotion has been growing in the last decade, but few have considered how these studies relate to the field of religion. This article is a detailed critical examination of the work of the Croatian–American sociologist Stjepan Mestrovic and his idea of ‘postemotionalism’. It is an exploration of the implications of his work for understanding contemporary manifestations of religion. It first unfolds the context of Mestrovic's work on postemotionalism and then explores the development and meaning of the term. It follows a series of tensions in the concept between spontaneous and produced emotion and seeks to show how postemotionalism fails to consider adequately religious history, which has continually involved the process of repackaging ‘past emotions’. Despite these difficulties, Mestrovic's idea of postemotionalism is seen to provide not only a way to rethink emotion and rationality in religion, but a way of re-conceptualising so-called ‘individual’ religious emotion as part of wider political constructions developed through late capitalistic markets and the technology of mass media. Mestrovic's lack of concern with religion is considered, and the work of the French sociologist of religion Danièle Hervieu-Léger on ‘chain memory’ is introduced as a way of illuminating questions of religious tradition, memory and emotion in Mestrovic's work. The final section of the paper considers the ‘revivalist’ developments of Celtic Spirituality as an example of the micro-politics of postemotional religion.     

Adapting to life’s slings and arrows: Individual differences in resilience when recovering from an anticipated threat

Following highly negative events, people are deemed resilient if they maintain psychological stability and experience fewer mental health problems. The current research investigated how trait resilience [Block, J., & Kremen, A. M. (1996). IQ and ego-resiliency: Conceptual and empirical connections and separateness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(2), 349–361, ER89] influences recovery from anticipated threats. Participants viewed cues (‘aversive’, ‘threat’, ‘safety’) that signified the likelihood of an upcoming picture (100% aversive, 50/50 aversive/neutral, or 100% neutral; respectively), and provided continuous affective ratings during the cue, picture, and after picture offset (recovery period). Participants high in trait resilience (HighR) exhibited more complete affective recovery (compared to LowR) after viewing a neutral picture that could have been aversive. Although other personality traits previously associated with resilience (i.e., optimism, extraversion, neuroticism) predicted affective responses during various portions of the task, none mediated the influence of trait resilience on affective recovery.     

Studying religion today : Controversiality and ‘objectivity’ in the sociology of religion

The salience of issues of ‘objectivity’ in the study of religion is presently increasing in the context of enhanced religious conflict, controversy and overt politicization. These issues arise and ramify on various levels: epistemological, ethical, existential and interpersonal. As students of religion are increasingly impelled to ‘become part of their data’, they need to consider whether a value-neutral ‘scientific’ study of religion can remain viable in a period of religious tumult? Feminism, Liberation Theology and concern over the perceived persecution of stigmatized religious minorities (‘cults’) represent three orientations which are currently shaping the sociology of religion in the United States.     

Vigilance, personality and strength of the nervous system

Numerous attempts have been made to explain the overall level of performance and the change in performance over time in vigilance tasks in terms of the proposed inverted U relationship between performance and ‘arousal’. The present experiment investigated the effects on vigilance performance of the following variables: introversion, neuroticism, time of day, accessory sensory stimulation, ‘signal frequency’ and time on task. Some measures of subjective state and body temperature were also included. The behavioural measures of overall performance revealed interactions involving neuroticism and time of day, and between neuroticism and frequency. This may reflect the operation of response bias factors, though these may be influenced by ‘arousal’. There were also main effects for several of the factors which may have practical significance. There was a significant effect of time on task on all the behavioural measures but no clearcut effects of personality on the vigilance ‘decrement’. It is argued that the latter may not provide the most satisfactory test of the inverted U model and its relationship to personality. However, interactions between noise and time on task for some of the measures may have practical importance. Measures of subjective state showed a fall in the reported level of ‘arousal’ accompanied by a rise in reported ‘stress’ and ‘anxiety’ with time on task. Body temperature was higher after the task than before.     

Renunciation feminised? Joint renunciation of female–male pairs in Bengali Vaishnavism

The Indic category of renunciation is generally constructed in radical opposition to that of householder/worldly life (saḿsāra), by actors and analysts alike. Yet, as an institution, renunciation is also traditionally modelled on householder structures. It is created through an idiom of ‘birth’ into patrilines, albeit generated through ‘guru’ rather than ‘blood’ lineages. These contrary facets of renunciation feature in the unusual Bengali Vaishnava phenomenon of joint renunciation of a female–male pair. On the one hand joint renunciation is ostensibly a matter of death to one (householder) patriline and of birth into another (renouncer) patriline. In this sense it is a male-oriented phenomenon, replicating householder structures. On the other hand Vaishnava renouncers also construct renunciation in opposition to householder life, that is, in terms of liminality and transcendence of categories. These characteristics are in turn identified as ‘female’ and are associated with a high valuation of women. Renunciation has often been considered a conservative or marginal force in South Asian society, although a few scholars have argued for its radical potential among subaltern groups. Studies of female renouncers have shown that the price of greater autonomy conferred by renunciation is often the virtual denial of ‘womanhood’ itself. My intention here is to highlight a shift in balance, in which renunciation is feminised in significant respects, with potentially liberating results for women. This suggests indigenous sources for ideas of gender equality or even female superiority, normally assumed to be of ‘Western’ provenance.     

The effects of body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio on ratings of female attractiveness, fecundity, and health

This paper examines the effects of body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) on people’s perceptions of female attractiveness and fecundity. One hundred and two participants (51 females) were asked to rate 18 line drawings, varying across three BMI and six WHR levels, on seven different attributes (‘healthy’, ‘fertile’, ‘youthful’, ‘intelligent’, ‘nurturing’, ‘flirty’, and ‘attractive’). Line drawings manipulated arm and leg thickness while keeping torso WHR consistent, thus unconfounding previously confounded variables. The data were analysed through a doubly multivariate analysis of variance. Effect sizes were larger for BMI than for WHR. Figures of average weight and a WHR of 0.7 were rated as most attractive and healthy. Overall, the results demonstrate that the effects of BMI and WHR on perceptions of attractiveness and fecundity are interdependent and should be studied concurrently rather than in isolation.     

Needs met through computer game play among adolescents

Despite much research on video/computer game play, especially the relationship between such play and aggression, little attention has been directed at needs met through play. The aim of the present study was to extend Selnow’s (1984) needs’ scale, and to identify individual differences in needs among adolescents. Focus groups were conducted, followed by a content analysis, and items corresponding to emerging themes were added to reasons identified in previous research for use in a quantitative survey. Four factors emerged from a factor analysis of the results; ‘companionship’, ‘prefer to friends’, ‘fun challenge’, and ‘stress relief’, and these, with the exception of ‘companionship’, were found to be significant predictors of play.