A closer look at moral dilemmas: Latent dimensions of morality and the difference between trolley and footbridge dilemmas

Although a distinction between moral-personal and moral-impersonal dilemmas (Greene, Sommerville, Nystrom, Darley, & Cohen, 2001 Greene, J. D., Sommerville, R. B., Nystrom, L. E., Darley, J. M. and Cohen, J. D. 2001. An fMRI investigation of emotional engagement in moral judgement. Science, 293: 2105–2108. doi:10.1126/science.1062872.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) has been widely accepted as an explanation for a difference between the trolley and footbridge dilemmas (Thomson, 1985 Thomson, J. J. 1985. “The trolley problem”. In Ethics: Problems and principles, Edited by: Fischer, J. M. and Ravizza, M. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.  [Google Scholar]), its psychometric properties remain a mystery. In this study 219 participants completed 62 moral dilemma tasks used in Greene et al. (2001 Greene, J. D., Sommerville, R. B., Nystrom, L. E., Darley, J. M. and Cohen, J. D. 2001. An fMRI investigation of emotional engagement in moral judgement. Science, 293: 2105–2108. doi:10.1126/science.1062872.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and the correlation structure among the dilemmas was analysed through factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Findings suggest that, first, moral-personal dilemmas are composed of one factor, indicating that the assumption in Greene et al. (2001 Greene, J. D., Sommerville, R. B., Nystrom, L. E., Darley, J. M. and Cohen, J. D. 2001. An fMRI investigation of emotional engagement in moral judgement. Science, 293: 2105–2108. doi:10.1126/science.1062872.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) was supported. Second, moral-impersonal dilemmas are explained by two factors that reflect procedural and consequential aspects of decision making. Third, the trolley and footbridge dilemmas fall under the same factor category; therefore the difference between the two dilemmas cannot be attributed to emotional involvement. Additionally, the results of the structural equation modelling suggest that they differ in the engagement of rational processing.     

Repeated Measurement of the Components of Attention With Young Children Using the Attention Network Test: Stability,Isolability, Robustness,and Reliability

The current study examined the robustness, stability, reliability, and isolability of the attention network scores (alerting, orienting, and executive control) when young children experienced repeated administrations of the child version of the Attention Network Test (ANT; Rueda et al., 2004 Rueda , M. R. , Fan , J. , McCandliss , B. D. , Halparin , J. D. , Gruber , D. B. , Lercari , L. P. , … Posner , M. I. ( 2004 ). Development of attentional networks in childhood . Neuropsychologia , 42 , 1029 – 1040 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Ten test sessions of the ANT were administered to 12 young children. Participants were asked to indicate the direction of a target fish, flanked by distractors, presented either above or below the fixation cross following different types of visual cues. Network scores, reflecting alerting, orienting, and executive control, were calculated using orthogonal subtractions of performance in selected conditions. Only the alerting network scores remained highly significant across the 10 sessions. The executive network scores showed some practice effects. The reliability of the network scores remained poor regardless of the amount of data. Based on the results, use of the ANT is cautioned against in young children when repeated testing is required.     

Evaluating Job Knowledge Criterion Components for Use in Classification Research

In this study, we examined the potential of job knowledge tests as surrogates for hands-on criteria in the development of classification systems that use the tests of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (McLaughlin, Rossmeisel, Wise Brandt, & Wang, 1984 McLaughlin, D. H., Rossmeisel, P. G., Wise, L. L., Brandt, D. A., & Wang, M. M. (1984). Validation of current and alternative ASVAB area composites based on training and SQT information of FY81 and FY82 enlisted accessions. Technical Report 651. Alexandria, VA: U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. [Google Scholar]). Based on U.S. Army data for 15 Military Occupational Specialties, the study compared the outcomes of an assignment simulation using 2 criterion measures: one containing only job knowledge and the other containing both job knowledge and hands-on components. In this study we found comparable predictive validities for the Army operational job families and a high positive mean correlation between the 2 types of criterion in the joint predictor–criterion space. Similarities also exist in the mean predicted performance produced by the assignment simulation using each criterion measure. This outcome equivalence suggests that job knowledge measures could be useful, affordable surrogates for hands-on criteria in developing classification procedures.     

Psychometric Properties of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–Adolescent (MMPI–A) Clinical,Content, and Supplementary Scales in a Forensic Sample

In this study, we evaluated the internal psychometric properties and external correlates of scores on the Clinical, Content, and Supplementary scales in a forensic sample of 496 adolescents (315 boys and 181 girls) who were court-ordered to receive psychological evaluations. We examined Cronbach's alpha coefficients, scale intercorrelation matrices, and frequencies of scale elevations. Further, we found varying degrees of support for the convergent and discriminant validity of scores on the MMPI–A (Butcher et al., 1992 Butcher, J. N., Williams, C. L., Graham, J. R., Archer, R. P., Tellegen, A., Ben-Porath, Y. S. and Kaemmer, B. 1992. MMPI–A (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–Adolescent): Manual for administration, scoring, and interpretation, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.  [Google Scholar]) Clinical, Content, and Supplementary scales. This study adds to the body of literature establishing the utility of the MMPI–A in forensic evaluations.     

The Influence of Task Value,Expectancies for Success,and Identity on Athletes' Achievement Behaviors

This study extended and supported the use of Eccles et al.'s (1983) Eccles, J. S., Adler, T. F., Futterman, R., Goff, S. B., Kaczala, C. M., Meece, J. L. and Midgley, C. 1983. “Expectancies, values, and academic behaviors”. In Achievement and achievement motives: Psychological and sociological approaches, Edited by: Spence, J. T. 75–146. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman.  [Google Scholar] expectancy-value model to a competitive sport context. High school varsity basketball players (N = 189) were assessed on expectancies for success, interest value, attainment value, utility value, and basketball identity. Achievement behavior was measured as coaches't ratings of players' effort and persistence displayed throughout the season. Significant differences emerged between African-American and White athletes on all variables; however, no gender differences were present. Regression analyses indicated different patterns in the relationships among self- and task beliefs and achievement behaviors by race. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that self- and task beliefs mediated the relationship between identity and effort and persistence. Specifically, identity was a strong predictor of self- and task beliefs and expectancies significantly predicted effort and persistence. Explanations for the racial differences are discussed as well as the role that identity plays in the expectancy-value model and practical implications for coaches.     

Three decades of lay epistemics: The why,how, and who of knowledge formation

A conceptual integration and review are presented of three separate research programmes informed by the theory of lay epistemics (Kruglanski, 1989 Kruglanski, A. W. 1989. Lay epistemics and human knowledge: Cognitive and motivational bases, New York: Plenum. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). They respectively address the “why”, “how”, and “who” questions about human knowledge formation. The “why” question is treated in work on the need for cognitive closure that propels epistemic behaviour and affects individual, interpersonal, and group phenomena. The “how” question is addressed in work on the unimodel (Kruglanski, Pierro, Mannetti, Erb, & Chun, 2007 Kruglanski, A. W., Pierro, A., Mannetti, L., Erb, H. P. and Chun, W. Y. 2007. “On the parameters of social judgement”. In Advances in experimental social psychology, Edited by: Zanna, M. P. Vol. 39, 255–296. New York: Academic Press.  [Google Scholar]) depicting the process of drawing conclusions from the “information given”. The “who” question is addressed in work on “epistemic authority” highlighting the centrality of source effects (including oneself as a source) in human epistemic behaviour. These separate research paradigms explore facets of epistemic behaviour that jointly produce human knowledge, of essential significance to people's’ individual and social functioning.     

Is overgeneral autobiographical memory an isolated memory phenomenon in major depression?

The present study explored the relation between overgeneral autobiographical memory (AM) and other aspects of memory functioning in depression. A total of 26 patients with major depressive disorder completed a set of memory tasks measuring AM specificity (AMT; Williams & Broadbent, 1986), working memory, semantic memory, verbal learning, delayed verbal recall, recognition memory, and source memory. Reduced specificity of AM was related to poor working memory (central executive functioning) and poor source memory. The former finding conforms to the idea that the voluntary retrieval of specific autobiographical memories (AMs) involves central executive processes (e.g., Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, 2000 Conway, M. A. and Pleydell-Pearce, C. W. 2000. The construction of autobiographical memories in the self-memory system. Psychological Review, 107: 261–288. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The latter finding replicates and extends recent findings suggesting that overgeneral AM is part of a broader memory deficit in retrieving the specific details of the context in which information was acquired (Ramponi, Barnard, & Nimmo-Smith, 2004 Raes , F. , Hermans , D. , Williams , J. M. G. , Demyttenaere , K. , Sabbe , B. , Pieters , G . & Eelen , P. ( 2004 ). Reduced specificity of autobiographical memory: A mediator between rumination and ineffective social problem solving in major depression? Journal of affective disorders , 87 , 331 – 335  [Google Scholar]). Furthermore, in line with Ramponi et al. (2004 Raes , F. , Hermans , D. , Williams , J. M. G. , Demyttenaere , K. , Sabbe , B. , Pieters , G . & Eelen , P. ( 2004 ). Reduced specificity of autobiographical memory: A mediator between rumination and ineffective social problem solving in major depression? Journal of affective disorders , 87 , 331 – 335  [Google Scholar]), rumination was found to be related to both overgeneral AM and poor source memory.     

Changes in the Rorschach and MMPI–2 After Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT): A Collaborative Assessment Case Study

We used before-and-after testing with the Rorschach Inkblot Test (Exner, 1997/2003) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 (Butcher et al., 2001 Butcher, J. N., Graham, J. R., Ben-Porath, Y. S., Tellegen, A., Dahlstrom, W. G. and Kaemmer, B. 2001. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2: Manual for administration, scoring, and interpretation, , rev. ed., Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.  [Google Scholar]) to assist a psychotherapy client—a survivor of child abuse suffering from depression accompanied by hallucinations—in evaluating a course of electroconvulsive therapy that she underwent. The results of both tests indicated positive changes. During the collaborative discussion of the test results, especially the changes seen on the Rorschach, a deeper understanding of her skeptical response to evidence of improvement came to light and helped to refocus the ongoing psychotherapy work.     

A Cross-Cultural Analysis of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire Very Short Form: An Item Response Theory Analysis of Infant Temperament in New Zealand

The Infant Behavior Questionnaire–Revised Very Short Form (IBQ–R VSF; Putnam, Helbig, Gartstein, Rothbart, &; Leerkes, 2014 Putnam, S. P., Helbig, A. L., Gartstein, M. A., Rothbart, M. K., &; Leerkes, E. (2014). Development and assessment of short and very short forms of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire–Revised. Journal of Personality Assessment, 96, 445–458. doi:10.1080/00223891.2013.841171[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) is a newly published measure of infant temperament with a 3-factor structure. Recently Peterson et al. (2017 Peterson, E. R., Waldie, K. E., Mohal, J., Reese, E., Atatoa Carr, P.E., Grant, C. C., &; Morton, S. M. B. (2017). Infant Behavior Questionnaire–Revised Very Short Form: A new factor structure's associations with parenting perceptions and child language outcomes. Journal of Personality Assessment. Advance online publication. doi:10.1080/00223891.2017.1287709[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) suggested that a 5-factor structure (Positive Affectivity/Surgency, Negative Emotionality, Orienting Capacity, Affiliation/Regulation, and Fear) was more parsimonious and showed promising reliability and predictive validity in a large, diverse sample. However, little is known about the 5-factor model's precision across the temperament dimensions range and whether it discriminates equally well across ethnicities. A total of 5,567 mothers responded to the IBQ–R VSF in relation to their infants (N = 5,639) between 23 and 52 weeks old. Using item response theory, we conducted a series of 2 parameter logistic item response models and found that 5 IBQ–R VSF temperament dimensions showed a good distribution of estimates across each latent trait range and these estimates centered close to the population mean. The IBQ–R VSF was also similarly precise across 4 ethnic groups (European, Māori, Pacific peoples, and Asians), suggesting that it can be used as comparable measure for infant temperament in a diversity of ethnic groups.     

Sanctifying Work: Effects on Satisfaction,Commitment, and Intent to Leave

Sanctification involves perceiving objects or events: (a) theistically by viewing them as having spiritual significance, or (b) nontheistically by viewing them as extraordinary and worthy of veneration and respect without any reference to a higher being. Previous research has found positive outcomes associated with sanctification, including increased satisfaction with marriage (Mahoney et al., 1999 Mahoney, A., Pargament, K. I., Jewell, T., Swank, A. B., Scott, E.Emery, E. 1999. Marriage and the spiritual realm: The role of proximal and distal religious constructs in marital functioning. Journal of Family Psychology, 13: 321–338. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), body image (Mahoney, Carels, et al., 2005 Mahoney, A., Carels, R. A., Pargament, K. I., Wachholtz, A., Leeper, L. E.Kaplar, M. 2005. The sanctification of the body and behavioral health patterns of college students. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 15: 221–238. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) and sexual intercourse (Murray-Swank, Pargament, & Mahoney, 2002 Murray-Swank, N. A., Pargament, K. I. and Mahoney, A. 2002. At the crossroads of sexuality and spirituality: The sanctification of sex by college students. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 15: 199–219.  [Google Scholar]) to name a few. This study extends these findings into the world of work by demonstrating that those who sanctify their jobs are more satisfied, more committed to their organization, and at the same time less likely to intend to leave.     

Time Course of Tactile Gating in a Reach-to-Grasp and Lift Task

Humans’ sensory systems are bombarded by myriad events every moment of our lives. Thus, it is crucial for sensory systems to choose and process critical sensory events deemed important for a given task and, indeed, those that affect survival. Tactile gating is well known, and defined as a reduced ability to detect and discriminate tactile events before and during movement. Also, different locations of the effector exhibit different magnitudes of sensitivity changes. The authors examined that time course of tactile gating in a reaching and grasping movement to characterize its behavior. Tactile stimulators were attached to the right and left mid-forearms and the right index finger and fifth digit. When participants performed reach-to-grasp and lift targets, tactile acuity decreased at the right forearm before movement onset (F. L. Colino, G. Buckingham, D. T. Cheng, P. van Donkelaar, &; G. Binsted, 2014 Colino, F. L., Buckingham, G., Cheng, D. T., van Donkelaar, P., &; Binsted, G. (2014). Tactile Gating in a reaching and grasping task. Physiology Reports, 2(3), e00267.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). However, tactile sensitivity at the right index finger decreased by nearly 20% contrary to expectations. This result reflecting that there may be an additional source acting to reduce inhibition related to tactile gating. Additionally, sensitivity improved as movement end approached. Collectively, the present results indicate that predictive and postdictive mechanisms strongly influence tactile gating.     

On Pedagogy of Personality Assessment: Application of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives

In this article, Bloom's (1956 Bloom, B. (Ed.), Englehart, M. D., Furst, E. J., Hill, W. H., &; Krathwohl, D. R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: Handbook 1. Cognitive domain. White Plains, NY: Longman. [Google Scholar]) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, a pedagogical tool that can help instructors of personality assessment to develop effective and student-centered instructional design, is discussed. Bloom's taxonomy provides a progressive sequence of educational objectives used for lesson planning, needs assessment, and measurement of learning outcomes. The taxonomy comprises 6 categories of objectives that are ordered hierarchically, from the simplest to the most advanced. The levels are knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. I explain how the taxonomy can be applied to the teaching of personality assessment and discuss the implications for assessment pedagogy. I provide examples of effective instructional activities, overview the signs of learners at each level, and highlight typical errors that students make in their oral and written work. Strategies to help learners progress to higher order thinking are also addressed.     

Thinking Levels of Questions in Christian Reading Textbooks

If Christian schools desire students to achieve higher-level thinking, then the textbooks that teachers use should reflect such thinking. Using Risner's (1987 Risner, G. P. (1987). Cognitive levels of questioning demonstrated by test items that accompany selected fifth-grade science textbooks (Doctoral dissertation). Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. [Google Scholar]) methodology, raters classified questions from two Christian publishers’ fifth grade reading textbooks based on the revised Bloom's taxonomy (Anderson et al., 2001 Anderson, L. W., Krathwohl, D. R., Airasian, P. W., Cruikshank, K. A., Mayer, R. E., Pintrick, P. R., … Wittrock, M. C. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. New York, NY: Addison Wesley Longman. [Google Scholar]). The questions in the A Beka Book textbook contained 57.6% lower-level and 42.4% higher-level thinking; the questions in the Bob Jones University Press textbook contained 45.8% lower-level and 54.2% higher-level thinking. Analysis revealed a statistically significant difference between the percentages of thinking in the two publishers (p < .05).     

Competitive state anxiety and self-confidence: Intensity and direction as relative predictors of performance on a golf putting task

Abstract

This study considered relationships between the intensity and directional aspects of competitive state anxiety as measured by the modified Competitive Sport Anxiety Inventory-2(D) (Jones & Swain, 1992 Jones, G. and Swain, A. B. J. 1992. Intensity and direction as dimensions of competitive state anxiety and relationships with competitiveness. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 74: 467–472. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) in a sample of 12 experienced male golfers. Anxiety and performance scores from identical putting tasks performed under three different anxiety-manipulated competitive conditions were used to assess both the predictions of Multidimensional Anxiety Theory (MAT; Martens et al., 1990 Martens, R., Burton, D., Vealey, R., Bump, L. and Smith, D. 1990. “The development of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2)”. In Competitive anxiety in sport, Edited by: Martens, R., Vealey, R. S. and Burton, D. 117–190. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.  [Google Scholar]) and the relative value of intensity and direction in explaining performance variance. A within-subjects regression analysis of the intra-individual data showed partial support for the three MAT hypotheses. Cognitive anxiety intensity demonstrated a negative linear relationship with performance, somatic anxiety intensity showed a curvilinear relationship with performance, and self-confidence intensity revealed a positive linear relation. Cognitive directional anxiety illustrated a positive linear relationship with putting performance. Multiple regression analyses indicated that direction (42% of variance) was a better predictor of performance than intensity (22%)     

Considering too few alternatives: The mental model theory of extensional reasoning

When solving a simple probabilistic problem, people tend to build an incomplete mental representation. We observe this pattern in responses to probabilistic problems over a set of premises using the conjunction, disjunction, and conditional propositional connectives. The mental model theory of extensional reasoning explains this bias towards underestimating the number of possibilities: In reckoning with different interpretations of the premises (logical rules, mental model theoretical, and, specific to conditional premises, conjunction and biconditional interpretation) the mental model theory accounts for the majority of observations. Different interpretations of a premise result in a build-up of mental models that are often incomplete. These mental models are processed using either an extensional strategy relying on proportions amongst models, or a conflict monitoring strategy. The consequence of considering too few possibilities is an erroneous probability estimate akin to that faced by decision makers who fail to generate and consider all alternatives, a characteristic of bounded rationality. We compare our results to the results published by Johnson-Laird, Legrenzi, Girotto, Legrenzi, and Caverni [Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 62 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]–88 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. doi:10 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar].1037 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]/0033 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]-295X Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar].106 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar].1 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar].62 Johnson-Laird, P., Legrenzi, P., Girotto, V., Legrenzi, M., &; Caverni, J. (1999). Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning. Psychological Review, 106, 62–88. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.62[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]], and we observe lower performance levels than those in the original article.