How strong is the comparison‐to‐the‐strongest heuristic?: An empirical test of the comparison‐ to‐the‐strongest heuristic in probability judgment1,2

Abstract: Windschitl and Wells (1998 ) proposed that the pairwise comparison between the focal and strongest alternative outcomes plays an important role in probability judgment. However, their studies did not control the effects of alternative outcomes other than the strongest one. This article tested whether only the strongest alternative outcome would affect probability judgment, using a variable selection method in a multiple regression analysis. Study 1 reanalyzed the results of Windschitl and Young (2001 ) and showed that only the strongest alternative outcome affects probability judgment. In Study 2, a new experiment was conducted to modify the methodological problems in Study 1. The results of Study 2 were identical to those of Study 1. All these results consistently supported the comparison hypothesis.     

Delusion‐proneness or miscomprehension? A re‐examination of the jumping‐to‐conclusions bias

Previous research has consistently shown that individuals with delusions typically exhibit a jumping‐to‐conclusions (JTC) bias when administrated the probabilistic reasoning ‘beads task’ (i.e., decisions made on limited evidence and/or decisions over‐adjusted in light of disconfirming evidence). However, recent work in this area has indicated that a lack of comprehension of the task may be confounding this finding. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the influence of task administration, delusion‐proneness, and miscomprehension on the elucidation of the JTC bias. A total of 92 undergraduate university students were divided into one of two task conditions (i.e., non‐computerised and computerised) and were further identified as either delusion‐prone or non‐delusion‐prone and as comprehending or non‐comprehending the task. Overall, 25% of the sample demonstrated a JTC bias, and just over half made illogical responses consistent with a failure to comprehend the task. Qualitative evidence of comprehension revealed that these ‘illogical responses’ were being driven by a misunderstanding of task instructions. The way the task was administrated and levels of delusion‐proneness did not significantly influence JTC. However, miscomprehending participants were significantly more likely to exhibit the bias than those who did comprehend. These results suggest that miscomprehension rather than delusion‐proneness may be driving the JTC bias, and that future research should include measures of miscomprehension.     

Vis‐à‐vis the Couch: Where is Psychoanalysis?

The author discusses ways in which the couch or chair (lying down versus sitting up) may be used to maintain safety and defend against perceived dangers in the analytic process. Several dialectics are relevant as they intersect with that of danger and safety, including engagement/privacy, interiority/exteriority and subject/object. The author discusses these dialectics in terms of the ways in which the analyst is used at different points in time, i.e. as an objectifi ed other, a subjective object or part-object, or as a subject with an internal world. The therapeutic action associated with sitting up (versus lying down on the couch) has been undertheorized, despite the fact that many, if not most, analysands sit up for some portion of their analysis. Through the use of a heuristic visual-spatial metaphor as represented by the use of the couch or chair, the author discusses the signifi cance of lying down and sitting up for therapeutic action.     

Naturally better? A review of the natural‐is‐better bias

People are frequently exposed to products and services that are labeled natural (e.g., Nature Made Vitamins or GoJo Natural Orange Hand Cleaner). The frequency with which this label is used suggests that it delivers an advantage in marketing and sales. Our review examines the preference for and perception of naturalness and reveals that people have a bias for items described as natural in many domains including foods, medicine, beauty products, cigarettes, and lighting. These preferences abound even when the natural item is identical or not objectively better than the non‐natural or synthetic item. We believe this bias may be driven by a natural‐is‐better default belief as well as the belief that natural items are safer than non‐natural items. Although a bias for natural items is apparent, this literature is in its infancy, and we suggest three areas that will help build and refine the empirical research base and theory: the measurement of behavior, the examination of individual differences, and the development of methods for reducing the bias. A better understanding of the naturalness bias relevant to these areas will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the area, including factors that may cause and reduce it.     

Reaching the Limits of Secularization? Turkish‐ and Moroccan‐Dutch Muslims in the Netherlands 1998–2006

This research note focuses on Muslim minorities living in a secular context, the Netherlands. The question is whether mosque attendance among Turkish‐ and Moroccan‐Dutch changed between 1998 and 2006, testing mechanisms of religious decline and religious vitality. Elaborating on previous research of the same Muslim groups, this study examines a longer time span and adds contextual‐level explanations. Whereas previous research reported a linear trend towards secularization over time and over generations, in recent years the trend has become more complex. The revival of religious attendance among the second generation is most striking. Forces of secularization such as educational attainment and generational replacement gradually lose their predictive power. Over time, processes of secularization are therefore not inevitable.     

Cat Got Your Tongue? Using the Tip‐of‐the‐Tongue State to Investigate Fixed Expressions

Despite the fact that they play a prominent role in everyday speech, the representation and processing of fixed expressions during language production is poorly understood. Here, we report a study investigating the processes underlying fixed expression production. “Tip‐of‐the‐tongue” (TOT) states were elicited for well‐known idioms (e.g., hit the nail on the head) and participants were asked to report any information they could regarding the content of the phrase. Participants were able to correctly report individual words for idioms that they could not produce. In addition, participants produced both figurative (e.g., pretty for easy on the eye) and literal errors (e.g., hammer for hit the nail on the head) when in a TOT state, suggesting that both figurative and literal meanings are active during production. There was no effect of semantic decomposability on overall TOT incidence; however, participants recalled a greater proportion of words for decomposable rather than non‐decomposable idioms. This finding suggests there may be differences in how decomposable and non‐decomposable idioms are retrieved during production.     

Ritualising the Secular? Inter‐Religious Meetings in the ‘Immanent Frame‘

I take a philosophical approach and seek to address the question of inter‐religious rituals and practices with reference to what Charles Taylor has called ‘the immanent frame.’ Whilst considering the dynamics of inter‐religious or cross‐religious ritual, this article will focus mainly on the idea of rituality occurring in an immanent frame or habitus (Pierre Bourdieu). I will argue that whilst there are specific cultic rituals that need to be negotiated as part of any form of explicit inter‐rituality, there is a larger potential that is suggested by a broader anthropological vision. Moreover, an ‘immanent turn’ by religions may be the positive step towards the joint creation of meaning and practice in the public sphere.     

Effort‐reward‐imbalance,overcommitment and self‐reported health: Is it the interaction that matters?

In recent years, the effort‐reward‐imbalance (ERI) model has become widely used as a framework for examining job characteristics and employee's health. The present study tested the predictive validity of the ERI model's components ‐ ERI, over‐commitment (OC) and their interaction ‐ on the basis of self‐reported health outcomes. In a cross‐sectional study, data were obtained from 1,587 employees working in the aircraft manufacturing industry in southern Germany. Results suggested that all components of the ERI model (effort‐reward‐ratio, effort, reward and over‐commitment) are associated with health‐related quality of life, vital exhaustion, depression and quality of sleep. The separate variables effort and reward explained more of the observed variance than the effort‐reward ratio. No interaction between ERI and OC in predicting measurements of self‐reported health could be found. The findings suggest (1) that the ERI ratio does not provide more information than the separate use of the variables effort and reward, and (2) that there are main effects of ERI and OC but no interaction effect on employees' health. Implications for theory and applied research are discussed.     

Same‐ and Other‐Sex Victimization: Are the Risk Factors Similar?

Risk factors for same‐ and other‐sex victimization were examined in a longitudinal data set involving 9‐ to 14‐year‐old students. The findings regarding same‐sex victimization supported the view that bullies select personally and interpersonally vulnerable targets in order to maximize their gains in status while minimizing loss of affection within their same‐sex peer group. Although low self‐esteem was a joint predictor of same‐ and other‐sex victimization, rejection and lack of friends among other‐sex peers failed to predict victimization by other‐sex bullies, and being perceived as popular among other‐sex peers increased the risk. Although the findings suggests that interpersonal risk factors for other‐sex victimization differ from those found for same‐sex victimization, they do not provide strong support for heterosexual interest being the basis for other‐sex target selection, as suggested by some previous literature. As about half of the study participants were involved in the KiVa antibullying program, we had the possibility to examine whether the program effects were similar for same‐ and other‐sex victimization. It turned out that in middle schools the program decreased only same‐sex victimization, whereas in elementary school the decrease was observed regardless of the sex composition of bully–victim dyads. Aggr. Behav. 38:442‐455, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

What makes relational reasoning smart? Revisiting the perceptual‐to‐relational shift in the development of generalization

Development of reasoning is often depicted as involving increasing use of relational similarities and decreasing use of perceptual similarities (‘the perceptual‐to‐relational shift’). We argue that this shift is a special case of a broader developmental trend: increasing sensitivity to the predictive accuracy of different similarity types. To test this hypothesis, we asked participants (3‐, 4‐, 5‐year‐olds and adults) to generalize novel information on two types of problems – offspring problems, where relational matches yield accurate generalizations, and prey problems, where perceptual matches yield accurate generalizations. On offspring problems, we replicated prior findings of increasing relational matches with age. However, we observed decreasing relational matches on prey problems. Provided feedback on their responses, 3‐year‐olds showed the same trend. Findings suggest that the relational shift commonly observed in categorization and analogical reasoning may reflect a general increase in children's sensitivity to cue validity rather than an overall preference to generalize over perceptual similarity.     

Where is the Dialectic in the Community‐Diversity Dialectic?

Agent‐based modeling has provided some interesting investigations of the hypothesis that there is a dialectical relationship between sense of community and diversity. A close look at those models strongly suggests that only models in which the attributes of agents are fixed completely support that hypothesis. Models which acknowledge that diversity is contextually defined, and thus changeable, suggest that there is no inherent dialectical relationship between the two values. Rather, it is the context of the setting, the way in which the setting is socially constructed, that determines whether a strong sense of community can exist in highly diverse settings.     

Person‐factors in the California Adult Q‐Set: closing the door on personality trait types?

To investigate recent hypotheses of replicable personality types, we examined data from 1540 self‐sorts on the California Adult Q‐Set (CAQ). Conventional factor analysis of the items showed the expected Five‐Factor Model (FFM). Inverse factor analysis across random subsamples showed that none of the previously reported person‐factors were replicated. Only two factors were replicable, and, most importantly, these factors were contaminated by mean level differences in item endorsement. Results were not due to sample size or age heterogeneity. Subsequent inverse factor analysis of standardized items revealed at least three replicable factors; when five person‐factors were extracted, they could be aligned precisely with the dimensions of the FFM. The major factors of person similarity can be accounted for entirely in terms of the FFM, consistent with the hypothesis that there are no replicable personality types in the CAQ. Published in 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rigidity of the far‐right? Motivated social cognition in a nationally representative sample of Hungarians on the eve of the far‐right breakthrough in the 2010 elections

We investigated the “rigidity of the right” hypothesis in the context of the far‐right breakthrough in the 2010 Hungarian parliamentary elections. This hypothesis suggests that psychological characteristics having to do with need for security and certainty attract people to a broad‐based right‐wing ideology. A nationally representative sample (N = 1000) in terms of age, gender and place of residence was collected by means of the random walking method and face‐to‐face interviews. Voters of JOBBIK (n = 124), the radically nationalist conservative far‐right party, scored lower on System Justifying Belief, Belief in a Just World (Global) and higher on Need for Cognition than other voters. Our results contradict the “rigidity of the right” hypothesis: JOBBIK voters scored, on many measures, opposite to what the hypothesis would predict.     

Can parent‐to‐parent consultation improve the effectiveness of the Maudsley model of family‐based treatment for anorexia nervosa? A randomized control trial

Objective: This paper describes a preliminary randomized control trial that explores the use of parent‐to‐parent consultations as a potential augmentation to the Maudsley model of family‐based treatment for anorexia. Method: Twenty families were randomized into two groups, ten receiving standard treatment and ten receiving an additional parent‐to‐parent consultation early on in treatment. Measures of parental efficacy (Parents versus Anorexia Scale), patient distress (Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale) and percentage ideal body weight were taken each week. The effects of parent‐to‐parent consultations on parental efficacy and weight were analysed by comparing data with random effects models. Results: A significant treatment effect was found, with parent‐to‐parent consultations leading to a small increase in the rate of weight restoration. Conclusion: This practice has the potential to enhance weight restoration when included in the Maudsley model of family‐based treatment for anorexia nervosa. Research that tests more potent forms of intervention may also have merit.     

Child care quality and Dutch 2‐ and 3‐year‐olds' socio‐emotional outcomes: Does the amount of care matter?

High amounts of early child care have sometimes been linked to higher levels of behaviour problems, while high‐quality child care has more often been related to fewer behaviour problems and more social competence. The current study investigated whether the level of centre emotional and behavioural support (child care quality) interacted with the amount of child care in predicting children's socio‐emotional behaviour. Participants were 417 children (mean age = 27 months) from 61 Dutch daycare centres. The amount of daycare ranged from 1 to 5 days per week (M = 2.3 days). Multi‐level analyses showed that, independent of the amount of daycare, high levels of centre emotional and behavioural support were related to more caregiver‐rated social competence 1 year later. In addition, children spending 3.5 days or more in highly supportive daycare centres showed the lowest levels of parent‐rated externalizing behaviour 1 year later. The findings emphasize (a) that the combined effects of the amount and quality of child care are important and (b) that high‐quality early child care is related to children's socio‐emotional development. Further policy, practice, and research implications are discussed.

Highlights

• We studied in a Dutch sample how the amount and quality of daycare interacted in relation to children's socio‐emotional outcomes.
• High levels of daycare quality were related to more teacher‐rated social competence.
• Children spending 3.5 days or more in highly supportive daycare centers showed less parent‐rated externalizing behavior.

     

How to Read the pseudo‐Denys Today?

Abstract:   Both modern and medieval commentators on the pseudo-Denys offer misreadings. With the exception of Aquinas, they fail to see the connection between mystical and liturgical strands of his thought, and so read him as offering an account of some generic religiosity. This history suggests a tension in the procedure of ressourcement : the better a theologian is placed within his intellectual and cultural context, the more difficult it is for him to be used to inform theology today. The process of tracing the theological tradition, however, is a process of retroactive comprehension.     

A Meta‐Analytic Investigation of the Within‐Person Self‐Efficacy Domain: Is Self‐Efficacy a Product of Past Performance or a Driver of Future Performance?

We conducted a meta‐analysis to determine whether the within‐person self‐efficacy/performance relationship is positive, negative, or null and to compare the strength of the self‐efficacy/performance and past performance/self‐efficacy within‐person relationships. The self‐efficacy/performance within‐person corrected correlation was .23 but was weak and nonsignificant (ρ = .06) when controlling for the linear trajectory, revealing that the main effect was spurious. The past performance/self‐efficacy within‐person corrected correlation was .40 and remained positive and significant (ρ = .30) when controlling for the linear trajectory. The moderator results revealed that at the within‐person level of analysis: (a) self‐efficacy had at best a moderate, positive effect on performance and a null effect under other moderating conditions (ρ ranged from –.02 to .33); (b) the main effect of past performance on self‐efficacy was stronger than the effect of self‐efficacy on performance, even in the moderating conditions that produced the strongest self‐efficacy/performance relationship; (c) the effect of past performance on self‐efficacy ranged from moderate to strong across moderating conditions and was statistically significant across performance tasks, contextual factors, and methodological moderators (ρ ranged from .18 to .52). Overall, this suggests that self‐efficacy is primarily a product of past performance rather than the driving force affecting future performance.     

Do maternal stress and home environment mediate the relation between early income‐to‐need and 54‐months attentional abilities?

Using Ecological Systems Theory and stage sequential modelling procedures for detecting mediation, this study examined how early developmental contexts impact preschoolers' performances on a measure of sustained attention and impulse control. Data from 1273 European‐American and African‐American participants in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care were used to identify the potential mediators of the relation between early household income‐to‐need (INR) and 54‐month impulsivity and inattention. Exploratory analyses were also conducted to determine whether the relationships between early income, home environment, parenting stress, and the outcome variables differ for African‐American versus European‐American‐American children. We found modest support for the study hypothesis that 36‐month home environment quality mediated the INR/attention relationship. INR accounted for more home environment score variance and home environment accounted for more Impulsivity score variance for African‐American children. Home environments were related to inattention in the European‐American, but not African‐American, group. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Does culture shape face perception in autism? Cross‐cultural evidence of the own‐race advantage from the UK and Japan

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are associated with face perception atypicalities, and atypical experience with faces has been proposed as an underlying explanation. Studying the own‐race advantage (ORA) for face recognition can reveal the effect of experience on face perception in ASD, although the small number of studies in the area present mixed findings. This study probed the ORA in ASD by comparing two cultural groups simultaneously for the first time. Children with ASD in the UK (N = 16) and Japan (N = 26) were compared with age‐ and ability‐matched typically developing (TD) children in the UK (N = 16) and Japan (N = 26). Participants completed a two‐alternative forced‐choice task, whereby they had to recognize a just seen face from a foil which was manipulated in one of four ways (IC: identity change; EE: easy eyes; HE: hard eyes; HM: hard mouth). Face stimuli were Asian and Caucasian, and thus the same stimuli were own and other race depending on the cultural group. The ASD groups in the UK and Japan did not show impaired face recognition abilities, or impairments with recognizing faces depending on manipulations to the eye region, and importantly they showed an ORA. There was considerable heterogeneity in the presence of the ORA in ASD and TD and also across cultures. Children in Japan had higher accuracy than children in the UK, and TD children in Japan did not show an ORA. This cross‐cultural study challenges the view that atypical experiences with faces lead to a reduced/absent ORA in ASD.