Expressing embarrassment (or not): Which effects on produced impression on others and on attributed social value?

IntroductionEmbarrassment is a negative but prosocial emotion, which often arises from the transgression of a social norm. Its expression thus plays a crucial role in the social perception.ObjectiveThe aim of this paper is to document this role during both ordinary and extra-ordinary situations (i.e., with stakes).MethodUsing scenarios’ method, 27 participants and 100 recruiters evaluated persons expressing embarrassment or not.ResultsStudy 1 showed that during ordinary situations, nonverbal expression of embarrassment led to make a good impression by signalling desire of appeasement and prosociality. In contrast, Study 2 revealed that during a job interview, verbal expression of embarrassment through defensive tactics was rather negatively perceived.ConclusionThe manipulation of emotions as emotive communication tools will be discussed.     

Fetal Homicide

Summary

Under common law, a crime resulting in the death of a fetus that was viable but not “born alive” was viewed as a transgression less serious than murder. Accordingly, courts did not allow parents to bring wrongful death suits for the death of a fetus. In the past decade, however, several states have amended their criminal or civil statutes to include the specific crime of “feticide” or “fetal homicide,” and the Federal government is considering similar legislation. This paper examines the history and current status of criminal and civil law regarding the third-party killing of a fetus.     

Ethical breaches and deviations of method in psychoanalysis: A heuristic model for the differentiation of boundary transgressions in psychoanalytic work

The boundary concept has been central to discussions on ethics and psychoanalysis over the past few decades. The main distinction has been between less malignant boundary crossings and more harmful violations. More recently, the concept has been criticized as not discriminating between technique and ethics. The author argues that these problems are connected to the way the boundary concept is defined. He suggests that it is specified to indicate a delimitation of an analytic area of conduct. In an analogous manner, an area of ethical conduct is framed by a boundary between ethical and unethical actions in the treatment situation. The analytic area has a narrower limitation than ethics and a stricter articulation of its concept of attitude; not all unanalytic actions are unethical. This simple model of interpersonally specified boundaries allows us to discriminate between different kinds of transgression in analytic work. In addition to violations and crossings, a third instance is described denoting a transgression of the analytic but not the ethical boundary. These can be called boundary stretchings, and are either intended or unintended deviations of method. The slippery slope mechanism of ethical misconduct is an imminent risk if boundary stretchings are ignored and not subject to scrutiny and analysis.     

The “hot hand” reconsidered: A meta-analytic approach

ObjectivesExtensive searches for the “hot hand” have been performed in a variety of sports since the pioneering study of Gilovich, Vallone, and Tversky (1985), but empirical evidence for the existence of the effect is still fairly limited. The current review reconsiders the hot hand in sports using a meta-analytic approach.DesignMean effect size and 95% confidence interval were determined using a random effects model. Heterogeneity of the mean effect size was examined applying Cochran's Q test and the “75 percent rule”.MethodTo be included in the meta-analysis, studies had to provide an empirical investigation of the hot hand phenomenon related to sport and exercise behavior. Approximately 250 papers were located, but the final dataset included only 22 publications that met inclusion criteria, with 30 studies and 56 independent effect sizes. The articles extended over a period of twenty-seven years from 1985 until 2012.ResultsThe analysis of the effects yielded a minor positive mean effect size of .02, p = .49, using a random effects model, which is sufficient evidence for arguing against the existence of the hot hand. Due to the limited sample of studies available, only a few candidate-variables could be extracted and further examined as potential moderator variables. However, none of the considered variables had the power to explain the heterogeneity of effect sizes.ConclusionsThe present study provides additional support for Gilovich et al.'s claim that a general hot hand effect probably does not exist in sport. The scientific implications of this review for prospect advances in the field are presented and discussed.     

The effect of manual movements on stuttering in individuals with down syndrome

PurposeStuttering may disrupt the speech of individuals with Down syndrome (DS), but standard stuttering therapies may be less adapted to these clients’ needs. This study examined if their strength in gesture use can lead to the development of a new stuttering therapy.MethodEighteen individuals with DS who stutter participated in an experimental task. During this task, they produced sentences in three different conditions: once without the ability to use gestures, once while moving the mouth of a hand puppet synchronous with their speech, and once while making beat gestures along their speech. Stuttering frequency was measured and compared between conditions while controlling for the effect of articulation rate.ResultsThe experimental hand puppet and beat condition did not affect the stuttering frequency, but the covariate articulation rate did. An exploratory posthoc analysis showed that the articulation rate decreased during the experimental hand puppet and beat condition. Manual movements in the present task might only induce fluency through articulation rate reduction. However, analyses at individual level show significant interindividual variability.ConclusionIndividual analyses show that effect on stuttering frequency cannot be attributed entirely to articulation rate reduction and that beat gestures might still play a role. However, at this point, there is not enough direct evidence to implement beat gestures in current stuttering therapy.     

First-principles pseudopotential study of an aluminium grain boundary containing sulphur atoms

The electronic structure of an aluminium grain boundary with segregated sulphur impurity atoms has been calculated by a first-principles pseudo-potential method. It is found that a sulphur atom bonds to only one of the neighbouring aluminium atoms. This bond is a mixed-character metallic-covalent bond which is stronger than the metallic Al-Al bonds. Electrons that participate in forming this bond are 3p electrons of sulphur but not its 3s electrons. Other Al--S bonds in the boundary contain no covalent character. From the nature of Al--S bonds in the boundary it cannot be decided whether the embrittlement promotion mechanism by sulphur segregation should be classified as a 'bond mobility model' or a 'decohesion model'.     

Guilt and self-concept in ‘secondary psychopaths’

Thirty-two male and 25 female ‘secondary psychopaths’ and 24 male and 24 female ‘normal’ subjects filled in semantic differential scales relating to the concepts: Myself as I am, Myself when I lie, Myself if I were to steal, Myself as I would like to be, People who lie and People who steal. The Mosher Morality-Conscience Guilt scale and the Eysenck Personality Inventories were also administered. The psychopaths exhibited significantly higher Guilt scores than the normal subjects and had very poor self-image which was reflected in a constant feeling of guilt, regardless of whether or not they were rating transgression. Normal subjects, on the other hand, only rated themselves as feeling guilty when they violated acceptable norms. The findings suggest that guilt in ‘secondary psychopaths’ is partly related to their high level of trait anxiety and partly to their poor self-concept which may be a reflection of their disturbed family background and the constant disapproval that their behaviour creates. Since guilt in the psychopaths did not markedly increase with transgression it is argued that this may explain why guilt fails to inhibit unacceptable behaviour in some psychopaths.     

The effect of unilateral hand contractions on psychophysiological activity during motor performance: Evidence of verbal-analytical engagement

ObjectivesConscious engagement in movement control can influence motor performance. In most cases, the left hemisphere of the brain plays an important role in verbal-analytical processing and reasoning, so changes in the balance of hemispheric activation may influence conscious engagement in movement. Evidence suggests that unilateral hand contractions influence hemispheric activation, but no study has investigated whether there is an associated effect of hand contractions on verbal-analytical processing during motor performance. This study utilized psychophysiological (and behavioural) measures to examine whether pre-performance unilateral hand contraction protocols change verbal-analytical engagement during motor performance.DesignA repeated measures crossover design was employed.MethodsTwenty-eight participants completed three hand contraction protocols in a randomised order: left-, right- and no-hand contractions. Electroencephalography (EEG) measures of hemispheric asymmetry were computed during hand contractions. A golf putting task was conducted after each protocol. EEG connectivity between sites overlying the left verbal-analytical temporal region (T7) and the motor planning region (Fz) was computed for the 3 sec prior to movement initiation. Additionally, electrocardiography (ECG) and electromyography (EMG) signals were analysed 6 sec prior to movement initiation until 6 sec after. Golf putting performance (distance from the target) and putter swing kinematics were measured.ResultsContralateral hemisphere activity was revealed for the left-hand and right-hand contraction conditions. During motor planning, the left-hand contraction protocol led to significantly lower T7-Fz connectivity, and the right-hand contraction protocol led to significantly higher T7-Fz connectivity than the other conditions. EMG, ECG and kinematic measures did not differ as a function of condition. Importantly, T7-Fz connectivity mediated the relationship between hand squeezing and motor performance (distance from the target).ConclusionThe EEG results suggest that pre-performance unilateral hand contractions influence the extent of verbal-analytical engagement during motor planning, which in turn influences motor performance. However, the hand contractions did not influence cardiac activity, muscle activity or kinematics.     

Spatial Compatibility Effects With Unimanual and Bimanual Wheel-Rotation Responses: An Homage to Guiard (1983)

ABSTRACT. Y. Guiard (1983) reported a prescient study of compatibility effects in response times for clockwise/counterclockwise wheel rotations to stimuli in left/right locations. Left-right coding of responses predominated in his study, but some results suggested that unimanual versus bimanual operation was also a factor. The authors report 3 experiments directly examining whether there is a difference in spatial compatibility effects obtained with wheel-rotation responses executed bimanually or unimanually (with left or right hand). Adopting a right-to-clockwise or left-to-counterclockwise mapping was advantageous for top, side, and bottom hand placements. This benefit interacted neither with unimanual or bimanual responding nor with the response hand. The results confirm that the critical relation is between the wheel and stimulus position, and is not effector dependent. This finding is in agreement with results from studies using discrete keypress responses, emphasizing that spatial coding of stimuli, actions, and their goals is of central importance in response-selection decisions.     

Pandémie de COVID-19 : attachement,anxiété, régulation émotionnelle et stratégies de coping chez les enfants d’âge scolaire

IntroductionAn impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the emotions and behaviors of children has been found in several studies. However, this impact is not found in all studies. Attachment could be linked to different reactions and levels of anxiety.ObjectiveThe main aim of this study was to analyze the links between children's insecure attachment and variables related to anxiety, emotional and behavioral management of children during the pandemic.MethodStudy participants (n = 83 parents and their child aged 6 to 12) completed anonymously online questionnaires assessing attachment insecurity, state-anxiety, coping strategies and emotional regulation. They also answered socio-demographic questions related to their context of life and experience of the pandemic.ResultsState-anxiety is significantly related to children's emotional dysregulation but not to emotion-oriented coping strategy. Significant links were observed between attachment insecurity on the one hand, and children's state-anxiety, emotion-oriented coping strategy and children's emotional dysregulation on the other hand. Emotional dysregulation mediates the link between disorganized attachment and state anxiety.ConclusionThe links between attachment insecurity and children's state-anxiety on the one hand, and the emotion-oriented coping strategy on the other hand highlight the importance of taking individual and interactional factors into account in children's socio-emotional manifestations during the COVID-19 pandemic.     

Towards a theory-based assessment of coping: The german adaptation of the strategic approach to coping scale

Although coping has become one of the central constructs in the area of research on life events, emotions, and health, it is yet not clear how to conceptualize coping in the most powerful way. Coping instruments often lack a clear underlying theory or are confounded with the stress process itself. Therefore, a theoretical as well as empirical framework is needed. The study at hand presents cross-sectional data from a German version of a coping scale that is constructed in line with the Strategic Approach to Coping Scale (SACS) developed by Hobfoll et al. The German scale findings support those of the original, US version, but also indicate potential cultural distinction. The findings suggest that the GSACS is theory syntonic and has potential for elaborating coping research.     

The dirtying of David: Transgression, affect, and the potential space of art

Transgression assumes the crossing of a boundary, a broken line which is either shored-up or redrawn in response; it thus marks an in-between state signalling danger, a pollution of the established order. Calling on the work of Bataille I investigate a two-fold instance of transgression by school students and their art and design teacher in which the sexualisation and violence perpetrated on the human figure through, respectively, drawing and sculpture signals one such breach. I examine the affective states that surround this transgression, in particular the self-censoring mechanism of shame. This is followed by an examination of the dichotomies that transgression may potentially provoke in pedagogic situations, and a consideration of the role of art in mediating the oppositional forces at play. With reference to psychoanalytical, object relations theory (Klein and Winnicott) I argue that the in-between spaces established by transgressive acts, destabilising and disorientating as they may be, should not be categorised as pathological but rather affective territories of potentiality necessary for creative education.     

A step too far? Leader racism inhibits transgression credit

Prior research established that when in‐group leaders commit serious transgressions, such as breaking enforceable rules or engaging in bribery, people treat them leniently compared with similarly transgressive regular group members or out‐group leaders (‘transgression credit’). The present studies test a boundary condition of this phenomenon, specifically the hypothesis that transgression credit will be lost if a leader's action implies racist motivation. In study 1, in a corporate scenario, a transgressive in‐group leader did or did not express racism. In study 2, in a sports scenario, an in‐group or out‐group leader or member transgressed rules with or without a racist connotation. Both studies showed that in‐group transgressive leaders lost their transgression credit if their transgression included a racial connotation. Wider implications for constraining leaders' transgressions are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Kant on Acting from Juridical Duty

ABSTRACT

A much debated passage in the Metaphysics of Morals often leads commentators to believe that it is not possible to act from juridical duty. On the one hand, Kant says that all lawgiving includes an incentive ‘which connects a ground to determining choice to this action subjectively with the representation of the law’ (MM: 218). On the other hand, he claims that juridical lawgiving ‘does not include the incentive of duty in the law’ (MM: 219). The first claim seems to entail that agents can perform a juridical duty for the sake of that duty; the second seems to entail that agents cannot perform a juridical duty for the sake of that duty. This paper shows that it is possible to reconcile both passages and to claim that one can act from juridical duty in Kant’s terms. First, it gives an account of what can be called the paradox of juridical duties. Second, it discusses briefly how responses to the paradox remain somewhat unsatisfactory. Finally, it clarifies how agents can act with no other incentive but the actual juridical duty without endangering the Kantian morality-law divide.     

Not quite normal,but not really deviant: Some notes on the comparison of elite athletes and women political activists

Elite athletes and women political activists are compared to analyze the notion of “defiance.” First, it is established that each of these groups is perceived and defined as slightly deviant. It is then shown that traditional concepts of labeling fail to provide an adequate explanation for how deviant labels are applied to and used by these particular deviant actors. The elite athletes and women activists cultivate their marginality so as to appear not quite normal, but not really deviant. By straddling the boundary between deviance and normalcy, the members of each group gain a good vantage point from which to ideologically advance social change efforts.     

Incidences de la (ré)organisation du (télé)travail en temps de crise du point de vue de l’encadrement intermédiaire

IntroductionThe Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the organization of work and represented a turning point in the deployment of mediated and remote work. Wherever the continuation of the activity was possible at a distance, telework was imposed. Nevertheless, it is exercised in new conditions and the organization of work modalities is defined according to the evolution of the situation and governmental health measures.ObjectiveIn this context, the objective of this study is to understand what are, from the point of view of middle managers, the impacts of telework in confinement and then during the progressive re-establishment of the activity on site, on the one hand, on the work, its organization and its conditions of realization and, on the other hand, on the work collectives, the relationship to work and the quality of life of the employees.MethodIn this perspective, we carried out an exploratory and comprehensive study through semi-structured interviews with 17 directors of service in a French public organization.ResultsThe lexical and morphosyntactic analysis performed shows that the modalities of work organization/reorganization at different moments of the crisis, their impact on work activity, the psychosocial experience of telework within the services and the managerial practices deployed (3 classes) could constitute opportunities but also generate risks.ConclusionThe results of this study allow us to identify the benefits but also the potentially deleterious effects of the use of telework in times of crisis and provide elements for consideration in its post-pandemic deployment.     

Apathy or alienation? Political passivity among youths across eight European Union countries

Abstract

Political participation is one of the most studied aspects of the contemporary development of western democracies. A recent trend focuses the lack of political participation among younger generations. At the same time, the last decades have also witnessed a growth in the share of young European Union (EU) citizens who express alienation, and distrust toward social and political institutions at the national as well as the European level. By studying young people across different countries of the EU, the current study aims to examine if youths’ political passivity is better explained by political apathy or alienation. Our analyses are based on a comparative survey data collected by the Catch-EyoU project comprising approximately 4 454 late adolescents assembled from eight member countries of the EU. Results from logistic regressions predicting non-voting from apathy and alienation support the idea that political passivity is best understood as the result of political apathy. Moreover, it seems that the underlying separator of apathetic and alienated youths is cognitive awareness of political life. These results are discussed in relation to potentially built-in paradoxes of apathy present in efficient and well-functional welfare-state democracies.     

Anger as a cue to truthfulness

A fairly robust finding in the deception literature is that lie-tellers show more negative emotion than truth-tellers. Ekman (1985), however, has reasoned that a specific type of negative emotion - anger - is especially difficult to feign and therefore should be more prevalent in truth-tellers who are falsely accused of a transgression than in lie-tellers who are guilty. To our knowledge, Ekman’s prediction has not yet been empirically tested. By comparing the verbal and nonverbal cues associated with truths and lies across a number of lie-eliciting situations, we demonstrate that truth-tellers accused of a wrongdoing do show more anger, both verbally and nonverbally, than lie-tellers accused of the same act, but only in situations where students choose to commit a transgression (or not) and actually believe themselves to be in trouble. Results underlie the importance of taking into consideration the type of lie being told in order to accurately predict deceptive cues.     

Development and validation of a scale of social and moral judgments (ABB scale) and its use in prison settings

IntroductionThe traditional approach to value judgments involves determining the position of an individual on a scale designed to evaluate the underlying mechanisms and dimensions of judgments.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to develop and validate a scale among a general population and to apply it to individuals particularly affected by, or directly involved in, acts of transgression.MethodThe scale comprises three types of behavior involving an expression of personal values (atypism or idiosyncratic behavior) or a violation of moral or conventional standards. Subjects were asked to assess a range of actions and behaviors on three dimensions (Likert format): seriousness, excusability and rejection of the transgressor.Results and conclusionAs predicted, factor analysis shows a clear hierarchy of values. The results demonstrate the multidimensional nature of the instrument and indicate good reliability. Tolerance and severity indices were developed to understand the underlying dynamics of social and moral judgments. The study found that inmates’ judgments of violations and transgressions differed in some respects from the judgments made by the general population. The influence of context and the role of group membership as an explanatory factor are examined from the point of view of the identity strategies used.     

High-strength and anti-corrosion of Al-Cu-Mg alloy by controlled ageing process

ABSTRACT

The evolution of strength and corrosion behaviour induced by ageing treatment in Al-Cu-Mg alloy is poorly understood. In this work, correlations among strength, intergranular corrosion and pitting corrosion induced by precipitates were studied by various corrosion performance tests and hardness tests. The susceptibility of intergranular corrosion is decreased and pitting corrosion sensitivity is increased as the ageing temperature and time are increased. Retrogression and re-ageing treatments not only transform the size of the intragranular precipitates from greater than 500?nm to be less than 10?nm but also lead to the discontinuous distribution of grain boundary precipitates. The microstructural changes in the grain interior and grain boundary together promote the Al-Cu-Mg alloys to have high-strength and excellent resistance to intergranular corrosion and pitting corrosion.