"I'm sorry, please don't hurt me": effectiveness of apologies on aggression control

The author attempted to replicate Ohbuchi, Kameda, and Agarie's (1989) study which found that giving an apology, with or without harm removal, reduced aggressive responses among a sample of Japanese college women. The author found similar results with a U.S. sample of college women. The results provide evidence for cross-cultural similarity in the effectiveness of apologies in reducing aggressive responses.     

"Out of my league": a real-world test of the matching hypothesis

The matching hypothesis predicts that individuals on the dating market will assess their own self-worth and select partners whose social desirability approximately equals their own. It is often treated as well established, despite a dearth of empirical evidence to support it. In the current research, the authors sought to address conceptual and methodological inconsistencies in the extant literature and to examine whether matching occurs as defined by Walster et al. and more generally. Using data collected in the laboratory and from users of a popular online dating site, the authors found evidence for matching based on self-worth, physical attractiveness, and popularity, but to different degrees and not always at the same stage of the dating process.     

我和我家必定事奉耶和华——怀念父亲归天13周年

父亲出生于庐山脚下一个名叫星子的小县城的基督徒家庭,祖上三代信主,据说太公是秀才,可否算书香门第?他自幼勤奋好学,圣经会背,赞美诗会唱,古书、医书等也读了很多,还下了一番功夫练软笔书法,长大以后,远近小有名气。感谢神,他把这些恩赐都用在主的事工上。     

"On my way here, I passed a man with a scab": understanding a case of severe obsessive-compulsive disorder

The author describes the psychoanalysis of "John" to illustrate her view of the psychodynamic organization of obsessive-compulsive disorder. She begins with Freud's recognition of the patient's sadism and of the patient's terror of the oedipal situation, which led to the regression to the anal-erotic level of psychic organization. The author then calls upon ideas from contemporary British object relations theory to describe the damage to the objects and to the sense of self in the individual's inner world that occurs as a further defense when overwhelming danger is experienced. This integrated conceptualization is clearly illustrated in John's clinical material.     

"Seeing things in my head": a synesthete's images for music and notes

We explored synesthetic experiences (photisms) elicited by music and notes for GS, a 22-year-old female college student, who is a genuine digit synesthete (Mills et al 1999 Cognitive Neuropsychology 16 181-191). After extensive interviews, we conducted five studies using synthesizer notes in different octaves and in different instrument sounds. GS described, drew, or selected her photisms from alternatives. The results were: (a) her photisms had shape, color, movement, and texture: (b) different instruments had photisms with different shapes and families of instruments had similar shapes; (c) low-pitched notes were darker and larger than high notes; (d) instrument and pitch affected each other; (e) a given note was perceived as darker after a high note than after a low note; and (f) GS's drawings of notes became more consistent with repeated trials. Theoretical observations are discussed on the basis of these results.     

Not my will but thine be done: Church versus magic in contemporary Russia

In contemporary Russia, the Orthodox Church has started to assume its traditional but long‐lost role as a guardian of morality and a source of coherent ontological foundations. At the same time, magic and alternative healing have become pervasive and conspicuously public phenomena, thriving on the new institutions of the market and the free media. The article examines the nature of ideological offensive deployed by the Russian Church against magic and healing. It suggests that the controversy between Church and magic reflects conflicting ontologies of self and incompatible constructions of agency inherent in these respective cultural fields. It argues that magic and healing are built on the Western models of agency as empowerment of an autonomous individualistic self, and explores contrasting models of agency offered by the Orthodox Christianity. In the light of this argument, seemingly premodern practices of healing and magic appear as phenomena deeply embedded in globalised modernity.     

Look into my eyes and I will see you: Unconscious processing of human gaze

This study examines whether human gaze lacking the confounding factor of eye whites can be processed unconsciously and explores the critical aspects for such process. Utilizing the continuous flash suppression paradigm, a schematic face—with direct or averted gaze, and with neutral, fearful or happy expressions—was presented to one eye while dynamic masks rendered it invisible to the other eye. Schematic faces were used to avoid unwanted influence from salient eye whites. Participants’ detection time of anything other than the masks was used as an index of unconscious processing time. Faster detection was found for faces with direct gaze than those with averted gaze. However, there was no difference between detection times for different facial expressions (Experiment 1) and upright-face, inverted-face, and eyes-only conditions (Experiment 2). These results confirm that, with schematic faces, gaze can be processed unconsciously regardless of facial expression, and eyes alone are sufficient for such process.     

A living will clause for supporters of animal experimentation

Many people assume that invasive research on animals is justified because of its supposed benefits and because of the supposed mental inferiority of animals. However probably most people would be unwilling to sign a living will which consigns themselves to live biomedical experimentation if they ever, through misfortune, end up with a mental capacity equivalent to a laboratory animal. The benefits would be greater by far for medical science if living will signatories were to be used, and also the mental superiority boast would no longer apply. Ultimately, it is argued that invasive biomedical experiments would be unacceptable in a democratic society whose members are philosophically self-consistent.     

The neuroscience of "free will"

Advances in neuroscience over the past 40 or more years are causing a re-visiting of an old debate: Does man possess free will over his actions, or do forces out of his control determine his behavior? Philosophers and biologists since the beginning of recorded history have taken positions on each side of the debate. Recent discoveries of brain activation prior to conscious awareness and genetic conditions that induce impulsive violent behavior are fortifying the perspective that biological determinism is basic to the human condition. But some contemporary thinkers are conflicted in this viewpoint since “free will” is a necessary element for self-determination and for attributing personal responsibility for one's actions. Hence, modifications of strict determinism have emerged which try to incorporate the features of determinism enforced by neuroscience findings with some element of “free will”, making the two seemingly opposed positions compatible. How successful this will be to rescue “free will” in the long term depends on future discoveries in neuroscience and genetics. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Touching my face with my supernumerary hand: a cheeky illusion

A self-touch paradigm elicits a surprising illusion. With the participant's eyes closed, the examiner guides the participant's right index finger to administer strokes and taps to the right side of the participant's face. At the same time, the examiner strokes and taps the corresponding location on the left side of the participant's face. Although the participant administered touch to only the right side of the face, this paradigm elicited the illusion of self-touch to both sides of the face, and the illusion often implicated a third, disconnected or disembodied, hand. We propose an explanation, and draw parallels with the phenomenon of supernumerary phantom limb.     

Will the "real boy" please behave: dosing dilemmas for parents of boys with ADHD

The use of Ritalin and other stimulant drug treatments for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) raises distinctive moral dilemmas for parents; these moral dilemmas have not been adequately addressed in the bioethics literature. This paper draws upon data from a qualitative empirical study to investigate parents' use of the moral ideal of authenticity as part of their narrative justifications for dosing decisions and actions. I show that therapeutic decisions and actions are embedded in valued cultural ideals about masculinity, self-actualization and success, as well as in moral conceptions of authenticity and personal freedom. I argue that this investigation of parents' moral justifications and dosing dilemmas raises questions about the validity of authenticity as a transcendent moral principle. Moreover, this study demonstrates that in order to be relevant, bioethical analysis of neurocognitive enhancement must engage with ground-up studies of moral principles and decision-making in context.     

Collectible toys and decisions to share: I will gift you one to expand my set

Two studies were used to examine the collecting behaviour of preschool children. Prior studies of collecting have defined the behaviour as exhibited by older children and adults. To understand childhood collecting, existing theoretical perspectives were discussed in terms of how they might apply to children's behaviour as collectors. Results showed that some preschool children are motivated to engage in collecting and possess the developmental capacities required for successful collecting. Individual differences in executive functioning (Study 1, N= 57) and theory of mind (Study 2, N= 46) explained why some preschoolers were more oriented towards collecting than others. Study 2 showed that the motivational pull of collectible toys can be very strong, with some children agreeing to pay the ‘cost’ of sharing with a confederate child in order to obtain a collectible toy. This research highlights similarities and differences between adult and child collecting. Suggestions are provided for parents and for policy considerations regarding the appropriateness of marketing collectible toys to preschoolers.     

Intentions to select a given level of care when confronted with an ethical issue: the impact of a living will

The aim of this study is to evaluate the level of care nurses intended to select in a potential situation of overly aggressive therapy, whether the patient had or did not have a living will. MANOVA revealed that the presence of a living will had a significant impact on nurses' decision making when selecting a level of care ( p < .0001); this impact was noted for each construct in the theoretical framework ( p < .005). Multiple regression analysis indicated the 86% of the variance in nurses' intention was determined by the cognitive component of their attitude and perceived professional norm ( p < .0001). In summary, most of the nurses intended to respect the wishes expressed by the patient in a living will.