An Impossibility Theorem on Beliefs in Games

A paradox of self-reference in beliefs in games is identified, which yields a game-theoretic impossibility theorem akin to Russell’s Paradox. An informal version of the paradox is that the following configuration of beliefs is impossible:Ann believes that Bob assumes thatAnn believes that Bob’s assumption is wrongThis is formalized to show that any belief model of a certain kind must have a ‘hole.’ An interpretation of the result is that if the analyst’s tools are available to the players in a game, then there are statements that the players can think about but cannot assume. Connections are made to some questions in the foundations of game theory.Special Issue Ways of Worlds II. On Possible Worlds and Related Notions Edited by Vincent F. Hendricks and Stig Andur Pedersen     

Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Delusions: Helping Patients Improve Reality Testing

Group Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) was used to treat residual delusions in patients with schizophrenia. Initially all patients (N = 6) reported delusions of various types, such as persecution, body/mind control, grandiosity, and religious themes. The group format allowed patients to share their experiences and beliefs, thereby eliminating shame and providing support and coping strategies; as well as allowing for peer–peer discussion of irrationalities and inconsistencies in each other's beliefs. After 13 sessions there was a statistically significant reduction in delusional conviction, unhappiness associated with thinking about a delusion, intensity of distress associated with delusion, and an increased ability to dismiss a delusional thought.     

Implicit associations between smoking and social consequences among smokers in cessation treatment

Explicit expectations of the negative and positive social consequences of smoking are likely to have substantial influence on decisions regarding smoking. However, among smokers trying to quit, success in smoking cessation may be related not only to the content of expectancies about smoking's social effects but also to the ease with which these cognitive contents come to mind when confronted with smoking stimuli. To examine this possibility, we used the implicit association test (IAT) [Greenwald, A. G., McGhee, D. E., & Schwartz, J. L. K. (1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The implicit association test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1464-1480] to assess implicit cognitive associations between smoking and negative vs. positive social consequences among 67 heavy social drinkers seeking smoking cessation treatment in a randomized clinical trial. Results showed that the relative strength of implicit, negative, social associations with smoking at baseline predicted higher odds of smoking abstinence during treatment over and above the effects of relevant explicit measures. The only variable that significantly correlated with IAT scores was the density of smokers in participants' social environment; those with more smoking in their social environment showed weaker negative social associations with smoking. Results suggest implicit cognition regarding the social consequences of smoking may be a relevant predictor of smoking cessation outcome.     

Religion as culture: religious individualism and collectivism among american catholics, jews, and protestants

We propose the theory that religious cultures vary in individualistic and collectivistic aspects of religiousness and spirituality. Study 1 showed that religion for Jews is about community and biological descent but about personal beliefs for Protestants. Intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity were intercorrelated and endorsed differently by Jews, Catholics, and Protestants in a pattern that supports the theory that intrinsic religiosity relates to personal religion, whereas extrinsic religiosity stresses community and ritual (Studies 2 and 3). Important life experiences were likely to be social for Jews but focused on God for Protestants, with Catholics in between (Study 4). We conclude with three perspectives in understanding the complex relationships between religion and culture.     

Mindless decision making and environmental issues: gestalt/feature-intensive processing and contextual reasoning in environmental decisions

In the absence of relevant information in working memory during decision consideration, respondents tend to rely on a style of cognitive processing that may result in premature or inaccurate decision making (M. J. Sharps, 2003). M. J. Sharps and S. S. Martin (2002) demonstrated this effect in executive decision making. In the present study, the authors extended these methods to decisions about environmental issues. Respondents rated decisions about issues such as overpopulation, energy policy, and food production in the presence or absence of simple pertinent information. The presence of such information in the immediate context of environmental decisions, and therefore in working memory, significantly improved respondents' ability to understand negative decision consequences. These results demonstrate the importance of contextual information in environmental decision making.     

A Psychometric Analysis of the Child Behavior Checklist DSM-Oriented Scales

The Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6–18 (CBCL/6-18) possesses newly developed DSM-Oriented Scales, constructed through expert clinical judgment to match selected categories for behavioral/emotional problems as described in the DSM-IV. The present investigation examined the basic psychometric properties for all six DSM-Oriented Scales (i.e., Affective, Anxiety, Somatic, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity, Oppositional, and Conduct Scales) in a large clinical sample of children and adolescents (N = 673). Findings from the present study provide strong evidence for the reliability, as well as convergent and discriminative validity, of these scales. It appears that the DSM-Oriented Scales may provide accurate supplementary information that may be considered when formulating clinical diagnoses.

Bad Drives Psychological Reactions, but Good Propels Behavior: Responses to Honesty and Deception

ABSTRACT— Research across disciplines suggests that bad is stronger than good and that individuals punish deception more than they reward honesty. However, methodological issues in previous research limit the latter conclusion. Three experiments resolved these issues and consistently found the opposite pattern: Individuals rewarded honesty more frequently and intensely than they punished deception. Experiment 2 extended these counterintuitive findings by revealing a divergence between evaluation and behavior: Evaluative reactions to deception were stronger than those to honesty, but behavioral intentions in response to honesty were stronger than those in response to deception. In addition, individuals wanted to avoid deceivers more than they wanted to approach honest actors. Experiment 3 found that punishment, but not reward, frequencies were sensitive to costs. Moderated-mediation tests revealed the role of different psychological mechanisms: Negative affect drove punishments, whereas perceived trustworthiness drove rewards. Overall, bad appears to be stronger than good in influencing psychological reactions, but good seems to be stronger than bad in influencing behavior.     

Improved Fisher z estimators for univariate random‐effects meta‐analysis of correlations

Several authors have studied or used the following estimation strategy for meta‐analysing correlations: obtain a point estimate or confidence interval for the mean Fisher z correlation, and transform this estimate to the Pearson r metric. Using the relationship between Fisher z and Pearson r random variables, I demonstrate the potential discrepancy induced by directly z‐to‐r transforming a mean correlation parameter. Point and interval estimators based on an alternative integral z‐to‐r transformation are proposed. Analytic expressions for the expectation and variance of certain meta‐analytic point estimators are also provided, as are selected moments of correlation parameters; numerical examples are included. In an application of these analytic results, the proposed point estimator outperformed its usual direct z‐to‐r counterpart and compared favourably with an estimator based on Pearson r correlations. Practical implications, extensions of the proposed estimators, and uses for the analytic results are discussed.