Kant and the Conventionality of Simultaneity

In his Third Analogy of Experience, Kant argues that a universal system of mutual causal interaction-at-a-distance is presupposed in the very construction of experience, and thereby also can be assumed to hold of objects of experience qua appearances. This implies in turn a notion of objective simultaneity. I discuss whether Kant's project is rendered wholly obsolete by the relativity and conventionality of simultaneity as it is now understood under the theory of relativity. I conclude that, while major parts of his project are indeed obsolete, there may still be useful insights into time-awareness to be gleaned from his work.     

The Influence of Activation Level on Belief Bias in Relational Reasoning

A novel explanation of belief bias in relational reasoning is presented based on the role of working memory and retrieval in deductive reasoning, and the influence of prior knowledge on this process. It is proposed that belief bias is caused by the believability of a conclusion in working memory which influences its activation level, determining its likelihood of retrieval and therefore its effect on the reasoning process. This theory explores two main influences of belief on the activation levels of these conclusions. First, believable conclusions have higher activation levels and so are more likely to be recalled during the evaluation of reasoning problems than unbelievable conclusions, and therefore, they have a greater influence on the reasoning process. Secondly, prior beliefs about the conclusion have a base level of activation and may be retrieved when logically irrelevant, influencing the evaluation of the problem. The theory of activation and memory is derived from the Atomic Components of Thought‐Rational (ACT‐R) cognitive architecture and so this account is formalized in an ACT‐R cognitive model. Two experiments were conducted to test predictions of this model. Experiment 1 tested strength of belief and Experiment 2 tested the impact of a concurrent working memory load. Both of these manipulations increased the main effect of belief overall and in particular raised belief‐based responding in indeterminately invalid problems. These effects support the idea that the activation level of conclusions formed during reasoning influences belief bias. This theory adds to current explanations of belief bias by providing a detailed specification of the role of working memory and how it is influenced by prior knowledge.     

Procrastination out of Habit? The Role of Impulsive Versus Reflective Media Selection in Procrastinatory Media Use

ABSTRACT

The pervasive access to media options seriously challenges users’ self-regulatory abilities. One example of deficient self-regulation in the context of media use is procrastination—impulsively ‘giving in’ to available media options despite goal conflicts with more important tasks. This study investigaes procrastinatory media use across 3 types of media (TV, computer, smartphone) from a dual-systems perspective, taking both person-level and situation-level predictors into account. Results from a 14-day long diary study (N = 347) suggest that procrastinatory media use is driven by automatic media selection, which is facilitated by strong media habits (person level) and low motivation for behavioral control (situation level). The results underline the value of a dual-systems perspective on media choices in our media-saturated environment.     

How to be a type-C physicalist

This paper advances a version of physicalism which reconciles the “a priori entailment thesis” (APET) with the analytic independence of our phenomenal and physical vocabularies. The APET is the claim that, if physicalism is true, the complete truths of physics imply every other truth a priori. If so, “cosmic hermeneutics” is possible: a demon having only complete knowledge of physics could deduce every truth about the world. Analytic independence is a popular physicalist explanation for the apparent “epistemic gaps” between phenomenal and physical truths. The two are generally seen as incompatible, since the demon’s deductions seem to presuppose analytic connections between physical and phenomenal terms. I begin by arguing, in support of the APET, that implications from the complete truths of physics to phenomenal truths cannot be a posteriori. Such implications are (according to the physicalist) necessarily true. But they cannot be Kripke-style a posteriori necessities, since (according to the physicalist) the complete truths of physics fix any relevant a posteriori facts about the reference of terms. I then show how the physicalist can turn the tables: the demon can exploit the physical fixing of reference to bridge the gap between the vocabularies, by deducing when phenomenal and physical terms co-refer. This opens the way for a “type-C” physicalism, which accepts in-principle deducibility while still appealing to analytic independence to explain why we (who are not demons) find it impossible to see phenomenal-physical connections a priori.     

Extracurricular activities in young applicants’ résumés: What are the motives behind their involvement?

Applicants use résumés to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, abilities, and other personal characteristics (KSAOs) to recruiters, through education and job‐related or non‐job‐related experiences. But research suggests that the situation for young applicants is especially competitive, since they increasingly enter the labour market with similar educational credentials and limited job‐related experience. They may thus use non‐job‐related experiences, such as participation in extracurricular activities (ECAs) during their studies, to demonstrate KSAOs to recruiters, but also to add distinction and value to their credentials. ECAs may therefore become more important in the selection of young applicants. Yet few studies have undertaken a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the relationships students have with these activities. The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent students’ involvement in ECAs is due to internal (e.g., passion) or external (e.g., résumé‐building) motives, and what factors influence these motives. Results from a study with 197 students suggest that students engage in ECAs mainly out of internal motives. But external motives are stronger for activities started closer to entering the labour market, for students active in associative or volunteering activities (as compared to sports or artistic activities), and for students holding leadership positions in their activities. Our results suggest that labour market pressure may be a key component of applicants’ involvement in ECAs. Also, organizations and recruiters may want to consider that students tend not to engage in ECAs purely out of internal motives, but also to add value to their credentials and match employers’ expectations.     

Parents Think Their Sons Are Brighter Than Their Daughters: Sex Differences in Parental Self-Estimations and Estimations of Their Children's Multiple Intelligences

In this study, 156 participants, predominantly White British adults (M age = 44.3 years) rated themselves on overall IQ and on H. Gardner's (1983) 7 intelligence subtypes. Parents (n = 120) also estimated the intelligence of their children. Men's self-estimates were significantly higher than women's (110.15 vs. 104.84). Participants thought their verbal, mathematical, and spatial intelligence scores were the best indicators of their own overall intelligence. Parents estimated that their sons had significantly higher IQs than their daughters (115.21 vs. 107.49). Self-estimates and estimates of children's multiple intelligences were higher for men and sons, significantly so for logical-mathematical and spatial intelligence. Parents rated 2nd-born daughters as having significantly higher verbal and musical intelligence than their male counterparts. Higher parental IQ self-estimates corresponded with higher IQ estimates for children. Results for 1st-born children were clearest and showed the most significant differences. The findings are interpreted in terms of sociocultural and familial influences and the possibility of actual sex differences in particular abilities.     

Eating-Problem Patients' Conceptions of Normality

Three groups of people—anorexic patients, helping professionals, and a control group—filled out the Eating Attitude Test (Garner & Garfinkel, 1979) three times. The control subjects were asked to fill it out honestly for themselves; as they imagined an ordinary person might complete it; and, finally, as they would expect a patient with an eating disorder to fill it out. The anorexic patients were asked to complete it honestly for themselves; as they imagined an ordinary person might fill it out; and, finally, as they would expect to fill it out when fully recovered. The professionals filled out the questionnaires as they imagined the typical patient with eating disorders might; as they imagined the ordinary person might complete it; and as a recovered patient might complete it. The results provided support for some but not all hypotheses, the most central of which was that there would be a difference between how the patients rated the ordinary person and how control subjects (supposedly ordinary people) rated themselves.     

In the spaces between – sustaining creativity in child psychotherapy

This paper gives an account of the developments in the intensive psychotherapy of a seven-year-old boy with global development delay. It also describes the adaptations to technique and the changes in the setting that were required to support the work, which was undertaken in a special school. The importance of the regularity of sessions in helping to establish object constancy; physical and mental boundaries in relation to me/not me; inside and outside is also explored. A central theme of the paper is how close observation can inform the understanding of the emotional states of disabled children, particularly those with little language. The paper draws links between the early communications of mothers and infants and the therapeutic relationship, with reference to music therapy. It describes banging as a form of communication and traces the development of banging into more coherent nursery rhymes arguing that this development is an internalisation of the rhythm of the therapy and of the growing understanding between the child and therapist.     

Linguistically guided anticipatory eye movements in scene viewing

The present study replicated the well-known demonstration by Altmann and Kamide (1999) that listeners make linguistically guided anticipatory eye movements, but used photographs of scenes rather than clip-art arrays as the visual stimuli. When listeners heard a verb for which a particular object in a visual scene was the likely theme, they made earlier looks to this object (e.g., looks to a cake upon hearing The boy will eat …) than when they heard a control verb (The boy will move …). New data analyses assessed whether these anticipatory effects are due to a linguistic effect on the targeting of saccades (i.e., the where parameter of eye movement control), the duration of fixations (i.e., the when parameter), or both. Participants made fewer fixations before reaching the target object when the verb was selectionally restricting (e.g., will eat). However, verb type had no effect on the duration of individual eye fixations. These results suggest an important constraint on the linkage between spoken language processing and eye movement control: Linguistic input may influence only the decision of where to move the eyes, not the decision of when to move them.