Rethinking Epistemic Relativism

“Relativism” is often treated as a dirty word in philosophy, but relativistic theories are not entirely unappealing—they have features that might be tempting if they weren't thought to be outweighed by problematic consequences. The aim of this paper is to rethink both our attitude to epistemic relativism and the basic features of the view itself. The paper discusses four objections and uses them to isolate five constraints on a more plausible epistemic relativism. It then sketches out a view that meets all of these constraints. This stratified epistemic relativism offers a complex, socially informed picture of justification that accounts for the many different kinds of roles that epistemic agents act, and think, in accordance with each day, and can serve as a starting point for constructing a more detailed epistemic relativism, which could secure its appealing benefits without incurring the costs traditionally associated with relativist views.     

Sharpen Your Pencils: Preliminary Evidence that Adult Coloring Reduces Depressive Symptoms and Anxiety

Adult coloring books have flooded the market with titles alluding to therapeutic value, yet it is unclear whether they fulfil that promise. Here, we tested whether adult coloring was related to improvements in psychological outcomes. Female university students (n = 104) were randomly assigned to a coloring intervention or a logic-puzzle control group. Participants completed an inventory of psychological measures (depressive symptoms, stress, anxiety, flourishing, resilience, mindfulness) and then participated in a 1-week intervention of either daily coloring or logic-puzzles. Following the intervention, participants again completed the inventory of psychological measures. Coloring participants showed significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety after the intervention, but control participants did not. We conclude that daily coloring can improve some negative psychological outcomes and that it may provide an effective, inexpensive, and highly accessible self-help tool for nonclinical samples.     

The Interactive Effects of Positive Affect and a Sense of Competency on the Politics Perceptions-Job Satisfaction Relationship

Previous research has examined factors capable of moderating the relationship between politics perceptions and work outcomes. What is absent in the literature, however, is an assessment of multiple moderators, which include dispositional and ability factors. In the current study, positive affect (PA) and sense of competency (SOC) were hypothesized to affect the relationship between politics perceptions and job satisfaction. Data gathered from 210 employees provided evidence of moderation. Specifically, the inverse relationship between politics perceptions and job satisfaction was significant for the low PA-low SOC and low PA-high SOC subgroups. For individuals possessing high levels of PA and high levels of SOC, the relationship was minimal. These results suggest that having high PA and high SOC may serve to buffer the harmful effects of politics perceptions. Implications, strengths and limitations, and directions for future research are provided.     

Perceived racism, discrimination, and acculturation in suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among black young adults

During young adulthood the suicide rate among Blacks rises dramatically and approaches that of the U.S. general population, requiring that prevention efforts include a focus on Black young adults. Although most research on suicidality among Blacks has focused on risk factors observed in the dominant culture, in this study the authors examined associations between perceived discrimination, racism, and acculturation with lifetime suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempt (SA) among Black young adults. Two hundred fifty Black or African American individuals aged 18-24 residing in a midsize northeastern city were recruited to participate through advertisements. Participants filled out self-report questionnaires. Logistic regressions were used to examine the association of each predictor with SI and SA. Greater perceived acculturation was associated with SI in univariate and multivariate models. There were no other statistically significant results concerning the predictors of interest. The link between perceived acculturation and SI is consistent with limited available data, indicating the need for further study including the potential mechanism(s) for the association. Limitations include the cross-sectional design and reliance on subjective measures.     

Extinction in human learning and memory

In two experiments, participants were given extinction training in a human causal learning task. In both experiments, three critical experimental cues were paired with different outcomes in a first phase of training and were then extinguished in a second phase. Three control cues were given the same treatment in the first phase of training, but were not then presented in the second phase. Participants' ability to correctly identify the outcome with which each cue had been paired in the first phase was lower for extinguished than for control cues. Causal attributions to the extinguished cues were also lower than those to the control cues, a difference that correlated with outcome memory. These data are consistent with the idea that extinction in causal judgement is due, at least in part, to a failure to remember the cue-outcome relationship encoded in the first phase of training.     

Let your preference be your guide? Preferences and choices are more tightly linked for North Americans than for Indians

Using experimental paradigms from economics and social psychology, the authors examined the cross-cultural applicability of 3 widely held assumptions about preference and choice: People (a) recruit or construct preferences to make choices; (b) choose according to their preferences; and (c) are motivated to express their preferences in their choices. In 6 studies, they compared how middle-class North American and Indian participants choose among consumer products. Participants in both contexts construct nonrandom preferences at similar speeds. Those in Indian contexts, however, are slower to make choices, less likely to choose according to their personal preferences, and less motivated to express their preferences in their choices. The authors infer that the strong link between preferences and choices observed among North Americans is not a universal feature of human nature. Instead, this link reflects the disjoint model of agency, which prescribes that people should choose freely on the basis of their preferences. In contrast, Indian contexts reflect and promote a conjoint model of agency, according to which agency is responsive to the desires and expectations of important others and may require restraining one's preferences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).     

Having Casual Sex: Additive and Interactive Effects of Alcohol and Condom Availability on the Determinants of Intentions

The impact of alcohol, condom availability, and gender on intentions to engage in casual sex and its antecedents was investigated. Students ( N = 384) who were or were not intoxicated with alcohol completed measures based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in relation to having casual sex in a scenario. The scenario described sex between 2 individuals not in a relationship and manipulated the consumption of alcohol of the sexual partners and availability of condoms. The data were supportive of the TPB: Intentions were predictable from attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC). Results also support the inclusion of measures of past behavior and anticipated affective reactions, but not self-identity or moral norms as predictors of intentions. Alcohol in the scenario and condom availability increased intentions to have sex. There were also several interaction effects. Implications for using the TPB to understand sexual behaviors under the influence of alcohol are discussed.     

Perinatal leupeptin retards subsequent acquisition of a visual discrimination task in chicks

Recent discoveries that calcium sensitive proteases (calpains) may play an important role in memory led to investigation of the effects of leupeptin, a calpain inhibitor, on learning. Intracerebral injections of either 0.9% saline, 80 micrograms aprotinin, 306 micrograms glutamate, or 8 or 80 micrograms leupeptin were administered to 95 two-day-old chicks. On Day 10 posthatch, animals were then tested on a task requiring discriminations between pebbles and food pellets. Chicks receiving 8 or 80 micrograms leupeptin or 306 micrograms glutamate were found to be deficient in acquiring the task. Aprotinin, a control serine protease inhibitor, did not retard discrimination learning. None of the drugs tested altered body weight or gross visual skills. These results suggest that retardation produced by leupeptin is not due to nonspecific changes in protease activity, visual competency, or growth. The reported results confirm earlier reports of leupeptin-induced memory impairments in rats.     

Predicting Health-Check Attendance Among Prior Attenders and Nonattenders: The Role of Prior Behavior in the Theory of Planned Behavior

A prospective study applying the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to the prediction of attendance at health checks is reported. Conducted in a single general practice, 307 patients completed questionnaires based on the TPB, and were invited to attend a health check. The role of prior behavior in the TPB was assessed in 2 ways. First, it was used to assess the sufficiency of the TPB. The addition of prior attendance behavior led to a significant increase in the prediction of current behavior. Second, its role as a moderator variable was assessed. While the TPB was unsuccessful in predicting attendance behavior among prior attenders, it was able to do so among prior nonattenders. The results are discussed in relation to recent work on decision-making processes.