Effect of endogenous attention on detection of weak gustatory and olfactory flavors

The effect of endogenous attention on the detectability of weak flavorants was examined in an absolute detection (two-alternative forced-choice) task. Attention to sucrose improved the detectability of sucrose, a gustation-based flavorant, both when the alternative was water and when it was vanillin. But attention to vanillin did not improve the detectability of vanillin, an olfaction-based flavorant, either when the alternative was water or when it was sucrose. Nor did attention improve the detectability of vanillin when the alternative was citric acid, a tastant that is qualitatively less similar to vanillin than is sucrose. Attention had no positive effect on the detection of either sucrose or vanillin when it was mixed with the other substance. These findings suggest that although it is possible to attend selectively to gustatory flavors, it may be more difficult to attend selectively to olfactory flavors--perhaps because attention to flavors, which are taken in the mouth, is directed spatially toward the tongue, where gustatory, but not olfactory, receptors are located.     

The problem of arbitrary requirements: an abrahamic perspective

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion - Some religious requirements seem genuinely arbitrary in the sense that there seem to be no sufficient explanation of why those requirements with...     

Games,Rules, and Practices

We present and defend a view labeled “practiceism” which provides a solution to the incompatibility problems. The classic incompatibility problem is inconsistency of: 1. Someone who intentionally violates the rules of a game is not playing the game.

2. In many cases, players intentionally violate the rules as part of playing the game (e.g. fouling to stop the clock in basketball).

The problem has a normative counterpart: 1’. In normal cases, it is wrong for a player to intentionally violate the rules of the game.

2’. In many normal cases, it is not wrong for a player to intentionally violate the rules of the game (e.g. fouling to stop the clock in basketball).

According to both formalism and informalism, the rules of the game include the formal rules of the game. Both traditional positions avoid the incompatibility problems by rejecting 1 and 1'. Practiceism rejects 2 and 2’: it maintains that the rules are the rules manifested in playing the game, not the formal rules.

Practiceism presents two theses: (a) the real rules of the game are the rules players follow: the practice determines the rules, and not vice versa. (b) the (first order) rules of a game determine what is legitimate within the game.     

Are Religious Coping and Pain Perception Related Together? Assessment in Iranian Cancer Patients

Pain of cancer had various significant side effects that based on the literature it can reduced by religious coping methods. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between religious coping and pain perception in Iranian cancer patients. In this cross-sectional study (October–December, 2015), 380 hospitalized cancer patients were entered to the study using accessible sampling. Data were collected by socio-demographic, Religious Coping and McGill pain questionnaires. Males (48.39 ± 13 ± 39; CI95: 46.41–50.38) are older than females (45.33 ± 18.44; CI95: 42.79–47.87). According to results, there was a significant relationship between pain perception and positive religious coping in cancer patients. Also there was a significant relationship between pain perception and family history of cancer (P < 0.05). It seems that improving the level and quality of positive religious affiliation can be effective on the amount of stimulation and pain of cancer patients. Of course, more comprehensive studies are needed to be achieved more reliable results about the effects of religious coping on pain perception in these patients.     

Probability as a psychological distance: Construal and preferences

We argue that probability, like space and time, instantiates psychological distance. Unlikely outcomes may seem more remote than likely outcomes and may therefore be construed at a relatively high level. Specifically, when the probability of an outcome is low, ends-related primary features should be more salient than means-related secondary features, but as the probability of the outcome increases, means-related features may become no less and even more salient than ends-related features. Thus, increases in probability should increase the weight of means-related features relative to the weight of ends-related features in decisions, thereby decreasing (or even reversing) the preference for a more desirable/less feasible outcome over a less desirable/more feasible outcome. We observed this pattern in two experiments. Analyses of judgments, monetary decisions, and self-reported reasons for decisions showed that the weight of means-related features was more sensitive to changes in probability than the weight of ends-related features in decisions.     

Valuing life and evaluating suffering in infants with life-limiting illness

Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics - In this paper, we explore three separate questions that are relevant to assessing the prudential value of life in infants with severe life-limiting illness....     

When customers exhibit verbal aggression, employees pay cognitive costs

In 4 experimental studies, we show that customer verbal aggression impaired the cognitive performance of the targets of this aggression. In Study 1, customers' verbal aggression reduced recall of customers' requests. Study 2 extended these findings by showing that customer verbal aggression impaired recognition memory and working memory among employees of a cellular communication provider. In Study 3, the ability to take another's perspective attenuated the negative effects of customer verbal aggression on participants' cognitive performance. Study 4 linked customer verbal aggression to quality of task performance, showing a particularly negative influence of aggressive requests delivered by high-status customers. Together, these studies suggest that the effects of even minor aggression from customers can strongly affect the immediate cognitive performance of customer service employees and reduce their task performance. The implications for research on aggression and for the practice of customer service are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Spiritual Coping Strategies Scale in Hemodialysis Patients

Spiritual strategies may provide an effective way of coping with disease. This study sought to investigate the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the spiritual coping strategies (SCS) scale among Iranian hemodialysis patients. A convenience sample of 204 hemodialysis patients was recruited to participate in the study. A forward–backward translation method was used to produce the Persian version of the scale. Internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha and item–total score correlation. Two-week test–retest reliability was also assessed. The convergent and divergent validity of the scale was evaluated using the Duke University Religion Index and a visual analogue scale for health status. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the factor structure. Participants consisted of 113 males and 91 females (mean age 57.2 [SD = 9.7]). Cronbach’s alpha was acceptable (0.87). We found two underlying factors similar to the original scale. The correlations between the study scales confirmed the convergent and divergent validity of the SCS. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit to the data (GFI = 0.923, CFI = 0.948 and RMSEA = 0.068). The Persian version of the SCS has sound psychometric properties in Iranian hemodialysis patients. Future research should consider applying the scale to populations with other religious/cultural backgrounds.     

Is She an Expert or Just a Woman? Gender Differences in the Presentation of Experts in TV Talk Shows

In order to explore gender differences in the presentation of experts on television this study used a content analysis of 238 h of 64 Israeli talk shows from 2012 where 495 experts took part. Men experts outnumbered women experts in a 1.7:1 ratio. These men were significantly older than the women and tended to have a higher academic rank. The topics on which the experts commentated reflect familiar gender stereotypes with men more likely to talk about security and self defense, politics and economy and women more often talk about body grooming and child care. The results, which partly accord with feminist criticisms that blame the popular media with symbolic annihilation of scholarly women and partly reflect an actual over-representation of men in senior academic ranks, are also analyzed in relation to the findings of studies that looked at the gender of scientists and scholars in fictional TV programming.