Narcissism and unprovoked aggression

It is widely accepted that narcissists become aggressive when they experience ego‐threat. However, there is surprisingly little empirical research on the relationship between narcissism and aggression. Equivocal findings suggest that aggression in narcissists either occurs only in response to provocation, or regardless of provocation. One‐hundred and thirty‐seven collegiate men completed the Narcissistic Personality Inventory followed by a sham aggression paradigm, which afforded them the opportunity shock, or refrain entirely from shocking an ostensible opponent confederate. Participants were identified as “unprovoked aggressors,” “retaliatory aggressors,” or “nonaggressors” contingent on when and if they chose to administer electrical shocks to the confederate. Results indicated that participants who were high on narcissistic traits were more likely to be unprovoked aggressors than their low narcissism counterparts. Results are discussed in relation to threatened egotism theory and call for more research on narcissism, aggression, and the moderating effect of provocation. Aggr. Behav. 36:414–422, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

‘Do to Me According to What Has Gone Out of Your Mouth’*: A Reformation Debate on the Tragedy of Jephthah and his Daughter

A challenging biblical passage is the narrative of Jephthah and his daughter in the Book of Judges. The consensus of the exegetical tradition is that in fulfillment of a rash vow, Jephthah sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering. Yet some early Reformation exegetes argued instead that she entered into a life of dedication to the Lord. They argued on the basis of the grammar of Jephthah’s vow, a point which they found in one strand of rabbinical tradition. However, there developed a counter-argument reaffirming the patristic and medieval consensus, and that appealed to an alternative rabbinical tradition. The present essay will examine the competing arguments found in Protestant commentaries published between c.1530 and c.1650. In the end, the patristic and medieval consensus prevailed, and the alternative reading was rejected; but both sides agreed that the one noble character in this tale was the nameless daughter of Jephthah.     

“That's what they talk about when they talk about epiphanies”: An invitation to engage with the process of developing found poetry to illuminate exceptional human experience

This paper illuminates some of the journey taken by me, the researcher, whilst completing my doctoral research into the lived experience of epiphanies. The research journey is conceptualised as one of the discoveries into the task of qualitative research to “carry forward” the meaning of human experience, that is, considered “more than words can say.” Six participants took part in an unstructured interview aimed at exploring how they made sense of their epiphanic experiences. Following the application of an interpretative phenomenological analysis, an arts‐based representation of the research findings, in the form of found poetry, was chosen to supplement the emerging interpretation. Six found poems are dispersed throughout the paper. The aim is to offer the reader the crucial opportunity to simultaneously engage responsively and rationally with an exploration of the value of found poetry. Moreover, this style of presentation may offer the reader more space and time to notice, observe and reflect on the impact of research poetry as they move through the paper. An evaluation of the utility of found poetry is also offered. By providing an insight into the process of constructing found poetry, it is intended that the merits of its integration within qualitative enquiry are highlighted as successfully being able to bring the meaning of exceptional human experience alive to the reader. Furthermore, the experiential knowledge offered here is considered particularly relevant to professionals working in caring or therapeutic roles.     

Seeking consistency between planning orientation and situational purchase mindset

The research applies consistency theory to investigate how planning orientation, planner, or reactor combines with situational purchase mindsets. The results of three studies reveal that (i) consistency between planning orientation and situational mindset fosters more action responses in terms of number of stores one intends to visit or actually visited; (ii) when inconsistency is experienced, action responses are fewer because the consumer seeks to resolve inconsistencies by consulting others to help build consensus toward one emerging purchase decision alternative; (iii) the findings depend upon whether the purchase context is hedonic or utilitarian for the planner but not for the reactor; and (iv) the impulsive scenario reverses the predictions of consistency theory. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The word superiority effect: A comparison between restricted and unrestricted alternative set

Three experiments were conducted to investigate the word superiority effect (WSE) (Reicher, 1969). The first two experiments used mixed presentations of words and nonwords, and positional uncertainty of the critical letter. Experiment 1 used an unrestricted set of alternatives, while Experiment 2 used only two alternatives (R and L). Experiment 3 compared letter detection in nonwords with a restricted and unrestricted alternative set. WSE was found for both Experiments 1 and 2, at about the same level. Experiment 3 showed superior performance when alternatives were known in advance. It was concluded that context has an effect on letter recognition even with prior knowledge of alternatives if the critical position is not known in advance. Some incompatibilities between the present results and those of other investigators in the field are discussed.     

Similarity of rectangles: An analysis of subjective dimensions

Two defining properties of psychological dimensions (intradimensional subtractivity and interdimensional additivity) are introduced and their consequences, formulated in terms of an ordinal dissimilarity scale, are derived. These consequences are investigated using dissimilarity judgments between rectangles to determine which of two alternative dimensional structures area (A) and shape (S), or width (W) and height (H), satisfies additivity and/or subtractivity. The results show that neither dimensional structure is acceptable, although A × S provides a better account for the data of most Ss than does W × H. Tests of relative straightness show that A is the least “curved” of the four attributes. Methodological and substantive implications of the study are discussed.     

Variants of uncertainty

In contrast to formal theories of judgement and decision, which employ a single notion of probability, psychological analyses of responses to uncertainty reveal a wide variety of processes and experiences, which may follow different rules. Elementary forms of expectation and surprise in perception are reviewed. A phenomenological analysis is described, which distinguishes external attributions of uncertainty (disposition) from internal attributions of uncertainty (ignorance). Assessments of uncertainty can be made in different modes, by focusing on frequencies, propensities, the strength of arguments, or direct experiences of confidence. These variants of uncertainty are associated with different expressions in natural language; they are also suggestive of competing philosophical interpretations of probability.     

Alexithymia, Cumulative Feedback, and Differential Response Patterns on the Iowa Gambling Task

ABSTRACT Although the role of emotional processing is central to contemporary models of risky decision making, to date the role of trait emotional understanding has not been explored experimentally in this context. The current experiment ( N =326) explores the role of alexithymia with respect to performance on the standard Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and a version where cumulative financial feedback is obscured. Standard learning on the IGT was observed for those low in alexithymia. Those high in alexithymia learned to avoid disadvantageous decks over the first half of the task. However, over the later trials they showed a change in performance, shifting from advantageous to disadvantageous and back to advantageous decks again (termed an "explore-learn-change-return" strategy). It is argued that this is due to an inability to fully consolidate earlier learning and reduced sensitivity to losses. The absence of cumulative feedback independently resulted in reduced performance.