Margin for error semantics and signal perception

A joint modelling of objective worlds and subjective perceptions within two-dimensional semantics eliminates the margin for error principle and solves the epistemic sorites paradox. Two objective knowledge modalities can be defined in two-dimensional frames accounting for subjective perceptions: “necessary knowledge” (NK) and “possible knowledge” (PK), the latter being better suited to the interpretation of knowledge utterances. Two-dimensional semantics can in some cases be reduced to one-dimensional ones, by defining accessibility relations between objective worlds that reflect subjective perceptions: NK and PK are respectively equivalent to ${\square \square }$ and ${\lozenge \square }$ in some one-dimensional frame, and to ${\square }$ and another modality in some other.     

NATURAL LAWS AND DIVINE INTERVENTION: WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES BEING PENTECOSTAL OR CHARISMATIC MAKE?

The question about divine action remains contested in the discussion between theology and science. This issue is further exacerbated with the entry of pentecostals and charismatics into the conversation, especially with their emphases on divine intervention and miracles. I explore what happens at the intersection of these discourses, identifying first how the concept of “laws of nature” has developed in theology and science and then probing what pentecostal‐charismatic insights might add into the mix. Drawing from the triadic and evolutionary metaphysics of Charles Sanders Peirce, I propose a reconsideration of the “laws of nature” as habitual, dynamic, and general but nevertheless real tendencies through which the Holy Spirit invites the world to inhabit the coming kingdom of God. This proposal contributes to the articulation of an authentic Pentecostal‐charismatic witness at the theology‐and‐science table while also enabling a more plausible and coherent account of divine action for pentecostal‐charismatic piety and Christian practice in the twenty‐first century.     

Unprovoked aggression: effects of psychopathic traits and sadism

Psychopathic individuals engage in the most violent and cold-blooded acts of aggression. In the laboratory, psychopathy traits have been linked to the commission of unprovoked aggression. The purpose of this study was to assess affective motives that may underlie the relationship between psychopathy and unprovoked aggression. One hundred thirty-seven men viewed a series of photographs depicting violent imagery, completed a lexical decision task designed to assess state affect, and competed in a laboratory-based aggression paradigm. Results indicated that participants who responded faster to happiness words after viewing violent imagery (i.e., sadistic) were significantly more likely to engage in unprovoked aggression. Additionally, Factor 1 psychopathy (emotional detachment) predicted increased probability of unprovoked aggression; however, this relationship was not mediated by sadism. Rather, Factor 1 and sadism each independently predicted unprovoked aggression. The implications of the present data suggest that the type of violence evinced may inform the risk for perpetration of future acts. That is, the individual who demonstrates unprovoked violence may be more likely to employ aggressive tactics across situational contexts than the individual who demonstrates only impulsive acts of hostile/reactive aggression.     

The colors of the alphabet: naturally-biased associations between shape and color

Many letters of the alphabet are consistently mapped to specific colors in English-speaking adults, both in the general population and in individuals with grapheme-color synaesthesia who perceive letters in color. Here, across six experiments, we tested the ubiquity of the color/letter associations with typically developing toddlers, literate children, and adults. We found that pre-literate children associate O with white and X with black and discovered that they also associate I and ameboid nonsense shapes with white; Z and jagged nonsense shapes with black; and C with yellow; but do not make a number of other associations (B blue; Y yellow; A red; G green) seen in literate children and adults. The toddlers' mappings were based on the shape and not the sound of the letter. The results suggest that sensory cortical organization initially binds specific colors to some specific shapes and that learning to read can induce additional associations, likely through the influence of higher order networks as letters take on meaning.     

Helplessness: The inability to know-that you don’t know-how

The sense of helplessness stands at the very core of the traumatic experience. This paper suggests that a sense of helplessness arises when, despite the functioning of the cognitive system and awareness of circumstances and feelings, an individual is unable to access practical knowledge. As a result, the subject becomes a victim of one’s own inability to perform, or act, in the real world.     

How Do Coworkers “Make the Place”? Examining Coworker Conflict and the Value of Harmony in China and the United States

The goal of this study was to test cross‐cultural/cross‐national differences in the association between coworker interpersonal justice and coworker conflict and the implications of such differences for employee effectiveness. Harmony is a central value in China but is less important in the United States, and the individual value of harmony may influence Chinese and US employees differently in their response to low levels of coworker interpersonal justice. We collected data from employees and their coworkers in China (214 dyads) and the US (301 dyads). There were three major findings. First, coworker interpersonal justice was negatively related to coworker conflict. Second, coworker conflict significantly mediated coworker interpersonal justice in relation to the employee effectiveness variables of task performance, organisational citizenship behaviours, and counterproductive work behaviours. Finally, in the Chinese sample, harmony significantly buffered the indirect effect of coworker interpersonal justice on employee effectiveness via coworker conflict, whereas in the US sample, harmony significantly intensified the indirect effect of coworker interpersonal justice on employee effectiveness via coworker conflict.