The link between deductive reasoning and mathematics

ABSTRACT

Recent studies have shown that deductive reasoning skills (including transitive and conditional inferences) are related to mathematical abilities. Nevertheless, so far the links between mathematical abilities and these two forms of deductive inference have not been investigated in a single study. It is also unclear whether these inference forms are related to both basic maths skills and mathematical reasoning, and whether these relationships still hold if the effects of fluid intelligence are controlled. We conducted a study with 87 adult participants. The results showed that transitive reasoning skills were related to performance on a number line task, and conditional inferences were related to arithmetic skills. Additionally, both types of deductive inference were related to mathematical reasoning skills, although transitive and conditional reasoning ability were unrelated. Our results also highlighted the important role that ordering abilities play in mathematical reasoning, extending findings regarding the role of ordering abilities in basic maths skills. These results have implications for the theories of mathematical and deductive reasoning, and they could inspire the development of novel educational interventions.     

‘Hijab envy’: the visible angst of immigrant Christians in a pluralist Canada

This article explores the predilection of Christians of immigrant background to perceive themselves as a disadvantaged group in the new reality of Canada’s growing religious diversity. The present inquiry challenges loss as the definitive emotional register for Christian engagement with Canada’s new religious minorities, demonstrating that religious minorities have elicited begrudging admiration and envy from their Christian counterparts. This inquiry insists that contemporary Canada, not ‘Christian Canada’, is the most important frame for understanding the perceptions and predilections of the Christians in this study. It argues that pluralist ideals, the policy instruments, and social practices that carry these ideals and the cultural forums that display and debate these ideals shape not only the ‘attitudes’ of young Christians, but also the regimes of visibility in which and from which they operate. While scholars impute an increasing visibility to religion, this article demonstrates that the array of affects between viewer and viewed are highly variable and context specific.     

Development of the Idiographic functional status assessment: A measure of the personal goals and goal attainment activities of people with AIDS

Abstract

This study presents the development of the Idiographic Functional Status Assessment (IFSA), an interview to assess functional status according to each person's unique point of view. This idiographic method asks people to state their personal goals in terms of things they want to accomplish, problems they want to solve, situations they hope to avoid, roles and relationships they want to maintain, and pursuits they want to relinquish. After describing their goals, respondents rate goal attainment activities they have pursued in the past month in terms of level of difficulty, dependence and other performance dimensions. In a study of 224 people with AIDS, the idiographic measure provided functional status scales that were relatively stable over time, and that correlated well with other subjective well-being measures and heath status criteria. Goal content measures derived from the interview can be used to distinguish sub samples that differ in terms of the determinants of quality of life.     

INTEGRAL MEDICINE AND HEALTH

Integral Science provides the empirical rigor needed to shift medicine's worldview. The shift in science will give rise to Integral Medicine, which will emerge from the integration and transformational change of biomedicine, psychosocial approaches, Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and other reform movements. The root metaphor of Integral Medicine is a healthy and sustainable ecosystem. At its heart are mind–body holism and collaborative learning. Healing and the creation of health will emphasize educational, self-care, and community support models. Implications are discussed for practice, research, and education.     

We're All Victims Here: Toward a Psychology of Revenge

When people are hurt or angered by another person they may try to restore equity to the relationship. Yet each party's perception of what is equitable may vary. Study 1 compared incidents of revenge from the revenge-seeker perspective (avengers) to those from the revenge-recipients' perspective. Study 2 compared avenger incidents to those from victims of interpersonal transgressions who did not seek revenge. Avengers portrayed the revenge as equitable, whereas recipients portrayed the revenge as excessive. Both avengers and recipients presented themselves as victims. In light of these findings, it is understandable why vendettas take place. Each seeks a fair and equitable solution, although what one party believes to be fair, the other party sees as excessive. The result, then, may be an escalating cycle of revenge, stemming from ongoing and spiraling attempts to restore equity.     

Stress-Induced Binge Eating: A Behavior Analytic Approach to Assessment and Intervention

Responses to acute or chronic stress may include behaviors, such as alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and altered eating patterns. In connection with the stress-eating relation, some researchers have suggested that certain stressors (e.g., psychological or emotional) may influence the direction (i.e., increase or decrease) of a person’s eating response. In a recent study, Connors and Morse (Int J Eat Disord 13:1–11, 2006) indicated that the physical and psychological stress associated with sexual trauma could result in an increase in food intake and nonstandard eating patterns. In consequence, this study describes a multifaceted intervention for a 24-year-old woman who experienced chronic stress and received a diagnosis of Binge Eating Disorder (American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. DSM-IV. Washington, DC: APA) following a series of unwanted sexual experiences. The behavior analytic intervention emphasized self-control, self-regulation, and physical activity. The treatment package resulted in a 19% reduction in the participant’s body weight, a 96% reduction in binge eating, and long-term adherence to an exercise routine.     

An evidence-based group coping intervention for women living with HIV and history of childhood sexual abuse

Women living with HIV/AIDS and a history of childhood sexual abuse often exhibit sexual trauma symptoms and elevated rates of HIV-risk behaviors. In this paper, we describe a coping skills group intervention that reduced traumatic stress and sexual-risk behavior in a recent randomized clinical trial. We focused on clinical issues that emerged among female participants receiving the intervention. Clinical observations showed that recognizing connections between trauma, psychological distress, and high risk behaviors was a new and powerful experience for many participants. Participants successfully applied psychoeducational material, expressing an increased sense of power and control over their relationships and behaviors as they developed more adaptive cognitive and behavioral skills. Women expressed high levels of satisfaction with the intervention. Recommendations for clinical practice are provided.     

Connotative Interpretations of Sexuality-Related Terms

In this study we examined the connotative interpretations of selected sexuality-related terms by a cohort of university undergraduate students (n=567). Forty-two sexuality-relevant constructs were rated on thirty 7-point semantic differential scales. Means of the scale sum scores for men and women were compared using t tests. Among women the most favorably rated constructs were orgasm, vaginal sex, sexual intercourse, virginity, masturbation, oral sex, pro-choice, pregnancy, erection, and heterosexual. The most negatively evaluated terms were date rape, sexual abuse, rape, sexual assault, HPV, and HIV/AIDS. For men, the most favorably rated constructs were sexual monogamy, virginity, orgasm, vaginal sex, and heterosexual. The most negatively evaluated terms were rape, HPV, date rape, and sexual abuse. There were statistically significant gender differences in the evaluation of 12 terms (p<.05). The evaluations assigned to 30 possible attributes suggest that some sexuality-related terms elicit strong visceral responses from university students. A discussion of the psychological and emotional impact of sexuality-related terms (i.e., connotative meanings) may be warranted whenever dictionary definitions (i.e., denotative meanings) are presented to students, other groups of learners, and persons in health care and other settings. Moreover, a practitioner's use of language may elicit connotatively different responses for women and men.     

Episodic temporal generalization: a developmental study.

Groups of 5-year-olds, 10-year-olds, and adults completed either an episodic temporal generalization task, in which no stimuli were repeated, or a repeated standard temporal generalization task, in which there was a fixed standard that was repeated on every trial. Significant developmental improvements were found on both tasks. In both tasks, gradients of performance over two different stimulus ranges superimposed well when plotted on the same relative scale. Performance was similar for the adults and 10-year-olds across tasks, but the 5-year-olds performed better on the repeated standard task. These findings suggest that perceptual processes are a source of scalar variability in timing, and that there are developmental changes in levels of such variability.