Killing, wrongness, and equality

This paper examines accounts of the moral wrongness of killing persons in addition to determining what conclusions, if any, can be drawn from the morality of killing persons about the (in)equality of persons, and vice versa. I will argue that a plausible way of thinking about the moral wrongness of killing implies that the permissibility of killing innocent, nonthreatening persons depends on a person’s age. I address objections to this conclusion and discuss some potential implications of the view.     

Workers' perception of workplace bullying: A cross-cultural study

This study is one of the first studies to approach workplace bullying cross-culturally. It sought to compare employees' understanding of workplace bullying in two different world regions: Central America and Southern Europe, regarding three aspects of workplace bullying: psychological vs. physical harassment, hierarchical vs. horizontal bullying, and direct vs. indirect aggression. A convenience sample of 246 workers provided their own definition of workplace bullying through a single, open-ended question. The results showed that employees from Central America emphasized the physical component of workplace bullying more than the Southern European employees. However, similarities in the conceptualization of workplace bullying across both cultures were found as well. Both Southern European and Central American employees defined workplace bullying mainly as a hierarchical phenomenon, where the aggression took the form of direct strategies. Such differences and similarities bring to the field some positive inputs for the development and implementation of different strategies for dealing effectively with this phenomenon.     

The Relation of Lifetime Cognitive Activity and Lifetime Access to Resources to Late-life Cognitive Function in Older African Americans

ABSTRACT

Research in older Caucasians has demonstrated that cognitive activity is related to cognitive function in late adulthood. Knowledge of this association is limited in older minority populations. We examined the relation of cognitive activity and access to cognitive resources, with cognitive function in a group of 108 older African Americans. We constructed two scales to measure the frequency of cognitive activity and the presence of resources that promote cognitive activity during early and late life. Both measures had high internal consistency and the cognitive activity scale had adequate temporal stability over a 4-week interval. In analyses that controlled for age and education, more frequent lifetime cognitive activity was related to current cognitive function, but lifetime cognitive resources only approached significance. The results suggest that both measures are psychometrically sound in a minority population and that lifetime cognitive activity may contribute to current cognitive function in African Americans.     

Biasing decision making by means of retrieval practice

Decision making requires the recruitment of several cognitive processes. So far, however, few studies have dealt with the role of inhibitory control in this domain. In this study, we aim to examine this issue in a memory-based decision task by using an adaptation of the retrieval practice paradigm (Anderson, Bjork, & Bjork, 1994 Anderson, M. C., Bjork, R. A. and Bjork, E. L. 1994. Remembering can cause forgetting: Retrieval dynamics in long-term memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20: 1063–1087. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The retrieval-induced forgetting found through this task is normally explained in terms of inhibition. Specifically, we analyse how retrieval practice may affect what alternatives are selected as well as the choice probability and attribute recall. Our data show a relation between the recall impairment of the attributes due to retrieval practice and biased decisions.     

Ontogenetic dissociation between habit learning and recognition memory in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella)

The performance of young and adult capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) on a Concurrent Discrimination Learning (CDL) test and a Delayed Non-Matching to Sample (DNMS) task were investigated. Results indicate that all subjects were able to learn the CDL test with 20-pairs simultaneously and retain this stimulus/reward association within 24-h interval. In contrast, young subjects did not perform the DNMS task with the same proficiency as adults. While adults' scores were above chance across all memory test delays, the young capuchin monkeys performed the test by chance level. These results support the hypothesis that these two tasks require different cognitive processes mediated by two independent neural systems with a differentiated ontogenetic development. Moreover, they provide evidence that this dissociation occurs not only in humans and Old World monkeys but also in the New World capuchin monkeys indicating that this species can be a valuable alternative model for investigations of the neurobiological basis of memory.     

Dysmorphic concern and behavioural impairment related to body image in adolescents

This study examined a moderated mediation model testing whether dysmorphic concern is related to behaviour altered to change appearance. This relationship is potentially mediated by depressive symptomatology (dysphoria and self-esteem) and ideas of reference about “laughing, commenting” and “attention, appearance,” and each mediated relationship moderated by sex. The sample was made up of 3377 adolescents from 12 to 18 years old (M_age = 14.52; SD = 1.65, 56.5% girls). The results showed that dysphoria and ideas of reference about “laughing, commenting” and “attention, appearance” partially mediated the relationship between dysmorphic concern and behavioural impairment related to body image. The relationship with dysphoria was moderated by sex, such that the mediation effect was stronger in girls than in boys. This result implies that girls who are worried about some characteristic of their appearance and show dysphoria are at greater risk of altered behaviour involving avoidance or controlling their appearance than boys. In addition, a possible risk of body dysmorphic disorder (3.45% of the sample) was found, with very prominent hiding behaviour using clothing or control behaviours, such as frequent weighing and looking at oneself in the mirror too much. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

The socialization of the gifts of tongues and healing in Mexican Pentecostalism

Mexican Pentecostalism emphasizes both speaking in tongues and faith healing as religious manifestations which believers should have. Although they are considered to be given by the Holy Spirit, these practices imply a socialization with the collective of followers. The analysis of pentecostal groups in the urban environment of Mexico City and in the rural Totonac Indian communities shows that these religious practices and beliefs are very similar in the two areas mentioned. It is necessary for the pentecostal believer to learn the ‘proper’ way to speak in tongues and to heal the sick, in order to separate followers from other religions which compete with pentecostalism by offering ritual possession and alternative forms of curing human suffering. In Mexico, popular spiritualism, the Catholic charismatic movement and traditional Indian curers all offer direct competition for pentecostalism. The religious mobility further complicates this situation. The important role of public discourse and testimony is also dealt with here.