Misperceptions in intergroup conflict. Disagreeing about what we disagree about

Two studies examined misperceptions of disagreement in partisan social conflicts, namely, in the debates over abortion (Study 1) and politics (Study 2). We observed that partisans tend to exaggerate differences of opinion with their adversaries. Further, we found that perceptions of disagreement were more pronounced for values that were central to the perceiver's own ideology than for values that were central to the ideology of the perceiver's adversaries. To the extent that partisans assumed disagreement concerning personally important values, they were also inaccurate in perceiving their adversaries' actual opinions. Discussion focuses on the cognitive mechanisms underlying misperceptions of disagreement and strategies for reducing intergroup conflict.     

Secularisation,Wales, and Islam

Islam has a long, albeit hidden history in Wales. Traditionally, studies of Welsh religion have focused on Christianity so that little has been written about non-Christian religions in Wales. Moreover, general theoretical debates about secularisation have tended to be overly Christocentric in their focus, with the experiences of non-Christian faith groups conspicuous by their absence in most studies of modern urban societies and secularisation. Similarly, most academic studies emanating from Islam, while they have much to say on liberal secular societies, have yet meaningfully to engage with the secularisation thesis. This article explores the relationship between classical theories of secularisation, historical processes of secularisation in Wales, and the contemporary experience of Muslim groups operating within a highly secularised environment. The article argues that there is a need in multi-cultural societies to develop a theory of secularisation that can incorporate a non-Christian dimension. Recent theoretical writing by Steve Bruce (Politics) and David Martin (Revised Theory) offers a promising route in this direction.     

A cybernetic theory of morality and moral autonomy

Human morality may be thought of as a negative feedback control system in which moral rules are reference values, and moral disapproval, blame, and punishment are forms of negative feedback given for violations of the moral rules. In such a system, if moral agents held each other accountable, moral norms would be enforced effectively. However, even a properly functioning social negative feedback system could not explain acts in which individual agents uphold moral rules in the face of contrary social pressure. Dr. Frances Kelsey, who withheld FDA approval for thalidomide against intense social pressure, is an example of the degree of individual moral autonomy possible in a hostile environment. Such extreme moral autonomy is possible only if there is internal, psychological negative feedback, in addition to external, social feedback. Such a cybernetic model of morality and moral autonomy is consistent with certain aspects of classical ethical theories.     

Tops are more salient than bottoms

Past research has verified that observers assume that objects are reliably oriented with respect to a gravitationally centered coordinate system. Observers also appear to attend more to specific parts of objects, like faces, that typically are closer to the top. In the present work, we explored whether or not observers have a generic bias to view tops as being more salient than bottoms. In three experiments, observers indicated whether random shapes appeared to be more similar to comparison shapes that shared identical tops rather than bottoms. Observers exhibited a reliable tendency to match figures with similarly shaped tops. Matching choice was also a function of global shape attributes such as axis of elongation or size. The findings are consistent with the notion that, in nature, tops tend to be the most visible part and to provide the best information with respect to important aspects of objects such as animal intentionality and artifact functionality.     

CASPER: A personal computer package for exploring psychometrics

CASPER is a psychometrics software package suitable for instructional and research applications with IBM-PC-compatible computers. CASPER lets the user simulate or directly enter psychometric data. Numerous statistical analyses, file handling procedures, and graphics are included Analyses include factor analysis, multiple regression, correlation/partial correlation, moments analysis, reliability analysis, and item analysis.     

Channel selection and the suffix effect

Subjects were presented with a list of digits to alternate ears for serial recall. The list was followed by a suffix, a redundant acoustic event which did not have to be recalled. The suffix was presented either to one of the ears or binaurally. In all cases the suffix gave rise to a selective impairment of recall of the final items in the list. The results are interpreted as showing first that stimuli of the kind used are processed by simultaneously selecting both ears rather than by switching attention, and second that the site of the suffix effect is after the selection mechanism.