A scale to measure Bowen's concept of emotional cutoff

This paper describes the Emotional Cut-off Scale (ECS), an instrument designed to measure Bowen's concept of emotional cutoff. The development of the scale and psychometric data from its use in three later studies are presented. The concept of emotional cut-off is critical to Bowen's broader theory. It is hoped that the ECS will allow researchers to begin to empirically examine propositions derived from Bowen's theory.     

Cybernetics of cybernetics in assessment of marital quality

Quality of marriage is a term or a phrase that still lacks a clear and precise referent. Marital adjustment, success, satisfaction, compatibility, and stability are terms that have been variously employed. Following the lead of Fincham and Bradbury, a case is made for the fact that the best measure for marital quality is the global evaluation of marriage, i.e. the evaluation placed on the relationship as a whole by the marital partners. This is cybernetics of cybernetics wherein the observer becomes part of the observed.     

Neurocardiology shows that the central,not peripheral,action of propranolol reduces mortality following acute coronary artery occlusion in the conscious pig

Neurocardiology emphasizes the role of the higher cerebral mechanisms in cardiovascular disorders. Several large clinical trials (BHAT, MIAMI, and ISIS) have consistently shown that treatment with a beta-receptor blocker (propranolol, metoprolol, or atenolol) will produce a 26% to 29% reduction in mortality in high-risk survivors of acute myocardial infarction. Becauseall beta-blockers cross the blood-brain barrier, it is not clear whether the salutary action is on the central or peripheral receptors. Therefore the effects of intracerebral versus intravenous propranolol were observed in 30 conscious pigs following complete occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Controls showed the propranolol to remain confined throughout the experiment to the central or peripheral compartment into which it was injected. To assure the occurrence of ventricular fibrillation (VF), each pig was psychologically stressed by being unconditioned to the laboratory.Intracerebral propranolol (0.05 mg/kg) prevented VF within a 20 min period of reversible ischemia in 6 of 9 pigs, whereas VF was prevented in 0 of 11 controls injected intravenously with either dextro-propranolol (2 pigs) or vehicle (9 pigs) (P<.0006, binomial probability ratio). In some pigs in which VF was not manifested by 20 min, the ischemia was reversed and additional control observations were achieved; a total of 10 counter-balanced within-subjects experiments confirmed the between-subjects result (P<.01, paired-t test). In contrast intravenous propranolol (0.2 to 2.0 mg/kg) in 7 pigs had no effect on VF latency compared to 7 vehicle controls. It is concluded that beta-receptor antagonists prevent VF in the ischemic myocardium by their effect on thebrain andnot the heart.     

: Applicants' experiences with discrimination explain their reactions to algorithms in personnel selection

Algorithms might prevent prejudices and increase objectivity in personnel selection decisions, but they have also been accused of being biased. We question whether algorithm-based decision-making or providing justifying information about the decision-maker (here: to prevent biases and prejudices and to make more objective decisions) helps organizations to attract a diverse workforce. In two experimental studies in which participants go through a digital interview, we find support for the overall negative effects of algorithms on fairness perceptions and organizational attractiveness. However, applicants with discrimination experiences tend to view algorithm-based decisions more positively than applicants without such experiences. We do not find evidence that providing justifying information affects applicants—regardless of whether they have experienced discrimination or not.     

Chronic pain relief after receiving affective touch: A single case report

Affective touch is gentle slow stroking of the skin, which can reduce experimentally induced pain. Our participant, suffering from Parkinson's Disease and chronic pain, received 1 week of non-affective touch and 1 week of affective touch as part of a larger study. Interestingly, after 2 days of receiving affective touch, the participant started to feel less pain. After 7 days, the burning painful sensations fully disappeared. This suggest that affective touch may reduce chronic pain in clinical populations.     

Applying propensity score matching to assess the impact of the pandemic on intimate relationships

The COVID-19 pandemic produced multiple stressors that risk relationship conflict and dissatisfaction. We extended prior studies that yielded inconsistent effects of the pandemic on relationships by using propensity score matching to (1) compare levels of relationship conflict and satisfaction during the pandemic (pandemic group; N = 7268) to similar people immediately before the pandemic (matched control group; N = 7268), and (2) compare pandemic groups facing different types of restrictions, beginning with lockdowns involving household isolation to returning to normal life. Results reveal that relationship conflict increased and relationship satisfaction decreased in response to the pandemic, but these effects were very small and primarily occurred in the initial stages of the pandemic when lockdown involved household isolation. The results add to evidence of resilience in personal and relationship well-being in 2020, but also indicate the importance of understanding the effects of varying pandemic-related conditions across the years of the pandemic.     

Gender differences in optimism,loss aversion and attitudes towards risk

Systematic differences in the attitudes of men and women towards risk is well established. In this paper, we investigate the joint role of two prominent psychological characteristics in explaining this difference. Our starting point is that risk assessments can be thought of, in general terms, to combine beliefs about the probability of negative outcomes occurring with a subjective valuation of how painful that negative outcome would be. Exploiting large-scale panel data from the United Kingdom, we find that gender differences in financial optimism and financial loss aversion – the stronger psychological response to monetary losses than monetary gains – explain a substantial proportion of the parallel gender difference in willingness to take risks. This result prevails even after controlling for the Big Five personality traits, suggesting that the prominent psychological characteristics capture different aspects of behaviour than the Big Five.     

Anthropology,Ontology, and the Possibility of Post-Mortem Repentance

Abstract: This essay considers the question of conversion unto repentance, as an act of cognition and volition, by the separated soul in the post-mortem state. It primarily explicates and interrogates Thomas Aquinas's various attempts to rule out this possibility for the damned. Since Thomas's arguments for such impossibility feature his commitment to the radical immateriality of the human soul—and, like it, the angelic spirit—the essay highlights the ontological and moral tensions within that account. The case is thus made for the ontological, logical, and moral inconsistencies of his position, in pursuit of a more holistic anthropology across the soul's various states and a more rationally and coherent eschatology—namely, an affirmation of the irreducible mutability of the created soul on its way towards likeness to God, perhaps, if not certainly, towards universal salvation.     

The sampling of critical,unshared information in decision-making groups: the role of an informed minority

A collective information sampling model and observations of discussion content suggest that decision-making groups often fail to disseminate unshared information. This paper examines the role that a fully-informed minority may play in facilitating the sampling and consideration of unshared information. University students read a mystery and then met in four-person groups to discuss the case. When critical clues were unshared among three members before discussion, a fully informed fourth member (informed minority) promoted the discussion of these critical clues when participants thought the mystery had a demonstrably correct answer (solve set) but not when they thought the clue may have been insufficient to solve definitively the case (judge set). None the less, under both solve and judge sets, the informed minority increased the likelihood that the group would identify the correct suspect. Social combination, information sampling, and minority influence interpretations of the results are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.