Back to caring after being hurt: the role of forgiveness

While the topic of forgiveness has only recently started to receive empirical attention, little research has been conducted to examine the notion that forgiveness predicts pro‐relationship responses, motivated by a willingness to set aside personal well‐being to enhance the well‐being of the partner or relationship. The purpose of the present research was to examine whether forgiveness predicts pro‐relationship responses, and whether it does so above and beyond commitment to the offender. Consistent with hypotheses, three studies revealed that forgiveness is significantly associated with (a) willingness to accommodate (i.e. to respond constructively rather than destructively when the partner has engaged in a potentially destructive act), (b) willingness to sacrifice, and (c) level of intended cooperation. Moreover, these associations were independent of commitment to the offender, providing initial evidence for the unique role of forgiveness in understanding pro‐relationship motivation and behaviour. Finally, the results of Study 3 suggested that forgiveness restores, rather than increases, levels of pro‐relationship motivation, compared to baseline levels of pro‐relationship motivation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Inter‐category versus intra‐category fit: when social categories match social context

The goal of the research reported in this article was to examine whether social categorization, commonly thought to be a function of accessibility and intra‐category fit, is also sensitive to changes in inter‐category fit. Intra‐category fit refers to the match between a target person's features and stored categorical knowledge, inter‐category fit to the extent to which category memberships and targets' features covary across perceived group members. In Experiments 1, 2, and 3, members of social categories of low, medium, and high accessibility, respectively, were shown in a group discussion. Inter‐category fit was manipulated in three steps. Category salience in memory increased as an additive function of accessibility and inter‐category fit. Experiment 4 replicated the effects of inter‐category fit while intra‐category fit and the information presented for individual discussants were held constant. The present studies are the first to demonstrate an effect of inter‐category fit on a relatively direct measure of spontaneous social categorization. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pragma-Dialectics and the Function of Argumentation

This contribution discusses some problems of Pragma-Dialectics and explains them by its consensualistic view of the function of argumentation and by its philosophical underpinnings. It is suggested that these problems can be overcome by relying on a better epistemology and on an epistemological theory of argumentation. On the one hand Pragma-Dialectics takes unqualified consensus as the aim of argumentation, which is problematic, (Sect. 2) on the other it includes strong epistemological and rationalistic elements (Sect. 3). The problematic philosophical underpinnings of Pragma-Dialectics, specifically Critical Rationalism as well as Logical Constructivism and Dialogic Logic of the Erlangen School, are among the sources of this incoherence (Sect. 4). A detailed critique of the Pragma-Dialectical discussion rules shows the negative consequences of this foundation and indicates how they could be avoided (Sects. 5, 6).     

Biased Evaluation of Abstracts Depending on Topic and Conclusion: Further Evidence of a Confirmation Bias Within Scientific Psychology

The present paper investigated whether academic psychologists show a tendency to rate the quality and appropriateness of scientific studies more favorably when results and conclusions are consistent with their own prior beliefs (i.e., confirmation bias). In an online experiment, 711 psychologists completed a questionnaire (e.g., about their belief in astrology) and evaluated research that was presented in form of a short abstract in which 40 different behaviors (e.g., alcohol consumption, willingness to share money) have been tried to be predicted. The research to be evaluated varied on three dimensions which were all manipulated between subjects: (1) the predictors of the 40 behaviors (either Big Five or astrological factors), (2) the methodological quality of the study (low, medium, high), and (3) the results and subsequent conclusion of the study (confirmation or disconfirmation of the hypotheses). Factor-analyzed scores of participants’ ratings on 8 scales, resulting in 2 factors termed quality and appropriateness, served as dependent measures. The main result of the study is a two-way interaction: Psychologists tended to evaluate results qualitatively higher when they conformed to their own prior expectations, as in this case, when astrological hypotheses were disconfirmed.     

How To Be A Reliabilist

In this paper, I aim to develop a novel virtue reliabilist account of justified belief, which incorporates insights from both process reliabilism and extant versions of virtue reliabilism. Like extant virtue reliabilist accounts of justified belief, the proposed view takes it that justified belief is a kind of competent performance and that competent performances require reliable agent abilities. However, unlike extant versions of virtue reliabilism, the view takes abilities to essentially involve reliable processes. In this way, the proposed view should take a leaf from process reliabilism. Finally, I will provide reason to believe that the view compares favourably with both extant versions of virtue reliabilism and process reliabilism. In particular, I will show that in taking abilities to essentially involve reliable processes, the view has an edge over extant versions of virtue reliabilism. Moreover, I will argue that the proposed view can either solve or defuse a number of classical problems of process reliabilism, including the new evil demon problem, the problem of clairvoyant cases and the generality problem.     

Hospital Chaplaincy Across Denominational, Cultural and Religious Borders: Observations from the German Context

The essay investigates the possibilities and limitations ofcross-denominational, intercultural and inter-religious hospitalchaplaincy. With a view to the actual situation of hospitalchaplaincy in Germany and the economic, social and theologicalconstraints under which it offers its services, the author concludes,that the different Christian denominations must organizationallycooperate and share their work if such services are to survivethe growing pressures. Constructivist cognition theory is invokedfor analyzing the hermeneutical and theological implicationsof inter-denominational, intercultural and inter-religious pastoralcare and counselling. A Lutheran interpretation of the Trinitariandogma provides a foundational frame of reference.