A Non-retributive Kantian Approach to Punishment

Traditionally Kant's theory of punishment has been seen as wholly retributive. Recent Kantian scholarship has interpreted the theory as more moderately retributive: punishment is deterrent in aim, and retributive only in so far as the amount and type of penalty is to be determined by retributive considerations (the ius talionis). But it is arguable that a more coherent Kantian theory of punishment can be developed which makes no appeal to retribution at all: hypothetical contractors would have no good reason to endorse punishment distributed retributively. This position is first sketched behind Rawls's neo‐Kantian ‘veil of ignorance’, and it is suggested that the same theory will emerge from Scanlon's more relaxed neo‐Kantian position.     

Impairment in risk-sensitive decision-making in older suicide attempters with depression

Suicidal behavior is a potentially lethal complication of late-life depression. In younger adults, suicide has been linked to abnormal decision-making ability. Given that there are substantial age-related decreases in decision-making ability, and that older adults experience environmental stressors that require effective decision-making, we reasoned that impaired decision-making may be particularly relevant to suicidal behavior in the elderly. We thus compared performance on a probabilistic decision-making task that does not involve working memory ("Cambridge Gamble Task") in four groups of older adults: (1) individuals with major depression and a history of suicide attempt (n = 25), (2) individuals with major depression with active suicidal ideation but no suicide attempt (n = 13), (3) individuals with major depression without suicidality (n = 35), and (4) nondepressed control subjects (n = 22). There was a significant effect of group on quality of decision-making, whereby the suicide attempters exhibited poorer ability to choose the likely outcome, compared with the nonsuicidal depressed and nondepressed comparison subjects. There were no group differences in betting behavior. The suicide attempters differed in several aspects of social problem-solving on a self-report scale. Quality of decision-making was negatively correlated with the score on the impulsive/careless problem-solving subscale. These data suggest that older suicide attempters have a deficit in risk-sensitive decision-making, extending observations in younger adults. More specifically, older suicide attempters seem to neglect outcome probability and make poor choices. These impairments may precipitate and perpetuate suicidal crisis in depressed elders. Identification of decision-making impairment in suicidal elders may help with designing effective interventions.     

Predictors of outcome in patients consulting their general practitioners for headache: a prospective study

Headache is the most common neurological symptom presenting to general practitioners (GPs). Identifying factors predicting outcome in patients consulting their GPs for headache may help GPs with prognosis and choose management strategies which would improve patient care. We followed up a cohort of patients receiving standard medical care, recruited from 18 general practices in the South Thames region of England, approximately 9 months after their initial participation in the study. Of the baseline sample (N=255), 134 provided both full baseline and follow-up data on measures of interest. We determined associations between patients' follow-up scores on the Headache Impact Test-6 and baseline characteristics (including headache impact and frequency scores, mood, attributions about psychological/medical causes of their headaches, satisfaction with GP care and illness perceptions). Greater impact and stronger beliefs about the negative consequences of headaches at baseline were the strongest predictors of poor outcome at follow-up.     

Racial/ethnic differences in the criterion-related validity of cognitive ability tests: a qualitative and quantitative review

The correlation between cognitive ability test scores and performance was separately meta-analyzed for Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White racial/ethnic subgroups. Compared to the average White observed correlation ( = .33, N = 903,779), average correlations were lower for Black samples ( = .24, N = 112,194) and Hispanic samples ( = .30, N = 51,205) and approximately equal for Asian samples ( = .33, N = 80,705). Despite some moderating effects (e.g., type of performance criterion, decade of data collection, job complexity), validity favored White over Black and Hispanic test takers in almost all conditions that included a sizable number of studies. Black-White validity comparisons were possible both across and within the 3 broad domains that use cognitive ability tests for high-stakes selection and placement: civilian employment, educational admissions, and the military. The trend of lower Black validity was repeated in each domain; however, average Black-White validity differences were largest in military studies and smallest in educational and employment studies. Further investigation of the reasons for these validity differences is warranted.     

Who are the Owners of Firearms Used in Adolescent Suicides?

In this brief report, the source of firearms used in adolescent suicides was examined using data from the National Violent Injury Statistics System, the pilot to the CDC's National Violent Death Reporting System, a uniform reporting system for violent and firearm-related deaths. Data represent the 63 firearm suicides among youth (<18 yrs) that occurred in 2001 or 2002 in one of four states (CT, ME, UT, WI) or two metropolitan counties (San Francisco, CA; Allegheny County, PA). Four-fifths of the suicides took place in the decedents' homes, and--when the firearm owner was known--most of the firearms were owned by parents. Findings replicate results from previous research and highlight the importance of limiting youth access to firearms.     

Impulsive choice and altruistic punishment are correlated and increase in tandem with serotonin depletion

Human cooperation may partly depend on the presence of individuals willing to incur personal costs to punish noncooperators. The psychological factors that motivate such 'altruistic punishment' are not fully understood; some have argued that altruistic punishment is a deliberate act of norm enforcement that requires self-control, while others claim that it is an impulsive act driven primarily by emotion. In the current study, we addressed this question by examining the relationship between impulsive choice and altruistic punishment in the ultimatum game. As the neurotransmitter serotonin has been implicated in both impulsive choice and altruistic punishment, we investigated the effects of manipulating serotonin on both measures. Across individuals, impulsive choice and altruistic punishment were correlated and increased following serotonin depletion. These findings imply that altruistic punishment reflects the absence rather than the presence of self control, and suggest that impulsive choice and altruistic punishment share common neural mechanisms.     

Attitudinal ambivalence and message-based persuasion: motivated processing of proattitudinal information and avoidance of counterattitudinal information

Attitudinal ambivalence has been found to increase processing of attitude-relevant information. In this research, the authors suggest that ambivalence can also create the opposite effect: avoidance of thinking about persuasive messages. If processing is intended to reduce experienced ambivalence, then ambivalent people should increase processing of information perceived as proattitudinal (agreeable) and able to decrease ambivalence. However, ambivalence should also lead people to avoid processing of counterattitudinal (disagreeable) information that threatens to increase ambivalence. Three studies provide evidence consistent with this proposal. When participants were relatively ambivalent, they processed messages to a greater extent when the messages were proattitudinal rather than counterattitudinal. However, when participants were relatively unambivalent, they processed messages more when the messages were counterattitudinal rather than proattitudinal. In addition, ambivalent participants perceived proattitudinal messages as more likely than counterattitudinal messages to reduce ambivalence, and these perceptions accounted for message position effects on amount of processing.     

Communal Responsiveness in Relationships with Female versus Male Family Members

Two studies of college students in the US utilized a new methodological approach in which participants arranged their multiple family members (i.e. parents, siblings, aunts, and uncles) within a series of relationship network grids. These grids measured participants’ own feelings of communal responsiveness toward and perceived feelings of communal responsiveness from each family member relative to one another. The results of Study 1 (N = 86) and Study 2 (N = 111) supported the hypotheses that (1) people perceive more responsiveness from female family members than from male family members and (2) people feel more responsive toward female than toward male family members. Study 2 provided evidence that these associations were mediated by felt and perceived intimacy, dependence, and obligation, but not liking.     

The nature, prevalence and correlates of generativity among men in middle career

Multiple methods were used to explore the character, contexts, and correlates of generativity among 41 men aged 45–55. Generativity in the role of worker was unrelated to generativity in men’s roles as father, citizen and ‘leisurite’. Individuals who were generative in their work reported greater job satisfaction and subjective career success. These associations were stronger for generativity targeting societal well-being and fellow-workers’ growth than for creative/productive generativity. As some theorists have argued, therefore, nurturant forms of generativity may be more adaptive in mid/late career than other varieties, and more indicative of psychosocial maturity. The status of creativity/productivity within the generativity construct seems problematic. Our findings offer qualified support for McAdams and de St Aubin’s (McAdams, D.P., & de St Aubin, E. (1992). A theory of generativity and its assessment through self-report, behavioral acts, and narrative themes in autobiography. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 62 (6), 1003–1015) contention that generativity is expressed differentially in the domains of concern, commitment and action, and that the different relationships of these generativity domains to third variables can be interpreted in meaningful ways.