Effects of Metacontingencies on Cooperative Behavior: A Systematic Replication Using Innovative Procedures during Isolation

The Psychological Record - The study replicated research on metacontingencies that used a chessboard simulating a simplified chess game, in a completely online environment, with participants in...     

Defeasibility and Gettierization: A Reminder

For some of us, the defeasibility theory of knowledge remains the most plausible approach to the Gettier Problem. Epistemological fashion and faded memories notwithstanding, persuasive objections to the theory are very hard to find. The most impressive of those objections to the theory that have hitherto gone unanswered are examined and rejected here. These are objections put forward by Richard Feldman, Richard Foley, and John Turri. While these are all interesting, the objection recently put forward by Turri is, we think, by far, the most serious threat to the theory that we have seen in a long time. A successful reply to it requires a surprising amount of care, as it turns out. If tenable, Turri's objection deals a devastating blow to the theory developed by Roderick Chisholm, Keith Lehrer, Peter Klein, Marshall Swain, Risto Hilpinen, John Pollock, and Paul Moser, among others. Under scrutiny, however, the threat proves illusory. It results from inattention to a crucial, but relatively subtle, aspect of the theory. Interestingly, there is only one source in the defeasibilist literature for a precise account of this crucial feature of the theory: one of the most neglected passages in Peter Klein's work on the issue. That crucial feature is put under the spotlight here. Our response to three major objections to the defeasibility theory requires a brief introduction to the theory as an anti-Gettier weapon, an introduction aimed at countering the numbing simplicity that characterizes most introductions to the topic. Following this brief introduction, those three objections are tackled. We conclude, on that basis, that anybody who fails to notice how resilient the defeasibility theory has proven to be for the last fifty years has a seriously deficient understanding of the current state of play in the debate over the Gettier Problem.     

A place for nouns and a place for verbs? A critical review of neurocognitive data on grammatical-class effects

It is generally held that noun processing is specifically sub-served by temporal areas, while the neural underpinnings of verb processing are located in the frontal lobe. However, this view is now challenged by a significant body of evidence accumulated over the years. Moreover, the results obtained so far on the neural implementation of noun and verb processing appear to be quite inconsistent. The present review briefly describes and critically re-considers the anatomo-correlative, neuroimaging, MEG, TMS and cortical stimulation studies on nouns and verbs with the aim of assessing the consistency of their results, particularly within techniques. The paper also addresses the question as to whether the inconsistency of the data could be due to the variety of the tasks used. However, it emerged that neither the different investigation techniques used nor the different cognitive tasks employed fully explain the variability of the data. In the final section we thus suggest that the main reason for the emergence of inconsistent data in this field is that the cerebral circuits underlying noun and verb processing are not spatially segregated, at least for the spatial resolution currently used in most neuroimaging studies.     

Hallucinations and REM sleep behaviour disorder in Parkinson's disease: dream imagery intrusions and other hypotheses

REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) is a REM sleep-related parasomnia which may be considered a “dissociated state of wakefulness and sleep”, given that conflicting elements of REM sleep (dreaming) and of wakefulness (sustained muscle tone and movements) coexist during the episodes, leading to motor and behavioural manifestations reminiscent of an enacted dream. RBD has been reported in association with α-synucleinopathies: around a third of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have full-blown RBD.Recent data indicate that PD patients with RBD are more prone to hallucinations than PD patients without this parasomnia. However it is still not clear why RBD in PD is associated with an increased prevalence of VHs.Data exist which suggest that visual hallucinations in PD may be the result of untimely intrusions of REM visual imagery into wakefulness. RBD, which is characterised by a REM sleep dissociation pattern, might be a condition that particularly favours such intrusions. However, other hypotheses may be advanced. In fact, deficits in attentional, executive, visuoperceptual and visuospatial abilities have been documented in RBD and found to occur far more frequently in PD with RBD than in PD without RBD. Neuropsychological deficits involving visual perception and attentional processes are thought to play an important role in the pathophysiology of VHs. On this basis, RBD in PD could be viewed as a contributory risk factor for VHs.     

Counseling in Brazil: Past,Present, and Future

This article describes counseling in Brazil, which is rooted in career and vocational guidance. Although considered a distinct discipline, counseling falls under the umbrella of psychology. The multicultural movement is gaining momentum in Brazil, and counselors are pioneers working with socioracial minority college students. This is an emerging dimension to the professional identity. Some Brazilian universities are interested in international partnerships that could lead to the establishment of counseling as an independent profession.     

Reading Nonwords Aloud: Evidence for dynamic control in skilled readers

In two experiments, we examined whether the dynamics of the reading system are adjusted on a trial-by-trial basis, despite the use of stimuli that all require the same spelling?Csound translation routine. Subjects read aloud easy and more difficult nonwords in a predictable alternating sequence (AABB). Dynamic control was inferred via the observation of switch costs in response times and/or accuracy (A to B and B to A) for both types of items. Consistent with online control, switch costs were observed for both kinds of items. Various ways in which the reading system could adjust in response to such stimuli are considered.     

Eye movements and bisection behavior in spatial neglect syndrome: representational biases induced by the segment length and spatial dislocation of the stimulus

The present study explored behavioral and eye-movement measures in unilateral neglect patients in response to online bisection task (unfilled gap line). Two different tasks supported the bisection performance, a pointing and a grasping strategy. It was explored whether these different strategies may influence subjects' behavioral and eye-movement measures in response to different segment features: segment length (from shorter to longer) and segment spatial dislocation (from right to left spatial location). Consistent spatial biases were found for both bisection responses, fixation count, and duration, as well as for the first fixation count in case of pointing task. An "extreme-left" gradient effect was suggested and discussed, with patients' behavioral and eye measures more impaired. On the contrary, the patients' performance overlaps with the controls' one in case a grasping task. The direct link of visual pointing and grasping strategy, respectively, with the two cortical ventral and dorsal pathways was adduced to explain our results.     

Eye movements and bisection behavior in spatial neglect syndrome: representational biases induced by the segment length and spatial dislocation of the stimulus

The present study explored behavioral and eye-movement measures in unilateral neglect patients in response to online bisection task (unfilled gap line). Two different tasks supported the bisection performance, a pointing and a grasping strategy. It was explored whether these different strategies may influence subjects’ behavioral and eye-movement measures in response to different segment features: segment length (from shorter to longer) and segment spatial dislocation (from right to left spatial location). Consistent spatial biases were found for both bisection responses, fixation count, and duration, as well as for the first fixation count in case of pointing task. An “extreme-left” gradient effect was suggested and discussed, with patients’ behavioral and eye measures more impaired. On the contrary, the patients’ performance overlaps with the controls’ one in case a grasping task. The direct link of visual pointing and grasping strategy, respectively, with the two cortical ventral and dorsal pathways was adduced to explain our results.