(Non)Complementary updating of belief in two hypotheses

Past research has led to the conclusion that two competing hypotheses are represented dependently, and confidence in them is updated in a complementary manner. It is argued here that confidence in two hypotheses can be represented either dependently or independently. Changes in confidence in the former case are always complementary, but changes in the latter case are complementary only under certain conditions. In three simulated medical diagnosis experiments, subjects learned about two illnesses in a manner expected to lead to either dependent or independent confidence. They were then presented with two symptoms sequentially (for each of several patients), updating confidence after each. Experiment 1 demonstrated that changes in confidence in the two illnesses were largely complementary for subjects with dependent, but not independent, confidence. Experiment 2 showed that encouraging consideration of the alternative led to more complementary changes for subjects with independent confidence. Experiment 3 succeeded in producing complementary changes from these subjects. Thus, complementarity does not imply dependent confidence, nor does independent confidence imply non-complementarity.     

Perceiving the sweet spot

Many sports involve aligning a hitting implement with a ball trajectory such that contact is made at the implement's center of percussion or 'sweet spot'. This spot is not visibly distinct; its perception must be haptic. Although it is functionally defined with respect to contact--it is the point of impact that produces the least vibration in the hand holding the implement--hitting success requires appreciating the location of the sweet spot prior to contact. Two experiments verified that perceivers (novices as well as expert tennis players) distinguished perception of length from perception of the position of the sweet spot simply on the basis of wielding, both for tennis rackets and for bats contrived from wooden rods with attached masses. Results conformed to previous research on dynamic touch in showing that perceiving the lengths of wielded objects, including selectively perceiving partial lengths, is constrained by inertial properties of the object.     

The attentional demands of encoding and retrieval in younger and older adults: 2. Evidence from secondary task reaction time distributions

Three studies examined the effects of encoding or retrieval on properties of secondary task reaction time (RT) distributions in younger and older adults. Relative to full attention conditions, encoding and retrieval increased secondary task RT medians and standard deviations more for older adults than for younger adults, and the age-related RT increase was most pronounced among the slowest RTs. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed two age-related mechanisms underlying these effects, which were interpreted as cognitive slowing and reductions in attentional resources. Cognitive slowing affects the entire RT distribution regardless of the memory task. By contrast, reduced attentional resources result in very long RTs, especially when the tasks require self-initiated encoding or retrieval operations.     

On the rationality of positive mysterianism

In Paradox in Christian Theology (2007) I argued that the Christian doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation are paradoxical—that is, they appear to involve implicit contradictions—yet Christians can still be rational in affirming and believing those doctrines. Dale Tuggy has characterized my theory of theological paradox as a form of “positive mysterianism” and argues that the theory “faces steep epistemic problems, and is at best a temporarily reasonable but ultimately unsustainable stance.” After summarizing my proposed model for the rational affirmation of theological paradox and considering whether my proposal is indeed a form of “positive mysterianism” as Tuggy defines the term, I address the two main criticisms raised in Tuggy’s paper: first, that the doctrine of divine incomprehensibility cannot bear the weight required by my defense of paradox; and second, that my proposed model is afflicted with epistemic instability. I conclude that Tuggy has failed to show that a mysterian stance with respect to paradoxical Christian doctrines is in principle unreasonable, unnatural, or unsustainable.     

The Bromance: Undergraduate Male Friendships and the Expansion of Contemporary Homosocial Boundaries

The present study provides the first known qualitative examination of heterosexual undergraduate men’s conceptualization and experiences of the bromance, outside research on cinematic representations. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 30 undergraduate men enrolled in one of four undergraduate sport-degree programs at one university in the United Kingdom, we find these heterosexual men to be less reliant on traditional homosocial boundaries, which have previously limited male same-sex friendships. Contrary to the repressive homosociality of the 1980s and 1990s, these men embrace a significantly more inclusive, tactile, and emotionally diverse approach to their homosocial relationships. All participants provided comparable definitions of what a bromance is and how it operates, all had at least one bromantic friend, and all suggested that bromances had more to offer than a standard friendship. Participants described a bromance as being more emotionally intimate, physically demonstrative, and based upon unrivalled trust and cohesion compared to their other friendships. Participants used their experiences with romances and familial relations as a reference point for considering the conditions of a bromance. Results support the view that declining homophobia and its internalization has had significantly positive implications for male expression and intimacy. Conclusions are made about the bromance’s potential to improve men’s mental health and social well-being because participants indicate these relationships provide a space for emotional disclosure and the discussion of potentially traumatic and sensitive issues.     

Subtypes of severe psychological distress among US Air Force remote warriors: A latent class analysis

US Air Force remote warrior personnel include a range of military personnel composed of remotely piloted aircraft aircrew, intelligence operators, and cyber warfare operators. Job duties in these professions entail long work hours, rotating shifts, and regular engagement in combat operations. Although research has identified a number of factors correlated with elevated burnout and emotional distress in this population, little is known about the unique needs of discrete subgroups of distressed personnel. In a sample of 7,550 US Air Force remote warriors, results of latent class analysis yielded four distinct classes. Three of the four reported moderately elevated burnout and job dissatisfaction but differed with respect to demographics and development career stage. The fourth group reported significantly higher levels of emotional distress, burnout, job dissatisfaction, and problems in living. This latter group was comparable to the mid-career group with respect to demographics, although this group had much lower levels of responsibility and indicators of career advancement. Results suggest that, among remote warrior personnel, there are several subtypes of elevated emotional distress. Prevention and intervention strategies that are matched to each subtype may yield better occupational and mental health outcomes than universal, “one size fits all” strategies.     

Who Reads Outcome Research?

To explore patterns of outcome research consumption, we conducted a national survey of 313 family therapists currently practicing in the United States. Participants were asked about their reading practices, as well as about attitudes toward and barriers to reading marriage/couple and family therapy (M/CFT) outcome research. Results suggest that most therapists perceive outcome research as at least somewhat important. However, they spend relatively little time reading it: The average is 1.7?h per month. Therapist-identified barriers to reading outcome research articles include access, applicability, quality of writing, and quality of research. Recommendations for addressing some of these barriers are offered.     

Apathy in frontotemporal dementia: behavioral and neuroimaging correlates

We investigated the occurrence of goal-directed motivational change in the form of apathy in patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), particularly those with behavioral variant social and executive deficits (bvFTD). Standardized behavioral inventory was employed to survey and compare apathy ratings from patients and caregivers. In cases of bvFTD, apathy ratings were further related to measures of social cognition, executive function, and atrophy on brain MRI. Results indicated that caregivers rated bvFTD patients as having significantly elevated apathy scores though patient self-ratings were normal. Caregiver and self-ratings of FTD samples with progressive nonfluent aphasia and semantic dementia did not differ from healthy controls and their informants. In the bvFTD sample, caregiver apathy scores were not correlated with general cognitive screening or depression scores, but were significantly correlated with social cognition and executive function measures. Voxel-based morphometry revealed that apathy ratings in bvFTD were related to prominent atrophy in the right caudate (including the ventral striatum), the right temporo-parietal junction, right posterior inferior and middle temporal gyri, and left frontal operculum- anterior insula region. Findings suggest that bvFTD is associated with a significant breakdown in goal-directed motivated behavior involving disruption of cortical-basal ganglia circuits that is also related to social and executive function deficits.