Mixing virtue and vice: combining the immediacy effect and the diversification heuristic

Many of the most significant choices that people make are between vices, which exchange small immediate rewards for large delayed costs, and virtues, which exchange small immediate costs for large delayed rewards. We investigate the consequences of making a series of such choices either simultaneously or sequentially. We made two predictions. First, because many alternatives chosen under simultaneous choice will only be experienced following a delay, and because hyperbolic time discounting predicts that people will prefer delayed virtues but immediate vices, we predicted that people would choose more virtues in simultaneous than sequential choice. Second, due to the tendency to diversify portfolios of choices, we predicted a greater mix of virtues and vices in simultaneous than sequential choice. These predictions were confirmed in two experiments involving real choices; one between ‘highbrow’ and ‘lowbrow’ movies, and the other between ‘instant‐win’ and ‘prize‐draw’ lottery tickets. We conclude by posing the question of whether simultaneous or sequential choice results in decisions that more closely approximate what people ‘really’ want. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Treatment of chronic food refusal in a young developmentally disabled child

Chronic food refusal is a common problem among young children with developmental disabilities. Children with chronic food refusal may require supplemental tube feedings or parental feedings. A multicomponent treatment package consisting of escape–avoidance extinction, shaping and positive reinforcement was effective in establishing a normal oral feeding pattern with a 1.5 years old developmentally disabled child who was fed by gastrostomic tube. Treatment effects generalized to the home setting and were maintained during follow‐up. After treatment, tube‐feeding was discontinued. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Special perspective: An immodest proposal: should treating mental health professionals be barred from testifying about their patients?

Notwithstanding ethical rules that address therapeutic and forensic role conflicts for psychologists and psychiatrists, overzealous patient advocacy by therapists, tightened reimbursement for therapy, and a growth market for forensic psychology and psychiatry, have led many therapists to appear willingly as forensic experts on behalf of their patients. Existing ethical rules, as well as other proposed approaches to address this problem, assume that it can be resolved by modest changes in existing practice that permit therapists to testify as long as their testimony avoids psycholegal opinions. This essay questions whether these modest changes can adequately address this problem and advances consideration of a more radical proposal to address this problem, prohibiting therapists from testifying about their patients. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On Stage with Gunk

A structure is temporally gunky just in case all of its temporal parts have proper temporal parts. Joshua Stuchlik [2003] objects to the stage theory of persistence from temporal gunk by arguing that the former requires instantaneous entities while the latter precludes them. It is argued here that stage theory can accommodate temporal gunk by invoking short-lived persisting stages. However, a new and more serious problem for stage theory is not far to seek. The short-lived stages that are needed to accommodate gunk accord with stage theory only if they are appropriately qualitatively static. The problem is that, unless stage theory abandons much of its dialectical force, some of the required stages fail this condition. Thus, Stuchlik is right that gunk shows a large class of worlds not to be stages, but wrong about which worlds these are.     

A caveat on the Savage–Dickey density ratio: The case of computing Bayes factors for regression parameters

The Savage–Dickey density ratio is a simple method for computing the Bayes factor for an equality constraint on one or more parameters of a statistical model. In regression analysis, this includes the important scenario of testing whether one or more of the covariates have an effect on the dependent variable. However, the Savage–Dickey ratio only provides the correct Bayes factor if the prior distribution of the nuisance parameters under the nested model is identical to the conditional prior under the full model given the equality constraint. This condition is violated for multiple regression models with a Jeffreys–Zellner–Siow prior, which is often used as a default prior in psychology. Besides linear regression models, the limitation of the Savage–Dickey ratio is especially relevant when analytical solutions for the Bayes factor are not available. This is the case for generalized linear models, non-linear models, or cognitive process models with regression extensions. As a remedy, the correct Bayes factor can be computed using a generalized version of the Savage–Dickey density ratio.     

Using multidimensional item response theory to evaluate how response styles impact measurement

Multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) models for response style (e.g., Bolt, Lu, & Kim, 2014, Psychological Methods, 19, 528; Falk & Cai, 2016, Psychological Methods, 21, 328) provide flexibility in accommodating various response styles, but often present difficulty in isolating the effects of response style(s) from the intended substantive trait(s). In the presence of such measurement limitations, we consider several ways in which MIRT models are nevertheless useful in lending insight into how response styles may interfere with measurement for a given test instrument. Such a study can also inform whether alternative design considerations (e.g., anchoring vignettes, self-report items of heterogeneous content) that seek to control for response style effects may be helpful. We illustrate several aspects of an MIRT approach using real and simulated analyses.     

Everything is under control: Buber’s critique of Heidegger’s magic

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion - As part of a religiously-oriented analysis, Martin Buber associates Martin Heidegger’s later philosophy with magic. The present article is...     

Mission and People with Disabilities

This article begins with a few thoughts and some historical and canonical encounters about how lay and ordained people with disabilities have been involved in Orthodox mission work in the past. It then presents two concrete contemporary situations in which people with disabilities are involved in Orthodox ordained ministry work despite the persisting tradition that disabled people not be ordained. The first example is taken from the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, where the involvement of people with disabilities in both ordained and lay ministry provides significant support for a church that lives in a delicate situation. The second example is taken from the Romanian Orthodox Church and presents the case of Father Theophilus P?r?ian, one of the most prominent contemporary Romanian Orthodox monastic figures, who served as an ordained priest despite his disability. This article pleads for a deeper involvement of disabled people in both ordained and lay ministry in Orthodox churches.     

Effect of Concurrent Visual Feedback Frequency on Postural Control Learning in Adolescents

The purpose was to find better augmented visual feedback frequency (100% or 67%) for learning a balance task in adolescents. Thirty subjects were divided randomly into a control group, and 100% and 67% feedback groups. The three groups performed pretest (3 trials), practice (12 trials), posttest (3 trials) and retention (3 trials, 24 hours later). The reduced feedback group showed lower RMS in the posttest than in the pretest (p = 0.04). The control and reduced feedback groups showed significant lower median frequency in the posttest than in the pretest (p < 0.05). Both feedback groups showed lower values in retention than in the pretest (p < 0.05). Even when the effect of feedback frequency could not be detected in motor learning, 67% of the feedback was recommended for motor adaptation.