Qualitatively distinct factors contribute to elevated rates of paranoia in autism and schizophrenia

A converging body of clinical and empirical reports indicates that autism features elevated rates of paranoia comparable to those of individuals with paranoid schizophrenia. However, the distinct developmental courses and symptom manifestations of these two disorders suggest that the nature of paranoid ideation may differ between them in important and meaningful ways. To evaluate this hypothesis, we compared patterns of responses on the Paranoia Scale between actively paranoid individuals with schizophrenia (SCZP), individuals with schizophrenia who were not actively paranoid (SCZNP), adults with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and healthy controls. Despite an overall similar level of heightened paranoia in the ASD and SCZP groups, discriminant correspondence analysis (DiCA) revealed that these groups were characterized by unique underlying factors. Paranoia in the SCZP group was defined by a factor based upon victimization, suspicion, and threat of harm. Whereas paranoia in the ASD group was partially characterized by this factor, it was distinguished from SCZP by an additional pattern of responses reflective of increased social cynicism. These findings indicate that paranoia in ASD is supported by qualitative factors distinct from schizophrenia and highlight mechanistic differences in the formation of paranoid ideation that may inform the development of disorder-specific treatments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Understanding seat-belt use: A test of Bentler and Speckart's extension of the ‘theory of reasoned action’

It is shown that Fishbein's ‘theory of reasoned action’ can be used to explain people's intentions to wear seat belts. As Bentler and Speckart (1979) have proposed, a self-report measure of past behaviour is shown to significantly improve the model's power; this extended Fishbein model being capable of accounting for the majority of the effects that extraneous variables, which are known to influence seat-belt use, have upon a person's behavioural intentions. In addition, it is shown that the model's motivation to comply term is, as Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) have proposed, a unipolar rather than a bi-polar construct, but that even when this construct is scored as unipolar, it does not significantly add to the model's predictive power.     

A microcomputer interface for applications requiring large numbers of subjects

While most small microcomputers are powerful enough to control intricate experiments, a major limitation of many is their limited I/O capability. An interface for the KIM-1 or similar small microcomputer is described that provides for up to 128 or more inputs. The basic components of the interface are a series of shift registers through which the incoming data are manipulated and read by the microcomputer. Provisions are also made to latch the incoming data, allowing detection of very high rates of or even simultaneous data input. The interface is modular in design and can be expanded by increments of eight inputs. Use of the system to monitor a large number of running wheels is discussed.     

A Back-Turning Harmony: Conflict as a Source of Political Community

It is widely assumed that community presupposes consensus on the good. As a result, liberals who acknowledge the permanence of pluralism have struggled to explain how a liberal society could realise the good of community. Here it is argued that our initial assumption is wrong. Conflict can serve as a source of political community. Our devotion to the things we care about provides us with reason to embark on a quest aimed at the elimination of conflict. The quest will require us to engage in the cooperative activity of dialogue with our moral adversaries. It is in this activity of dialogue, and not at the quests end, that political community can be located.     

Engaging the aging workforce: the relationship between perceived age similarity, satisfaction with coworkers, and employee engagement

Business publications and the popular press have stressed the importance of creating conditions for meaningful employee expression in work roles, also known as engagement. Few empirical studies, however, have examined how individual or situational factors relate to engagement. Consequently, this study examines the interplay between employee age, perceived coworker age composition, and satisfaction with older (older than 55) and younger (younger than 40) coworkers on engagement using a sample of 901 individuals employed in the United Kingdom. Results indicated that satisfaction with one's coworkers related significantly to engagement. Moreover, perceived age similarity was associated with higher levels of engagement among older workers when they were highly satisfied with their coworkers over 55 and lower levels of engagement when they were not.     

The effects of message recipients' power before and after persuasion: a self-validation analysis

In the present research, the authors examined the effect of a message recipient's power on attitude change and introduced a new mechanism by which power can affect social judgment. In line with prior research that suggested a link between power and approach tendencies, the authors hypothesized that having power increases confidence relative to being powerless. After demonstrating this link in Experiment 1, in 4 additional studies, they examined the role of power in persuasion as a function of when power is infused into the persuasion process. On the basis of the idea that power validates whatever mental content is accessible, they hypothesized that power would have different effects on persuasion depending on when power was induced. Specifically, the authors predicted that making people feel powerful prior to a message would validate their existing views and thus reduce the perceived need to attend to subsequent information. However, it was hypothesized that inducing power after a message has been processed would validate one's recently generated thoughts and thus influence the extent to which people rely upon their thoughts in determining their attitudes.     

Interactionism for the discerning mind?

Philosophical Studies - Jaegwon Kim has developed an argument that interactionist dualists cannot account for the causal relations between minds and brains. This paper develops a closely related...     

I—Derek Matravers

ABSTRACT Jerrold Levinson maintains that he is a realist about aesthetic properties. This paper considers his positive arguments for such a view. An argument from Roger Scruton, that aesthetic realism would entail the absurd claim that many aesthetic predicates were ambiguous, is also considered and it is argued that Levinson is in no worse position with respect to this argument than anyone else. However, Levinson cannot account for the phenomenon of aesthetic autonomy: namely, that we cannot be put in a position to make an aesthetic judgement by testimony alone. Finally, Levinson's views on the ontology of aesthetic properties are considered and found wanting.