Ethical Issues in Accounting and Economics Experimental Research: Inducing Strategic Misrepresentation

Forensic psychologists face a variety of ethical issues in conducting evaluations. One such issue is attorney presence during a forensic evaluation. In forensic evaluations, it is necessary to use standardized procedures while also attending to the rights of the individuals being assessed. This article examines the neuropsychological literature on extraneous influences in evaluations including effects of attorney presence. Then the article discusses the limited knowledge about attorney presence during forensic evaluations, addresses attorney motivations for being present during an evaluation, and considers attorney presence in the context of ethical mandates. Finally, suggestions are offered for forensic clinicians confronted with attorneys who wish to be present during assessments.     

Symmetry, Compact Closure and Dagger Compactness for Categories of Convex Operational Models

In the categorical approach to the foundations of quantum theory, one begins with a symmetric monoidal category, the objects of which represent physical systems, and the morphisms of which represent physical processes. Usually, this category is taken to be at least compact closed, and more often, dagger compact, enforcing a certain self-duality, whereby preparation processes (roughly, states) are interconvertible with processes of registration (roughly, measurement outcomes). This is in contrast to the more concrete “operational” approach, in which the states and measurement outcomes associated with a physical system are represented in terms of what we here call a convex operational model: a certain dual pair of ordered linear spaces–generally, not isomorphic to one another. On the other hand, state spaces for which there is such an isomorphism, which we term weakly self-dual, play an important role in reconstructions of various quantum-information theoretic protocols, including teleportation and ensemble steering. In this paper, we characterize compact closure of symmetric monoidal categories of convex operational models in two ways: as a statement about the existence of teleportation protocols, and as the principle that every process allowed by that theory can be realized as an instance of a remote evaluation protocol—hence, as a form of classical probabilistic conditioning. In a large class of cases, which includes both the classical and quantum cases, the relevant compact closed categories are degenerate, in the weak sense that every object is its own dual. We characterize the dagger-compactness of such a category (with respect to the natural adjoint) in terms of the existence, for each system, of a symmetric bipartite state, the associated conditioning map of which is an isomorphism.     

Children's Defensive Responses and Emotional Upset Following a Disaster: A Projective Assessment

Projective stories were used to assess the defense mechanisms of 27 preadolescent boys who were victims of a lightning strike in which one boy died. Denial, projection, and identification, in combination, were found to be inversely related to clinical upset, as was the age and sex-appropriate individual defense of projection. in addition, low-defensive boys' self-reports of fears agreed more often with their parents' reports of sleep and somatic disturbances than did high-defensive boys' self-reports. The findings provide support for the validity of the Defense Mechanism Manual (Cramer, 1982) and raise the issue of defense mechanisms as moderator variables in self-report questionnaires.     

El lugar de la interferencia en la percepción de estímulos simultáneos

RESUMEN

En una amplia variedad de tareas de detección de objetivos auditivos y visuales, la ejecución era escasamente influida por el número de no-objetivos simultáneos, pero le afectaba si los objetivos simultáneos debían ser detectados por separado. Se ha sugerido que sólo los objetivos necesitan pasar por un sistema de capacidad limitada que conduce a la conciencia; los no-objetivos pueden ser identificados y rechazados por un procesamiento paralelo e inconsciente. Puesto que las palabras no- objetivo, por ejemplo, se pueden rechazar en base al significado, el estímulo debe ser completamente analizado antes de pasar por el sistema de capacidad limitada. De modo general, la disminución en la ejecución debida a la atención dividida es acusada siempre que la estimulación simultánea (psicofísica, verbal, etc.) se deba identificar por separado, puesto que bajo estas circunstancias cualquier estimulación debe pasar por un sistema de capacidad limitada hasta la conciencia.     

The Role of Domain-Specific Knowledge in Generative Reasoning About Complicated Multileveled Phenomena

Promoting the ability to reason generatively about novel phenomena and problems students may encounter in their everyday lives is a major goal of science education. This goal proves to be a formidable challenge in domains, such as molecular genetics, for which the accumulated scientific understandings are daunting in both amount and complexity. To develop effective instruction that fosters generative reasoning we need to have a sound understanding of the types of knowledge in the domain that are critical for such reasoning. In this study I examined the ensemble of knowledge, both general and domain-specific, undergraduate students employed in reasoning about problems in genetics. I found that students initially formulate a solution in terms that are not domain specific and that serve as a frame–solution frame–that outlines and constrains a more specific and domain-appropriate explanation. This solution frame is then filled in with two powerful forms of domain-specific knowledge I term: domain-specific heuristics and domain-specific explanatory schemas. These knowledge forms embody understandings of central mechanisms and entities in molecular genetics. By invoking these domain-specific knowledge forms, students were able to reason about a variety of both familiar and novel genetics problems. I present a cognitive model that highlights the role of these powerful conceptual understandings in promoting generative reasoning in genetics.     

Validation of a new multidimensional health locus of control scale (form c) in asthma research

Abstract

This study developed and validated an Asthma Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (AMHLC) scale using 186 asthmatics aged 13 to 55 years recruited from 46 pharmacies in the Hunter Valley, Australia. The construct validity and internal consistency of the scale were demonstrated using principal components factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha respectively. Although correlations were modest, findings indicate that asthmatics with higher “Powerful Others” locus of control perceived they had a better quality of doctor-patient relationship; the opposite was found for those with higher “Chance” scores. Powerful Others orientation was also associated with expectations and valuation of services doctors' provide. Knowledge of asthma was not related in the expected direction with the new scale, nor were clinical indices of asthma severity. Younger asthmatics had higher Chance scores while older asthmatics tended toward higher Powerful Others orientation. Overall, the AMHLC instrument achieved suitable measurement properties to allow further investigation of health care behavior in people with asthma.     

Exercise environment,self-efficacy,and affective responses to acute exercise in older adults

Abstract

Increasing evidence suggests that regular physical activity can have considerable psychological, as well as physical, benefits in the elderly. Although factors such as exercise dosage may be implicated in exercise-induced affect responses, it has also been suggested that social and psychological factors might influence this relationship. This study examined the roles played by exercise environment (group versus alone) and self-efficacy in affective change in 80 older adults (M age = 66 yrs) over the course of three acute exercise bouts. Using latent growth curve methodology and statistically controlling for duration and intensity of exercise, we were able to demonstrate that social (group) environments resulted in statistically significant improvements in feeling state responses when contrasted with a condition in which the participants exercised alone. In addition, increases in self-efficacy were associated with more positive and less negative feeling states. Environmental factors that might influence the exercise-affect response are discussed and recommendations for subsequent exercise, efficacy, affect research made.     

Extending Autonomy for Health Care Preferences in Late Life

Mechanisms for extending autonomy in financial and health care decisions (e.g., advanced directives) are being utilized more frequently. This study examined the hierarchy of documents completed, the characteristics of people completing these documents, the choice of surrogate decision-maker for health care decisions, and with whom health care decisions were being discussed in a sample of 661 persons 65 years of age and older. Comparison between people with and without documents in place suggested that cognitive impairment, level of education, and age were related to preparation of documents. Women were typically chosen as surrogate decision-makers, except in a sample of unmarried men. Surprisingly, participants reported discussing preferences for health care decisions with someone other than their preferred surrogate. There appears to be a need to promote discussion of health care preferences between care-receivers and preferred surrogates.     

Authoritarianism and Political Impoverishment: Deficits in Knowledge and Civic Disinterest

Past research shows that authoritarian individuals hold strong opinions about a variety of political and social issues, such as race relations and military conflict. What has not been established, though, is the amount of general political knowledge that authoritarians possess. In this study, three groups of college students were administered Altemeyer's Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) scale; most of them also received items assessing general political knowledge and specific knowledge about the 2000 presidential election, as well as items assessing interest in politics. Relative to students with low RWA scores, those with high scores possessed less political knowledge; moreover, they expressed less interest in learning about politics. In general, authoritarianism was unrelated to how individuals got their political information or how credible they found their sources. The implication that authoritarians hold strong attitudinal beliefs with weak political knowledge is discussed.