Supererogation in Deontic Logic: Metatheory for DWE and Some Close Neighbours

In "Doing Well Enough: Toward a Logic for Common Sense Morality", Paul McNamara sets out a semantics for a deontic logic which contains the operator It is supererogatory that. As well as having a binary accessibility relation on worlds, that semantics contains a relative ordering relation, . For worlds u, v and w, we say that u w v when v is at least as good as u according to the standards of w. In this paper we axiomatize logics complete over three versions of the semantics. We call the strongest of these logics DWE for Doing Well Enough.     

Evidence for recovery of fear following immediate extinction in rats and humans

Fear responses can be eliminated through extinction, a procedure involving the presentation of fear-eliciting stimuli without aversive outcomes. Extinction is believed to be mediated by new inhibitory learning that acts to suppress fear expression without erasing the original memory trace. This hypothesis is supported mainly by behavioral data demonstrating that fear can recover following extinction. However, a recent report by Myers and coworkers suggests that extinction conducted immediately after fear learning may erase or prevent the consolidation of the fear memory trace. Since extinction is a major component of nearly all behavioral therapies for human fear disorders, this finding supports the notion that therapeutic intervention beginning very soon after a traumatic event will be more efficacious. Given the importance of this issue, and the controversy regarding immediate versus delayed therapeutic interventions, we examined two fear recovery phenomena in both rats and humans: spontaneous recovery (SR) and reinstatement. We found evidence for SR and reinstatement in both rats and humans even when extinction was conducted immediately after fear learning. Thus, our data do not support the hypothesis that immediate extinction erases the original memory trace, nor do they suggest that a close temporal proximity of therapeutic intervention to the traumatic event might be advantageous.     

Core self-evaluations and job and life satisfaction: the role of self-concordance and goal attainment

The present study tested a model explaining how the core self-evaluations (i.e., positive self-regard) concept is linked to job and life satisfaction. The self-concordance model, which focuses on motives underlying goal pursuit, was used as an explanatory framework. Data were collected from 2 samples: (a) 183 university students (longitudinal measures of goal attainment and life satisfaction were used) and (b) 251 employees (longitudinal measures of goal attainment and job satisfaction were utilized). In both studies, the core self-evaluations concept was positively related to goal self-concordance, meaning that individuals with positive self-regard were more likely to pursue goals for intrinsic and identified (value-congruent) reasons. Furthermore, in both studies, goal self-concordance was related to satisfaction (job satisfaction in Study 1 and life satisfaction in Study 2).     

“Four-Valued” Semantics for the Relevant Logic R

This paper sets out two semantics for the relevant logic R based on Dunn's four-valued semantics for first-degree entailments. Unlike Routley's semantics for weak relevant logics, they do not use two ternary accessibility relations. Unlike Restall's semantics, they capture all of R. But there is a catch. Both of the present semantics are neighbourhood semantics, that is, they include sets of propositions in the specification of their frames.     

A Comparison of Rorschach Records of Three Multiple Personalities

Inter- and intra-protocol comparisons among the Rorschachs of three authenticated cases of multiple personality were presented. The original or primary personalities seemed reasonably complex but, as successive personalities emerged, a definite tendency toward simplification was noted. A theoretical explanation for this phenomenon was advanced.     

Core self-evaluations as causes of satisfaction: The mediating role of seeking task complexity

This study examined the mediating role of task complexity in the relationship between core self-evaluations (CSE) and satisfaction. In Study 1, eighty three undergraduate business students worked on a strategic decision-making simulation. The simulated environment enabled us to verify the temporal sequence of variables, use an objective measure of task complexity, and control confounding factors. In Study 2, we surveyed 108 full-time employees. In addition to verifying the temporal sequencing of variables in Study 1, both studies demonstrate that people with higher CSE actually choose/seek higher levels of complexity on their tasks, which directly or indirectly increases their task/work satisfaction.     

A first examination of the relationships between primed subconscious goals, assigned conscious goals, and task performance

The authors conducted 2 studies of subconscious goal motivation. First, the authors ran a pilot study to establish the effects of priming of subconscious goals on a performance task frequently used in goal setting research. Second, the authors conducted the main study in which the authors examined the effects of both priming of subconscious goals and assigned conscious goals on the same performance task. The authors found significant main effects of both manipulations and a significant interaction between subconscious and conscious goals. The effects of conscious difficult and do-best goals were enhanced by subconscious goals, although conscious easy goals were not affected. All effects from the main study still held after 1 day.     

Brief report: Teaching persons with moderate mental retardation to use printed instructions and time cues in a work context

Printed instructions and programable watches were used for helping two adults with moderate mental retardation perform variable tasks and follow a time schedule for task execution. The subjects, who could not read, were to match the words appearing in instruction notes to identical words superimposed on illustrative pictures (and collected in a vocabulary form). The pictures identified through this matching explained the meaning of the words being matched (i.e., indicated to the subjects which responses/tasks to perform). Self-recording was also used. The results showed that both subjects learned to use the printed instructions and the watches successfully. The subjects' performance remained positive over time. Procedural aspects and practical implications of the study are discussed.