Why do you play? The development of the motives for online gaming questionnaire (MOGQ)

Although the majority of research focuses on the risks and disadvantages of online gaming, the present authors suggest that online games also represent new ways of satisfying basic human needs within the conditions of modern society. The aim of our present study was to reveal and operationalize the components of the motivational basis of online gaming. A total 3,818 persons (90.6% males; mean age 20.9 years, SD = 5.81) were recruited through websites providing online games. A combined method of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was applied. The results confirmed our preliminary model as we identified seven motivational factors (social, escape, competition, coping, skill development, fantasy, and recreation), which were used to develop the 27-item Motives for Online Gaming Questionnaire (MOGQ). The seven dimensions identified seem to cover the full range of possible motives for gaming, and the MOGQ proved to be an adequate measurement tool to assess these motives.     

The effects of distraction,performance demand,stimulus explicitness and personality on objective and subjective measures of male sexual arousal

The interaction of several parameters known to influence sexual arousal was investigated in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design. Distraction, performance demand, and the sexual explicitness of the arousing film were manipulated, with 32 male subjects randomly assigned to the experimental groups. Sexual arousal was elicited by either an explicit or nonexplicit videotape; level of performance demand was determined by one of two sets of experimental instructions: distraction, a within-subject factor, was produced by tone presentations. Arousal was assessed by both penile tumescence and a continuous subjective measure: marked individual differences were found in the degree to which these measures covaried. The results indicated a strong effect of distraction on tumescence, though none on subjectively reported arousal. Conversely. degree of film explicitness had a marked effect on subjective arousal without influencing tumescence. The performance-demand main effect was nonsignificant; however, a significant distraction x demand interaction for maximum tumescence was evident. Additional analyses indicated the predictive value of certain personality measures.     

The Genetic Testing of Children for Cancer Susceptibility: Ethical,Legal, and Social Issues

Genetic testing for cancer susceptibility raises many ethical, legal, and social concerns, particularly when testing children is considered. The complexity of defining medical and psychosocial risks and benefits of genetic predisposition testing for multifactorial disorders, like cancer, is discussed. Presumed incompetence of children and adolescents and questionable ability of many adults to understand complex genetic information raise informed consent questions. Guidelines can aid professionals but there must also be a means of evaluating individual cases. Further research is needed to determine optimal methods of educating children and adults about genetic issues and to discriminate factors which contribute to satisfaction with decision-making about genetic testing. Legal issues and practical considerations are examined involving a duty to warn family members about genetic susceptibility and to re-contact previously-tested individuals as knowledge advances. Recommendations are offered concerning roles for social scientists and legal scholars in ethical integration of genetic testing into our medical and social framework.     

Potentially Harmful Side-Effects: Medically Unexplained Symptoms, Somatization, and the Insufficient Illness Narrative for Viewers of Mystery Diagnosis

Illness narrative has often been found to play a positive role in both patients’ and providers’ efforts to find meaning in the illness experience. However, illness narrative can sometimes become counterproductive, even pathological, particularly in cases of medical mystery—cases wherein biopsychosocial factors blur the distinction between bodily dysfunction and somatizing behavior. In this article, the author draws attention to two examples of medical mystery, the clinical presentation of medically unexplained symptoms, and the popular reality television program Mystery Diagnosis, to demonstrate the potentially harmful effects of illness narrative. The medical mystery’s complex narrative structure reflects and tends to reinforce providers’ and patients’ mistaken assumptions, anxieties, and conflicts in ways which obstruct, rather than facilitate, healing.     

Practical Know‐Wh

The central and paradigmatic cases of knowledge discussed in philosophy involve the possession of truth. Is there in addition a distinct type of practical knowledge, which does not aim at the truth? This question is often approached through asking whether states attributed by “know‐how” locutions are distinct from states attributed by “know‐that”. This paper argues that the question of practical knowledge can be raised not only about some cases of “know‐how” attributions, but also about some cases of so‐called “know‐wh” attributions; and that certain features of this practical knowledge‐wh put pressure on the standard analysis of know‐wh.     

THE EFFECTS OF TARGETING IMPROVEMENTS IN URINE GLUCOSE ON METABOLIC CONTROL IN CHILDREN WITH INSULIN DEPENDENT DIABETES

A treatment program designed to increase the percentage of negative urine tests was implemented using a multiple-baseline across groups design in a sample of 19 families of children with insulin dependent diabetes. The treatment involved instructions in insulin adjustment, decrease in intake of simple sugars and saturated fats, and increase in exercise, along with teaching the parents to support improvements in children's self-regulatory behaviors using a point economy and praise. New proocedures designed to measure and reinforce adherence to the urine testing regimen were developed. Results showed significant increases in percentage of negative urines consistent with implementation of treatment across the three treatment groups, which were maintained over the follow-up period. Metabolic measures of control, including glycosylated hemoglobin and serum glucose did not show improvements even though the relationship between the percentage of negative urine tests and glycosylated hemoglobin was very high during treatment.     

A faithful embedding of parallel computations in star-finite models

The purpose of this paper is to show that there exist star-finite tree-structured sets in which the computations of parallel programs can be faithfully embedded, and that the theory of star-finite sets and relations therefore provides a new tool for the analysis of non-deterministic computations.This research was carried out while the author held a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The author also gratefully acknowledges the support of the Centre inter-universitaire en études catégoriques de Montréal.     

Observation procedure, observer gender, and behavior valence as determinants of sampling error in a behavior assessment analogue

Several factors thought to influence the representativeness of behavioral assessment data were examined in an analogue study using a multifactorial design. Systematic and unsystematic methods of observing group behavior were investigated using 18 male and 18 female observers. Additionally, valence properties of the observed behaviors were inspected. Observers' assessments of a videotape were compared to a criterion code that defined the population of behaviors. Results indicated that systematic observation procedures were more accurate than unsystematic procedures, though this factor interacted with gender of observer and valence of behavior. Additionally, males tended to sample more representatively than females. A third finding indicated that the negatively valenced behavior was overestimated, whereas the neutral and positively valenced behaviors were accurately assessed.