Wittgenstein's Philosophical Grammar: A Neglected Discussion of Vagueness

In this paper I explore a neglected discussion of vagueness put forward by Wittgenstein in his Philosophical Grammar (1932–34). In this work, unlike Philosophical Investigations (1953), Wittgenstein not only discusses the venerable Sorites paradox but provides a novel conception of vagueness using an analogy with coin tossing and converging intervals. As he sees it, the problematic picture of vagueness arises because we conflate aspects of the functioning of vague concepts with those of non‐vague ones. Thus, while we accept that vague concepts have no sharp cut‐off points (are boundaryless), we nevertheless retain the idea that we can progress towards the penumbra the way we progress towards the cut‐off points of non‐vague concepts. As a potential remedy, Wittgenstein's analogy with coin tossing and converging intervals replaces this picture and provides an understanding of the functioning of vague concepts in which no notion of a progression arises.     

Perceived Physical Attractiveness, Sexual History, and Sexual Intentions: An Internet Study

This study was designed to examine the influence a potential date’s physical attractiveness and sexual history has on an individual’s intentions to engage in safer sex. Over 1,200 participants completed an Internet survey. The questionnaire presented a randomized biography and photograph and asked participants to rate their interest in dating and having a sexual relationship with the target. Participants were randomly assigned to one of six conditions based on the target’s physical attractiveness (low vs. high) and sexual experience (low, medium, or high). Results indicated that men reported greater intentions to have sex than women did, and all participants reported greater likelihood of having sex when the potential partner was highly attractive. Participants rated men and more experienced targets as more risky sexual partners, and the level of a target’s sexual experience was directly related to participants’ willingness to discuss sexual risks. Results indicate a continuing need to include discussion of cognitive factors in all HIV prevention efforts.     

Locomotor analysis of the taiep rat

Locomotor activity (tremor, ataxia, immobility, epilepsy, and paralysis) in the taiep rat, which suffers from a myelin deficient disorder, has not been previously documented. This study used walking track analysis of footprints to analyze locomotor activity in the taiep rat in comparison to normal, age-matched controls. The results confirmed differences between normal and taiep rats in terms of stride length, step length, and stride width. In addition, we found significant interactions between age and condition for stride and step length. The results suggest that locomotor analysis is a sensitive indicator of myelin deficiency. The results are discussed in terms of the underlying myelin deficiency and possible treatment regimens.     

“Put Yourself in Their Shoes”: Testing Empathy's Ability to Motivate Cosmopolitan Behavior

Political theorists have long contemplated the concept of cosmopolitanism, yet almost no empirical studies have investigated how individuals can be encouraged to act as ethical cosmopolitans in practice. This article reports the findings of an experiment designed to investigate the effect of empathy on cosmopolitan‐helping behavior. The extent to which empathy may be useful in motivating cosmopolitan behavior has been the subject of substantial debate among political theorists. Empathy was manipulated using a perspective‐taking technique adapted from social psychological research, and the extent to which individuals were willing to engage in cosmopolitan helping was measured. Results showed that perspective taking increased cosmopolitan helping and that empathy mediated that effect. Furthermore, empathy was found to predict cosmopolitan helping even after controlling for several related constructs. Overall, results indicate that increasing empathy by encouraging people to take the perspective of distant individuals is a promising way to foster cosmopolitan helping.     

The effect of signal probability on the slope of the receiver operating characteristic given by the rating procedure

Signal detection theory (SDT) requires that the slope of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) is independent of the probability of signal and noise. But it has been shown that when the rating procedure is applied to detection, the slope of the receiver operating characteristic may increase as a function of the probability of the signal (Schulman & Greenberg, 1970). This presents a serious problem for signal detection theory. This problem is examined in relation to a recent theory of criterion setting (Treisman & Williams, 1984), and an explanation for the effect of signal probability on ROC slope is derived which is compatible with SDT. Further data on the relation between signal probability and ROC slope are reported.     

Children and Adolescents of Cancer Patients: The Impact of Cancer on the Family

In this article, extant literature was reviewed to examine the impact of parental cancer on the family. Many researchers and scholars have hypothesized that parental illnesses, like cancer, can affect all levels of the family system. However, most psychosocial research to date has focused on how cancer affects the patient and the couple. Consequently, little is known about how parental cancer affects the psychosocial development of children and adolescents. Therefore, research is needed to explore how children and adolescents are negatively impacted or protected from the effects of living with a parent who has cancer. More specifically, longitudinal studies that examine the mechanisms by which the cancer affects children's and adolescents' functioning can help physicians and family therapists clinically intervene in more efficacious ways.     

The Effect of Therapist–Client Racial Similarity on Client Satisfaction and Therapist Evaluation of Treatment

Client satisfaction with therapy services and therapists' perspectives of treatment evaluation were examined in relation to therapist and client racial similarity. Secondary data from a university marriage and family therapy clinic located in the southeast was used to pair therapists and clients on racial similarity or difference. Statistical analyses revealed no major differences in clients' perceptions of satisfaction based on similarity to therapists' race. Therapists indicated some differences in their perceptions of the success of services provided to clients based on similarity to client's race. Implications for researchers, clinicians, and educators are included.     

Poor reading comprehension despite fast word decoding in children with hydrocephalus

Children with hydrocephalus decode words better than they understand what they read. We tested whether children with hydrocephalus (from myelomeningocele or aqueduct stenosis) (1) decode words slowly, (2) use decoding processes similar to those of neurologically intact peers, and (3) comprehend poorly to the extent that they are slow decoders. We compared speed of word decoding in 33 children with hydrocephalus and 33 controls matched on a pairwise basis for age, grade, and word decoding accuracy. The children with hydrocephalus were as fast as controls in reading words, but, unlike controls, they did not demonstrate an effect of spelling-sound regularity. Further, decoding speed did not contribute to reading comprehension beyond word decoding accuracy. The reading comprehension deficits of good decoders with hydrocephalus are not related to early-stage processing deficits in word recognition speed. Likely origins of comprehension failure in this group are discussed.     

The disease concept of alcoholism: The persistence of an outmoded scientific paradigm

This paper discusses the reasons for the persistence of the disease model of alcoholism in the face of increasing evidence contradicting its basic assumptions. Data from in‐depth interviews with former problem drinkers are used to illustrate the ways in which the disease model: 1) shapes the empirical reality from which data for its support are derived, 2) implies methodological strategies which limit the possibility of its refutation and 3) blinds its supporters to the meaning of anomalous data. Implications for the immediate future of the disease model are discussed.