Wallace’s and Darwin’s natural selection theories

Synthese - This work takes a stand on whether Wallace should be regarded as co-author of the theory of natural selection alongside Darwin as he is usually considered on behalf of his alleged...     

Measuring the core features of personality disorders in substance abusers using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI)

Personality disorders (PDs) are still classified through categorical taxonomies that are at odds with current research findings. Dimensional models provide a suitable alternative for measuring individual differences. However, as they have traditionally lacked a clear definition of the "disorder" construct, the clinical utility of these models has been limited. This study tests whether Cloninger's dimensional model is able to capture two domains: the features that differentiate PD subtypes from each other and the common core features underlying all PDs. Seventy-four drug dependent patients were independently assessed using the SCID-II and Cloninger's TCI. There was a slight relationship between TCI temperament dimensions and the DSM personality disorder subtypes, but the association was not specific enough to allow differential diagnosis. The character dimension Self-Directedness was strongly associated with the presence and severity of all PDs, irrespective of subtype, correctly classifying 77% of subjects. Character dimensions are a reliable, valid and low-cost tool for detecting PDs in drug abusers and may help to provide an operational definition of the common core features underlying all PDs.     

Development of memory structures for homographs using pathfinder network representations

Some studies with children have shown that there is no semantic priming at short stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) in lexical decision and naming tasks for homographs. The predictions of spreading activation theories might explain this missing effect. There may be differences in children's and adults' memory structures. We have explored this hypothesis. The development of memory structure representations for homographs was measured by a Pathfinder algorithm. In Experiment 1, the three dependent variables were: the number of links in the network, closeness measures (C), and distances between nodes. Results revealed developmental differences in network structure representations in adults and children. In Experiment 2, results revealed that these differences were not due to the cohort effect. In Experiment 3, the relationship between associative strength, as measured by associative norms, and distances, as measured by Pathfinder algorithm, was explored. The results of these three experiments and empirical research from semantic priming experiments show that these differences in memory structure representations could be one of the sources of the missing semantic priming effect in children.     

Normative data and naming times for action pictures

The present article provides Spanish norms for name agreement, printed word frequency, word compound frequency, familiarity, imageability, visual complexity, age of acquisition, and word length (measured by syllables and phonemes) for 100 line drawings of actions taken from Druks and Masterson (2000). In addition, through a naming-time experiment carried out with a group of 54 Spanish students in a pool of 63 of these line drawings, we determined the best predictors of naming actions. In the multiple regression analysis, age of acquisition and name agreement emerged as the most important determinants of action-naming reaction time.     

Human rights and ethnic attitudes in Spain: The role of cognitive, social status, and individual difference factors

Cognitive, individual differences, and intergroup contact factors were examined in the formation of attitudes about human rights and ethnic bias in two studies conducted in Spain. A 7‐item scale measuring knowledge about human rights laws in Spain and the European Union was used in both studies. Participants were university students enrolled at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. In study one, participant (n = 127) knowledge about human rights laws, intergroup contact, Right Wing Authoritarianism (RWA), and Gough's Prejudice/Tolerance (Pr/To) scale were examined in relationship to bias towards Gitanos. Findings revealed that knowledge about human rights and social status variables (gender and age) were not significant predictors of Gitano bias, whereas Pr/To, RWA, and contact were all (R² = .28) significant predictors of bias against Gitanos. Findings provided cross‐cultural replication (Dunbar & Simonova, in press) of the relationship of Pr/To and RWA to Gitano bias. In study two, participant (n = 100) knowledge and feelings (measured on a three‐item semantic differential scale) about human rights laws, Pr/To, and RWA were examined in relation to strategies influencing peer attitudes about human rights on the Raven Social Influence Inventory (RSII) scale. Findings indicated that knowledge about human rights laws were correlated (r = .47, p < .001) with positive feelings about these laws. Results of a hierarchical regression analysis, controlling for knowledge about human rights laws and participants' social status, found that the Prejudice/Tolerance scale and feelings about human rights were related with both hard (R² = .11) and soft (R² = .08) social influence strategies influencing peer human rights attitudes on the RSII. Men and higher‐scoring participants on Pr/To both employed more hard social influence strategies. Findings indicate that while knowledge of human rights laws is unrelated to ethnic bias, more accurate knowledge is correlated to more positive feelings about laws meant to protect the rights of ethnic minorities.     

On the connection between physical defects and the character type of the "exception"

A clinical and theoretical study is presented of the effects of physical defects on character structure, especially on its narcissistic aspects. The basic thesis of this paper is that there are two differentiable responses to awareness of a physical disability: various forms of denial, and a clinging to narcissistic overgratifications as a compensation for negative feelings about the self. The first response, of overusing denial, is universal, and of course leaves its mark on a person's character. However, only the second sort of response, of clinging to overgratifications, leads to the character type of the "exception" (Freud 1916). The distinction between moral ideals, embodied in the ego ideal narrowly defined, and nonmoral ideals, embodied especially in the wishful self-image, is presented as a useful tool in understanding various psychological effects of physical disabilities.     

Economic Poverty and Happiness in Rural Ecuador: the Importance of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Buen Vivir</Emphasis> (Living Well)

This research paper addresses the endemic dimensions of having or not having a good life using a concept of poverty based on self-reported subjective well-being. We build a subjective well-being poverty (SWBP) line and compare it with two income poverty (IP) lines. The endemic dimension comes from rural Ecuador and the indigenous happiness idea of Buen Vivir (Living Well), which has been the focus of growing attention in the scientific and the political arena. Discrepancies between SWBP and IP are deeply explored building models that explain SWBP with IP, as well as control variables and Buen Vivir related variables. We show that income poor households are more likely to be poor in terms of their reported subjective well-being. However, households that grow their own food and are in an indigenous community are less likely to report to be subjective well-being poor. The results suggest that low SWBP values in contrast with high IP may be explained by idiosyncratic components of the Buen Vivir philosophy. The components of the Buen Vivir ethos related to SWBP give rise to the idea of building multidimensional concepts of poverty based on what ethnic people consider to be good or bad for their specific way of life. In a general context, our study raises the importance of considering poverty and its dimensions taking into account the endemic factors of specific groups of people and cultures. That is, to take into account what is important for their lives.     

Effect of stress on a cognitive autopoietic system

A cognitive autopoietic system is a dynamic, self-generating, organized and self-organizing thing which self-regulates (by internal rearrangement) with respect to an external medium. The present model of the effect of stress on a cognitive autopoietic (ESCA) system captures the notion of how a priori cognitive structures (categories), combined with external sensations, constitute the basis for the development of cognitive structures (CS) and their architecture. The ESCA model integrates the fact that the mind–environment relation has a twofold effect: on one hand, it enables self-regulation of mind (the matching of external sensations with CS), but on the other hand, it poses a potential perturbation on the same, which may result in the breakdown of the self-regulation of mind. The architecture of the CS developed on the basis of the ESCA model is consistent with the manifestations of the effect of stress on mind behavior at different levels. The ESCA model predicts that the faculty to concatenate synthetic propositions, which enables enhanced categorical conscious cognition (ECCC) on the basis of CS, is inhibited by stress, thus reducing cognition to a mechanized heuristic categorical conscious cognition (HCCC) and/or an unconscious cognition (UC) level. The ESCA model explains the casual relation between cognition of persistent social stress and self-esteem, sensory deprivation and self-cognition, a mechanized mind state and accumulated stress, and the effect of stress activated short-term emotions on cognition. Finally, it is speculated how persistently perceived uncertainty may induce stress.     

Effects of belief in luck on the attractiveness of loyalty programmes

The aim of this article is to demonstrate that the perception of belief in luck affects loyalty programmes, causing people making cognitive (affective) choices to feel more (less) attracted. To validate our hypotheses, we conducted 3 related experiments (2 laboratory tests and 1 in the field). We found that the perception of belief in luck (bad or good) affects the relationship between loyalty programmes and attractiveness (Study 1). We study this effect considering the mechanisms of points‐pressure and rewarded behaviour. Thereafter, we established that cognitive (affective) decisions promoted an increase (decrease) in attractiveness when consumers were exposed to continuous loyalty programmes because their belief in luck was lower (Studies 2 and 3). We believe that these changes occur because the consumer's belief in luck masks the uncertainty in the decision‐making process.     

Aggression,anger and hostility: Evaluation of moral disengagement as a mediational process

This study examines how the mechanisms underlying moral disengagement serve as a mediator between anger and hostility and physical and verbal aggression. The study was carried out on 424 participants (61.1% females), aged 15 to 25 years, assessing the direct and indirect effects of the distinct variables using a hierarchical multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling. The findings suggest that anger and hostility contribute independently and positively to physical and verbal aggression. Moreover, the relationships between anger, hostility, and aggression appear to be mediated by moral disengagement. Indeed, this process of mediation was invariant across sexes, and it tended to be stronger for physical – as opposed to verbal – aggression.