Purifying impure virtue epistemology

A notorious objection to robust virtue epistemology—the view that an agent knows a proposition if and only if her cognitive success is because of her intellectual virtues—is that it fails to eliminate knowledge-undermining luck. Modest virtue epistemologists agree with robust virtue epistemologists that if someone knows, then her cognitive success must be because of her intellectual virtues, but they think that more is needed for knowledge. More specifically, they introduce independently motivated modal anti-luck principles in their accounts to amend the problem of eliminating luck—this makes their views instances of impure virtue epistemology. The aim of the paper is to argue, firstly, that such a move lacks adequate motivation; secondly, that the resulting impure accounts equally fail to handle knowledge-undermining luck. On a more positive note, these results bolster a more orthodox virtue-theoretic approach to knowledge that assigns a fundamental explanatory role to the notion of ability. In this sense, the paper also sketches an account of ability and a corresponding account of knowledge that explains how success from ability (of the right kind) is incompatible with success from luck.     

Individual Well-Being,Geographical Heterogeneity and Social Capital

This paper argues the relevance of analysing the origins of contextual effects to explain subjective well-being (SWB). Using the 2012 European Social Survey, the study applies social capital indicators to distinguish between-context and between-individual heterogeneity in three multilevel models of happiness and life satisfaction. Five indicators of social capital at individual and regional level are used to measure the trust, networks and norms dimensions of social capital. Random intercept and random slope hierarchical models are used to control for unexplained regional variability. The possibility of aggregated subjective perceptions conditioning, or interacting with, the effects of individual perceptions is also examined. The results show that the regional means of the social capital indicators are useful in explaining not only average levels of SWB (between-context heterogeneity) but also differences in the importance individuals attribute to their social capital (between-individual heterogeneity). The paper also proposes a research agenda to expand the frontier on contextual effects in the new science of well-being.     

Imagining better societies: A social psychological framework for the study of utopian thinking and collective action

We present an integrative theoretical model that specifies social psychological mechanisms by which utopian thinking, which activates the social imagination, may enhance collective action intentions oriented toward social change and human progress. The model synthesizes complementary insights from interdisciplinary research programs on utopianism, hope, construal level, and system justification to identify mechanisms by which imagining better societies: (a) increases social hope, (b) yields an abstract mindset that bridges the psychological distance between the status quo (“here and now”) and a better possible future, (c) decreases system justification motivation, and (d) promotes social justice‐oriented forms of collective action.     

Simulating naturalistic demands for speeded judgment

Responses to speeded judgment (e.g., “shoot/don’t shoot”) situations in naturalistic environments are influenced by many variables and psychological processes. We describe a custom-built simulator with head- and eye-tracking capabilities for basic and applied research on speeded decision making. The system allows the user to project life-sized, time-coded, videotaped, or computer-animated scenarios on a screen to collect reaction-time, shot-accuracy, and eye-movement data. An initial experiment is also reported to demonstrate the utility of the system for studying factors that affect speeded judgment under naturalistic situations.     

The Cultural Factor in Lay Perception of Jealousy as a Motive for Wife Battery1

Cultural psychology is concerned with the comparative study of the way culture and psyche shape each other: This process is particularly well illustrated in the social construction of some feelings. Although sexual jealousy seems to be universal, people differ in the intensity of their reactions and in the type of stimuli perceived as threatening. Replicating previous research in Britain by Delgado and Bond (1993), a questionnaire research survey was conducted in Spain to determine if lay perception considers jealousy a justification for wife battery. The comparison of results shows striking differences: The harmdoer was seen as more guilty in Britain and the victim was seen as more guilty in Spain. Results demonstrate cultural differences in the perception of jealousy; when jealousy is a motive for assault, there are also cultural differences in judgments of responsibility. Emotions function differently in different cultures regarding perceived causes and justification for conduct.     

Sex differences in visuospatial ability: Do performance factors play such an important role?

This study was designed to analyze some performance factors as a possible source of sex-related bias in psychometric tests of visuospatial aptitude. Goldstein, Haldane, and Mitchell (1990) explored the effect of two response styles—slowness of performance and reluctance to guess—by using a 3-D mental rotation test (the task showing the largest cognitive sex difference) and found that time limits and raw scores contributed substantially to the male advantage. We applied two tests in thespeed-power continuum to a representative sample of 621 males and 821 females in their last year of high school in a 2 × 2 (gender × time) full factorial design. Reluctance to guess was similar for males and females. Males obtained more correct responses on both tests, and for both time conditions, than did females. These results are not only statistically significant but also are of substantial practical consequence.     

Perceptions of height and self-esteem.

Although no relationship was found between the actual height of 69 young adolescent males and their self-esteem, positive and significant relationships were found between their own, peers', and teacher's perceptions of their height and self-esteem. These results are discussed with reference to the relationship between body morphology, behavior, and personality.     

Blood phobia—beware

In every day life, many people complain that they are afraid of the sight of blood. Stories of trainee medical doctors fainting on first witnessing an operation abound. Many people turn away from films of operations. Despite this, there are few accounts of the treatment of patients presenting with blood phobia as a main complaint. Standard texts on phobias (e.g. Marks, 1969; Rachman, 1974) do not mention it, nor do texts on behavioural treatment (e.g. Yates, 1970). The purpose of this short report is to describe the treatment of a long-standing, circumscribed blood phobia in a 16 yr old boy, and to draw attention to some special considerations surrounding the treatment of blood phobic patients.     

Psychometric and CT scan measurements in a case of crossed aphasia in a dextral

A case of crossed aphasia with lesion deep to the right supramarginal gyrus was studied to determine (1) if this patient behaved similar to patients with the same lesion site in the left hemisphere, (2) if visuospatial deficits were present, and (3) if the CT scan asymmetries were similar to those of other right-handers. Speech and language skills were similar to those patients with similar lesions in the left hemisphere. Visuospatial and arithmetic deficits were similar to those described after right-hemisphere and left-hemisphere damage. CT scan asymmetries were atypical. These results provide behavioral and neuroradiological confirmation of atypical hemispheric dominance.