The development of metacognitive ability in adolescence

Introspection, or metacognition, is the capacity to reflect on our own thoughts and behaviours. Here, we investigated how one specific metacognitive ability (the relationship between task performance and confidence) develops in adolescence, a period of life associated with the emergence of self-concept and enhanced self-awareness. We employed a task that dissociates objective performance on a visual task from metacognitive ability in a group of 56 participants aged between 11 and 41 years. Metacognitive ability improved significantly with age during adolescence, was highest in late adolescence and plateaued going into adulthood. Our results suggest that awareness of one’s own perceptual decisions shows a prolonged developmental trajectory during adolescence.     

Death Anxiety Among University Students in Northern Ireland and Canada

Male and female university students in Northern Ireland (n = 315) and Canada (n = 255) completed Templer's Death Anxiety Scale (DAS) and the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (MAS). Results of a discriminant function analysis indicated that Canadian students showed more concern about being afraid to die and thoughts of death, while students from the North of Ireland were more concerned about getting cancer, the shortness of life, and the viewing of a corpse. However, total DAS scores failed to show significance between group differences (p >.10). Correlations between DAS and MAS total scores were r =.34 for Northern Ireland and r =.31 for Canadian students.     

Factors Predicting Likelihood of Eating Irradiated Meat

Perception of risk associated with meat irradiation was investigated in a sample of 478 respondents. Fears associated with irradiation, the relative severity and risk of bacterial infection versus potential risks due to the irradiation, and perceptions of the safety of the meat irradiation process combined to strongly predict participants' reports of their likelihood of eating irradiated meat in the present investigation. Overall, respondents were skeptical with regard to eating irradiated meat if it became locally available. Respondents' acceptance of meat irradiation was clearly driven by concerns about the risks of irradiation, but not the risks of bacterial contamination, confirming findings in the literature on differences in perception of “natural” and “technological” risks.     

On being a living contradiction: the struggle of an elite intercollegiate Christian coach

While some research has been conducted on the manner in which Christian athletes utilize their faith to cope with the dominant culture of winning, there appears to be a relative paucity of investigation on the manner in which elite coaches function in this environment. The purpose of this study was to describe an elite intercollegiate coach’s response to the dominant culture of sport as it related to his spiritual life. We attempted to examine the thought processes and behaviors of an individual held in high esteem by his peers, and report his solutions to some of the dilemmas reported in the previous work by S. J. Hoffman and C. L. Stevenson. This elite intercollegiate coach was extremely committed to his relationship with Christ, but he was likewise heavily involved with the dominant culture of sport.     

THE CHARACTER OF VIRTUE: ANSWERING THE SITUATIONIST CHALLENGE TO VIRTUE ETHICS

Neo‐Aristotelian virtue ethics makes essential reference to the notion of a stable, robust character‐trait. It also claims to be constrained by at least a minimal degree of psychological realism. Recent developments in empirical psychology have drawn into question the evidence for the existence of such robust traits, arguing that it rests on what has been called a ‘fundamental attribution error’. Virtue ethics has thus seemingly been made vulnerable to criticisms that it is essentially dependent on an erroneous, folk‐psychological, notion of character and, so, must either abandon their characteristic notion of virtue or forego any pretensions to psychological realism. I develop a two‐pronged response to this objection. First, I argue that there is reason to question much of the empirical evidence and that such evidence as does exist can easily be accommodated by virtue ethics. Next, I argue that even if we allow that neo‐Aristotelian virtue ethical theories does sometimes presuppose a stronger conception of character‐traits than is warranted by the evidence, this does not significantly undermine the virtue ethicist's project.     

患者知情同意权实现的伦理思考与法律保护

随着医学科学的发展,患者的知情同意已是医学实践的一个基本伦理观念和原则,但是,它的实现不仅需要道德规范的约束,而且还需要法律的保护.     

The Astounding Assumption of Infinite Life

The multimillennial philosophical discussion about life after death has received a recent boost in the prospect of immortality attained via technologies. In this newer version, humans generally are considered mortal but may develop means of making themselves immortal. If “immortal” means not mortal, thus existing for infinity, and if the proposed infinite‐existing entity is material, it must inhabit an infinite material universe. If the proposed entity is not material, there must be means by which it can shed its material substance and exist nonmaterially. The article examines arguments for how an infinite life would be possible given current physical understanding. The paper considers a Pascalian‐style wager weighing the likelihood of adjusting to existence wholly within a finite universe versus betting on there being some way to construe the universe(s) as a viable medium for infinite beings. Conclusion: the case for a finite being to exist infinitely has little viable support.     

Identifying two potential mechanisms for changes in alcohol use among college-attending and non-college-attending emerging adults

This study tested whether pro-alcohol peer influences and prosocial involvement account for increases in drinking during the transition into emerging adulthood and whether these mechanisms differ depending on college attendance and/or moving away from home. The authors used structural equation modeling of prospective data from 825 young men and women. For 4 groups defined by college and residential status, more drinking in the spring of 12th grade predicted more pro-alcohol peer influences the following fall, and more pro-alcohol peer influences in the fall predicted increases in drinking the following spring. Going to college while living at home was a protective factor against increases in drinking and selection of pro-alcohol peer involvements. Prosocial involvement (measured by involvement in religious activities and volunteer work) was not significantly related to post-high school drinking except among college students living away from home. Prevention efforts should focus on (a) reducing opportunities for heavy drinking for college and noncollege emerging adults as they leave home and (b) increasing prosocial involvement among college students not living at home.