Self-perceptions, self-worth and sport participation in adolescents

The purpose of this study was to study the associations between specific self-perceptions and global self-worth with different frequency levels of sport participation among Spanish boys and girls adolescents. Students (457 boys and 460 girls) completed the Self Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985) and items assessing sport engagement from The Health Behavior in School Children Questionnaire (Wold, 1995). Results showed that some specific dimensions of self-perception were related to different frequency of sport participation whereas overall judgments of self-worth did not. Specifically, for boys and girls, higher levels of sport participation were positively associated to Athletic Competence, and for boys were also associated with Physical Appearance and Social Acceptance. The potential implications of domain specific socialisation processes on the configuration of self-perceptions are highlighted.     

Congestive Heart Failure and Quality of Life

Our study aimed to assess the quality of life (QoL) of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) and to correlate the different aspects of QoL with relevant socio-demographic variables, CHF severity, somatic comorbidities, other clinical variables and depressive symptomatology. In a cross-sectional study design, a community sample of 103 adult patients with CHF (mean age 68 years, 73 % male) was recruited from an outpatient cardiology practice. CHF severity was assessed with physician ratings of the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class and measurement of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels. The psychometric evaluation of quality of life was made using the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36) and the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ). The Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition (BDI-II) assessed depressive symptoms. Using multiple linear regression, predictors of poorer QoL included being a female, being older, living alone, NYHA functional class ≥ II, higher levels of BNP comorbidity (such as renal insufficiency and cerebrovascular disease), fluid retention, depressive symptomatology (assessed by BDI-II) and treatment with anti-dyslipidemics, diuretics and β-blockers. Among these correlates, psychological distress was the most strongly related to QoL. Also, functional status measured by NYHA demonstrated a high impact on QoL. Our findings suggest the need to address such factors in developing effective care to improve psychological and functional status in order to enhance QoL in these patients.     

La perspectiva cualitativa y cuantitativa en las investigaciones sociales

RESUMEN

El debate sobre la utilización de métodos y paradigmas cualitativos versus cuantitativos afecta al programa general de la psicología y está planteado desde la constitución de la ciencia Psicológica. En este artículo se presenta el debate, y se cuestiona el planteamiento tradicional consistente en vincular conjuntos definidos y cerrados de prescripciones teóricas a uno y otro tipo de métodos, presentándolas como alternativas irreconciliables. Este planteamiento es rechazado y sustituido por uno en el que; 1) Es de un claro reconocimiento al carácter científico de la perspectiva cualitativa, 2) Haga una primera aproximación a las posibilidades de la utilización conjunta de ambas perspectivas, 3) Haga una clara distinción entre dos niveles diferentes; nivel paradigmático/epistemológico y nivel metodológico/técnico.     

El papel de las automanifestaciones en las terapias cognitivo-conductuales

RESUMEN

En este artículo Bas examina el concepto automanifestación (en adelante, AM) y desarrolla sus implicaciones terapéuticas. El autor comenta aquellas terapias cognitivo-conductuales que han considerado las AM de un modo central en la interpretación de los problemas y que han confeccionado instrumentos específicos de intervención sobre ellas. En este repaso se hace especial mención del fenómeno de la depresión, aunque también se señalan otras áreas de disfunción. Posteriormente presenta los métodos más utilizados para evaluar las AM y finaliza con una revisión más amplia de un método muy extendido para modificar un tipo de AM especial: las autoinstrucciones, según lo han desarrollado Meichenbaum y otros y orientado hacia la problemática infantil.     

Social exchange from the supervisor’s perspective: Employee trustworthiness as a predictor of interpersonal and informational justice

Using social exchange theory, we argue that because supervisors tend to value employee trustworthiness, they will be more likely to adhere to interpersonal and informational justice rules with trustworthy employees. Given social exchange theory’s assumption that benefits are voluntary in nature, we propose that the benevolence and integrity facets of trustworthiness will be more likely to engender social exchange relationships than the ability facet. Specifically, we propose that employees seen as having high benevolence and integrity engender feelings of obligation and trust from their direct supervisors, increasing the likelihood that these supervisors will adhere to interpersonal and informational justice rules, which in turn influences employee perceptions of justice. We find partial support for our mediated model using a field sample.     

Can We Turn a Blind Eye to Eliminativism?

In this paper I shall reply to two arguments that Stephen Stich (1990; 1991; 1996) has recently put forward against the thesis of eliminative materialism. In a nutshell, Stich argues that (i) the thesis of eliminative materialism, according to which propositional attitudes don't exist, is neither true nor false, and that (ii) even if it were true, that would be philosophically uninteresting. To support (i) and (ii) Stich relies on two premises: (a) that the job of a theory of reference is to make explicit the tacit theory of reference which underlies our intuitions about the notion of reference itself; and (b) that our intuitive notion of reference is a highly idiosyncratic one. In this paper I shall address Stich's anti-eliminativist claims (i) and (ii). I shall argue that even if we agreed with premises (a) and (b), that would lend no support whatsoever to (i) and (ii).     

Fine Tuning Explained? Multiverses and Cellular Automata

The objective of this paper is analyzing to which extent the multiverse hypothesis provides a real explanation of the peculiarities of the laws and constants in our universe. First we argue in favor of the thesis that all multiverses except Tegmark’s “mathematical multiverse” are too small to explain the fine tuning, so that they merely shift the problem up one level. But the “mathematical multiverse" is surely too large. To prove this assessment, we have performed a number of experiments with cellular automata of complex behavior, which can be considered as universes in the mathematical multiverse. The analogy between what happens in some automata (in particular Conway’s “Game of Life") and the real world is very strong. But if the results of our experiments can be extrapolated to our universe, we should expect to inhabit—in the context of the multiverse—a world in which at least some of the laws and constants of nature should show a certain time dependence. Actually, the probability of our existence in a world such as ours would be mathematically equal to zero. In consequence, the results presented in this paper can be considered as an inkling that the hypothesis of the multiverse, whatever its type, does not offer an adequate explanation for the peculiarities of the physical laws in our world.     

Two Unpublished Contributions by Alfred Tarski

This article presents an historical and conceptual overview on different approaches to logical abstraction. Two main trends concerning abstraction in the history of logic are highlighted, starting from the logical notions of concept and function. This analysis strictly relates to the philosophical discussion on the nature of abstract objects. I develop this issue further with respect to the procedure of abstraction involved by (typed) λ-systems, focusing on the crucial change about meaning and predicability. In particular, the analysis of the nature of logical types in the context of Constructive Type Theory allows elucidation of the role of the previously introduced notions. Finally, the connection to the analysis of abstraction in computer science is drawn, and the methodological contribution provided by the notion of information is considered, showing its conceptual and technical relevance. Future research shall focus on the notion of information in distributed systems, analysing the paradigm of information hiding in dependent type theories.     

Adaptive n-back training does not improve fluid intelligence at the construct level: Gains on individual tests suggest that training may enhance visuospatial processing

Short-term adaptive cognitive training based on the n-back task is reported to increase scores on individual ability tests, but the key question of whether such increases generalize to the intelligence construct is not clear. Here we evaluate fluid/abstract intelligence (Gf), crystallized/verbal intelligence (Gc), working memory capacity (WMC), and attention control (ATT) using diverse measures, with equivalent versions, for estimating any changes at the construct level after training. Beginning with a sample of 169 participants, two groups of twenty-eight women each were selected and matched for their general cognitive ability scores and demographic variables. Under strict supervision in the laboratory, the training group completed an intensive adaptive training program based on the n-back task (visual, auditory, and dual versions) across twenty-four sessions distributed over twelve weeks. Results showed that this group had the expected systematic improvements in n-back performance over time; this performance systematically correlated across sessions with Gf, Gc, and WMC, but not with ATT. However, the main finding showed no significant changes in the assessed psychological constructs for the training group as compared with the control group. Nevertheless, post-hoc analyses suggested that specific tests and tasks tapping visuospatial processing might be sensitive to training.