Assessment of shame and guilt and their relationships to psychopathology.

Two studies are reported. First, we tested the previously validated Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 (PFQ2; Harder & Zalma, 1990) shame and guilt measure and the Adapted Shame and Guilt Scale (ASGS; Hoblitzelle, 1982) Shame subscale against the newly introduced Self-Conscious Affect and Attribution Inventory (SCAAI; Tangney, 1990) for shame and guilt dispositions. Fifty-nine college undergraduates completed randomly ordered personality inventories reflecting constructs theoretically relevant to the presence of shame and guilt proneness. Correlations between the affect measures and personality variables showed evidence of validity for all shame scales. The PFQ2 Guilt subscale also demonstrated construct validity when partialled for shame, but the SCAAI did not. Second, we tested hypotheses regarding the relative importance of shame and guilt to various symptom types (Symptom Checklist-90-Revised; Derogatis, 1983) using 71 college undergraduates. Both emotions were approximately equally related to all major symptom clusters, but there was some evidence for differential patterns of relative importance for shame and guilt to different symptoms.     

Two promising shame and guilt scales: a construct validity comparison

This study compared the validity of two promising measures of shame and guilt proneness: revisions of the Harder Personal Feelings Questionnaire (PFQ2; Harder & Lewis, 1987) and the Hoblitzelle Adapted Shame and Guilt Scale (ASGS; Hoblitzelle, 1982). Internal consistency, test-retest stability, factor structure, and construct validity with convergent and discriminant personality dimensions were examined for both scales. In addition to the shame and guilt measures, 63 (37 male, 26 female) mostly freshman college students completed a randomly ordered battery of personality scales theoretically relevant to shame and guilt proneness. Results support the reliability and shame/guilt factor structure of each scale. ASGS Shame correlations appeared marginally more valid with 11 external construct variables than PFQ2 Shame, whereas PFQ2 Guilt was clearly more valid than its corresponding ASGS subscale. New, potentially improved scales were constructed from the factor analyses and from item analyses. However, the resulting scales did not show improved validity.     

BEHAVIOUR OF RATS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ETHYL ALCOHOL IN AN OPEN-FIELD SITUATION

In a standardized open-field test, ambulation, defecation, time of non-locomotor activity, time spent motionless, preening, and rearing were recorded. Inter-observer differences were small. Test repetition caused significant behavioural changes. Different rats were used for each of five doses of alcohol (0.5–2 mg/g). The lowest dose (0.75 mg/g) affecting behaviour significantly increased time motionless, decreased non-locomotor activity, and depressed preening. Ambulation was the last sensitive measure of behaviour. The results suggest that arousal mechanisms are particularly sensitive to alcohol. The procedure seems useful for studies of effects of small doses of alcohol.     

Normative Value Change Across the Human Life Cycle: Similarities and Differences Across Europe

Normative change in people’s value priorities (Schwartz, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 25:1–65, 1992) was examined by analyzing repeated cross sections of the 26 countries that participated in at least four of the first seven waves of the European Social Survey (2002–2015). For this purpose, we compared data from different samples taken from five historical cohorts over time in order to identify generalizable patterns in value development that could apply to most people. Results suggest that most cohorts increasingly valued Self-Transcendence over Self-Enhancement in the transition from late adolescence to young adulthood. During and after middle adulthood, age effects were virtually nonexistent in Eastern Europe, relatively weak in Southern Europe, and limited to midlife in North-Western Europe. The results also suggest that all cohorts, except most Northern and Western European cohorts in midlife, became relatively more conservative and less open with age. We present evidence that differences between historical cohorts produced some of the age–values associations that have been found in previous studies. Latent growth curve modeling was used to further summarize the observed intracohort-aging trajectories and to identify potential country-level moderators. This analysis showed that the positive association between normative aging and Self-Transcendence endorsement was stronger in countries that are more affluent.     

Relationship of Inglehart's and Schwartz's value dimensions revisited

This study examines the relationship between Inglehart's and Schwartz's value dimensions—both at the individual and the country levels. By rotating one set of items towards the other, we show that these value dimensions have more in common than previously reported. The ranking of countries (N = 47) based on Schwartz's Embeddedness—Autonomy and the Survival—Self‐Expression dimensions reached a maximum of similarity, r = .82, after rotating Inglehart's factor scores 27 degrees clockwise. The correlation between the other pair of dimensions (Schwartz's Hierarchy‐Mastery—Egalitarianism‐Harmony and Inglehart's Traditional—Secular‐Rational values) was near zero before and after rotation. At the individual level (N = 46,444), positive correlations were found for Schwartz's Conservation—Openness dimension with both of Inglehart's dimensions (Survival—Self‐Expression and Traditional—Secular‐Rational values). The highest correlation with this Schwartz dimension was obtained at the Secular‐Rational/Self‐Expression diagonal, r = .24, after rotating the factor scores 45 degrees clockwise. We conclude that Schwartz's and Inglehart's originally proposed two‐dimensional value structures share one dimension at the country level and some commonality at the individual level, whereas the respective other pair of dimensions seem to be more or less unrelated.     

Science as a Vocation in the Era of Big Data: the Philosophy of Science behind Big Data and humanity’s Continued Part in Science

We now live in the era of big data, and according to its proponents, big data is poised to change science as we know it. Claims of having no theory and no ideology are made, and there is an assumption that the results of big data are trustworthy because it is considered free from human judgement, which is often considered inextricably linked with human error. These two claims lead to the idea that big data is the source of better scientific knowledge, through more objectivity, more data, and better analysis. In this paper I analyse the philosophy of science behind big data and make the claim that the death of many traditional sciences, and the human scientist, is much exaggerated. The philosophy of science of big data means that there are certain things big data does very well, and some things that it cannot do. I argue that humans will still be needed for mediating and creating theory, and for providing the legitimacy and values science needs as a normative social enterprise.     

Multiple layers of information processing in deductive reasoning: combining dual strategy and dual-source approaches to reasoning

The idea that inferential performance cannot be analyzed within a single model has been suggested within two theoretical contexts. The dual strategy model suggests that people reason using different approaches to processing statistical information. The dual-source model suggests that people reason probabilistically using both statistical information and some intuition about logical form. Each model suggests that people have different approaches to processing information while making inferences. The following studies examined whether these different forms of information processing were equally present during reasoning. Participants were given a series of problems designed to distinguish counterexample from statistical reasoners. They were then given a series of MP or AC inferences for which identical statistical information was provided. Results show that MP inferences were considered to be deductively valid more often than equivalent AC inferences. The effect of logical form was independent of reasoning strategy, and of relatively equivalent size for both counterexample and statistical reasoners. The second study examined explicitly probabilistic inferences, and showed smaller effects of logical form and of reasoning strategy, although with a complex set of interactions. These results show that understanding the way that people use information when making inferences requires a multidimensional approach.     

Processes in acceptance and commitment therapy and the rehabilitation of chronic fatigue

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) has never been tested for patients with chronic fatigue. We aimed to test if a 3.5‐week ACT rehabilitation program for patients with chronic fatigue improved quality of life (QoL), fatigue, and psychological flexibility. Further, to test if improvements in QoL and fatigue were associated with improvement in psychological flexibility, and if psychological flexibility explained variance above and beyond maladaptive cognitions typically targeted in CBT for fatigue. Patients (n = 140) who had been on sick leave > 8 weeks due to chronic fatigue received a 3.5‐week non‐controlled inpatient rehabilitation program based on ACT. A physician and a psychologist examined the patients, assessing medication use and SCID‐I diagnoses. Patients completed questionnaires about somatic complaints, psychological complaints, and maladaptive cognitions before and after treatment. At post‐treatment, patients reported improved QoL (p < 0.001; g = 1.07) and less fatigue (p < 0.001; g = 1.08), but not increased psychological flexibility (p = 0.6). Changes in psychological flexibility was associated with improved QoL, but not fatigue, in hierarchical regression analyses. When adjusting for other cognitions, changes in fear‐avoidance cognitions and all‐or‐nothing thoughts, but not psychological flexibility, were associated with improved QoL and fatigue. The ACT‐based treatment improved QoL and reduced fatigue for patients with chronic fatigue with large effect sizes. Improvement was associated with a reduction in fear‐avoidance cognitions and all‐or‐nothing thoughts, but not psychological flexibility.