On Devitt’s Defence of Realism

In this paper I question the view that realism must delineate the basic ontological furniture of the world rather than giving arguments in semantic or epistemic terms for the existence of a mind-independent world. I call this view of stating and defending realism the Ontological Defence of Realism (or ODR) and take Devitt’s account of realism as a paradigmatic case of ODR. I argue that ODR cannot block ‘verificationist antirealism’ because the specific (physical) nature of what exists is not enough to secure the mind-independence of what exists and, additionally, every element purported to achieve this, it compromises seriously the idea that realism is primarily an ontological issue. I also stress that ODR is in tension with a plausible realist insight namely the priority of the world over our theorizing. Because of this tension ODR weakens realism in several domains with no good reason. Specifically, I argue that in these domains ODR faces a dilemma: either to reject realism or to take realism to be dependent on a reductive account violating the realist insight. My point is that we should keep realism and ontology distinct and that compliance with the realist insight initiates a better strategy for the defence of realism. I address three possible objections thereby further clarifying my point. I conclude by presenting my view about the relation between ontology and realism.     

The effect of alterations in consciousness on quality of life (QoL) in epilepsy: searching for evidence

The impact of epilepsy on quality of life (QoL) is well-documented. The ability of epileptic seizures to alter the conscious states of patients is also well established. Although there is much research on the QoL of people with epilepsy, few researchers have looked specifically at the effect of sudden, unanticipated alterations of consciousness on QoL. This lack of systematic studies of consciousness alterations and QoL in epilepsy limits our ability to shed light on this interrelation. In this article, with these limitations in mind, we focus on studies of newer AEDs. We review the evidence as to whether a significant reduction (typically more than 50%) in seizures that induce alterations of consciousness, as a result of switching to one of the newer AEDs, leads to improvements in QoL. We draw on this literature to speculate on the relationship between ictal consciousness alterations and poor QoL in epilepsy, to identify contributory and confounding factors and to highlight implications for future research. We suggest that an understanding of how factors associated with consciousness impairment affect QoL could help the treatment and management of these patients.     

Illusory correlations revisited: the role of pseudocontingencies and working-memory capacity

Three experiments investigate illusory correlations in a feedback learning paradigm. Diverging from a standard paradigm, in which stimuli consist of joint observations of group-behaviour pairs, participants were asked to guess the group reference of positive and negative stimulus behaviours. They only knew that one group was larger than the other, and the stimulus series soon revealed that positive (negative) behaviours appeared more frequently in the stimulus series than negative (positive) behaviours. Regardless of whether feedback of the actual group reference was provided or not, the predominant valence was more strongly associated with the large than the small group. This illusory-correlation effect was evident in memory-based measures at the end of the stimulus series as well as in the online predictions during stimulus presentation. The strength of illusory correlations increased with decreasing working-memory capacity, operationalized either by an interpersonal differences measure or a cognitive-load manipulation. The occurrence of illusory correlations in the absence of joint observations about group-valence pairs (in the no-feedback condition and in the early phase of the online prediction task) can be explained as a reflection of pseudocontingency inferences.     

Eating disorder examination questionnaire and clinical impairment assessment questionnaire: general population and clinical norms for young adult women in Sweden

Optimal use of assessment instruments for the detection and diagnosis of eating disorders (ED) depends on the availability of normative data. The aim of this work was to, for the first time, collect norms for both the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and the newly developed Clinical Impairment Assessment (CIA) Scale from a general population of young women in Sweden, as well as from a clinical population of ED patients in Sweden. Participants were composed of both a randomized sample from the general population of women aged 18–30 years (N = 760) as well as from a clinical population aged 18–66 years (N = 2383). Data for the clinical population was extracted from the Stepwise database. Mean scores, standard deviations and percentile ranks for the global for the EDE-Q (as well as its subscales) and the CIA are presented. Prevalence figures of key eating disorder behaviors are also reported. Comparisons are made between the results in the present study with other existing normative studies on the EDE-Q and the CIA. The present study contributes to improving the accuracy of the interpretation of scores of the widely used self-report measure of ED, the EDE-Q, and the CIA, both of which play important roles in for diagnosis, prevention and intervention of ED.     

BOLD response to motion verbs in left posterior middle temporal gyrus during story comprehension

A primary focus within neuroimaging research on language comprehension is on the distribution of semantic knowledge in the brain. Studies have shown that the left posterior middle temporal gyrus (LPMT), a region just anterior to area MT/V5, is important for the processing of complex action knowledge. It has also been found that motion verbs cause activation in LPMT. In this experiment we investigated whether this effect could be replicated in a setting resembling real life language comprehension, i.e. without any overt behavioral task during passive listening to a story. During fMRI participants listened to a recording of the story “The Ugly Duckling”. We incorporated a nuisance elimination regression approach for factoring out known nuisance variables both in terms of physiological noise, sound intensity, linguistic variables and emotional content. Compared to the remaining text, clauses containing motion verbs were accompanied by a robust activation of LPMT with no other significant effects, consistent with the hypothesis that this brain region is important for processing motion knowledge, even during naturalistic language comprehension conditions.     

Objective work–nonwork conflict: From incompatible demands to decreased work role performance

Research on work–nonwork conflict (WNC) is based on the assumption that incompatible demands from the work and the nonwork domain hamper role performance. This assumption implies that role demands from both domains interact in predicting role performance, but research has been largely limited to main effects. In this multi-source study, we analyze the incompatibility of demands by testing the interaction of work and nonwork demands on task performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The sample consisted of 61 employees of a German hospital and we used three independent sources of data: self-ratings of work demands, partner-ratings of nonwork demands, and colleague-ratings of performance. Results from hierarchical regression analyses revealed an interaction effect of work and nonwork demands on OCB, but not on task performance. We conclude that people maintain their effort invested in task-related aspects of the job even when conflicts between work and nonwork demands exist, but that they reduce their investment in activities that are perceived as more marginal and extra-role.     

The effects of risk-glorifying media exposure on risk-positive cognitions, emotions, and behaviors: a meta-analytic review

In recent years, there has been a surge in the quantity of media content that glorifies risk-taking behavior, such as risky driving, extreme sports, or binge drinking. The authors conducted a meta-analysis involving more than 80,000 participants and 105 independent effect sizes to examine whether exposure to such media depictions increased their recipients' risk-taking inclinations. A positive connection was found for overall, combined risk taking (g=.41); as well as its underlying dimensions: risk-taking behaviors (g=.41), risk-positive cognitions and attitudes (g=.35), and risk-positive emotions (g=.56). This effect was observed across varying research methods (experimental, correlational, longitudinal); types of media (video games, movies, advertising, TV, music); and differing risk-related outcome measures (e.g., smoking, drinking, risky driving, sexual behavior). Multiple moderator analyses revealed 2 theoretically new boundary conditions for sociocognitive models. First, the effect was stronger for active (i.e., video games) than for passive (e.g., film, music) exposure to risk-glorifying media content. Second, the effect was stronger when there was a high degree of contextual fit between the media content and type of risk-taking measure. The theoretical, practical, and societal implications of the present research synthesis are discussed.     

A psychometric study of the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test-Extended in a Norwegian sample

Motivation is a widely used concept in substance use treatment, and is commonly seen as a premise for change during treatment. Different measures of motivation have been suggested. A relatively new instrument is the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test-Extended (DUDIT-E), developed in Sweden. This instrument has recently been introduced in Norway. The present study examined the Motivational Index of the Norwegian version of the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test-Extended (DUDIT-E). We tested whether the three-factor model ("Positive aspects of substance abuse"; "Negative aspects of substance abuse"; and "Treatment readiness") suggested by previous studies could be replicated in a sample of Norwegian inpatients. Responses to the DUDIT-E were obtained from 105 patients admitted to inpatient substance abuse treatment in Northern Norway. Exploratory common factor analyses were used to compare the factor structure from the current sample with the Swedish sample of mainly detoxification patients and prison inmates. The current sample did not include prison inmates, and it consisted of more women than the Swedish sample. The samples did not differ according to age or substance dependency. The analyses suggested that six primary factors was the most efficient way of combining the item scores, and not 11 as in the Swedish sample. A second-order factor analysis found best support for a two-factor solution, and hence, did not replicate the previously suggested three-factor model either. Several regression analyses comparing the efficiency of the different ways of combining the DUDIT scores in primary or secondary factor scores indicated that the model involving six sum scores had best merit and should be explored further.