Reasoning with realistic disjunctives

The research reported here investigated how people interpret and reason with disjunctive statements. Experiment 1 demonstrated a general preference for exclusive over inclusive interpretations, although this varied as a function of the context in which the statement occurred, and there were some contexts in which other, quite different, interpretations were possible. Experiments 2 and 3 showed that the logical inferences subjects would draw from disjunctive statements also varied with context. It is concluded that or permits a number of different interpretations, which are determined by contextual cues. Previous research may have underestimated disjunctive reasoning performance by using contexts that lead to non-logical responses; certainly in the present experiments reasoning was generally accurate given the interpretation adopted.     

Acculturation and integration in eighteenth-century Metz

The records of the rabbinic court in late eighteenth-century Metz offer substantial evidence of acculturation and integration in the decades prior to the attainment of Jewish civic equality. In the modern state, the wide application of judicial procedures imposed on minority populations such as the Jews an unprecedented attachment to the larger society. This is reflected in the internalization of norms of legal culture, particularly in matters relating to business partnerships, purchase and sale, torts, inheritance, registration, and familial obligations. The administration of talmudic law in eighteenth century Metz therefore entailed familiarity with royal legislation and local ordinances, as is apparent in two discrete areas: the routinizing of civil procedures in the beit din and the navigation of plural jurisdictions exercised by the Jewish and French justice systems. The Jews of Metz met the challenges of legal pluralism by adapting to the prevailing system of law within French society and by acknowledging the interdependence of cases brought before the beit din and in the French civil court system. Decades before the Jewish population of France was admitted to citizenship, Metz Jews had little choice but to accommodate to general civil law and its structures. Within the realm of law, there emerged new rules of engagement between the Jewish minority and the surrounding society and culture.     

Object-based processes in the planning of goal-directed hand movements

Theories in motor control suggest that the parameters specified during the planning of goal-directed hand movements to a visual target are defined in spatial parameters like direction and amplitude. Recent findings in the visual attention literature, however, argue widely for early object-based selection processes. The present experiments were designed to examine the contributions of object-based and space-based selection processes to the preparation time of goal-directed pointing movements. Therefore, a cue was presented at a specific location. The question addressed was whether the initiation of responses to uncued target stimuli could benefit from being either within the same object (object based) or presented at the same direction (space based). Experiment 1 replicated earlier findings of object-based benefits for non-goal-directed responses. Experiment 2 confirmed earlier findings of space-based benefits for goal-directed hand pointing movements. In Experiments 3 and 4, space-based and object-based manipulations were combined while requiring goal-directed hand pointing movements. The results clearly favour the notion that the selection processes for goal-directed pointing movements are primarily object based. Implications for theories on selective attention and action planning are discussed.     

Estimating rates of chronic fatigue syndrome from a community-based sample: A pilot study

Most of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) epidemiological studies have relied on physicians who refer patients having at least 6 months of chronic fatigue and other symptoms. However, there are a number of potential problems when using this method to derive prevalence statistics. For example, some individuals with CFS might not have the economic resources to access medical care. Other individuals with CFS might be reluctant to use medical personnel, particularly if they have encountered physicians skeptical of the authenticity of their illness. In addition, physicians that are skeptical of the existence of CFS might not identify cases. In the present pilot study, a random community sample (N=1,031) was interviewed by telephone in order to identify and comprehensively evaluate individuals with symptoms of CFS and those who self-report having CFS. Different definitions of CFS were employed, and higher rates (0.2%) of CFS were found than in previous studies. Methodological benefits in using more rigorous epidemiological methods when estimating CFS prevalence rates are discussed. The authors appreciate the generous financial support of the CFIDS Association and Minnan, Inc. We also are grateful for many helpful suggestions provided by Judith A. Richman, William McCready, Wendell Richmond, and Stephen E. Goldston. Finally, we are very thankful to the many undergraduate volunteers who helped us complete this study, and they include Cheryl Stenzel, Georgina DeLa Torre, Vickie Chrisos, Don Banik, Hillary Loeb, Leslie Ramesack, Ellen Diamond, Rob Bleeker, Gib Garza III, Mindy Silverstein, Kadip Sen, Meredith Lombrazo, Brian Miller, Caroline Marsden, Lorraine Whitmore, Stan Gayot, Karen Costakis, and Dave Sobotka.     

Genetic research,adolescents, and informed consent

The participation of adolescents in genetic research engenders unusual problems concerning the nature of their informed consent. In this study we analyze 70 consent documents collected from genetics investigators in the United States who conduct research with children and adolescents. We find that many consent documents do not reflect either the current or the developing ethical and legal standards for research with adolescents and that in many cases the documents are simply confusing or unclear. We make recommendations for change to reflect more adequately the changing perspective concerning the autonomous decision-making capacity of adolescents.     

Terror Management and Meaning: Evidence That the Opportunity to Defend the Worldview in Response to Mortality Salience Increases the Meaningfulness of Life in the Mildly Depressed

Previous terror management research has demonstrated that mildly depressed participants show a greater increase in worldview defense in response to reminders of their mortality than do nondepressed participants. Because the cultural worldview is posited to provide a meaningful conception of life, we hypothesized that mildly depressed participants who defend their worldview in response to mortality salience (MS) would increase their perception that the world is meaningful. A preliminary study first examined the Kunzendorf No Meaning Scale as a measure to assess perceptions of meaning. In the primary study, mildly depressed and nondepressed participants contemplated their own mortality or a neutral topic, evaluated two targets in a manner that either allowed them to defend their worldview or that did not, and then completed the Kunzendorf No Meaning Scale. As predicted, mildly depressed participants who had the opportunity to defend their worldview in response to mortality salience reported greater meaning in life than did mildly depressed participants who did not have the opportunity to defend their worldview, or mildly depressed participants not exposed to mortality salience. Implications for understanding and treating depression are briefly discussed.