Bilingualism Is Associated with a Delayed Onset of Dementia but Not with a Lower Risk of Developing it: a Systematic Review with Meta-Analyses

Neuropsychology Review - Some studies have linked bilingualism with a later onset of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Not all studies have observed...     

Mencius,Hume, and the virtue of humanity: sources of benevolent moral development

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we elucidate the moral psychology and what we might call the moral sociology of Mencius and of Hume, and we argue for three claims. First, we demonstrate that there are strong similarities between Mencius and Hume concerning some of the principal psychological sources of the virtue of humanity. Second, we show that there are strong similarities between the two concerning some of the principal social sources of the virtue of humanity. Third, we argue that there are related, though weaker, similarities between Mencius and Hume concerning some of the principal cognitive sources of the virtue of humanity. We conclude by suggesting that the number and nature of these similarities demonstrate the need for future research on the conceptual connections between Confucian and Humean moral philosophy, especially on the psychological and social sources of benevolent moral development.     

Embodiment and abstraction: Actions create relational representations

Theories of embodied, modal representation propose that concepts are grounded in the sensorimotor system. According to these theories, action (or the potential for action) creates meaning. An apparent challenge for these theories is the fact that higher-order relations (i.e., relations among relations), such as monotonic increase or alternation, have no straightforward sensorimotor analog. A single action can increase or alternate only relative to another action. Therefore, if embodied theories are to handle concepts more generally, patterns of action must provide meaning to the system. Previous research suggested that as participants simulated the motion of gear problems they discovered a higher-order relation, alternation, based on the episodic traces of their own alternating actions. The present study showed that the number of alternating actions in episodic memory prior to discovery of the alternation relation predicted its generalization to new problem types. Actions can function as the representational substrate of higher-order relations.     

Psychological Factors that Promote and Inhibit Pathological Gambling

This paper describes qualitative data regarding psychological factors that may affect gambling behavior among treatment-seeking pathological gamblers. Participants (n = 84) diagnosed with pathological gambling were treated in a clinical trial examining the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Qualitative data were collected from participants during each of 8 structured CBT sessions. Specific gambling-related psychological factors that were assessed include triggers, consequences, high-risk situations, craving experiences, assertiveness skills, cognitive distortions, and coping strategies. The most commonly reported triggers for gambling were lack of structured time and negative emotional state, which were similar to the high-risk times for gambling. The most frequently listed positive consequences of gambling were enjoyment associated with winning and use of gambling as an escape. Negative consequences of gambling included depressed mood, financial problems, and conflict with family. Coping strategies changed during treatment, as participants reported relying less upon avoidance and distraction, and became better able to utilize support networks and cognitive coping skills. These data are important to better understand the factors associated with the development, maintenance, and cessation of pathological gambling.     

A pilot study of cognitive-behavioral therapy of insomnia in people with mild depression

In some cases, insomnia and depression may have a reciprocal relationship, in which each aggravates and maintains the other. To test the hypothesis that reduction of insomnia would result in reduction of depression in patients (N=10) with both disorders, a repeated-measures design was used comparing depression and insomnia levels before and after 6 sessions of cognitive-behavioral therapy of insomnia. Posttreatment, 100% of completers (n=8) had a normalized sleeping pattern, and 87.5% had normalized depression scores. Significant posttreatment improvement was seen in sleep onset latency (-31 min), wake time after sleep onset (-24 min), total sleep time (+65 min), sleep efficiency (+14%), and sleep quality (+19%), which was maintained at 3-month follow-up. A decreasing trend occurred in depression scores from pre- to posttreatment, which reached significance at 3-month follow-up. Intent-to-treat analyses showed similar results.     

The rise and fall of the Pacquiao Effect: Contrastive priming and national identification

We demonstrate in a series of field and controlled experiments that assimilative and contrastive priming effects can be observed in the pattern of self‐concept change in response to a major cultural event. Study 1 used the brief implicit association test (BIAT) to measure national identification of Filipinos online across a period of time that encompassed a national sporting event. The pattern of scores support the hypothesis that while people who were ambivalent about identifying with Filipino concepts exhibited an assimilation effect (i.e. a slight rise in identification after the fight), people who already highly identified with being Filipino experienced a contrast effect (i.e. a slight drop in identification). Study 2 replicated this result five months later with a new sample and ruled out several possible alternative hypotheses. A subsequent controlled experiment and a qualitative investigation consistently supported the hypothesis that the pattern observed in the previous studies is more consistent with assimilative and contrastive priming effects rather than disidentification.     

In Defense of Hiya as a Filipino Virtue

The Filipino concept of hiya, often translated as ‘shame’ or ‘embarrassment’, has often received ambivalent or negative interpretations. In this article I make an important distinction between two kinds of hiya: (1) the hiya that is suffered as shame or embarrassment (a passion) and (2) the hiya that is an active and sacrificial self-control of one’s individual wants for the sake of other people (a virtue). I borrow and reappropriate this distinction from Aquinas’ virtue ethics. This distinction not only leads to a more positive appraisal of hiya, it also leads to a new understanding of associated concepts that are often confused with hiya such as amor propio, pakikisama and the infamous ‘crab mentality’. Defending hiya as a virtue is part of an even wider philosophical project, the move from ‘Filipino values’ to a ‘Filipino virtue ethics’, which I already introduced in a previous article in this journal.     

Psychometric Evaluation of the Timeline Followback for Exercise among College Students

OBJECTIVES: Two separate studies assessed the psychometric properties of a retrospective behavioral measure adapted for exercise called the Timeline Followback for Exercise (TLFB-E). Study one examined criterion, convergent, and predictive validity. Study two examined test-retest reliability. METHODS: Study one participants (N = 66) were college students 20.0 ± 1.4yr. Validity of frequency, intensity, time, and type (FITT) of exercise as assessed on the TLFB-E was examined using Pearson r correlations with accelerometers, weekly exercise contracts between participants and researchers, question four of the College Alumni Questionnaire, and a health-related physical fitness battery. Study two participants were a different sample (N = 40) of college students 18.63 ± 1.0yr. Pearson r correlations determined reliability of the TLFB-E for exercise frequency, intensity, and time between two interviews separated by one month. Kappa statistic determined reliability of the TLFB-E for type of exercise. RESULTS: The TLFB-E displayed evidence of criterion validity when compared to accelerometers (r = .35 to .39) and evidence of convergent validity when compared to weekly exercise contracts (r = .65 to .80) and question four of the College Alumni Questionnaire (r = .06 to .75). The TLFB-E displayed evidence of modest to adequate test-retest reliability (r = .79 to .97) for exercise frequency, intensity, and time and moderate Kappa (k = .49) for exercise type. CONCLUSIONS: The TLFB-E produces evidence of reliable and valid scores among college students and improves upon other self-report, retrospective questionnaires by enabling daily collection of exercise FITT over a specified time period.