Phenomenal Continuity and the Bridge Problem

Any theory that analyses personal identity in terms of phenomenal continuity needs to deal with the ordinary interruptions of our consciousness that it is commonly thought that a person can survive. This is the bridge problem. The present paper offers a novel solution to the bridge problem based on the proposal that dreamless sleep need not interrupt phenomenal continuity. On this solution one can both hold that phenomenal continuity is necessary for personal identity and that persons can survive dreamless sleep.     

Perceptual grouping in haptic search: The influence of proximity, similarity, and good continuation

We conducted a haptic search experiment to investigate the influence of the Gestalt principles of proximity, similarity, and good continuation. We expected faster search when the distractors could be grouped. We chose edges at different orientations as stimuli because they are processed similarly in the haptic and visual modality. We therefore expected the principles of similarity and good continuation to be operational in haptics as they are in vision. In contrast, because of differences in spatial processing between vision and haptics, we expected differences for the principle of proximity. In haptics, the Gestalt principle of proximity could operate at two distinct levels-somatotopic proximity or spatial proximity-and we assessed both possibilities in our experiments. The results show that the principles of similarity and good continuation indeed operate in this haptic search task. Neither of our proximity manipulations yielded effects, which may suggest that grouping by proximity must take place before an invariant representation of the object has formed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

A short-lived face alert during inhibition of return

In the present study, we explored the role of faces in oculomotor inhibition of return (IOR) using a tightly controlled spatial cuing paradigm. We measured saccadic response latency to targets following peripheral cues that were either faces or objects of lesser sociobiological salience. A recurring influence from cue content was observed across numerous methodological variations. Faces versus other object cues briefly reduced saccade latencies toward subsequently presented targets, independently of attentional allocation and IOR. The results suggest a short-lived priming effect or social facilitation effect from the mere presence of a face. In the present study, we further showed that saccadic responses were unaffected by face versus nonface objects in double-cue presentations. Our findings indicate that peripheral face cues do not influence attentional orienting processes involved in IOR any differently from other objects in a tightly controlled oculomotor IOR paradigm.     

Discrepancies between patients' and partners' perceptions of unsupportive behavior in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The literature on chronic diseases indicates that partner support, as perceived by patients, contributes to well-being of patients in either a positive or a negative way. Previous studies indicated that patients' and partners' perceptions of unsupportive partner behavior are only moderately related. Our aim was (1) to investigate whether discrepancies between patients' and partners' perceptions of two types of unsupportive partner behavior-overprotection and protective buffering-were associated with the level of distress reported by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and (2) to evaluate whether the direction of the differences between patients' and partners' perceptions was associated with distress (i.e., whether patient distress was associated with greater patient or greater partner reports of unsupportive partner behavior). A cross-sectional study was performed using the data of a sample of 68 COPD patients and their spouses. Distress was assessed using the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25. Patients' and partners' perceptions of unsupportive partner behavior were assessed with a questionnaire measuring overprotection and protective buffering. Distress was independently associated with patients' perceptions of protective buffering and discrepancies in spouses' perceptions of overprotection. Regarding the direction of the discrepancy, we found that greater partner reports of overprotection as compared with patient reports were related to more distress in COPD patients. Our study showed that patients' distress was associated not only with patients' perceptions, but also with discrepancies between patients' and partners' perceptions of unsupportive partner behavior.     

Long-term effects of footshock and social defeat on anxiety-like behaviours in rats: Relationships to pre-stressor plasma corticosterone concentration

We compared the consequences of two stressors, 'unnatural' inescapable footshocks (IFSs) and 'natural' social defeat (SD), on behaviours typically sensitive to stress [sucrose preference, open field (OF), elevated plus maze (EPM) and acoustic startle responses (ASRs)] and the association with pre-stressor plasma corticosterone concentration. After initial blood sampling, rats (n?=?20 per group) were exposed to either 10 IFSs (1?mA intensity, 5?s duration each) or to 1?h SD (defeat by an aggressive resident male rat and further exposure but separated in a small cage) or to control procedures (handling). Rats were tested once for ASR (day 19), while the other behavioural tests were applied once weekly for 3 weeks. Both stress groups showed short-lasting lowered sucrose preference, and in the EPM they showed shorter total distance moved, shorter distance moved on open arms and less time on open arms compared to controls. In the OF test, IFS rats showed shorter total distance moved up to 2 weeks after stress. The SD group showed shorter total distance moved in the OF, which was only significant 2 weeks after stress. Low pre-stressor plasma corticosterone concentration was only associated with defecation (IFS rats) and latency to enter open arms in the EPM (all low corticosterone subgroups, n?=?10 per subgroup). SD rats with high initial plasma corticosterone concentration showed enhanced ASR compared to the other subgroups with high initial plasma corticosterone concentration (n?=?9 per subgroup). The results indicate that footshock and SD, while generally leading to an increase in anxiety behaviours, represent qualitatively different stressors.     

An SEM approach to continuous time modeling of panel data: relating authoritarianism and anomia

Panel studies, in which the same subjects are repeatedly observed at multiple time points, are among the most popular longitudinal designs in psychology. Meanwhile, there exists a wide range of different methods to analyze such data, with autoregressive and cross-lagged models being 2 of the most well known representatives. Unfortunately, in these models time is only considered implicitly, making it difficult to account for unequally spaced measurement occasions or to compare parameter estimates across studies that are based on different time intervals. Stochastic differential equations offer a solution to this problem by relating the discrete time model to its underlying model in continuous time. It is the goal of the present article to introduce this approach to a broader psychological audience. A step-by-step review of the relationship between discrete and continuous time modeling is provided, and we demonstrate how continuous time parameters can be obtained via structural equation modeling. An empirical example on the relationship between authoritarianism and anomia is used to illustrate the approach.     

"An SEM approach to continuous time modeling of panel data: Relating authoritarianism and anomia": Correction to Voelkle, Oud, Davidov, and Schmidt (2012)

Reports an error in "An SEM approach to continuous time modeling of panel data: Relating authoritarianism and anomia" by Manuel C. Voelkle, Johan H. L. Oud, Eldad Davidov and Peter Schmidt (Psychological Methods, 2012[Jun], Vol 17[2], 176-192). The supplemental materials link was missing. All versions of this article have been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2012-09124-001.) Panel studies, in which the same subjects are repeatedly observed at multiple time points, are among the most popular longitudinal designs in psychology. Meanwhile, there exists a wide range of different methods to analyze such data, with autoregressive and cross-lagged models being 2 of the most well known representatives. Unfortunately, in these models time is only considered implicitly, making it difficult to account for unequally spaced measurement occasions or to compare parameter estimates across studies that are based on different time intervals. Stochastic differential equations offer a solution to this problem by relating the discrete time model to its underlying model in continuous time. It is the goal of the present article to introduce this approach to a broader psychological audience. A step-by-step review of the relationship between discrete and continuous time modeling is provided, and we demonstrate how continuous time parameters can be obtained via structural equation modeling. An empirical example on the relationship between authoritarianism and anomia is used to illustrate the approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

From Gegenstand to Gegenstehenlassen: On the Meanings of Objectivity in Heidegger and Hegel

ABSTRACT

One of Heidegger’s enduring concerns was to develop an original meditation on the meaning of (the presence of) the present. Integral to this attempt is his critique of the understanding of the being of beings in terms of the objectivity of the object. In this paper, I trace Heidegger’s analyses of objectivity, through which Heidegger consistently establishes objectivity as non-primordial and derivative. In order to do this, however, Heidegger had to identify a specific, narrow (spatio-temporalized) conception of objectivity (in terms of Gegenstehenlassen and Vorstellen) as the hallmark of modern philosophy. I show that it is unclear whether that conception is a justified result or rather an unjustified presupposition of his approach. I then suggest what meanings of objectivity might be lost after Heidegger, by pointing to several aspects of Hegel’s notion of objectivity that are incompatible with Heidegger’s account, to wit: the lack of ‘subject-object’-terminology in his definitions of objectivity; the special language of ‘forms of’ objectivity; Hegel’s critique of representation; his notion of Gegenstand as a content with a categorical form, and, finally, that Aristotle’s notion of hypokeimenon might provide a clue as to how Hegel’s notion of object can be understood.