Development of the Collectivist‐Sensitive Trait Forgivingness Scale

Mounting evidence suggests that experiences of forgiveness vary across cultures. However, culturally sensitive conceptualizations of forgiveness lack empirical support, in part because psychometrically sound instruments designed to capture unique aspects of forgiveness in non‐Western cultures are rare. For this reason, we developed the Collectivist‐Sensitive Trait Forgivingness Scale (TFS‐CS), which is designed to measure trait forgivingness within societies characterized by a blend of individualistic and collectivistic worldviews. In Study 1 (N = 597), exploratory factor analysis revealed a 16‐item three‐factor structure of third‐party forgiveness, collectivistic forgiveness, and interpersonal resentment among South Africans. In Study 2 (N = 897), the three‐factor model replicated in an independent South African sample. Findings also offered preliminary evidence supporting the construct validity of the TFS‐CS. Overall, these studies support a conceptualization of trait forgivingness with similarities and differences relative to Western models and highlight the importance of appreciating the influence of culture when measuring forgiveness.     

The Empathic Foundations of Security Dilemma De‐escalation

Security dilemma theorists have long recognized the importance of empathy to the de‐escalation of conflict between actors caught in security dilemma dynamics, but they have left empathy undertheorized and have neglected to recognize its deeply contested nature. This article responds to this omission by bringing multidisciplinary literature on empathy to bear on security dilemma thinking. Contrary to some contemporary empathy research that draws attention to its automatic, unconscious, and intuitive properties, the article highlights the deliberate, effortful, and reflexive capacity to empathize across complex social contexts such as security dilemma dynamics. It shows how empathy of this kind can lead actors to moderate their positions on key issues at the heart of a conflict, reinterpret their interests, and broaden the zone of possible agreement between themselves and an adversary. The article demonstrates these notions empirically by locating empathy within the de‐escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran between 2009 and 2016. Drawing on primary interview material with former U.S. officials, the argument is made that the development of specific empathic capacities by key U.S. officials played an important and unrecognized role in the de‐escalation of security dilemma dynamics between the United States and Iran.     

Temporal dynamics in attention bias: effects of sex differences,task timing parameters,and stimulus valence

New methods of calculating indices from the dot-probe task measure temporal dynamics in attention bias or fluctuations in attention bias towards and away from emotional stimuli over time. However, it is unclear how task-specific parameters such as stimulus valence and stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) as well as participant sex affect temporal dynamics in attention bias. To address this, male and female participants (N?=?106) completed either a fearful or happy face dot-probe task with four levels of SOA (84?ms, 168?ms, 336?ms, and 672?ms). Results suggest that temporal dynamics in attention bias are (1) greatest at the longest SOA, (2) greater in females, and (3) insensitive to stimulus valence. These findings indicate that participant sex and task timing, but not stimulus valence, are related to temporal dynamics in attention bias and should be considered in future studies utilizing this approach.     

An evaluation of the single‐session interview‐informed synthesized contingency analysis

Functional analysis can often be a lengthy process requiring time and resources not readily available to practitioners working with children who exhibit severe problem behavior. The interview‐informed synthesized contingency analysis (IISCA) was recently developed as an alternative functional analysis format that improved analytic efficiency by requiring only 25 min to conduct. Furthermore, a within‐session analysis of the first test session of the entire IISCA could reduce the process to as little as a single 5‐min session. We extended this previous research by conducting what was termed the single‐session IISCA with three boys who exhibited severe problem behavior. A function‐based treatment package, including reinforcement thinning, informed by the results of the single‐session IISCA nearly eliminated problem behavior for all three participants. We suggest that the single‐session IISCA could be a viable alternative to other functional analysis formats when time is limited.     

Dissociable spatial memory systems revealed by typical and atypical human development

Rodent lesion studies have revealed the existence of two causally dissociable spatial memory systems, localized to the hippocampus and striatum that are preferentially sensitive to environmental boundaries and landmark objects, respectively. Here we test whether these two memory systems are causally dissociable in humans by examining boundary‐ and landmark‐based memory in typical and atypical development. Adults with Williams syndrome (WS)—a developmental disorder with known hippocampal abnormalities—and typical children and adults, performed a navigation task that involved learning locations relative to a boundary or a landmark object. We found that boundary‐based memory was severely impaired in WS compared to typically‐developing mental‐age matched (MA) children and chronological‐age matched (CA) adults, whereas landmark‐based memory was similar in all groups. Furthermore, landmark‐based memory matured earlier in typical development than boundary‐based memory, consistent with the idea that the WS cognitive phenotype arises from developmental arrest of late maturing cognitive systems. Together, these findings provide causal and developmental evidence for dissociable spatial memory systems in humans.     

Abnormal retinotopic representations in human visual cortex revealed by fMRI

The representation of the visual field in early visual areas is retinotopic. The point-to-point relationship on the retina is therefore maintained on the convoluted cortical surface. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been able to demonstrate the retinotopic representation of the visual field in occipital cortex of normal subjects. Furthermore, visual areas that are retinotopic can be identified on computationally flattened cortical maps on the basis of positions of the vertical and horizontal meridians. Here, we investigate abnormal retinotopic representations in human visual cortex with fMRI. We present three case studies in which patients with visual disorders are investigated. We have tested a subject who only possesses operating rod photoreceptors. We find in this case that the cortex undergoes a remapping whereby regions that would normally represent central field locations now map more peripheral positions in the visual field: In a human albino we also find abnormal visual cortical activity. Monocular stimulation of each hemifield resulted in activations in the hemisphere contralateral to the stimulated eye. This is consistent with abnormal decussation at the optic chiasm in albinism. Finally, we report a case where a lesion to white matter has resulted in a lack of measurable activity in occipital cortex. The activity was absent for a small region of the visual field, which was found to correspond to the subject's field defect. The cases selected have been chosen to demonstrate the power of fMRI in identifying abnormalities in the cortical representations of the visual field in patients with visual dysfunction. Furthermore, the experiments are able to show how the cortex is capable of modifying the visual field representation in response to abnormal input.     

A dynamic multilevel model of demographic diversity and misfit effects

In this study, the authors proposed and evaluated the linkages of a dynamic multilevel model of demographic diversity and misfit effects in a large sample of quick-service restaurants. Using a cross-level approach, the authors studied an employee's demographic misfit in relation to coworkers' demographics as a predictor of turnover risk over time. At the business-unit level, they studied changes in restaurant demographic diversity in relation to changes in profitability over time and unit turnover rates in relation to profitability. The authors also studied the impact of the match between the racial compositions of the restaurants and their communities on profitability. The results supported linkages between demographic misfit and turnover and partially supported a negative association between racial diversity and changes in profitability.     

Attachment, self-esteem, worldviews, and terror management: evidence for a tripartite security system

On the basis of prior work integrating attachment theory and terror management theory, the authors propose a model of a tripartite security system consisting of dynamically interrelated attachment, self-esteem, and worldview processes. Four studies are presented that, combined with existing evidence, support the prediction derived from the model that threats to one component of the security system result in compensatory defensive activation of other components. Further, the authors predicted and found that individual differences in attachment style moderate the defenses. In Studies 1 and 2, attachment threats motivated worldview defense among anxiously attached participants and motivated self-enhancement (especially among avoidant participants), effects similar to those caused by mortality salience. In Studies 3 and 4, a worldview threat and a self-esteem threat caused attachment-related proximity seeking among fearful participants and avoidance of proximity among dismissing participants. The authors' model provides an overarching framework within which to study attachment, self-esteem, and worldviews.     

A Functional Role Analysis of Reasons

One strategy for providing an analysis of practical rationality is to start with the notion of a practical reason as primitive. Then it will be quite tempting to think that the rationality of an action can be defined rather simply in terms of ‘the balance of reasons’. But just as, for many philosophical purposes, it is extremely useful to identify the meaning of a word in terms of the systematic contribution the word makes to the meanings of whole sentences, this paper argues that it is extremely useful to explain the nature of practical reasons in terms of the systematic contributions that such reasons make to the wholesale rational statuses of actions. This strategy gives us a clear view of two logically distinct normative roles for practical reasons – justifying and requiring – that are often conflated, and it allows us to give clear definitions of what ‘the strength of a reason’ means within each of these roles. The final section of the paper explores some implications of the resulting view for the internalism/externalism debate about practical reasons, and for the practical significance of moral theory.