Safety and the True–True Problem

Standard accounts of semantics for counterfactuals confront the true–true problem: when the antecedent and consequent of a counterfactual are both actually true, the counterfactual is automatically true. This problem presents a challenge to safety‐based accounts of knowledge. In this paper, drawing on work by Angelika Kratzer, Alan Penczek, and Duncan Pritchard, we propose a revised understanding of semantics for counterfactuals utilizing machinery from generalized quantifier theory which enables safety theorists to meet the challenge of the true–true problem.     

Stereotype threat,test anxiety,and mathematics performance

We investigated the combined effects of stereotype threat and trait test anxiety on mathematics test performance. Stereotype threat and test anxiety interacted with each other in affecting performance. Trait test anxiety predicted performance only in a diagnostic condition that prevented stereotype threat by stereotype denial. A state measure of fear of the test mediated this influence. However, stereotype threat reduced the performance of low test-anxious participants to the level of high test-anxious participants. Thus, stereotype threat affected persons low in test anxiety but not persons high in test anxiety. Both phenomena apparently share common mechanisms through which they impair performance.     

Event centrality and posttraumatic outcomes in the context of pervasive violence: a study of teachers in El Salvador

It is well established that the importance assigned to a trauma can affect one's recovery and psychological health in numerous ways. Event centrality is an increasingly popular construct that captures the tendency among survivors to reevaluate and possibly accommodate their worldviews posttrauma. The centrality given to trauma appears to serve as a “double-edged sword” in that this construct might factor prominently in both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic growth (PTG). Focusing on 257 violence-exposed teachers from educational departments throughout El Salvador, we examined whether the centrality assigned by the teachers to stressful life events uniquely predicted both PTSD symptomatology and PTG. Results revealed that event centrality was positively related to both PTSD and PTG, even when controlling for demographic factors, violence exposure, and depression. In addition, PTSD symptomatology and PTG were not associated with one another in this sample. In summary, these findings support the role of event centrality as a contributing factor for PTSD and PTG among persons exposed to pervasive trauma.     

Joint response–effect compatibility

When performing jointly on a task, human agents are assumed to represent their coactor’s share of this task, and research in various joint action paradigms has focused on representing the coactor’s stimulus–response assignments. Here we show that the response–effect (R–E) contingencies exploited by a coactor also affect performance, and thus might be represented as if they were used by oneself. Participants performed an R–E compatibility task, with keypresses producing spatially compatible or incompatible action effects. We did not observe any R–E compatibility effects when the task was performed in isolation (individual go–no-go). By contrast, small but reliable R–E compatibility effects emerged when the same task was performed in a joint setting. These results indicate that the knowledge of a coactor’s R–E contingencies can influence whether self-produced action effects are used for one’s own motor control.     

Mindeststandards forensischer Nachsorge

In 2007 forensic aftercare was integrated into the German Penal Code as part of legal supervision. Since then a large and growing number of patients have been supervised by forensic psychiatric aftercare units throughout Germany. Forensic psychiatric aftercare appears to be very successful as measured by the relapse rates in delinquency. Nevertheless, only very little has been considered about which standards have contributed to and are indispensable for this success. This article presents the quality criteria which are the basis for a successful aftercare and outlines the minimum standards for the equipment and therapeutic approach and in combination with this forms the framework for an appropriate reporting system.     

Asymmetric transfer effects between cognitive and affective task disturbances

Task-irrelevant features of a stimulus can disturb performance on a given task, and this can occur for cognitive reasons such as irrelevant stimulus position, and affective reasons such as high stimulus valence. The human brain adapts to such disturbances in order to ensure successful task performance. Adaptations can occur in a transient manner in response to recent events, and they can also be sustained to account for overall probabilities of disturbances. Here, we study the mutual interplay between affective and cognitive task disturbances under conditions of sustained conflict adaptation. More precisely, we examined the trajectory of finger movements in a speeded classification task and investigated whether adaptation to a high probability of spatial disturbances transfers to the impact of affective disturbances (Experiment 1) and whether adaptation to a high probability of affective disturbances transfers to the impact of spatial disturbances (Experiment 2). Our observations point towards an asymmetric transfer from adaptation to affective onto the processing of cognitive disturbances, but not the other way around.     

Zugänge schaffen: Möglichkeiten niedrigschwelliger Drogenarbeit in der Adoleszenz

Addictions and the management of their side-effects offer a considerable challenge to our society. And though different studies show different results, we can realistically assume that more than 330,000 Austrians are alcoholics, the number of problematic drug-addicts being about 30,000, of which a growing number is making use of substitution treatment.This article will provide some insight into the practice of low-threshold drug services, which are primarily responsible for opioid-dependent or polytoxikoman substance-dependent people. These services are suitable for the target group, even if they do not have the motivation for change and are unable to end substance use. The necessary continuity of access to healthcare is maintained to achieve the basic objectives of survival and harm reduction. Referral to further treatment and therapies can be applied at the right time. The services are based in the social environment, near the drug scene, and they are acceptance-oriented. The reported practical experiences emerge from the many years of work of Kontaktladen und Streetwork im Drogenbereich, an institution of Caritas Steiermark in Graz. This overview documents the possibilities of low-threshold drug work, from which adolescents benefit, and supplements these with data from the 2013 Kontaktladen annual report.     

Investigating the Links Between Cultural Values and Belief in Conspiracy Theories: The Key Roles of Collectivism and Masculinity

Research suggests that belief in conspiracy theories (CT) stems from basic psychological mechanisms and is linked to other belief systems (e.g., religious beliefs). While previous research has extensively examined individual and contextual variables associated with CT beliefs, it has not yet investigated the role of culture. In the current research, we tested, based on a situated cultural cognition perspective, the extent to which culture predicts CT beliefs. Using Hofstede's model of cultural values, three nation-level analyses of data from 25, 19, and 18 countries using different measures of CT beliefs (Study 1, N = 5323; Study 2a, N = 12,255; Study 2b, N = 30,994) revealed positive associations between masculinity, collectivism, and CT beliefs. A cross-sectional study among U.S. citizens (Study 3, N = 350), using individual-level measures of Hofstede's values, replicated these findings. A meta-analysis of correlations across studies corroborated the presence of positive links between CT beliefs, collectivism, r = .31, 95% CI = [.15; .47], and masculinity, r = .39, 95% CI = [.18; .59]. Our results suggest that in addition to individual differences and contextual variables, cultural factors also play an important role in shaping CT beliefs.