Religious Affiliation and Attitudes Towards Gay Men: On the Mediating Role of Masculinity Threat

Previous research suggests that people from some religious backgrounds hold more negative attitudes towards gay men than others do. The current research focuses on psychological variables as an alternative explanation to religious affiliation, testing whether masculinity beliefs regarding gay men and their perceived threat to one's masculinity can explain such between‐group differences in negative attitudes. With a sample of 155 male heterosexual university students (Muslims and Christians in Germany), we found that Muslims held more negative attitudes towards gay men than Christians did. Yet, this relation was partially mediated by beliefs about the masculinity of gay men and the experience of masculinity threat imposed by gay men, substantially reducing the effect of religious affiliation on antigay attitudes. In sum, similar psychological processes explained antigay attitudes of both Muslims and Christians. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Informing Children of Their Newborn Screening Carrier Result for Sickle Cell or Cystic Fibrosis: Qualitative Study of Parents’ Intentions,Views and Support Needs

Newborn screening for cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease enables the early identification and treatment of affected children, prolonging and enhancing their quality of life. Screening, however, also identifies carriers. There are minimal or no health concerns for carriers. There are, however, potential implications when carriers reach reproductive age, and thus research attention has been given to how best to convey information about these implications in a meaningful, balanced way which does not raise undue anxieties. Most research focuses on the communication from health professional to parent, yet ultimately this information is of greatest significance to the child. This study examines parents’ intentions to inform their child of newborn screening carrier results. Semi-structured interviews with 67 family members explored their intentions to inform the child, and related views and support needs. Parents almost unanimously indicated they planned to inform the child themselves. Health professionals were expected, however, to provide guidance on this process either to parents through advice and provision of written materials, or directly to the child. Although parents initially stated that they would convey the result once their child had developed the ability to understand the information, many appeared to focus on discrete life events linked to informed reproductive decision making. The results highlight ways in which health care providers may assist parents, including providing written material suitable for intergenerational communication and ensuring that cascade screening is accessible for those seeking it. Priorities for further research are identified in light of the results.     

C'est le Ton Qui Fait la Critique—for the powerful: the effects of feedback framing and power on affective reactions

Although negative feedback is usually provided with the best of intentions, it often causes unfavorable affective reactions in the receiver such as anger and shame. The purpose of the present research is to identify factors that may attenuate or intensify these reactions to negative feedback. We argue and show across a laboratory experiment and a field study that feedback framing may affect feelings of anger and shame, but only for high (vs. low) power individuals. Given the prevalence of power differences in many feedback situations (e.g., in the organizational context), our findings may provide valuable information for the successful provision of negative feedback.     

Ego depletion and its paradoxical effects on ethical decision making

Whereas previous research has shown that ego depletion can lead to an increase in unethical behavior, we suggest that this effect hinges on the social consensus of the unethical behavior. Drawing from theories on social consensus and dual-process decision-making, we hypothesize and confirm that ego depletion is associated with increased unethical behavior of comparatively low social consensus. We then find that, as hypothesized, ego depletion is associated with decreased unethical behavior of high social consensus (Studies 1 and 2). Results further suggest that, controlling for state self-control resources, depleted participants are less likely to engage in unethical behavior of high social consensus as a result of increased subjective fatigue (Study 3). Taken together, our findings challenge a widely-held assumption about the negative effects of ego depletion on ethical decision making.     

The role of moral knowledge in everyday immorality: What does it matter if I know what is right?

In contrast to other well-known cognitive models of moral decision-making, social cognitive theory posits that individuals can disengage from their own moral standards thereby allowing themselves to commit immoral acts. While previous research largely supports the general premise of moral disengagement, we suggest that direct tests of moral disengagement processes and the commensurate diminished role of moral knowledge are conspicuously absent. In five studies, we use multiple methods to capture both knowledge of the immorality of an act and theorized in situ processes of moral disengagement. Ultimately, we find no evidence of the proposed processes associated with moral disengagement. Furthermore, our data suggests that moral knowledge is a key driver of moral behavior in everyday situations and is not easily set aside. We conclude by discussing the implications of this research for theory and practice.     

Youth belonging and cognitive engagement in organized activities: A large-scale field study

Numerous studies of organized activities have found that participation is associated with a range of positive outcomes; however, findings from recent randomized trials have been more mixed. Understanding youth's psychological experiences of program involvement – their cognitive and emotional reaction to and participation in activities – may be key to understanding the influence of organized activities. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to investigate correlates of youth belonging and cognitive engagement in a sample of 1160 youth in 123 program offerings in 66 sites. Results revealed that intensity (frequency) of exposure positively predicted belonging and cognitive engagement; however, duration was negatively associated with cognitive engagement. The staff practice of providing a welcoming atmosphere predicted belonging; whereas provision of active skill-building predicted cognitive engagement. These relations were found to vary across content type.     

Australasian Journal of Philosophy Contents of Volume 88

Veritism says that the fundamental source of epistemic value for a doxastic state is the extent to which it represents the world correctly: that is, its fundamental epistemic value is determined entirely by its truth or falsity. The Swamping Problem says that Veritism is incompatible with two pre-theoretic beliefs about epistemic value: (I) a true justified belief is more (epistemically) valuable than a true unjustified belief; (II) a false justified belief is more (epistemically) valuable than a false unjustified belief. In this paper, I consider the Swamping Problem from the vantage-point of decision theory. I note that the central premise in the argument is what Stefánsson and Bradley call Chance Neutrality in Richard Jeffrey’s decision-theoretic framework. And I describe their argument that it should be rejected. Using this insight, I respond to the Swamping Problem on behalf of the veritist.     

Aging of theory of mind: The influence of educational level and cognitive processing

Previous studies of theory of mind (ToM) in old age have provided mixed results. We predicted that educational level and cognitive processing are two factors influencing the pattern of the aging of ToM. To test this hypothesis, a younger group who received higher education (mean age 20.46 years), an older group with an education level equal to that of the young group (mean age 76.29 years), and an older group with less education (mean age 73.52 years) were recruited. ToM tasks included the following tests: the second‐order false‐belief task, the faux‐pas task, the eyes test, and tests of fundamental aspects of cognitive function that included two background tests (memory span and processing speed) and three subcomponents of executive function (inhibition, updating, and shifting). We found that the younger group and the older group with equally high education outperformed the older group with less education in false‐belief and faux‐pas tasks. However, there was no significant difference between the two former groups. The three groups of participants performed equivalently in the eyes test as well as in control tasks (false‐belief control question, faux‐pas control question, faux‐pas control story, and Eyes Test control task). The younger group outperformed the other two groups in the cognitive processing tasks. Mediation analyses showed that difficulties in inhibition, memory span, and processing speed mediated the age differences in false‐belief reasoning. Also, the variables of inhibition, updating, memory span, and processing speed mediated age‐related variance in faux‐pas. Discussion focused on the links between ToM aging, educational level, and cognitive processing.     

Group-based self-regulation: The effects of regulatory focus

We review a programme of research on responses to group-based feedback—specifically, on how the source, content, and context of feedback intersect to produce individual willingness to accept both criticism and praise and to change one’s actions accordingly. We first explore the conditions under which group-directed criticism is most effective in terms of stimulating willingness to amend group practices. This is followed by the investigation of the effectiveness of different types of group-based praise, and an analysis of the identity-verifying properties of positive feedback. Finally, we consider the effects of feedback delivered simultaneously at group and individual levels, and explore the reciprocal implications of feedback content for source categorisation. Throughout, we focus on the role of identity concerns and group image management in responses to feedback. We discuss how this approach fits with other areas of literature, including research on self-verification and strategic behaviour in intergroup contexts.     

On human needs and moral appraisals

For a large and important range of cases the connection between ‘X needs y’ and ‘X ought to have y’, though not an entailment, is still non‐contingent. Sentences in which ‘needs’ occurs have several uses) one of which is normative; when such sentences are used to make statements, the statements constitute a good reason for asserting that what is needed ought to be done. It must, however, be recognized that such a reason may not be a sufficient reason for the moral appraisal that what is needed ought to be done. It is not self‐contradictory to assert ‘He needs it but he ought not to have it’, though in moral contexts if it is stated that someone needs something or that something is needed we are entitled to infer that, everything else being equal, he should have it or that it should be done. But often there are countervailing considerations which defeat that initial presumption. I attempt to support these contentions by 1) describing several key uses of “need sentences” and 2) by elucidating the relations between the uses of such sentences and moral judgments.