Self-control in action: implicit dispositions toward goals and away from temptations

Five studies examined whether, in self-control dilemmas, individuals develop an implicit disposition to approach goals and avoid temptations, psychologically as well as physically. Using a method developed by A. K. Solarz (1960; see also K. L. Duckworth, J. A. Bargh, M. Garcia, & S. Chaiken, 2002), the authors assessed the time for pulling and pushing a lever in response to goal- and temptation-related stimuli (e.g., studying and partying). The results show that individuals offset the influence of tempting activities by automatically avoiding these stimuli (faster pushing responses) and by approaching stimuli related to an overarching goal (faster pulling responses). These implicit self-control dispositions varied as a function of the magnitude of the self-control conflict, itself defined by how strongly individuals were attracted to temptations and held the longer term goal. These dispositions were further shown to play a role in successful self-control.     

Is It Justifiable to Abandon All Search for a Logic of Discovery?

In his influential paper, ‘Why Was the Logic of Discovery Abandoned?’, Laudan contends that there has been no philosophical rationale for a logic of discovery since the emergence of consequentialism in the 19th century. It is the purpose of this paper to show that consequentialism does not involve the rejection of all types of logic of discovery. Laudan goes too far in his interpretation of the historical shift from generativism to consequentialism, and his claim that the context of pursuit belongs to neither discovery nor justification is based on narrow interpretations of the contexts of discovery and justification. As a result, Laudan draws unwarranted conclusions concerning both the early and contemporary defenders of a logic of discovery. A methodological logic of discovery—which involves self‐corrective methods of hypothesis generation that promote the long‐term goals of science and which require consequential support for justification—is a type of logic of discovery that survives the shift to consequentialism.     

New Technologies,New Identities,and the Growth of Mass Opposition in the Arab Spring

The recent revolutions known as the Arab Spring have been characterized as the products of social media. However, there is an alternative view that revolution takes place on the street or the battlefield and that the role of social media has been overstated. We argue that some new technologies can serve to facilitate rapid social change when they provide ways to overcome restrictions on the freedoms of expression and association. In doing so, communication technologies enable the formation of new social identities that can challenge existing social orders by promoting the growth of a social movement that is positioned as loyal to the nation and its people but opposed to the government. Our analyses focus on the role of social media in spreading video images of dissent and the links between this video material, satellite television, and mobile telephones in Tunisia and Egypt.     

Apocalyptic Specularity in Dante's Eschatology: Narcissus and the Imagination of Salvation

Dante's Commedia provides a performative eschatology or “apocalyptic specularity” that shows well how to keep concerns for apophasis, imagination, and salvation in balance. His literary appreciation for mirroring enables him to re‐present and imitate revelation. Displaying a metaphysically robust imagination, Dante's eschatology is akin to the biblical genre of apocalypse. Dantean analogy—personal and historical while theological and apocalyptical—resists tendencies to account for theology in reducibly negativist terms. The Divine Comedy hopes for the salvation of Narcissus, whose figure reflects the “everyman,” who would furthermore reflect even the triune God.     

Psychiatric Morbidity and Family Environment Among Female Juvenile Detainees in a Malaysian Sample

Family environmental factors have been implicated in the development of delinquency and adolescent psychiatric disorders. We examined the association between psychiatric disorders and family environmental factors among female juvenile detainees. A hundred female juvenile detainees in a Malaysian rehabilitation center (12–17 years-old) were assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Child and Adolescent and the Family Environment Scale. Majority of participants (56 %) had a psychiatric disorder, the commonest being Disruptive Behavior Disorders (40 %) and Depressive Disorders (30 %). Multivariate analysis found younger age (OR 0.52; 95 % CI 0.29, 0.94), older maternal age (OR 1.15; 95 % CI 1.03, 1.28), family history of crime (OR 7.19; 95 % CI 1.05, 49.43), family environment i.e. achievement orientation (OR 1.11; 95 % CI 1.02, 1.20) and control (OR 1.12; 95 % CI 1.03, 1.22) as significant factors for psychiatric disorder. This study demonstrated the role of age (younger adolescent and older mother), family history of crime and family environment beyond socio-economic status in psychiatric morbidity among female juvenile detainees. Future larger studies are needed to clarify familial-genetic factors that may impact strategies for family-centric mental health interventions.     

Examining the influence of anecdotal stories and the interplay of individual differences on reasoning

In two experiments, we explored whether anecdotal stories influenced how individuals reasoned when evaluating scientific news articles. We additionally considered the role of education level and thinking dispositions on reasoning. Participants evaluated eight scientific news articles that drew questionable interpretations from the evidence. Overall, anecdotal stories decreased the ability to reason scientifically even when controlling for education level and thinking dispositions. Additionally, we found that article length was related to participants' ratings of the news articles. Our study demonstrates that anecdotes can discourage scientific reasoning while also pointing to the potential influence of article length on judgements of quality.     

Yearning and Its Measurement in Complicated Grief

Persistent intense yearning for the deceased is a core clinical feature of complicated grief (CG) that distinguishes it from other mental disorders that develop following loss. The Yearning in Situations of Loss Scale (YSL) is a recently developed assessment of yearning. To assess the psychometric properties of the YSL in those with CG, we administered the YSL, Inventory of Complicated Grief, and Quick Inventory of Depression Symptomatology to 303 treatment-seeking bereaved adults with CG. Our results suggest the YSL is a reliable assessment with acceptable convergent and discriminant validity as a measure of yearning in those with CG.     

The role of attention at retrieval on the false recognition of negative emotional DRM lists

This study examined the role of attention at retrieval on the false recognition of emotional items using the Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM) paradigm. Previous research has shown that divided attention at test increases false remember judgements for neutral critical lures. However, no research has yet directly assessed emotional false memories when attention is manipulated at retrieval. To examine this, participants studied negative (low in valence and high in arousal) and neutral DRM lists and completed recognition tests under conditions of full and divided attention. Results revealed that divided attention at retrieval increased false remember judgements for all critical lures compared to retrieval under full attention, but in both retrieval conditions, false memories were greater for negative compared to neutral stimuli. We believe that this is due to reliance on a more easily accessible (meaning of the word) but less diagnostic form of source monitoring, amplified under conditions of divided attention.     

Ethically Allocating COVID-19 Drugs Via Pre-approval Access and Emergency Use Authorization

Abstract

Allocating access to unapproved COVID-19 drugs available via Pre-Approval Access pathways or Emergency Use Authorization raises unique challenges at the intersection of clinical care and research. In conditions of scarcity, prioritization approaches should minimize harm, maximize benefit, and promote fairness. To promote continued data collection, patients seeking access to unproven COVID-19 drugs should receive lower priority for allocation when they decline to participate in clinical trials, either of the requested drug or other investigational products, offering a comparable balance of risks and benefits; special attention should be paid to concerns of voluntariness and distrust. In addition, institutional treatment protocols that can contribute more robust real world data should be preferred to single patient requests for access, with priority for inclusion based on traditional clinical allocation criteria relying on available evidence. Fairness demands distribution of these protocols across a diverse range of sites, particularly those serving marginalized populations, among other protections.