Analytic thinking reduces belief in conspiracy theories

Belief in conspiracy theories has been associated with a range of negative health, civic, and social outcomes, requiring reliable methods of reducing such belief. Thinking dispositions have been highlighted as one possible factor associated with belief in conspiracy theories, but actual relationships have only been infrequently studied. In Study 1, we examined associations between belief in conspiracy theories and a range of measures of thinking dispositions in a British sample (N = 990). Results indicated that a stronger belief in conspiracy theories was significantly associated with lower analytic thinking and open-mindedness and greater intuitive thinking. In Studies 2–4, we examined the causational role played by analytic thinking in relation to conspiracist ideation. In Study 2 (N = 112), we showed that a verbal fluency task that elicited analytic thinking reduced belief in conspiracy theories. In Study 3 (N = 189), we found that an alternative method of eliciting analytic thinking, which related to cognitive disfluency, was effective at reducing conspiracist ideation in a student sample. In Study 4, we replicated the results of Study 3 among a general population sample (N = 140) in relation to generic conspiracist ideation and belief in conspiracy theories about the July 7, 2005, bombings in London. Our results highlight the potential utility of supporting attempts to promote analytic thinking as a means of countering the widespread acceptance of conspiracy theories.     

Religion,Morality, and Democratic Virtues: A Liberal Theological Approach to Pastoral Care

Starting from a general definition of pastoral care and politics, it is argued that pastoral care can have nothing to do with party politics. Instead, the theme of pastoral care and politics should be regarded as a sub-set of the larger issue of religion and politics in a democratic society. Adopting the view that political philosophy is at bottom an exercise in moral reflection, this article focuses on two interrelated issues: the compatibility of religion and democracy, and the connection between religion and morality. The argument proceeds in three steps. In the first section, it is demonstrated why and how major political philosophers deem it necessary to impose certain limitations on the role of religion in the public square. In the second section, Kierkegaard’s interpretation of the biblical story of Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac (Gen. 22) is treated as a problematic tradition in Christian theology of admiring authoritarian faith. Finally, as a means of overcoming these difficulties, a plea is made for returning to the tradition of liberal theology and its emphasis on the internal connection between religion and morality, and on developing conscience and civic virtues by way of self-culture.     

Heterogeneity of treatment changes after psychodynamic therapy within a one year follow‐up: A replication study

Naturalistic psychotherapy effect studies commonly report effect sizes for the total sample. However, a previous study of SCL‐90 Global Severity Index (GSI) improvement in a large outpatient sample used a cluster analytic strategy and reported clinical relevant outcome trajectories that could be grouped into early within‐treatment improvement, late improvement in the follow‐up period, and deteriorating patients with slight improvement that was lost at follow‐up. We explore GSI outcome trajectories and clinical significant change in a sample of 320 patients at a public psychiatric outpatient psychodynamic group therapy unit, the majority with anxiety, personality, and mood disorders. The study revealed large discharge and follow‐up effect sizes but more than one third of the patients were without measurable improvement. The major clusters described above were confirmed, and revealed unique clinical and socio‐demographic characteristics. Late improvers, as compared with early improvers, were characterized by anxiety symptoms and lack of network support after controlling for GSI at admission. Similarly, deteriorating patients had longer duration of illness and less favourable social characteristics compared with the other two groups. Early improving patients were less likely to have participated in short‐term groups, and only one third participated in additional treatment compared with more than 69% of the other patients. Severe and socially affected psychiatric patients, and patients with anxiety and agoraphobic symptoms may be less optimally treated in short‐term time limited psychodynamic groups. There is an obvious need for diversity of treatment offers, better integration of psycho‐social treatment components, and long‐term open ended treatment.     

Trust and the value of overconfidence: a Bayesian perspective on social network communication

The paper presents and defends a Bayesian theory of trust in social networks. In the first part of the paper, we provide justifications for the basic assumptions behind the model, and we give reasons for thinking that the model has plausible consequences for certain kinds of communication. In the second part of the paper we investigate the phenomenon of overconfidence. Many psychological studies have found that people think they are more reliable than they actually are. Using a simulation environment that has been developed in order to make our model computationally tractable we show that in our model inquirers are indeed sometimes better off from an epistemic perspective overestimating the reliability of their own inquiries. We also show, by contrast, that people are rarely better off overestimating the reliability of others. On the basis of these observations we formulate a novel hypothesis about the value of overconfidence.     

Channeling Power Across Ecological Systems: Social Regularities in Community Organizing

Relational and social network perspectives provide opportunities for more holistic conceptualizations of phenomena of interest in community psychology, including power and empowerment. In this article, we apply these tools to build on multilevel frameworks of empowerment by proposing that networks of relationships between individuals constitute the connective spaces between ecological systems. Drawing on an example of a model for grassroots community organizing practiced by WISDOM—a statewide federation supporting local community organizing initiatives in Wisconsin—we identify social regularities (i.e., relational and temporal patterns) that promote empowerment and the development and exercise of social power through building and altering relational ties. Through an emphasis on listening-focused one-to-one meetings, reflection, and social analysis, WISDOM organizing initiatives construct and reinforce social regularities that develop social power in the organizing initiatives and advance psychological empowerment among participant leaders in organizing. These patterns are established by organizationally driven brokerage and mobilization of interpersonal ties, some of which span ecological systems. Hence, elements of these power-focused social regularities can be conceptualized as cross-system channels through which micro-level empowerment processes feed into macro-level exercise of social recommendations for theory and designpower, and vice versa. We describe examples of these channels in action, and offer of future action research.     

A Life Domains Perspective on Acculturation and Psychological Adjustment: A Study of Refugees from the Former Soviet Union

The study articulates a contextual approach to research on acculturation of immigrants, suggesting that the relationship between acculturation and adjustment is dependent on the cultural demands of the life domains considered. Specifically, the study investigated the mediating effects of adjustment in occupational and social life domains on the relationship between acculturation and psychological adjustment for 391 refugees from the former Soviet Union. The study used bilinear measures of acculturation to the host (American) and heritage (Russian) cultures. Using Structural Equation Modeling, the study confirmed the hypothesized relationships, such that the positive effects of American acculturation on psychological adjustment were mediated by occupational adjustment, and the effects of Russian acculturation on psychological adjustment were mediated by satisfaction with co-ethnic social support. Psychological adjustment was measured in two ways, as psychological well-being, using a measure of life satisfaction, and as symptoms of depression and anxiety, using the Hopkins symptom checklist (HSCL). Life satisfaction served as a mediator between adjustment in occupational and social domains and HSCL, suggesting that it may be an intervening variable through which environmental stress associated with immigration contributes to the development of symptoms of mental disorder.     

The Probability of Guilt in Criminal Cases: Are People Aware of Being ‘Beyond Reasonable Doubt’?

Data from a series of studies presenting video recorded witness statements to laypersons and legal professionals were examined to trace the relationship between judged probability of guilt and the willingness to vote guilty or not guilty in hypothetical trials, in the absence of specific jury instructions. The results show that a majority of jury‐eligible young and elderly participants, and police officers, were willing to convict a defendant when the judged probability of guilt exceeded .6. This is considerably below the legally accepted standard of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’, which usually is equated with a very high, around .9 perceived certainty. When jury deliberations were allowed, the threshold for conviction rose, approaching the standard evinced by trial judges under the same conditions. The results suggest that people prefer to vote for guilt according to a balance of probabilities principle, considering only the individual case, and disregarding the implied frequencies of false convictions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Building an Environmental Ethics from the Confucian Concepts of Zhengming and Datong

From the ‘DuPont factory’ case in China, one can see that contemporary ecology is faced with two underlying problems: A lack of responsibility toward the environment beyond being economically profitable, and a lack of care for what is outside of one’s immediate environment. For the purpose of confronting these two problems, I suggest two Confucian concepts: 1. zhengming 正名 (Rectification of names) and 2. datong 大同 (Great Harmony). These two concepts can be used to develop an environmental ethics and thus play a crucial role in solving the two above-mentioned problems. Zhengming is originally a political concept that was put forward by Confucius. According to this concept, everyone should fulfill their duty to the utmost in accordance with their individual roles. Datong is Confucius’ political ideal and emphasizes gong 公 (public) as a spirit for caring for tian xia 天下 (all under Heaven). A Confucian-style harmonious society is achieved by ‘letting every being manifest its mandate to the full’ (ge jin xing fen 各盡性分). When we turn toward the natural environment instead of political affairs, these concepts of zhengming and datong can become a proactive view of environmental ethics. From this view, zhengming emphasizes that ‘humans fulfill their responsibility of being humans’ (ren ren 人人). This means that humans should take responsibility toward the natural world, and one might say that ren ren implies an impetus for protecting the environment. Similarly, datong emphasizes caring for tian xia, by not limiting oneself to certain races, species, national boundaries, or geographical regions. Because of this, I believe that zhengming and datong can certainly resolve the above-mentioned problems: A lack of a sense of responsibility toward the environment, and a lack of a sense of care for what is outside of the confines of one’s immediate environment.