Need for closure is associated with urgency in perceptual decision-making

Constant decision-making underpins much of daily life, from simple perceptual decisions about navigation through to more complex decisions about important life events. At many scales, a fundamental task of the decision-maker is to balance competing needs for caution and urgency: fast decisions can be more efficient, but also more often wrong. We show how a single mathematical framework for decision-making explains the urgency/caution balance across decision-making at two very different scales. This explanation has been applied at the level of neuronal circuits (on a time scale of hundreds of milliseconds) through to the level of stable personality traits (time scale of years).     

The Honeymoon is Over: Occupational Relocation and Changes in Mental Health Among United Methodist Clergy

In this study we examine how the process of relocation affects the mental health of United Methodist clergy and the extent to which relocation is associated with changes in clergy perception of the workplace environment and feelings of self-efficacy. We analyzed data from a longitudinal survey of 1375 clergy, one quarter of whom experienced a move between the baseline survey in 2008 and the follow-up survey 2 years later. Contrary to expectations, we find that mental distress decreased for those who recently moved compared to those who had moved 2 years prior. We also find strong evidence of a “honeymoon effect.” Recently relocated clergy report higher levels of self-efficacy and higher workplace morale compared to those who do not relocate. This study underscores the importance of examining the short and longer-term impact of moving on mental distress and presses scholars to consider the ways in which, under certain circumstances, relocation may improve mental health.     

Re-Thinking the Human: Heidegger,Fundamental Ontology,and Humanism

This essay engages with Heidegger’s attempt to re-think the human being. It shows that Heidegger re-thinks the human being by challenging the way the human being has been thought, and the mode of thinking traditionally used to think about the human being. I spend significant time discussing Heidegger’s attempt before, in the final section, asking some critical questions of Heidegger’s endeavour and pointing out how his analysis can re-invigorate contemporary attempts to understand the human being.     

The use of Afrocentric features as cues for judgment in the presence of diagnostic information

Prior research has shown that within racial category, group members with more Afrocentric facial features are presumed to have more stereotypic traits than those with less Afrocentric features. The present experiment investigated whether this form of feature‐based stereotyping occurs when more diagnostic information is available. The participants were provided with photographs and information about the aggressive (or non‐aggressive) behaviour of 64 African Americans in four different situations, and asked to predict the likelihood of aggression in a fifth situation. As expected, each instance of aggression increased estimates that a target would behave aggressively in the unknown situation. With degree of displayed aggression controlled, however, targets with more Afrocentric features were judged as significantly more likely to behave aggressively than targets with less Afrocentric features. Thus, stereotyping based on Afrocentric features occurs even when other obviously‐relevant information is available. This suggests that it may be difficult to detect and avoid. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Neurobiological and Cognitive Profile of Young Binge Drinkers: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Neuropsychology Review - This review provides the first systematic and quantitative synthesis of the literature examining the relationship between binge drinking, cognition, brain structure and...     

Relationships between Sabbath Observance and Mental,Physical, and Spiritual Health in Clergy

Pastoral Psychology - Keeping the Sabbath, that is, setting a day apart for rest and spiritual rejuvenation, has been related to better mental health and less stress in cross-sectional studies....     

Assessment of the Content and Process of Genetic Counseling: A Critical Review of Empirical Studies

This article reviews studies that assessed the process and content of genetic counseling communication. A systematic search of the literature was undertaken of studies that audio- or videotaped genetic counseling sessions conducted by genetics health care providers and subjected them to communication analyses. A total of 18 studies (published in 34 articles) were identified that met the eligibility criteria. Studies show that providers speak more than clients, that a large proportion of communication is biomedical rather than psychosocial and that the teaching model of genetic counseling is widely implemented. Higher levels of counselor facilitation of understanding and empathic responses, lower levels of verbal dominance (ratio of counselor to client talk) and the provision of a summary letter of the consultation are associated with more positive client outcomes. Findings from these studies should be used as an evidence base for teaching and continuing education of genetic counseling providers.     

Priority setting in health care: on the relation between reasonable choices on the micro-level and the macro-level

There has been much discussion about how to obtain legitimacy at macro-level priority setting in health care by use of fair procedures, but how should we consider priority setting by individual clinicians or health workers at the micro-level? Despite the fact that just health care totally hinges upon their decisions, surprisingly little attention seems being paid to the legitimacy of these decisions. This paper addresses the following question: what are the conditions that have to be met in order to ensure that individual claims on health care are well aligned with an overall concept of just health care? Drawing upon a distinction between individual and aggregated needs, I argue that even though we assume the legitimacy of macro-level guidelines, this legitimacy is not directly transferable to decisions at micro-level simply by adherence to the guidelines’ recommendation. Further, I argue that individual claims are subject to the formal principle of equality and the demands of vertical and horizontal equity in a way that gives context- and patient-related equity concerns precedence over equity concerns captured at the macro-level. I conclude that if we aim to achieve just health care, we need to develop a complementary framework for legitimising individual judgment of patients’ claims on health care resources. Moreover, I suggest the basic structure of such a framework.     

Variable pay as a risky choice: Determinants of the relative attractiveness of incentive plans

This paper presents an experimental investigation of risk preferences in the context of compensation. In five studies, participants indicated their preference between a job offering a fixed salary and one having a lower certain component but the potential to earn a higher amount contingent on performance. Results demonstrate that people are not generally risk averse in this context, as found in earlier research, but rather that risk preferences depend on the nature of the variable pay plan. In particular, in both between- and within-subjects designs, variable pay was preferred more often when incentives were based on individual rather than collective (team or organizational) performance, and participants were more optimistic about the likelihood of receiving incentives as individuals. The effects of individual differences such as self-efficacy and preference for group work were contingent on the format of the variable pay plan. Implications for designing compensation plans and employee recruitment and retention are discussed.