Norms and conventions

One can think of the traditional logic of blame as involving three intuitively plausible claims: (1) blame is justified only if one is deserving of blame, (2) one is deserving of blame only if one is relevantly in control of the relevant causal antecedents, and (3) one is relevantly in control only if one has libertarian freedom. While traditional compatibilism has focused on rejecting either or both of the latter two claims, an increasingly common strategy is to deny the link between blame and desert expressed in (1). While I think there is something right about many of these accounts of blame, I deny that the logic of blame can be divorced from the logic of desert. On my view, blame does have a conceptual connection to desert, but its justification is practical rather than theoretical, as the libertarian condition is a matter of adopting a stance towards a person rather than having a belief about her and the “true” causes of her action. I argue that blame fundamentally requires interacting with a person from the participant perspective and that the participant perspective, understood in terms of second-personal address, involves an ontological commitment to freedom.     

Factors Associated with Psychological Distress among Women of African Descent at High Risk for BRCA Mutations

Little is known about psychological distress among women of African descent who are at high risk for a BRCA mutation. This is a group for whom breast cancer risk reduction is critical due to the group’s high rates of breast cancer mortality. Distress is important to consider as it may reduce the potential benefit of genetic counseling and negatively affect decision making related to risk reduction. The goals of the current study were to examine breast cancer-specific distress and depressive symptoms in women of African descent at who are at high risk for a BRCA mutation and to identify background factors associated with these outcomes. Participants were 148 high-risk African American and Caribbean women who were part of a larger study that offered participants BRCA counseling at no cost. Participants completed the Impact of Events Scale, which assessed breast cancer-specific distress, and the Center of Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale, which assessed depressive symptoms. Results of analyses revealed that almost half of the sample achieved scores indicating high and clinically significant breast cancer-specific distress, while almost one-third had clinically significant depression scores. Results further showed that low income was significantly associated with cancer-specific distress, while having a cancer diagnosis was significantly associated with depressive symptoms. These results underscore the need for targeted psychological support throughout the genetic risk assessment process for this particular high-risk group.     

Examination of the Psychometric Properties of a Brief PTSD Measure on a French–Canadian Undergraduate Population

This study examines the psychometric properties of the French-Canadian Modified PTSD Symptom Scale (MPSS-FC) in a sample of French-Canadian undergraduates. Findings uncovered a 3-dimensional model for the Frequency and Severity scales, which shared factorial invariance. In addition, the MPSS-FC scales had adequate internal consistency and a satisfactory 5-week test-retest reliability. In view of its satisfactory psychometric properties, the MPSS-FC seems promising as a brief screening measure of PTSD. Indeed, the MPSS-FC as a stand-alone measure could be used with a population known to have been exposed to a traumatic event.     

Youth Empowerment in Context: Exploring Tensions in School-Based yPAR

In much of the youth empowerment literature, researchers focus on the relationship between youth and adults involved in empowerment programs while neglecting the broader social framework in which these relationships and the program itself functions. Utilizing an ecological model, the current research examines the tensions that surfaced in attempts to create an empowering setting in an after-school PAR program with fifth-graders. Challenging assumptions about youth, structural challenges, and conflicting theories of change are highlighted. Results examine the role of sociocultural context as PAR researchers attempt to create a setting in which students gain skills to become change agents within their school. The study suggests that youth empowerment is a context dependent process that requires attention to a multiplicity of factors that influence possibilities for empowerment via second order change.     

Intellectual ability in young men separated temporarily from their parents in childhood

We examined the effects of early life stress (ELS) on intellectual ability in 2,725 20-year-old male participants, of whom 321 were separated temporarily (mean 1.7 years) from both their parents during World War II, at an average age of 4.3 years. Intellectual ability was tested when entering compulsory military service. The separated men had − 0.28 (95% CI − 0.39, − 0.16), − 0.13 (95% CI − 0.25, − 0.01), − 0.18 (95% CI − 0.29, − 0.06), and − 0.19 (95% CI − 0.30, − 0.07) SD units lower verbal, visuospatial, arithmetic, and composite score of intellectual ability, respectively, compared to non-separated. Participants who were separated for more than a year and between two and four years had the lowest ability scores. ELS showed most consistent associations with verbal ability, but were not limited to it. Children beyond infancy and before their school-age may be the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of the ELS.     

The grammar of approximating number pairs

In the present article, we studied approximating pairs of numbers (a, b) that were used to estimate quantity in a single phrase (“two, three years ago”). Pollmann and Jansen (1996) found that only a few of the many possible pairs are actually used, suggesting an interaction between the ways in which people estimate quantity and their use of quantitative phrases in colloquial speech. They proposed a set of rules that describe which approximating pairs are used in Dutch phrases. We revisited this issue in an analysis of Swedish and American language corpora and in a series of three experiments in which Swedish and American adults rated the acceptability of various approximating pairs and created approximating pairs of their own in response to various estimation tasks. We found evidence for Pollmann and Jansen’s rules in both Swedish and English phrases, but we also identified additional rules and substantial individual and cross-language variation. We will discuss implications for the origin of this loose “grammar” of approximating pairs.     

Psychosocial Correlates of Body Image and Body Change Behaviors Among Malaysian Adolescent Boys and Girls

This study used a psychosocial framework to investigate the relationships between BMI, body dissatisfaction, body change behaviors and mental health/behavioral problems amongst a sample of 513 Malay, Indian and Chinese adolescent boys and girls in Malaysia who completed questionnaires assessing these variables. Expected gender differences were not found in relation to body dissatisfaction or engagement in strategies to increase weight, but boys reported greater engagement in strategies to increase muscles. Relationships between body dissatisfaction and engagement in body change behaviors and mental health/behavioral problems varied across race and gender. These findings suggest that the psychosocial framework is a useful way to conceptualise body dissatisfaction and related behaviors, and that caution should be exercised in generalising findings across gender and culture.     

Impact of a healthy body image program among adolescent boys on body image,negative affect,and body change strategies

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a healthy body image program. In total, 421 adolescent boys completed a five-session intervention program or a wait list control group. There were no differences between the intervention and the control group at post-intervention or any of the follow-up times. Boys in the intervention group who were one standard deviation above the mean on body dissatisfaction at baseline, demonstrated a reduction in negative affect in the intervention group at post-test and 6 months follow-up. Prevention programs need to target boys who are at risk of adopting health risk behaviors, rather than being universally applied.     

自闭症儿童语言认知发展理论研究综述

目前,关于语言障碍和认知障碍是自闭症的核心症候,这一点在国际上已无异议,但究其发展障碍的本质如何,则各种见解仍处于分歧之中。本文主要是从认知心理学和发展语言心理学的角度,对自闭症儿童的语言认知障碍及其特征进行分析,旨在为中国儿童自闭症的研究和治疗提供一些参考观点。     

上下级工作冲突处理方式量表研究

本文目的是编制上下级工作冲突处理方式量表,探讨我国员工该行为方式的特点。根据开放式问卷调查结果和西方已有相关量表,构建量表题目,结合大五人格问卷简式版中宜人性分量表,有效测试了5家单位的254名员工。经探索性因素分析,获得退让、协调和对抗3个因素。检验结果表明该量表信度和效度达到心理测量学要求,体现了中国文化下上下级工作冲突处理方式的独特性。