“Pure Joy”: Spinoza on Laughter and Cheerfulness

Laughter is a significant topic for Renaissance and seventeenth-century philosophers. Still, the latter rarely approved of laughter but endorsed it as useful mockery for theological or philosophical purposes. Benedict Spinoza’s view of laughter stands out as an exception to this attitude as well as to previous and later ones. Spinoza differentiates between mockery and laughter, denounces the former as evil, and characterizes the latter as “pure joy”: laughter is about oneself rather than another and originates in noticing something good, rather than base or ugly. In contrast to melancholy, cheerfulness is “always good” and is a precondition of our liberation as it furthers the use of reason. Not only is Spinoza’s view original, but it is an important source of the eighteenth-century notions of good-natured laughter and good humor through a more than probable influence on their proponent, the Earl of Shaftesbury. Whilst Spinoza’s view of cheerfulness is briefly addressed in recent studies, his view of laughter goes unnoticed in most commentaries and is misrepresented in humor studies. Contrary to what is assumed in the philosophy of laughter, I argue that the most important defense of laughter comes not from a British Enlightenment thinker, but from the Dutch Jewish seventeenth-century philosopher.     

Reliability and Validity of the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality Among Adolescents

Background Developed for use in health research, the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS) consists of brief measures of a broad range of religiousness and spirituality (R/S) dimensions. It has established psychometric properties among adults, but little is known about its appropriateness for use with adolescents. Purpose We assessed the psychometric properties of the BMMRS among adolescents. Method We recruited a racially diverse (85% non-White) sample of 305 adolescents aged 12–18 years (median 16 yrs, IQR 14–17) from 3 urban medical clinics; 93 completed a retest 1 week later. We assessed internal consistency and test–retest reliability. We assessed construct validity by examining how well the measures discriminated groups expected to differ based on self-reported religious preference, and how they related to a hypothesized correlate, depressive symptoms. Religious preference was categorized into “No religion/Atheist” (11%), “Don’t know/Confused” (9%), or “Named a religion” (80%). Results Responses to multi-item measures were generally internally consistent (alpha ≥0.70 for 12/16 measures) and stable over 1 week (intraclass correlation coefficients ≥0.70 for 14/16). Forgiveness, Negative R/S Coping, and Commitment items showed lower internal cohesiveness. Scores on most measures were higher (p < 0.05) among those who “Named a religion” compared to the “No religion/Atheist” group. Forgiveness, Commitment, and Anticipated Support from members of one’s congregation were inversely correlated with depressive symptoms, while BMMRS measures assessing negative R/S experiences (Negative R/S Coping, Negative Interactions with others in congregation, Loss in Faith) were positively correlated with depressive symptoms. Conclusions These findings suggest that most BMMRS measures are reliable and valid for use among adolescents.

Words, hemispheres, and dissociable subsystems: the effects of exposure duration, case alternation, priming, and continuity of form on word recognition in the left and right visual fields

Three experiments explore aspects of the dissociable neural subsystems theory of hemispheric specialisation proposed by Marsolek and colleagues, and in particular a study by [Deason, R. G., & Marsolek, C. J. (2005). A critical boundary to the left-hemisphere advantage in word processing. Brain and Language, 92, 251–261]. Experiment 1A showed that shorter exposure durations for lower-case words (13 ms) are associated with reduced right visual field (RVF) advantages compared with longer exposure durations (144 ms). Experiment 1B compared report accuracy for lower case and mixed case words at the same exposure duration (144 ms). The RVF advantage was reduced for mixed case words due to case alternation having more of an adverse effect in the RVF than in the LVF. Experiment 2 tested a different prediction of dissociable neural subsystems theory. Four-letter words were presented in mixed case in the LVF or RVF for 100 ms. They were preceded at the same location by a prime which could be in the same word in the same alternation pattern (e.g., FlAg–FlAg), the same word in the opposite alternation pattern (e.g., fLaG–FlAg), or an unrelated letter string in the same or opposite case alternation pattern (WoPk–FlAg or wOpK–FlAg). Relative to performance in the letter string prime conditions, which did not differ significantly between the two visual fields, there was more of an effect of word primes in the RVF than in the LVF. Importantly, the benefit of a word prime was the same whether the prime was in the same alternation pattern or was in the opposition alternation pattern. We argue that these results run contrary to the predictions of dissociable neural subsystems theory and are more compatible with theories which propose that a left hemisphere word recognition system is responsible for identifying written words, whether they are presented in the LVF or the RVF, and that letters are processed to an abstract graphemic level of representation before being identified by that system.     

Methodological considerations in developing measures of HIV risk-relevant behaviors and attitudes: An empirical illustration

Abstract

This paper describes the pilot testing of a survey designed to assess the prevalence of HIV exposure risk-relevant behaviors and associated attitudes, beliefs and knowledge in a heterogeneous, ethnically diverse, sexually active population (the US Army). The specific objectives for the pilot test were to: (1) define optimal survey question formats for behavioral and attitude items; (2) identify questions that were poorly worded or that would not contribute to the overall objectives of the survey; (3) assess the extent to which respondents could accurately follow instructions; (4) identify appropriate and culturally relevant terminology for sensitive items; (5) determine the appropriate timeframe for recall of simple and complex sexual behaviors; (6) assess the degree of respondent honesty and belief in the anonymity of the survey results.     

Editorial: Drug Abuse and AIDS

Abstract

The present article presents an overview of the behavioral and psychological components which have been found to be associated with Type A behaviors in children and adolescents. Each component is discussed within the context of the assessment device used to measure it. with methodological concerns being addressed whenever appropriate. Using both observational methods and self-report questionnaires. the four major behavioral components of adult Type A behavior; competitive-achievement striving, time urgency, aggressiveness-hostility and impatience have been found in child/adolescent Type A subjects. Type A children have a lower self-esteem, a more external locus of control and higher anxiety level than their non-Type A counterpart. Coping mechanisms for stress and characteristic cognitions may differ in Type A subjects as they progress from childhood through adolescence. Recommendations for future research are presented.