Zero‐sum thinking as mediator of the relationship of national attitudes with (un)willingness to host refugees in own country

This study examines factors related to willingness to host refugees. We examined the role of national attitudes (patriotism, nationalism), out‐group attitudes (classic and modern prejudice), and zero‐sum thinking: Belief in a Zero‐Sum Game and psychological entitlement in attitudes towards hosting refugees. We proposed including zero‐sum thinking as possible mediator between national attitudes and attitudes towards refugees based on assumption that nationalism is a competitive attitude towards out‐groups, while patriotism does not. Structural equation modelling based on a Polish national sample (N = 1092) revealed that patriotism is positively associated with willingness to host refugees, through its negative association with prejudice via decreasing zero‐sum thinking. Nationalism was negatively associated with willingness to host refugees, through prejudice via increasing zero‐sum thinking. Findings are discussed in the context of current refugee policies.     

Amphetamine and morphine produce a conditioned taste and place preference in the house musk shrew (Suncus murinus)

Rats have been shown to avoid consuming a flavor, but prefer a location, previously paired with amphetamine or morphine. A series of 4 experiments evaluated the hedonic properties of amphetamine and morphine in the house musk shrew (Suncus murinus), an insectivore that (unlike rats) is capable of vomiting when exposed to toxins. Unlike rats, amphetamine (20 mg/kg) and morphine (20 mg/kg) produced both a conditioned sucrose (0.3 M) and saccharin (0.1%) preference in shrews (administered intraperitoneally), when measured by both a 1- and a 2-bottle test. At the same dose, both drugs also produced a place preference in shrews. These results suggest that the potential of rewarding drugs to produce taste avoidance may vary on the basis of the ability of the species to vomit.     

Equivocations on knowledge systems theory: An actor-oriented critique

Knowledge systems theory, in our view, tends to obscure rather than illuminate an understanding of the fundamentals of knowledge processes in society. This tendency occurs primarily because both the theory, and the methodologies that are derived from it, fail to recognize that knowledge processes are social processes, and thereby that knowledge itself has to be envisaged as a social construction. As a result of this omission, knowledge systems theory and methodology can only deal poorly with issues of power and social conflict, and, at the same time, tend to make use of several inappropriate teleological and reifying notions. According to our view, the understanding of knowledge processes will benefit greatly from a more actor-oriented perspective. In such an approach, emphasis is accorded to human agency and the concept of multiple knowledge networks. Central purposes of actor-oriented methodologies then, are to clarify how actors attempt to create space for their own ‘projects’ and to determine which elements contribute to or impede the successful creation of such space for maneuver. Norman Long is a member of the Department of Rural Sociology of the Tropics and Subtropics at Wageningen Agricultural University, P.O. Box 8130, 6700 EW, Wageningen, The Netherlands. He is known for his work in the sociology of rural development. Magdalena Villarreal recently acquired her M.S. in “Management of Agricultural Knowledge Systems” at Wageningen Agricultural University. She is presently working on a Ph.D. proposal on issues of power, gender, and intervention.     

Aging is associated with increased Weber ratios

To investigate whether age-associated changes in the human taste system are quality-specific, we compared young and elderly subjects’ suprathreshold discrimination abilities for caffeine and sucrose. The method of constant stimuli was used to obtain just noticeable differences and Weber ratios. The elderly generated larger Weber ratios than did the young for both the medium and high concentrations of caffeine, but not for the low concentration. For example, a 74% increase in .005 M caffeine was required to obtain a perceptible difference for the elderly, whereas a 34% increase produced a perceptible difference for the young. The Weber ratios for sucrose did not differ for the two age groups. The results of this study indicate that age-associated changes in the taste system are quality-specific.

     

Attachment in Context: The Role of Demographic Factors Among Indonesians from Three Ethnic Groups

This study examined attachment in Indonesia, one of the fourth most populous countries in the world. We applied the Indonesian version of the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ) on 1313 Indonesians from three ethnically diverse samples (404 Bataks, 430 Minangkabau, and 479 Javanese). We assessed demographic factors which consist of the roles of the living-with-family experience (M = 19.58 years), age (M = 24.34 years old), sex (man = 43.4 %), and ethnicity in attachment dimensions development. Pearson’s correlation analyses revealed negative correlations between the living-with-family experience as well as age and the two attachment dimensions, Need for approval and confirmation by others and Preoccupation with relationships. Group comparison analyses found significant differences for the five scales of ASQ among sex and ethnic groups. We also found a significant main effect of age and ethnicity on some of the ASQ scales.     

Neurolinguistic analysis of verbal utterances in patients with focal lesions of frontal lobes

Verbal utterances of 105 patients have been analyzed. Six groups of subjects were examined including patients with left dorsolateral frontal lesions, left orbitofrontal lesions, right frontal lobe lesions, posterior aphasics, posterior brain-damaged patients without aphasia, and a matched control group. Results indicate that the left frontal lobe is involved in organization of linguistic information. Its dorsolateral part seems to be concerned with forming the sequential pattern of an utterance, and the orbital part with the directed development of a narrative. It is conceivable that the right frontal lobe is important for the global, nonlinguistic organization of information to be uttered.     

Would you be happier if you moved more? Physical activity focusing illusion

Current Psychology - Research shows that individuals who are more physically active also report greater happiness. However, subjective well-being is prone to cognitive biases. For instance, people...