Prepared to fake? The relationship between applicants’ job interview preparation and faking

Multiple frameworks and models postulate an effect of job interview preparation on faking. Two studies were conducted to examine if applicants’ interview preparation is correlated with higher faking. Besides analyzing the general extent of preparation, we also distinguished between different preparation categories. In Study 1 (N = 237), a presented preparation video led to higher intentions on image protection but did not increase overall faking intentions. Study 2 (N = 206) focused on past preparation and impression management (IM). The total time spent on preparation was positively correlated with faking. Applicants’ preparation via online videos and professional interview preparation was correlated with higher deceptive and honest IM. Preparation via online videos was additionally correlated with a higher perceived interview difficulty.     

Variation in aggressive behavior and anatomo-physiological correlates generated by crowding without physical contact in the house mouse

Behavioral, physiological (i.e., endocrine), and anatomical consequences of crowding in mice were studied in a situation where animals were in auditory, visual, olfactory, and tactile contact but restrained from full physical interactions, to prevent overt aggression. Males that cohabited with females undisturbed by neighboring conspecifics showed greater propensity to attack same-sex intruders and had higher plasma testosterone levels than did their “crowded” counterparts, that is, males cohabiting with females and housed adjacent to other male/female pairs. In this respect, the latter animals resembled submissive males. However, a significant increase in weight of androgen-dependent target organs (i.e., seminal vesicles and preputial glands) was found in crowded males. These data indicate that despite the observed inhibition of social aggression these males are not physiologically comparable (homologous) to male mice that experienced defeat and the stress of submission during fighting. The intriguing possibility that different conversion pathway of testosterone are accelerated, as a result of social communication, in males living in these two environments and the behavioral implications of these possibilities are discussed. Finally, the parental behavior of crowded animals, although not freely interacting with each other, was disrupted, causing a marked decrease in reproductive success. In this situation a high incidence of infanticide of their offspring by both parents was observed, whereas this behavior was virtually absent in non-crowded male/female pairs.     

Intersexual aggression and male sexual activity in captive rhesus macaques

Rape has been posited to be an outgrowth of male reproductive strategies. Forced copulations may have evolved as a consequence of the low parental investment made by males in producing and raising offspring. We designed a laboratory experiment which paired rhesus macaque males with females in order to assess the influence of intersexual aggression on male sexual activity. Younger and older adult males had comparable levels of sexual behavior, but younger males were more aggressive towards females than were older males. In addition, females threatened younger males more than older males. Male attacks on females did not result in sexual intercourse. On the contrary, a negative correlation existed between male aggression towards females and male success at achieving intromissions. Female aggression towards males appeared to be an effective tactic which reduced the chances of sexual intercourse. We conclude that intersexual aggression acts either as a mechanism of dominance assertion or as a means to increase spatial distance between individuals. These data do not support the idea that rape in humans has an evolutionary foundation derived from male reproductive strategies.     

The Knowledge Argument and Objectivity

In this paper I argue that Frank Jackson’s Knowledge Argument is better considered not as an argument against physicalism, but as an argument that objective theories must be incomplete. I argue that despite the apparent diversity of responses to the knowledge argument, they all boil down to a response according to which genuine epistemic gains are made when an individual has an experience. I call this the acquaintance response. I then argue that this response violates an intuitive stricture on the objectivity of theories. Therefore, the knowledge argument does show that objective theories cannot provide a complete understanding of the world. The result, however, is that both objective dualism and objective physicalism are refuted by the argument. In the end it is suggested that the notion of “subjective physicalism” is one that should be pursued.     

How Wittgenstein Defeated Russell’s Multiple Relation Theory of Judgment

In 1913 Wittgenstein raised an objection to Russell’s multiple relation theory of judgment that eventually led Russell to abandon his theory. As he put it in the Tractatus, the objection was that “the correct explanation of the form of the proposition, ‘A makes the judgement p’, must show that it is impossible for a judgement to be a piece of nonsense. (Russell’s theory does not satisfy this requirement,” (5.5422). This objection has been widely interpreted to concern type restrictions on the constituents of judgment. I argue that this interpretation is mistaken and that Wittgenstein’s objection is in fact a form of the problem of the unity of the proposition.     

THE USE OF REBT PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Training, coaching, and consulting with people in leadership roles can be a primary consulting function for clinicians. In this paper, the authors describe their model of leadership, and what they believe to be the central personality or character components of leadership necessary for producing extraordinary results. Throughout they will show where and how REBT skills can make a significant contribution.