Completeness Theorems via the Double Dual Functor

The aim of this paper is to apply properties of the double dual endofunctor on the category of bounded distributive lattices and some extensions thereof to obtain completeness of certain non-classical propositional logics in a unified way. In particular, we obtain completeness theorems for Moisil calculus, n-valued Łukasiewicz calculus and Nelson calculus. Furthermore we show some conservativeness results by these methods. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Fitting in with the flock: Social attractiveness as a mechanism for well‐being in religious groups

For most people, religion is practiced and experienced within a social group of believers who interact regularly. Yet the role of social psychological intergroup processes has largely been ignored with respect to religious phenomena. The present study explores social attraction as a mechanism by which religious groups affect the psychological well‐being of their members. Data were taken from a large survey of the members of 411 religious congregations in the United States. Linear mixed modeling analyses were conducted predicting two aspects of well‐being in the religious context from a range of variables at the levels of the individual, of the group, and of individual–group fit. Fit measures between individual characteristics and norms within congregations were found to be significant predictors of well‐being for a variety of measures across domains of demographics, religious beliefs, religious behavior, and group integration. These results support the view that the intragroup process of social attraction is a mechanism by which people obtain some benefits from belonging to religious groups. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Early Experience Predicts Later Plasticity for Face Processing: Evidence for the Reactivation of Dormant Effects

ABSTRACT— Research has shown that experience acquired in infancy dramatically affects face-discrimination abilities. Yet much less is known about whether face processing retains any flexibility after the 1st year of life. Here, we show that early experience with an individual infant face can modulate the recognition performance of 3-year-old children and the perceptual processes they use to recognize infant faces ( Experiment 1 ). Similar experience acquired in adulthood does not produce measurable effects ( Experiment 2 ). We also show that the effects of early-acquired experience with an infant face become dormant during development in the absence of continued experience ( Experiment 3 ) and can be reactivated in adulthood by reexposure to the original experience ( Experiment 2 ). Overall, the results indicate that early experience can preserve the face-processing system from the loss of plasticity that would otherwise take place between childhood and adulthood.     

The ERP signature of the contextual diversity effect in visual word recognition

Behavioral experiments have revealed that words appearing in many different contexts are responded to faster than words that appear in few contexts. Although this contextual diversity (CD) effect has been found to be stronger than the word-frequency (WF) effect, it is a matter of debate whether the facilitative effects of CD and WF reflect the same underlying mechanisms. The analysis of the electrophysiological correlates of CD may shed some light on this issue. This experiment is the first to examine the ERPs to high- and low-CD words when WF is controlled for. Results revealed that while high-CD words produced faster responses than low-CD words, their ERPs showed larger negativities (225–325 ms) than low-CD words. This result goes in the opposite direction of the ERP WF effect (high-frequency words elicit smaller N400 amplitudes than low-frequency words). The direction and scalp distribution of the CD effect resembled the ERP effects associated with “semantic richness.” Thus, while apparently related, CD and WF originate from different sources during the access of lexical-semantic representations.     

Examining Social Desirability in Measures of Religion and Spirituality Using the Bogus Pipeline

A primary concern in the psychology of religion is the distinct possibility that responses to empirical assessments of individuals’ degree and type of religiosity and spirituality are exaggerated owing to social desirability bias. In spite of increased secularization in American culture and a growing distrust of organized religion, religious involvement, personal religiosity, and spirituality are still viewed as highly desirable characteristics. This study estimates the extent of social desirability biases that affect self-reports of religion and spirituality by utilizing a bogus pipeline procedure. In this procedure, participants are convinced that experimenters can detect disingenuous responses to individual items on questionnaires through the use of physiological measures, although no physiological data are actually collected. If the self-reports of participants in the bogus pipeline condition indicate greater religiosity or spirituality than those in the control condition, self-report bias is indicated. The bogus pipeline procedure has been used in other areas of study to increase veracity of self-reports when social desirability effects are present (such as reporting sexual behaviors or prejudice). The results indicate that social desirability biases influence multiple constructs including religious orientations, religious coping, and daily spiritual experiences. Implications for future research relying on self-reports of religion and spirituality are discussed.     

Sexist attitudes and beliefs during adolescence: A longitudinal study of gender differences

The aim of this study was to examine changes in sexist attitudes and beliefs in a group of Spanish adolescents over a period of three consecutive years, with specific attention being paid to gender differences. Participants were 279 students (mean age at first assessment of 12.10 years) who, in each of the three years, completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory and the Questionnaire on Attitudes towards Diversity and Violence. Longitudinal analysis showed that hostile sexism did not vary over time, whereas scores on benevolent sexism and on sexist beliefs and justification of violence all fell between the ages of 12 and 14, there being an equivalent decrease in boys and girls. Boys scored significantly higher than girls on hostile sexism, as well as on sexist beliefs. These results illustrate how sexist attitudes and beliefs change during adolescence and provide further confirmation that these variables show gender differences from an early age.     

Effects of the novel acetylcholinesterase inhibitor N-octyl-1,2,3, 4-tetrahydro-9-aminoacridine on locomotor activity and avoidance learning in mice

The acetylcholinesterase reversible inhibitor N-octyl-1,2,3, 4-tetrahydro-9-aminoacridine (THA-C8) is a new synthesized derivative of tacrine (THA) characterized by an alkyl chain in the molecular structure which ameliorates the penetrability of the compound into the central nervous system. THA-C8 (0.1-5 mg/kg) significantly reduced spontaneous locomotor activity in CD1 mice at a dose of 3 mg/kg. Moreover, THA-C8 (0.2-2 mg/kg) significantly improved shuttle-box avoidance acquisition at doses (0.25, 0.3, 1 mg/kg) not affecting locomotion and that are much lower than the doses reported to be effective for THA in animal models. From the data reported it seems that the new compound could be interesting for therapeutic purposes.     

Uniform Interpolation and Propositional Quantifiers in Modal Logics

We investigate uniform interpolants in propositional modal logics from the proof-theoretical point of view. Our approach is adopted from Pitts’ proof of uniform interpolationin intuitionistic propositional logic [15]. The method is based on a simulation of certain quantifiers ranging over propositional variables and uses a terminating sequent calculus for which structural rules are admissible. We shall present such a proof of the uniform interpolation theorem for normal modal logics K and T. It provides an explicit algorithm constructing the interpolants. Presented by Heinrich Wansing     

Rorschach Comprehensive System data for a sample of 506 adult nonpatients from Argentina

This study is composed of 506 nonpatient adults, ages 18 to 65, all from Argentina. The data were gathered by five examiners, who tested most of the participants at their work site. Inclusion and exclusion criteria are described and interrater reliability statistics at the response level are presented along with findings for the Rorschach Comprehensive System (CS; Exner, 1994).     

Adherence to antiretroviral medications in HIV: differences in data collected via self-report and electronic monitoring.

Controversy remains regarding the reliability of methods used to determine adherence to antiretroviral medication in HIV. In this study the authors compared adherence rates of 119 HIV-positive participants during a 6-month study, as estimated via electronic monitoring (EM) and self-report (SR). Adherence for both short (4-day) and long (4-week, or intervisit) periods was examined, as well as factors that underlie discrepancies between EM and SR. Results showed that intervisit EM estimates were consistently lower than those of SR. SR estimates based on shorter periods (4 days) were closer to those of EM. Higher discrepancies between EM and SR estimates were associated with lower cognitive functioning and externalized locus of control. These findings lend support for using both EM and SR methods; however, study design (e.g., length) and other factors (e.g., cognitive status, cost) should be considered.