Images of Suffering in Augustine and Luther

Abstract : This article examines how images of suffering are interpreted in Augustine and Luther, using their recommendations on meditations on the suffering Christ as a case study. Augustine and Luther are ambivalent about how such images mold religious experience. On the one hand, Augustine cautions that they can distort human affections, while Luther warns that they can deceive the mind. On the other hand, meditations on images of the suffering Christ can contribute to a Christian spiritual practice that builds faith.     

Substitution and sameness: two components of a relational conception of the equals sign

A sophisticated and flexible understanding of the equals sign (=) is important for arithmetic competence and for learning further mathematics, particularly algebra. Research has identified two common conceptions held by children: the equals sign as an operator and the equals sign as signaling the same value on both sides of the equation. We argue here that, in addition to these two conceptions, the notion of substitution is also an important part of a sophisticated understanding of mathematical equivalence. We provide evidence from a cross-cultural study in which English and Chinese children were asked to rate the "cleverness" of operational, sameness, and substitutive definitions of the equals sign. A principal components analysis revealed that the substitutive items were distinct from the sameness items. Furthermore, Chinese children rated the substitutive items as 'sort of clever' or 'very clever', whereas English children rated them as not so clever, suggesting that the notion of substitution develops differently across the two countries. Implications for developmental models of children's understanding of equivalence are discussed.     

Predator-elicited foot shakes in wall lizards (Podarcis muralis): evidence for a pursuit-deterrent function

Under certain circumstances, prey may inform potential predators of their unprofitability by means of pursuit-deterrent signals. The evidence for pursuit-deterrent signaling in reptiles is scant and taxonomically biased. Wall lizards, Podarcis muralis (Squamata: Lacertidae) produce several distinct types of stereotyped foot shake displays, of which one, performed in antipredator contexts, is a likely candidate for a pursuit-deterrent function. We investigated this possibility by recording the responses of lizards in the field to a slowly approaching human acting as a surrogate predator. In addition to starting and flight initiation distances, we measured the presence of foot shakes, the leg that was shaken, and the distance from the observer at which the display was performed (display distance). Of a total of 484 approaches, 109 (22.5%) elicited foot shake displays. Roughly half the lizards displayed from the location where they were first sighted, while the other half moved a short distance, then displayed. There was no left-right preference in the leg used to display, but most lizards displayed with the leg closer to the approaching predator. Juveniles and subadults had smaller flight initiation distances than adult lizards. There were no sex-related differences in starting or flight initiation distances, but females, for a given distance, were more likely to display than males. Foot shake display frequency declined abruptly at 1 m. If lizards waited until the surrogate predator was this close, they mostly fled without displaying. Our results show that antipredator foot shaking in P. muralis is consistent with expectations from pursuit-deterrent theory.     

Why group apologies succeed and fail: intergroup forgiveness and the role of primary and secondary emotions

It is widely assumed that official apologies for historical transgressions can lay the groundwork for intergroup forgiveness, but evidence for a causal relationship between intergroup apologies and forgiveness is limited. Drawing on the infrahumanization literature, we argue that a possible reason for the muted effectiveness of apologies is that people diminish the extent to which they see outgroup members as able to experience complex, uniquely human emotions (e.g., remorse). In Study 1, Canadians forgave Afghanis for a friendly-fire incident to the extent that they perceived Afghanis as capable of experiencing uniquely human emotions (i.e., secondary emotions such as anguish) but not nonuniquely human emotions (i.e., primary emotions such as fear). Intergroup forgiveness was reduced when transgressor groups expressed secondary emotions rather than primary emotions in their apology (Studies 2a and 2b), an effect that was mediated by trust in the genuineness of the apology (Study 2b). Indeed, an apology expressing secondary emotions aroused no more forgiveness than a no-apology control (Study 3) and less forgiveness than an apology with no emotion (Study 4). Consistent with an infrahumanization perspective, effects of primary versus secondary emotional expression did not emerge when the apology was offered for an ingroup transgression (Study 3) or when an outgroup apology was delivered through an ingroup proxy (Study 4). Also consistent with predictions, these effects were demonstrated only by those who tended to deny uniquely human qualities to the outgroup (Study 5). Implications for intergroup apologies and movement toward reconciliation are discussed.     

The virtues of gossip: reputational information sharing as prosocial behavior

Reputation systems promote cooperation and deter antisocial behavior in groups. Little is known, however, about how and why people share reputational information. Here, we seek to establish the existence and dynamics of prosocial gossip, the sharing of negative evaluative information about a target in a way that protects others from antisocial or exploitative behavior. We present a model of prosocial gossip and the results of 4 studies testing the model's claims. Results of Studies 1 through 3 demonstrate that (a) individuals who observe an antisocial act experience negative affect and are compelled to share information about the antisocial actor with a potentially vulnerable person, (b) sharing such information reduces negative affect created by observing the antisocial behavior, and (c) individuals possessing more prosocial orientations are the most motivated to engage in such gossip, even at a personal cost, and exhibit the greatest reduction in negative affect as a result. Study 4 demonstrates that prosocial gossip can effectively deter selfishness and promote cooperation. Taken together these results highlight the roles of prosocial motivations and negative affective reactions to injustice in maintaining reputational information sharing in groups. We conclude by discussing implications for reputational theories of the maintenance of cooperation in human groups.     

An evaluation of equivalence in body dissatisfaction measurement across cultures

We evaluated gender-based and cross-cultural equivalence of the Body Dissatisfaction Scale of the Body Change Inventory in a sample of 4,005 adolescents from 7 cultures that represent diverse body image ideals and response styles. Results of multigroup confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated equivalence of the scale across gender but not across cultures. Follow-up analyses identified small but significant cross-cultural differences in response styles (specifically, acquiescence and middle response option endorsement) as the source of this noninvariance. We recommend use of this scale for gender-based comparisons but caution that researchers should evaluate the presence of response biases before making substantive conclusions about cross-cultural differences in body dissatisfaction.     

Fostering Marginalized Youths’ Political Participation: Longitudinal Roles of Parental Political Socialization and Youth Sociopolitical Development

This study examines the roles of parental political socialization and the moral commitment to change social inequalities in predicting marginalized youths' (defined here as lower-SES youth of color) political participation. These issues are examined by applying structural equation modeling to a longitudinal panel of youth. Because tests of measurement invariance suggested racial/ethnic heterogeneity, the structural model was fit separately for three racial/ethnic groups. For each group, parental political socialization: discussion predicted youths' commitment to produce social change and for two groups, longitudinally predicted political participation. This study contributes to the literature by examining civic/political participation among disparate racial/ethnic groups, addresses an open scholarly question (whether youths' commitment to create social change predicts their "traditional" participation), and emphasizes parents' role in fostering marginalized youths' civic and political participation.     

Gender differences in autobiographical narratives: He shoots and scores; she evaluates and interprets

Research on autobiographical narratives consistently demonstrates that whereas women's narratives emphasize evaluative information, men's narratives are factually oriented. These narrative differences might reflect gender differences in either the autobiographical knowledge base or the way information from the knowledge base is selected when a narrative is constructed. The present experiment evaluated these two (potentially complementary) hypotheses by assessing memory soon after an event and after a period of 6?weeks, using both open-ended (narrative) and factually oriented (questionnaire) measures. Consistent with past literature, women told longer, richer, more evaluative narratives than did men. However, men recalled more factual information both initially and after 6?weeks and also constructed narratives that were more factually oriented. These data suggest that men and women value factual information differently and that these differences influence both the contents of the autobiographical knowledge base and the way that information in the knowledge base is used to construct personal narratives.