Call for a follow-up study of experiments on long-term deprivation of human infants

Three experiments on long-term isolation and educational deprivation of infants were performed 50 years ago by Myrtle McGraw and by Wayne and Marsena Dennis. Current textbooks regularly present these studies incorrectly as supporting the notion that early motor development is unaffected by environment. This presentation is shown to be incorrect by a reanalysis of the studies which indicates severe and far-reaching negative effects of the depriving conditions upon the experimental infants. A follow-up study of the experimental subjects in later years and a publication of McGraw's unreported study are called for.     

Obedience to authorities is not unconditional: Differential effects of COVID-19 threat on three facets of RWA in Poland and Germany

Collective authoritarian responses to threat might differ depending on whether people trust collective authorities in reducing threat. Thus, we tested the differential effects of epidemic threat on three facets of right-wing authoritarianism, in Germany (a country with high authorities' efficacy in responses to COVID-19) and Poland (low authorities' efficacy context). Two representative sample longitudinal studies performed in Poland (N = 892) and Germany (N = 883) showed that in Germany feelings of COVID-19 threat explained increases in authoritarian submission and (to a lesser extent) authoritarian aggression, whereas in Poland such feelings of threat explained changes in authoritarian aggression and conventionalism after the pandemic, but did not alter authoritarian submission. These findings suggest that specific authoritarian reactions to threat (submissive vs. conventionalist) might depend on the general trust in authorities' ability to respond to crises.     

Explaining the Inexplicable: Differences in Attributions for the Holocaust in Germany,Israel, and Poland

Seventy years have passed since the Holocaust, but this cataclysmic event continues to reverberate in the present. In this research, we examine attributions about the causes of the Holocaust and the influence of such attributions on intergroup relations. Three representative surveys were conducted among Germans, Poles, and Israeli Jews to examine inter‐ and intragroup variations in attributions for the Holocaust and how these attributions influence intergroup attitudes. Results indicated that Germans made more external than internal attributions and were especially low in attributing an evil essence to their ancestors. Israelis and Poles mainly endorsed the obedient essence attribution and were lowest on attribution to coercion. These attributions, however, were related to attitudes towards contemporary Germany primarily among Israeli Jews. The more they endorsed situationist explanations, and the less they endorsed the evil essence explanation, the more positive their attitude to Germany. Among Germans, attributions were related to a higher motivation for historical closure, except for the obedience attribution that was related to low desire for closure. Israelis exhibited a low desire for historical closure especially when attribution for evil essence was high. These findings suggest that lay perceptions of history are essential to understanding contemporary intergroup processes.     

Are We All Overconfident in the Long Run? Evidence from One Million Marathon Participants

In this project, we measured overconfidence in a large, heterogeneous sample making familiar, repeated choices in a natural environment that provided direct feedback. Specifically, in study 1, we elicited predictions of own finishing time among participants of the 2012 Warsaw Marathon. The participants' prediction errors were highly correlated with the change in pace over the course of the run: overly optimistic forecasters slowed down more in the second half. In study 2, we consequently took this slowdown as a proxy for overconfidence and used existing field data of one million participants in several large marathons for which split times are available (but own predictions are not). Both studies indicate that men as well as the youngest and oldest participants tend to be more confident. In study 2, we were able to investigate national and cultural dimensions. We found confirmation of previously reported findings of relative overconfidence in Asians. Additionally, we show some largely novel results, in particular that relatively conservative societies tend to be relatively overconfident. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development and validation of the REMINT: a reflection measure for individuals and teams

A growing number of studies have investigated the role of team reflexivity, the extent to which teams reflect on and adapt their functioning. However, the way team reflexivity has been conceptualized and operationalized reveals several weaknesses, in particular the conception as a unidimensional construct. To provide greater conceptual clarity, we therefore propose a team reflexivity framework that integrates four interacting but distinct reflexive processes. In four studies, we focus on reflection as a fundamental reflexive process, and develop and validate an extended multidimensional reflection measure that captures the relevant dimensions of quality and quantity of reflection and the key transition processes of information seeking and information evaluation. Moreover, in order to delineate two common composition methods, we develop and validate a direct consensus and a referent-shift consensus version of the reflection measure. Data collected from a total of 803 students and employees in four studies revealed excellent construct validity, as well as good nomological validity (Studies 1 and 2). Furthermore, we found evidence of the criterion-related validity at the team level (Study 3) and the individual level (Study 4). Together, the results demonstrate the effectiveness of our measure, revealing consistent relations with outcome measures and diverse behavioural indicators across different contexts.     

Distributive Full Lambek Calculus Has the Finite Model Property

We prove the Finite Model Property (FMP) for Distributive Full Lambek Calculus (DFL) whose algebraic semantics is the class of distributive residuated lattices (DRL). The problem was left open in [8, 5]. We use the method of nuclei and quasi–embedding in the style of [10, 1]. Presented by Daniele Mundici.     

Why does social dominance orientation decrease with university exposure to the social sciences? The impact of institutional socialization and the mediating role of “geneticism”

Why does university exposure to a hierarchy‐attenuating (HA) academic major (e.g., social science) lead to a decrease in anti‐egalitarianism and group domination (social dominance orientation, SDO)? The reason for this well‐documented phenomenon remains unclear. In the social sciences, the origins of differences in both behavior and personality are attributed more to social and environmental factors than to genetic ones. We hypothesized that the normative and informational influences of this academic major would lead to perceptions that genes have a less important role than nurture in the shaping of human behavior and personality. Our main hypothesis was confirmed. Decreased SDO among psychology students was mediated significantly by a decrease in belief in genetic determinism, the factor we called “geneticism.” Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nikolai Mikhailovskii and Konstantin Leont'ev. On the Political Implication of Herbert Spencer's Sociology

I present a fragment from thehistory of the Russian reception of HerbertSpencer's sociology. The discussion concernstwo diametrically opposed but exceptionallyimportant figures in the history of Russianthought, Nikolai Mikhajlovskij (1842–1904) andKonstantin Leont'ev (1831–1891). As one of thechief ideologues of the Populist movementMikhajlovskij turned Spencer's ideas into anegative frame of reference for his own`romantic socialist utopia'. In turn, Leont'evformulated his extremely conservative politicalviews on the basis of Spencer's organicistsociology. Though at the opposite ends of thespectrum both standpoints succeeded inexhibiting the political implications of thepositivist and naturalist style of thinking.     

Directed Forgetting and Aging: The Role of Retrieval Processes,Processing Speed,and Proactive Interference

ABSTRACT

The directed forgetting effect obtained with the item method is supposed to depend on both selective rehearsal of to-be-remembered (TBR) items and attentional inhibition of to-be-forgotten (TBF) items. In this study, we investigated the locus of the directed forgetting deficit in older adults by exploring the influence of recollection and familiarity-based retrieval processes on age-related differences in directed forgetting. Moreover, we explored the influence of processing speed, short-term memory capacity, thought suppression tendencies, and sensitivity to proactive interference on performance. The results indicated that older adults' directed forgetting difficulties are due to decreased recollection of TBR items, associated with increased automatic retrieval of TBF items. Moreover, processing speed and proactive interference appeared to be responsible for the decreased recall of TBR items.