Transfer effects between moral dilemmas: A causal model theory

Evaluations of analogous situations are an important source for our moral intuitions. A puzzling recent set of findings in experiments exploring transfer effects between intuitions about moral dilemmas has demonstrated a striking asymmetry. Transfer often occurred with a specific ordering of moral dilemmas, but not when the sequence was reversed. In this article we present a new theory of transfer between moral intuitions that focuses on two components of moral dilemmas, namely their causal structure and their default evaluations. According to this theory, transfer effects are expected when the causal models underlying the considered dilemmas allow for a mapping of the highlighted aspect of the first scenario onto the causal structure of the second dilemma, and when the default evaluations of the two dilemmas substantially differ. The theory’s key predictions for the occurrence and the direction of transfer effects between two moral dilemmas are tested in five experiments with various variants of moral dilemmas from different domains. A sixth experiment tests the predictions of the theory for how the target action in the moral dilemmas is represented.     

The Structured Employment Interview: Narrative and Quantitative Review of the Research Literature

In the 20 years since frameworks of employment interview structure have been developed, a considerable body of empirical research has accumulated. We summarize and critically examine this literature by focusing on the 8 main topics that have been the focus of attention: (a) the definition of structure; (b) reducing bias through structure; (c) impression management in structured interviews; (d) measuring personality via structured interviews; (e) comparing situational versus past‐behavior questions; (f) developing rating scales; (g) probing, follow‐up, prompting, and elaboration on questions; and (h) reactions to structure. For each topic, we review and critique research and identify promising directions for future research. When possible, we augment the traditional narrative review with meta‐analytic review and content analysis. We concluded that much is known about structured interviews, but there are still many unanswered questions. We provide 12 propositions and 19 research questions to stimulate further research on this important topic.     

On the Limitations of Using Situational Judgment Tests to Measure Interpersonal Skills: The Moderating Influence of Employee Anger

Many authors have suggested that situational judgment tests (SJTs) are useful tools for assessing applicants because SJT items can be written to assess a number of job‐related knowledges, skills, abilities and other characteristics (KSAOs). However, SJTs may not be appropriate for measuring certain KSAOs for some applicants. We posit that using SJTs to measure interpersonal skills may lead to invalid inferences about applicants with higher levels of angry hostility (AH), and thus, AH should moderate the relation between interpersonally oriented SJTs and job performance. Three studies, using samples of healthcare workers (n = 225), police officers (n = 54), and medical doctors (n = 92), provided support for hypotheses in that that relations between SJT scores and performance criteria were significantly weaker among employees higher in AH compared to those lower in AH. In addition, none of the other facets of neuroticism tested (self‐consciousness, anxiety, depression, immoderation, or vulnerability to stress) consistently moderated SJT validity, providing support for the uniqueness of AH. Implications for practice, and for future research studying the relations between interpersonal skills as measured by SJTs and job performance, are discussed.     

Religious Tradition,Religiosity, or Everyday Theologies? Unpacking Religion’s Relationship to Support for Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage Among a College Student Sample

This study explores the differential impact of religious tradition, religiosity, and everyday theologies on support for legalizing same-sex marriage among a sample of undergraduate college students. The findings suggest that among college students in the United States the group of everyday theologies—personal religious beliefs that emerge through individuals’ lived experiences and social interactions—that we examine has a larger influence on attitudes about legalizing same-sex marriage than do either religious tradition or religiosity (measured as attendance, prayer, and guidance). We operationalize the concept of everyday theologies as levels of endorsement for six different religious themes. Implications for social movements promoting same-sex marriage and future research are discussed.     

Race-Related Differences in the Experiences of Family Members of Persons with Mental Illness Participating in the NAMI Family to Family Education Program

Families play an important role in the lives of individuals with mental illness. Coping with the strain of shifting roles and multiple challenges of caregiving can have a huge impact. Limited information exists regarding race-related differences in families’ caregiving experiences, their abilities to cope with the mental illness of a loved one, or their interactions with mental health service systems. This study examined race-related differences in the experiences of adults seeking to participate in the National Alliance on Mental Illness Family-to-Family Education Program due to mental illness of a loved one. Participants were 293 White and 107 African American family members who completed measures of problem- and emotion-focused coping, knowledge about mental illness, subjective illness burden, psychological distress, and family functioning. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine race-related differences. African American caregivers reported higher levels of negative caregiving experiences, less knowledge of mental illness, and higher levels of both problem-solving coping and emotion-focused coping, than White caregivers. Mental health programs serving African American families should consider targeting specific strategies to address caregiving challenges, support their use of existing coping mechanisms and support networks, and increase their knowledge of mental illness.     

Advocacy in the study of religion\s

Abstract

This article introduces a thematic issue on advocacy in the study of religion\s. It reflects on some issues relating to instances of advocacy in the study of religion\s such as the importance of personal relationships, intervention on behalf of marginal and controversial religions, forms of and audiences for advocacy, its legitimation, and its relations to scholarly identity and the academy.     

Exhibiting interpretational and representational validity

A natural language argument may be valid in at least two nonequivalent senses: it may be interpretationally or representationally valid (Etchemendy in The concept of logical consequence. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1990). Interpretational and representational validity can both be formally exhibited by classical first-order logic. However, as these two notions of informal validity differ extensionally and first-order logic fixes one determinate extension for the notion of formal validity (or consequence), some arguments must be formalized by unrelated nonequivalent formalizations in order to formally account for their interpretational or representational validity, respectively. As a consequence, arguments must be formalized subject to different criteria of adequate formalization depending on which variant of informal validity is to be revealed. This paper develops different criteria that formalizations of an argument have to satisfy in order to exhibit the latter’s interpretational or representational validity.