Self-reported reasons for moral decisions

Many investigations of moral decision-making employ hypothetical scenarios in which each participant has to choose between two options. One option is usually deemed “utilitarian” and the other either “non-utilitarian” or “deontological”. Very little has been done to establish the validity of such measures. It is unclear what they measure, let alone how well they do so. In this exploratory study, participants were asked about the reasons for their decisions in six hypothetical scenarios. Various concerns contributed to each decision. Action decisions occurred when utilitarian concerns dominated. Bystanding decisions resulted from different concerns or combinations of concerns dominating in different situations, with utilitarianism usually among participants’ concerns. None of the labels usually used for either decision therefore seems entirely appropriate. Five concerns were identified as necessary and sufficient to predict over 85% of participants’ decisions. This suggests great promise for future research, particularly in investigation of real-world moral decisions.     

Les apprenti-e-s face aux contraintes en formation professionnelle en alternance : entre souffrance et plaisir

This paper focuses on the Swiss dual system of vocational education and training (VET), on the basis of the results of a study on VET dropouts. The adopted theoretical framework and method of analysis is the psychodynamic of work, which makes it possible to stress the specific constraints of a system that is closely related to the world of work. The various forms of suffering evoked by apprentices, as well as the strategies implemented to cope with it, are highlighted. The analyses also stress the pleasure young people can experience in VET. Between pleasure and suffering, these elements make it possible to consider both the assets and the shortcomings of this education system.     

Vietnamese Adolescents in Australia: Relationships between Perceptions of Self and Parental Values,Intergenerational Conflict,and Gender Dissatisfaction

The present study examined traditional family and independence values among young Vietnamese respondents (N = 204), their perceptions of parents' values, and the impact of differential parent-adolescent acculturation on intergenerational conflict and gender satisfaction. The study confirmed that adolescents perceived that they had less traditional values than their parents. Traditional family values diminished with time spent in Australia while the value accorded to independence increased. This pattern was stronger for girls than for boys. Girls valued Vietnamese traditions less than did their male peers, regarded their parents as being less accepting of independence, and were more dissatisfied with their gender role than boys. For girls but not for boys, discrepancy between adolescent and parental values was associated with more conflict and greater gender dissatisfaction. This study suggests that girls have more difficulty than boys in dealing simultaneously with the expectations of two cultures.     

The Music of Dan’s Life

ABSTRACT

In a persistent quest for understanding of what animates life and produces human experience, Daniel Stern was able to put the unspeakable into words. Impregnated with the world of childhood, he described the Forms of Vitality, rendering as never before the ubiquity of the music of life that animates and underlies the unfolding of movement and action. This concept opens new horizons for many disciplines.

Examples will describe advances in neuroscience or for the diagnosis of autism, as well as the essential function of human relationships in early development.     

Measuring Optimism in Organizations: Development of a Workplace Explanatory Style Questionnaire

Some researchers measure optimism by analysing explanations for hypothetical scenarios in explanatory style questionnaires. The most commonly used instrument, the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ), has been shown to predict success in business, education and sport. However, these predictions were achieved by using composite scores of subscales. Our analysis of 15 measures revealed the ASQ and many other explanatory style questionnaires have low internal consistency. Furthermore, the majority of these measures use situations that have poor face validity for corporate applications, while some work-specific scenarios are only relevant to narrow domains such as selling insurance. To fulfil the need for a work-related explanatory style measure that could assess levels of optimism in any organizational setting, we developed the Workplace Explanations Survey (WES). This 5-factor measure was tested on a sample of 341 individuals working in a range of organizations and it has good internal consistency. We anticipate the WES will stimulate research into workplace optimism and provide clearer insights for optimism training, thus boosting both individual and organizational success.     

The incremental validity of the MMPI-2: when does therapist access not enhance treatment outcome?

The present study examined whether therapist access to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) predicted favorable treatment outcome, above and beyond other assessment measures. A manipulated assessment design was used, in which patients were randomly assigned either to a group in which therapists had access to their MMPI-2 data or to a group without therapist access to such information. Illness severity, improvement ratings, number of sessions attended, and premature termination were indicators of therapy outcome. Results indicated that therapist access to the MMPI-2 data did not add to the prediction of positive treatment outcome beyond that predicted by other measures in this setting. Findings from this initial study suggest that, compared with other resources, perhaps in clinical settings with an emphasis on diagnosis-based and evidence-based treatment, the MMPI-2 may not provide incrementally valid information. However, these effects warrant replication across different settings and samples. Guidelines for future studies are discussed.     

Evidence for age-related equivalence in the directed forgetting paradigm

The directed forgetting paradigm involves, under particular experimental circumstances, inhibitory mechanisms, which operate to the successful forgetting of irrelevant words. The item-by-item cueing method (e.g., Basden & Basden, 1996) was used to investigate the directed forgetting effect in young and old adults. Processing of the experimental words was manipulated between subjects by asking participants to perform either a deep or a shallow orienting task on each word of the study list before the occurrence of the cue (to remember of to forget). Results indicated that the instruction to process deeply both to-be-remembered and to-be-forgotten words led to equivalent directed forgetting effects in young and old adults. These results are discussed with respect to the implications they have for the Inhibitory Deficit theory (e.g., Hasher & Zacks, 1988), which suggests that cognitive aging is mainly characterized by a reduction in the efficiency of inhibitory processes.     

Non-pharmacologic Interventions for CFS: A Randomized Trial

Non-pharmacological behavioral treatments for CFS have been suggested as promising. These trials have tested protocols composed of behavioral, cognitive and cognitive–behavioral interventions but there have been few efforts to differentially evaluate their outcomes. The primary purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of nurse delivered non-pharmacologic interventions. In the present study, 114 participants diagnosed with CFS were randomly assigned to four 6-month interventions. The interventions were: cognitive–behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, anaerobic activity, and a relaxation control group. The study found that these interventions led to increases in several areas of functioning, with more consistent changes occurring among those participants in the cognitive condition. For the 25 variables in this study, significant change occurred for 28%, 20%, 16%, and 12% of the variables for the cognitive, cognitive behavior therapy, anaerobic activity, and relaxation conditions, respectively. However, the majority of participants continued to be diagnosed with CFS following the treatment trial. Implications of these findings are discussed.