Fantasy proneness and counterfactual thinking

Counterfactual thinking (CFT; mentally simulating alternatives to reality) is central to learning and motivation. Two studies explored the relationship between CFT and fantasy proneness, a personality trait typified by excessive fantasies hard to distinguish from reality. In study1, participants completed a fictional diary entry which was used to measure spontaneous CFT and the Creative Experiences Questionnaire measure of fantasy proneness. Fantasy proneness was significantly correlated with the generation of counterfactual thoughts. Both CFT and fantasy proneness have been independently associated with low mood and study2 included a measure of negative emotional state (the Depression, Anxiety and Stress scale) in addition to the CEQ and CFT. Fantasy proneness and negative emotion both predicted CFT, but no interaction between them was observed. The results suggest that individuals high in fantasy proneness have a general tendency to think counterfactually.     

Book Review

LOGIC AND ONTOLOGY

PETER SIMONS,Parts: a study in ontology.Oxford , Clarendon Press. 1987. Xiii + 390 PP. £40.

GERHARD HEYER, Generische Kennzeichnungen. Zur Logik und Ontologie generischer Bedeutung. Miinchen und Wien: Philosophia Verlag, 1987. 289pp. DM 138.

GÖDEL STUDIES

GÖDEL , O. TAuSSKY-TODD, S. C. KLEEnE and g. kreisel. Gödel remembered: Salzburg 10-12 July 1983. Edited and foreword by P. Weingartner and L. Schmetterer. Naples: Bibliopolis, 1987. 186 pp, 10 plts. $49.95.

S. G. SHANKER (ed.), Gödel's theorem in focus. London: Croom Helm, 1988. 261 + ix pp. £25.00 (hardback)/£l1.95 (paperback).

SET THEORY AND NUMBER

ALFRED TARSKI and STEVEN GIVANT, A formulization of set theory without variables. (American Mathematical Society Colloquium Publications, volume 41.) Providence,Rhnde Is!and: American Mathematical Society. 1987. 280 pp. $60.00.

J. Bidelow, Thr reality of numbers. A physicalist 's philosophy of mathematics. Oxford: Clarrndon Press. 1988. viii+ 193 pp. £25.

MISCELLANEOUS

PETER J. STEINBERGER, Logic and politics. Hegel's philosophy of' right. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1988. xiii + 254 pp. £22.00/$29.00.

MICHELE MALATESTA, La logical primaria. Strumenti per un dialogo tra le Due Culture Napoli and Roma: LER, 1988.193 pp. 25000 lire.     

Dynamic properties of edge dislocations decorated by interstitial loops in α-iron and copper

Clusters of self-interstitial atoms (SIAs) in the form of parallel crowdions are created directly in high-energy displacement cascades produced in metals by neutron irradiation. They are equivalent to small perfect dislocation loops and, in isolation in pure metals, undergo fast thermally-activated glide in the direction of their Burgers vector. Their strain field and ability to glide allows long-range interaction with other extended defects. Indeed, dislocations decorated by dislocation loops are commonly observed after neutron irradiation. Dislocations gliding under applied stress also encounter these mobile defects. These effects influence mechanical properties and require further investigation. This paper presents results from an atomic-scale study of copper and α-iron at either 0?K or 300?K. Loop drag and breakaway effects are investigated for an edge dislocation under applied stress interacting with a row of SIA loops below its glide plane. The maximum speed at which a loop is dragged is lower in copper than iron, and the applied stress at which this occurs is also lower. These differences in the dynamics of cluster-dislocation interaction are determined by the atomic structure of the defects and cannot be investigated by continuum treatment.     

Characteristics of the interaction of Cu-rich precipitates with irradiation-produced defects in α-Fe

The interaction between copper-rich precipitates in α-iron and either vacancies or self-interstitial atoms and their clusters is studied by atomic-scale modelling. Results are compared with predictions of elasticity theory and interpreted in terms of size misfit of precipitates and defects, and the modulus and cohesive energy differences between iron and copper. Interstitial defects are repelled by precipitates at large distance but, like vacancies, attracted at small distance. Hence, copper precipitates in iron can be sinks for both vacancy and interstitial defects, and can act as strong recombination centres under irradiation conditions. This leads to a tentative explanation for the mixed Cu–Fe structure of precipitates and the absence of precipitate growth under neutron irradiation conditions. More generally, both vacancy and interstitial defects may be strongly bound to precipitates with weaker cohesion than the matrix.     

Cross-national stability of a leadership model

This study explored 60 Greek-Cypriot managers' perceptions of different dimensions of leadership. Analyses using structural equation modeling were performed to examine the invariance of the Flamholtz six-factor leadership model. The same leadership styles observed in samples from countries previously studied were present in the sample from Cyprus. In terms of the importance assigned to each style of leadership, Cypriot managers emphasized the more directive styles to a greater extent than other styles.     

Supervenience,necessary coextension,and reducibility

Conclusion Supervenience in most of its guises entails necessary coextension. Thus theoretical supervenience entails nomically necessary coextension. Kim's result, thus strengthened, has yet to hit home. I suspect that many supervenience enthusiasts would cool at necessary coextension: they didn't mean to be saying anything quite so strong. Furthermore, nomically necessary coextension can be a good reason for property identification, leading to reducibility in principle. This again is more than many supervenience theorists bargained for. They wanted supervenience without reducibility. It is not always available for this mediating role.     

Adaptation in motion perception: Alteration of induced motion

Prolonged exposure to a condition that causes induced motion was found to diminish this effect. The extent of a horizontal induced motion was measured by obtaining estimates of the direction of the apparent oblique path that resulted when a spot was visible on a horizontally moving pattern and was therefore in horizontal induced motion and, at the same time, moved vertically. Because the horizontal component of the perceived motion path represented the induced motion, the slope of the path measured the extent of the induced motion. After a 10-min exposure to induced motion, the apparent motion path was steeper; the mean change corresponded to a 15% smaller extent of the induced motion. Results were obtained that argue that this effect is not due to a diminished horizontal motion of the pattern but amounts to a smaller motion-inducing effect. The experiments were meant to support the view that the perceptual process that underlies induced motion is learned.     

The relational-interdependent self-construal and relationships

Three studies describe the development and validation of a measure of the relational-interdependent self-construal, which is defined as the tendency to think of oneself in terms of relationships with close others. Study 1 reports the development, psychometric properties, and tests of validity of this new measure. Individuals who scored high on the Relational-Interdependent Self-Construal (RISC) Scale characterized their important relationships as closer and more committed than did individuals who scored low on this measure (Study 1) and were more likely to take into account the needs and wishes of others when making decisions (Study 2). In Study 3, using a dyadic interaction paradigm with previously unacquainted participants, the partners of persons who scored high on the RISC scale viewed them as open and responsive to their needs and concerns; these perceptions were related to positive evaluations of the relationship.