Seeing is believing? How reinterpreting perception as dynamic engagement alters the justificatory force of religious experience

William Alston’s Theory of Appearing has attracted considerable attention in recent years, both for its elegant interpretation of direct realism in light of the presentational character of perceptual experience and for its central role in his defense of the justificatory force of Christian mystical experiences. There are different ways to account for presentational character, however, and in this article we argue that a superior interpretation of direct realism can be given by a theory of perception as dynamic engagement. The conditions for dynamic engagement are such that there can be no absolute discontinuity between individual perceptual experiences and more public forms of inquiry, and this requirement has radical consequences for the prima facie justificatory force of religious experience.     

The Deliberation-Without-Attention Effect: Evidence for an Artifactual Interpretation

ABSTRACT— Proponents of unconscious-thought theory assert that letting the unconscious "mull it over" can enhance decisions. In a series of recent studies, researchers demonstrated that participants whose attention was focused on solving a complex problem (i.e., those using conscious thought) made poorer choices, decisions, and judgments than participants whose attention was distracted from the problem (i.e., those purportedly using unconscious thought). We argue that this finding, rather than establishing the existence of a deliberation-without-attention effect, is explained more compellingly in terms of the well-established distinction between on-line and memory-based judgments. In Experiment 1 , we reversed the recent finding by simply changing participants' on-line processing goal from impression formation to memorization. Experiment 2 provided a replication and further established that some cognitive effort appears necessary to produce both the original pattern of results and its reversal, suggesting that such judgments are ultimately a product of conscious, rather than unconscious, thinking.     

Trends in Women's Participation at the Meetings of the Association for Behavior Analysis: 1975-2005

We examined women's participation, relative to men's, at the annual meetings of the Association for Behavior Analysis (ABA) between 1975 and 2005. Among our findings are upward trends in female presenters across formats (e.g., posters), types of authorship (e.g., first authors), and specialty areas (e.g., autism). Where women have attained parity, however, they are still often underrepresented, given their percentage of membership. Women also participate less than men as sole and invited authors and discussants and in the domains of basic research and conceptual analysis, but participate more than men in the applied domain. Data from the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior and the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis show parallel but delayed trends toward parity in basic and applied research, whereas data from The Behavior Analyst show only modest gains in the conceptual domain. We discuss the gender disparities in ABA's more prestigious categories of participation (e.g., invited addresses) and across its content domains, as well as in science in general, and the role of social and cultural factors in producing the disparities and how behavior analysts might aid in correcting them.     

Do people use category-learning judgments to regulate their learning of natural categories?

Although research has established that people can accurately judge how well they have learned categories, no research has examined whether people use their category-learning judgments (CLJs) to regulate their restudy of natural categories. Thus, in five experiments we investigated the relationship between people’s CLJs and selections of categories for restudy. Participants first attempted to learn natural categories (bird families; e.g., finches, grosbeaks, and warblers) so that they could categorize new exemplars on a final test. After this initial study phase, participants made a CLJ for each category and then selected a subset of the categories for restudy. Across experiments, we also manipulated several variables (e.g., selecting either three or nine categories, or obtaining 30% vs. 80% performance on the final test) that were expected to influence restudy selections. However, the manipulations typically had minimal impact. More important, in all experiments we found an unexpected outcome: Some participants tended to select the categories they judged to be most well learned for restudy, and others tended to select those judged to be least well learned. We discovered these qualitative differences in the use of CLJs to make restudy selections by using post-hoc analyses in Experiments 1a and 1b, and hence we sought to (a) replicate them in Experiments 2, 3, and 4 and (b) provide preliminary evidence regarding factors that can (vs. cannot) account for them. Most important, evidence across all of the experiments supported the conclusion that people do use their CLJs to select categories for restudy.     

Is Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Related to Neuropsychological Function in Healthy Older Adults? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses have identified cognitive deficits in adults with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). However, quantitative analysis of the association between OSA and neuropsychological performance has not been conducted specifically in older adults, for whom there is a greater risk of cognitive decline. We searched Medline, Embase and PsycINFO through August 2016 for studies describing associations between OSA and neuropsychological outcomes in people aged>50 years. Meta-analyses were performed on these studies for overall cognition and within cognitive domains. Subgroup analyses were performed taking into account risk of bias and moderating differences in study design. 13 studies met eligibility criteria for analysis. A small negative association was found between OSA and all neuropsychological outcomes combined, g=0.18(95% CI 0.04–0.32), and in memory and processing speed domains. Small case-control studies from sleep clinic populations observed the greatest associations, while larger cohort studies from community samples illustrated no association. Analysis accounting for publication bias resulted in a null overall association, g=0.02 (95%CI -0.12 to 0.16). Associations between OSA and cognition in later life are highly variable and the findings differ based on the type and setting of study. It appears some older adults may be at risk of cognitive impairments attributable to OSA; however, the risk of bias renders the evidence inconclusive. High quality research is warranted in clinically diagnosed OSA patients as well as those already experiencing neuropsychological impairment and who may be regarded at higher risk of further cognitive decline.     

In Defense of Comic Pluralism

Jokes are sometimes morally objectionable, and sometimes they are not. What’s the relationship between a joke’s being morally objectionable and its being funny? Philosophers’ answers to this question run the gamut. In this paper I present a new argument for the view that the negative moral value of a joke can affect its comedic value both positively and negatively.     

Implicit theories of relationships: moderators of the link between conflict and commitment

In two studies, implicit theories of relationships were examined as moderators of the association between experienced conflict and commitment. Study 1 involved 128 individuals in heterosexual romantic relationships and employed an event-contingent diary procedure in which disagreements were recorded throughout a 10-day period. Study 2 was conducted in the laboratory and involved 75 heterosexual couples who discussed problems in their relationship, with commitment measured before and after discussion. Multilevel random coefficient models revealed that conflict was generally associated with lower commitment but less so with growth belief. Also, growth belief was most beneficial under negative relationship conditions, such as when one possessed a less favorable view of the partner to begin with and when the issue remained unresolved after discussion.     

Whether, when, and why Skinner published on biological participation in behavior

This paper brings some data to bear on the criticisms, claims, and arguments that Skinner (a) denied or dismissed biological participation in behavior, (b) addressed it only late in his career or more often later than earlier, or (c) addressed it only because of the overwhelming evidence for it or the criticisms that he had overlooked it. For this, we coded Skinner's every primary-source publication for three content categories (i.e., genetics, physiology, and evolution) and for the extent to which he addressed them (i.e., in publication titles, substantively, or in passing). Our findings are that Skinner addressed biological participation in over a third of his publications throughout his career, albeit more often later than earlier. The latter, however, is accounted for by an increase in his base rate of publication and in general conditions and specific events in his career, psychology, and science. The discussion addresses our research methods; the reasons for and refutations of the criticisms, claims, and arguments; and their sources.     

After-School Youth Development Programs: A Developmental-Ecological Model of Current Research

Although there has been a rapid increase in funding and attention to after-school programs, there is little understanding of how after-school programs impact children's developmental trajectories. The heterogeneity of American children makes it very unlikely that all children need after-school programming or that there is but one brand of after-school programming suitable for all youth. We discuss the numerous developmental and contextual factors that may influence which children benefit most from after-school programs as well as the nature of the after-school programs most beneficial to children's needs. The value of utilizing an ecological and developmental perspective to after-school program evaluation are presented, including the need for improved research designs and more detailed analyses of program type and services as well as a more complete determination of which children benefit the most from after-school participation.