Mighty Belief Revision

Journal of Philosophical Logic - Belief revision theories standardly endorse a principle of intensionality to the effect that ideal doxastic agents do not discriminate between pieces of information...     

Empirically based dimensions of externalizing symptoms in children and adolescents: a multitrait-multisource approach

The present study sought to refine knowledge about the structure underlying externalizing dimensions. From a “top-down” ICD/DSM-based perspective, externalizing symptoms can be categorized into attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and conduct disorder (CD). From a “bottom-up” developmental theory-based perspective, disruptive behaviors can be meaningfully described as aggressive (AGG) and rule-breaking (RB) behaviors. We analyzed five large data sets comprising externalizing symptom ratings obtained with a screening instrument using different sources (parents, teachers, self-ratings) from different samples. Using confirmatory factor analyses, we evaluated several factor models (unidimensional; correlated factors; bifactor (S-1) models) derived from an ICD/DSM- and theory-based perspective. Our optimally fitting models were assessed for measurement invariance across all sources, sample settings, and sex. Following several model-based criteria (model fit indices; factor loadings; omega statistics; model parsimony), we discarded our models stepwise and concluded that both the ICD/DSM-based model with three correlated factors (ADHD, ODD, CD) and the developmental theory-based model with three correlated factors (ADHD, AGG, RB) displayed a statistically sound factor structure and allowed for straightforward interpretability. Furthermore, these two models demonstrated metric invariance across all five samples and across sample settings (community, clinical), as well as scalar invariance across sources and sex. While the dimensions AGG and RB may depict a more empirically coherent view than the categorical perspective of ODD and CD, at this point we cannot clearly determine whether one perspective really outperforms the other. Implications for model selection according to our model-based criteria and clinical research are discussed.

     

Acculturation,self‐construal,mental and physical health: An explorative study of East Asian students in Germany

The present study explores acculturation and its associated aspects of two East Asian student groups with different levels of exposure to German culture (100 international students from East Asian countries [IS]; 61 second generation students of East Asian descent [SGS]). First, we investigated the relationships between acculturation, self‐construal, depressive and somatic symptoms, and differences between the student groups in these variables. Second, the four acculturation types (integration, assimilation, separation and marginalization) were examined regarding their relationship to self‐construal and health outcomes. The results showed that the acculturation dimensions (mainstream, heritage) were relevant to the level of depressive symptoms for IS which was not the case for SGS. Furthermore, IS reported more somatic symptoms whereas there was no difference between the two groups in the level of depressive symptoms. In the analysis of acculturation types, assimilated and integrated students were characterized by high independent self‐construal, while separated and integrated students showed high interdependent self‐construal. Assimilated students displayed the least depressive symptoms of all acculturation groups. This study highlights different characteristics of East Asian students in acculturation, self‐construal and health outcomes, and discusses the complexity of the relationships between acculturation types and health.     

Examination of the Hierarchical Structure of the Brief COPE in a French Sample: Empirical and Theoretical Convergences

This study aimed to determine whether the various factors of coping as measured by the Brief COPE could be integrated into a more parsimonious hierarchical structure. To identify a higher structure for the Brief COPE, several measurement models based on prior theoretical and hierarchical conceptions of coping were tested. First, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) results revealed that the Brief COPE's 14 original factors could be represented more parsimoniously with 5 higher order dimensions: problem-solving, support-seeking, avoidance, cognitive restructuring, and distraction (N = 2,187). Measurement invariance across gender was also shown. Second, results provided strong support for the cross-validation and the concurrent validity of the hierarchical structure of the Brief COPE (N = 584). Results indicated statistically significant correlations between Brief COPE factors and trait anxiety and perceived stress. Limitations and theoretical and methodological implications of these results are discussed.     

Judges' views of child sexual abuse: Evaluating beliefs against research findings in a Finnish sample

Beliefs impact our decision‐making and different professionals have been shown to have beliefs about child sexual abuse (CSA) that do not coincide with scientific findings. In the present study, judges' beliefs regarding CSA were explored. Finnish judges (N = 104) answered a questionnaire about CSA related issues as well as questions regarding their professional experience of CSA cases. The judges held both correct and incorrect beliefs; while their CSA prevalence estimates were rather well in line with research findings, half of the participants estimated that no professionals use suggestive methods when interviewing children and more than 40% thought suggestive methods can be useful when trying to get a child to tell about real events. Judges correctly assumed symptoms cannot be used to assess a CSA case, however, the majority thought play observations were appropriate means for evaluating such suspicions. Experience seemed to lead to more confidence in their own expertise but not in an actual increase in knowledge, namely, judges thought themselves more expert when more experienced although their expertise as measured by the questionnaire did not improve. Overall, the judges had both correct and erroneous beliefs but while experience did not improve the situation, gaining information about CSA did. More research about the beliefs of judges and how such beliefs impact legal decision‐making is needed.     

The Necklace of Numbers

The necklace of numbers is a symbol that came in one of my dreams at the end of 2006, at the time when I was about to leave France, my native country, and come to the United States. As I was going through the process of becoming an American citizen, I felt compelled to reconnect to my French roots. The result was this personal account which tells the most important dreams that led me to this country. It is also a tale of a mid-life transformation, a tale of an immigrant viewed from inside, and a tale of individuation by following the path of love.     

Modality and Children’s Scope Understanding

This study intends to shed light on the inconclusive argument pertaining to children’s acquisition of logical form (LF) operation. Specifically, we examined children’s interpretations of sentences with the ambiguous modal verb yinggai ‘should,’ like ‘Xiaohua yinggai shangchuang shuijiao le’, whose meanings depend on the landing sites of yinggai at LF (root interpretation: Xiaohua is obligated to go to bed now. epistemic interpretation: It is the case that Xiaohua has gone to bed.). The results of truth value judgment task from 15 children (range: 4;8–6;2, mean: 5;4) and 37 adults indicate that both groups tend to interpret the ambiguous yinggai as epistemic readings and that children’s interpretation is adult-like. Thus, this study supports (Syrett and Lidz’s in Lang Acquis 16:67–81, 2009) view that 5-year-olds have adult-like LF development and their difficulties in interpreting covert movements may be reduced to extra-grammatical factors.     

Do You ‘See’ What I ‘See’? Differentiation of Visual Action Words

Dickinson and Szeligo (Can J Exp Psychol 62(4):211–222, 2008) found that processing time for simple visual stimuli was affected by the visual action participants had been instructed to perform on these stimuli (e.g., see, distinguish). It was concluded that these effects reflected the differences in the durations of these various visual actions, and the results were compared to participants’ subjective ratings of word meaning but it was also possible that word characteristics like length might have influenced response times. The present study takes advantage of word length differences between French and English visual action words in order to address this issue. The goals of the present study were to provide evidence that (1) the processing time differences previously found were due to differences in the cognitive actions represented by these words (and not due to characteristics to the words themselves), and (2) that individuals subjectively differentiate visual action words in such a way that allows for predictable differences in behaviour. Participants differentiated 14 French visual action words along two dimensions. Four of these words were then used in the instructions for a size-discrimination task. Processing time depended on the visual action word in the instruction to the task and differed in a predictable manner according to word meaning but not word length.     

Performing high‐powered studies efficiently with sequential analyses

Running studies with high statistical power, while effect size estimates in psychology are often inaccurate, leads to a practical challenge when designing an experiment. This challenge can be addressed by performing sequential analyses while the data collection is still in progress. At an interim analysis, data collection can be stopped whenever the results are convincing enough to conclude that an effect is present, more data can be collected, or the study can be terminated whenever it is extremely unlikely that the predicted effect will be observed if data collection would be continued. Such interim analyses can be performed while controlling the Type 1 error rate. Sequential analyses can greatly improve the efficiency with which data are collected. Additional flexibility is provided by adaptive designs where sample sizes are increased on the basis of the observed effect size. The need for pre‐registration, ways to prevent experimenter bias, and a comparison between Bayesian approaches and null‐hypothesis significance testing (NHST) are discussed. Sequential analyses, which are widely used in large‐scale medical trials, provide an efficient way to perform high‐powered informative experiments. I hope this introduction will provide a practical primer that allows researchers to incorporate sequential analyses in their research. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Framing of Decisions: Effect on Active and Passive Risk Avoidance

Decision makers intending to avoid risk in a decision situation can choose a less risky alternative (passive risk avoidance) or intervene actively in an alternative applying a risk‐defusing action (active risk avoidance). In Experiment 1 (64 participants), we compared active and passive risk defusing in two framing conditions. In the negative frame, in the uncertain alternative, a change to the worse was possible; in the positive frame, a change to an improvement was possible. Each participant decided in both framing conditions. As expected, active risk avoidance behavior for preventing a negative outcome (i.e., in the negative frame) was more likely than for promoting a positive one (i.e., in the positive frame). If decision makers did not or could not actively defuse the risk, they chose in correspondence to the classical pattern: risk avoidance in the positive frame and risk seeking in the negative one. We replicated the latter result in a second experiment (32 participants). The classical framing pattern in passive risk avoidance in both experiments is remarkable, because participants were not presented or did not search for exact probabilities. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.