Reasons why in normative explanation

Normative explanations, which specify why things have the normative features they do, are ubiquitous in normative theory and ordinary thought. But there is much less work on normative explanation than on scientific or metaphysical explanation. Skow [2016. Reasons Why. Oxford: Oxford University Press] argues that a complete answer to the question why some fact Q occurs consists in all of the reasons why Q occurs. This paper explores this theory as a case study of a general theory that promises to offer us a grip on normative explanation which is independent of particular normative theories. I first argue that the theory doesn't give an adequate account of certain enablers of reasons which are important in normative explanation. I then formulate and reject three responses on behalf of the theory. But I suggest that since theories of this general sort have the right kind of resources to illuminate how normative explanation might be similar to and different from explanations in other domains, they nonetheless merit further exploration by normative theorists.     

How do People Attribute their Polydrug Use? A Mixed Methods Approach

ABSTRACT

In Finland, polydrug use is generally seen as stigmatized deviant behavior. By means of the mixed methods approach, this article focuses on how people explain their polydrug use and what they attribute it to. Our findings show that these explanations vary according to sociodemography. Moreover, polydrug use is not always presented as planned and goal-oriented behavior, but also something that can occur due to sudden situational factors beyond the control of the person. Our findings implicate that the judgments regarding the deviance of polydrug use are contextual and different sociodemographic groups consider whether it is deviant behavior or not differently.     

Long cycles and the development of style: Painting in the 19th and 20th centuries

Well‐known epochs of style such as Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Cubism, etc. are combined with historical facts of economic long cycles. It turns out that long depressions/declines correlate with Romantic movements in style whereas long periods of prosperity coincide with realism. Basic innovations in painting do not cluster in difficult economic times. The evidence indicates almost the contrary.     

Disbelief and Trust in Psychoanalysis - A Case Study

A case of unorthodox psychoanalysis with a 27-year-old woman, during the years 1994-1998 is presented. The patient, Silja, suffered from severe character neurosis with depression. She studied humanities at the University of Helsinki with poor results, because of severe inner demands of perfection. The therapy was unorthodox, because it was necessary to change the method a few times. After two years of psychoanalysis, a life-threatening crisis occurred in 1996, and I was obliged to take a more active role and even give direct advice concerning her studies. This was successful, and she could achieve her B.A., the lower university degree. The change of method was necessary to avoid suicide. In the end we could resume psychoanalysis and analyse what had happened. Suddenly in the summer of 1998 Silja's depression disappeared and her looks improved. Therapy ended in November 1998, when she was ready to try on her own. According to her both the holding and love and also the direct advice were the most important elements in her cure. After a three years' follow-up her condition had further improved, she was married, had a job and was expecting a baby.     

Prereading skills of very-low-birth-weight prematurely born Finnish children

Our objective was to study the prereading skills of very-low-birth-weight (VLBW; ≤ 1500 g) prematurely born children at the age of five years. A regional cohort of 89 VLBW children and 152 full-term (FT) born children was assessed for letter knowledge, phonological processing, and speeded naming. Full-scale IQ (FSIQ) was assessed using a short version of WPPSI-R. The associations of parental and neonatal factors, and FSIQ with prereading skills were assessed. VLBW group had poorer prereading skills, and there were more VLBW children at-risk (performing < ?1 SD) compared to FT children in phonological processing (23% vs. 9%, p = .002), letter knowledge (27% vs. 14%, p = .017), and the accuracy of speeded naming (26% vs. 13%, p = .020). VLBW children had lower average FSIQ and Performance IQ (both comparisons p < .001) than FT controls, but Verbal IQ did not differ. When FSIQ was used as a covariate, VLBW children did not differ from the FT group in prereading skills indicating that they are at risk for more global developmental problems. Lower parental level of education as well as parent's reading problems were negatively associated with VLBW children's prereading skills. Positively, about 75% of VLBW children performed within the normal range in each individual prereading skill.     

The Association Between Childhood Gender Atypical Behavior and Adult Psychiatric Symptoms is Moderated by Parenting Style

The association between childhood gender atypical behavior (GAB) i.e. behavior traditionally considered more typical for children of the opposite sex, and adult psychiatric symptoms as well as cold or over-controlling parenting style as a moderator of the association were studied in a sample of 1767 Finnish participants aged 33 to 43 years (M?=?37.5). Participants completed the Gender Identity/Gender Role Questionnaire, the Brief Symptom Inventory 18, and the Measure of Parenting Style. Regression analyses showed that women recalled more GAB than men did, and that participants who recalled more GAB reported significantly more psychiatric symptoms. Negative parenting style was associated with psychiatric symptoms. Structural equation modeling showed that parenting style significantly moderated the association between childhood GAB and adult psychiatric symptoms with positive parenting reducing the association and negative parenting sustaining it.     

Perceived Organizational Support: An African Perspective

The study of perceived organizational support (POS) has received considerable attention in the literature. Despite the acknowledged impact of sociocultural values on organizational behaviors, there is paucity in non-Western work environments. The current study empirically examined supportive perceptions in an African context. Workers' demographic variables and consequences of POS were examined in light of their sociocultural values. POS were measured with the short version of Eisenberger et al.'s (1990 ) survey. Sociocultural values that explain the associations of demographic variables with psychological variables (e.g., job satisfaction, POS) were examined. Older workers, the married, relatively higher educated, satisfied workers, relatively long-tenured, and supervisors expressed greater supportive perceptions. Contrary to our expectation, female workers expressed greater supportive perceptions than did their male counterparts.     

Modeling the categorical perception of speech sounds: A step toward biological plausibility

Our native language has a lifelong effect on how we perceive speech sounds. Behaviorally, this is manifested as categorical perception, but the neural mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are still unknown. Here, we constructed a computational model of categorical perception, following principles consistent with infant speech learning. A self-organizing network was exposed to a statistical distribution of speech input presented as neural activity patterns of the auditory periphery, resembling the way sound arrives to the human brain. In the resulting neural map, categorical perception emerges from most single neurons of the model being maximally activated by prototypical speech sounds, while the largest variability in activity is produced at category boundaries. Consequently, regions in the vicinity of prototypes become perceptually compressed, and regions at category boundaries become expanded. Thus, the present study offers a unifying framework for explaining the neural basis of the warping of perceptual space associated with categorical perception.