Sympathy for the Error Theorist: Parfit and Mackie

Derek Parfit claims that “Williams and Mackie…do not use the normative concepts that I and other Non-Naturalists use.” Whatever we think of Parfit’s interpretation of Williams, his interpretation of Mackie should be rejected. For understandable historical reasons, Mackie’s texts are ambiguous. But if we apply to the interpretation of Mackie the same principle of charity Parfit employs in interpreting Williams, we find decisive reason to interpret Mackie as using the same normative concepts as Non-Naturalists.     

Profiles of psychological well‐being in a sample of Australian university students

The present study identified psychological well‐being profiles in a sample of Australian university students (N = 207, Mean age = 30.16 years; SD = 11.90). Respondents completed two measures: Ryff's (1989) Psychological Well‐Being (PWB) scale and Lovibond and Lovibond's (2002) Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales‐21 (DASS‐21) assessing their levels of PWB and depression. Latent profile analysis was applied to six indices of positive functioning derived from PWB scale: self‐acceptance, purpose in life, environmental mastery, positive relations with others, personal growth and autonomy. An optimal 5‐profile solution, reflecting significant incremental shifts from very low to very high PWB, was interpreted. As predicted, profile membership distinguished participants on depression. Importantly, profiles indicating moderate to very high PWB, particularly with the presence of above average autonomy, reported significantly lower levels of depression. Our results suggest prevention of, and treatment efficacy for, mental health problems may be improved by incorporating strategies that address positive functioning attributes, particularly associated with a sense of autonomy.     

Early formal schooling: Are we promoting achievement or anxiety?

The resurgence of interest in early childhood education has been accompanied by an active debate about the most developmentally beneficial approach to preschool instruction. Some experts and the major early childhood organizations in this country advocate a child-centered or developmentally appropriate approach, whereas other experts advocate a teacher-directed, didactic approach. Until recently, the empirical evidence available to inform this controversy has been woefully thin. This article reviews the social and theoretical parameters of this debate about preschool instruction, articulates the core dimensions that have been portrayed as distinguishing child- from teacher-directed curricula, and examines the available research that can inform the debate. Our conclusions support those who encourage the adoption of child-centered curricula. Didactic approaches appear to undermine young children's motivation in and enjoyment of school in the short term and to have either neutral or negative ramifications for long-term achievement, despite some evidence of short-term gains.     

Job context, selection decision outcome, and the perceived fairness of selection tests: biodata as an illustrative case

S. W. Gilliland (1993) has proposed a model of perceived selection system fairness to help understand applicants' prehire and posthire behavior. The present study aimed to verify and extend his framework by investigating the role of job context in the formation of fairness perceptions of biodata. A sample of 255 students (108 men, 147 women) completed an operational biodata instrument, believing that it would be used to hire persons for either international, local, or unspecified entry-level managerial positions. Participants were then presented with outcome information (selected or rejected for further consideration). Consistent support was found for the research hypotheses derived from the Gilliland model. Participants' perceptions of the fairness and job relatedness of biodata were affected by the selection context and decision outcome. The importance of considering selection context in assessments of perceived test fairness is discussed.     

Variations in the relationship between radius of curvature and velocity as a function of joint motion

A power law describes the relationship between the geometric properties of a trajectory (radius of curvature) and movement kinematics (tangential velocity) in curved drawing movements. Although the power law is a general law of motion, there are conditions under which it degrades. In particular, the power law may be less explanatory of movements around certain joints. The present study considered how varying motion around different joints influenced the fit of the power law. Motions associated with finger and wrist, or elicited by an isometric force production task, were compared. The power law was most explanatory of finger motion and isometric production and least explanatory of wrist motion. The fit of the power law for finger and wrist motion suggested separate laws for each joint system. Since the fit of the power law was better for finger than for wrist motion, there is some suggestion that the power law better explains motion around fewer or simpler joint systems.     

Psychophysiological mediators of caregiver stress and differential cognitive decline

The authors examined relationships between chronic stress and cognitive decline and whether such relationships were mediated by psychophysiological factors. Ninety-six caregivers of spouses with Alzheimer's disease (AD) were compared with 95 similar noncaregiver spouses. All were free of diabetes. Although the groups started similarly, over 2 years caregivers declined by a small but significant amount (1 raw score point and 4 percentile points, each p<.05) on Shipley Vocabulary. In contrast, noncaregivers did not change. Higher hostile attribution (beta=-.09; p<.05) and metabolic risk (beta=-.10; p<.05) in caregivers mediated the cognitive decline. This is the first study of cognitive decline and mediators in caregivers. This work has implications for caregiver and care-recipient health and for research on cognition, psychophysiology, diabetes, and AD.     

Nursing and psychological treatments

Presents a comment on "Psychological Treatments" by D. H. Barlow. In his article, Barlow pointed to the need "to solidify the identification of psychology as a health care profession" by changing the terminology of practice in the health care context from psychotherapy to psychological treatments and suggested that the only persons qualified to carry out such interventions are doctoral-level psychologists. Unfortunately, there was no discussion of the health care professionals who already provide psychological treatments in health care settings and their contribution to the evidence base supporting such treatment. The authors find several aspects of the article to be problematic. Overall, the authors feel that suggesting that psychology should claim treatment of psychological disorders and psychological components of physical disorders in health care settings as exclusively its own domain ignores the research and clinical contributions of others.     

Convergence of biological and psychological perspectives on cognitive coordination in schizophrenia

The concept of locally specialized functions dominates research on higher brain function and its disorders. Locally specialized functions must be complemented by processes that coordinate those functions, however, and impairment of coordinating processes may be central to some psychotic conditions. Evidence for processes that coordinate activity is provided by neurobiological and psychological studies of contextual disambiguation and dynamic grouping. Mechanisms by which this important class of cognitive functions could be achieved include those long-range connections within and between cortical regions that activate synaptic channels via NMDA-receptors, and which control gain through their voltage-dependent mode of operation. An impairment of these mechanisms is central to PCP-psychosis, and the cognitive capabilities that they could provide are impaired in some forms of schizophrenia. We conclude that impaired cognitive coordination due to reduced ion flow through NMDA-channels is involved in schizophrenia, and we suggest that it may also be involved in other disorders. This perspective suggests several ways in which further research could enhance our understanding of cognitive coordination, its neural basis, and its relevance to psychopathology.     

The effects of categorically based expectations on minority influence: the importance of congruence

The role of congruence and incongruence in diverse decision-making groups is examined by manipulating opinion agreement within and between members of different social categories. Congruence occurs when ingroup members agree with one another and outgroup members disagree, whereas incongruence occurs when an ingroup member disagrees with a majority composed of ingroup and outgroup members. The results of two studies, one using a scenario methodology and the second using simulated work teams with two ingroup members and one outgroup member, show that regardless of the task-relevance of salient differences, individuals respond most favorably when categorical and opinion differences are congruent. Study 1 examined individuals' emotional reactions and group efficacy. Study 2 examined group performance, the minority influence process, and efforts to maintain congruence. The findings suggest that outgroup minority opinion holders may be more influential in diverse group decision-making settings than ingroup minority opinion holders.