Philosophical empathy (in the Style of Merleau-Ponty)

Continental Philosophy Review - Is there a sense in which we can be said to empathize with a philosophical position and, if so, what does empathy consist of here? Drawing on themes in the work of...     

Student-Athletes’ Views on <Emphasis Type="Italic">APOE</Emphasis> Genotyping for Increased Risk of Poor Recovery after a Traumatic Brain Injury

Use of apolipoprotein E genotyping to personalize the risk of a poor recovery after traumatic brain injury is complicated by the potential for genetic discrimination and the potential to reveal an increased risk for late onset Alzheimer’s disease. We developed a survey to gauge interest in testing among athletes participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association programs. Eight hundred and forty seven student-athletes were surveyed to determine their interest in genetic testing, their willingness to share the results of testing with parents, coaches and physicians, their concerns about privacy and/or discrimination, and their interest in genetic counseling. Nearly three quarters of respondents expressed some level of interest in testing, with the largest number describing themselves as ‘possibly interested’ (54.9 %, n = 463) and a smaller number describing themselves as ‘very interested’ (18.9 %, n = 159). Most student-athletes said that receiving secondary information about their risk for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease made them more likely to test (50.6 %, n = 426) rather than less likely to test (12.4 %, n = 104). Student-athletes were open to apolipoprotein E genotyping and willing to share test results with their parents, coaches and physicians. They did not anticipate that test results would impact their behavior or ability to play. Testing programs may be welcome but should provide clear information as to risks and benefits.     

Comparing structured mix and random rotation procedures to teach receptive labeling to children with autism

We compared two procedures using an alternating treatments design to teach receptive labeling to children with autism. The structured mix procedure followed seven steps entailing mass trials, intermixing, and random rotation. In the random rotation procedure, we trained all stimuli from the start. Study 1 included four children with a repertoire of four to 50 receptive labels and who primarily communicated with an alternative communication device. Results showed that the two conditions were comparable for one participant, structured mix was effective and random rotation was not effective for one participant, and that both conditions were ineffective for two participants. Study 2 included five children with over 200 receptive labels in their repertoire and with vocal speech as the primary form of communication. Four participants acquired the labels in both procedures, but random rotation was more effective. Results indicate that structured mix may be more effective for participants with a limited language repertoire and random rotation is more effective for participants with a larger language repertoire.     

Associations between Physical Self-Concept and Anticipated Guilt and Shame: The Moderating Role of Gender

Body-related emotions have been identified as important predictors of mental and physical health. Evaluations of the physical self are inextricably linked with body-related emotions. However, little research has addressed how physical self-concept is associated with anticipated emotions and how associations may differ between men and women. The current study examined associations between physical self-concept and anticipated guilt and shame and examined gender as a moderator of these associations. The sample consisted of 353 Canadian undergraduate students (55% female; M_age?=?21.94. range?=?18–64). Participants read a hypothetical scenario commonly associated with guilt and shame experiences and were asked to anticipate their emotional experience when imagining themselves in the scenario. Participants also indicated their gender and completed a measure of physical self-concept. Gender moderated the relationship between physical self-concept and anticipated shame but not guilt. Specifically, there was a negative association between physical self-concept and anticipated shame for women but not for men. Findings are consistent with the notion that gender role socialization shapes the emotional experiences, specifically feelings of shame, of men and women differently. The results demonstrate that even imagining a situation that runs counter to societal ideals for women’s bodies as thin and toned coincides with the anticipation of shame among adult women with more negative physical self-concept.

     

Chickadees discriminate contingency reversals presented consistently,but not frequently

Chickadees are high-metabolism, non-migratory birds, and thus an especially interesting model for studying how animals follow patterns of food availability over time. Here, we studied whether black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) could learn to reverse their behavior and/or to anticipate changes in reinforcement when the reinforcer contingencies for each stimulus were not stably fixed in time. In Experiment 1, we examined the responses of chickadees on an auditory go/no-go task, with constant reversals in reinforcement contingencies every 120 trials across daily testing intervals. Chickadees did not produce above-chance discrimination; however, when trained with a procedure that only reversed after successful discrimination, chickadees were able to discriminate and reverse their behavior successfully. In Experiment 2, we examined the responses of chickadees when reversals were structured to occur at the same time once per day, and chickadees were again able to discriminate and reverse their behavior over time, though they showed no reliable evidence of reversal anticipation. The frequency of reversals throughout the day thus appears to be an important determinant for these animals’ performance in reversal procedures.     

Heidegger's attunement and the neuropsychology of emotion

I outline the early Heidegger's views on mood and emotion, and then relate his central claims to some recent finding in neuropsychology. These findings complement Heidegger in a number of important ways. More specifically, I suggest that, in order to make sense of certain neurological conditions that traditional assumptions concerning the mind are constitutionally incapable of accommodating, something very like Heidegger's account of mood and emotion needs to be adopted as an interpretive framework. I conclude by supporting Heidegger's insistence that the sciences constitute a derivative means of disclosing the world and our place within it, as opposed to an ontologically and epistemologically privileged domain of inquiry.     

Interviewees' overuse of the word "like" and hesitations: effects in simulated hiring decisions

This study examined the use of hesitations and discourse markers such as "uh" and "like," sex of an interviewee, and professional or student participants on hiring decisions of job interviewees. Participants consisted of 105 students between the ages of 18 to 43 years and 71 professionals between the ages of 22 to 76 years (120 women, 56 men). Adult professionals and students were least likely to want to hire, perceived the applicant as less professional, and were less likely to recommend the interviewee for hiring if the interviewee overused the word "like" compared to "uh" or control. Professionals were less likely than students overall to want to hire interviewees across conditions. Sex of the interviewee was not found to be significant.     

Explorations of participants’ experiences of a Personal Development Group held as part of a counselling psychology training group: Is it safe in here?

This paper aims to extend understanding of student counsellors’ perceptions of participation in personal development (PD) groups during training. PD participants were invited to record their experiences in relation to these groups over a three month period. The accounts were then subjected to thematic analysis. Safety was found to be a dominant theme–both in the sense of how the group felt safe for them and also how the safety was threatened. These concepts are discussed and lessons the data has offered in terms of good practice in facilitating PD groups during counsellor training programmes are elucidated.     

Older, wiser, and happier? Comparing older adults' and college students' self-defining memories

The present study compared self-defining memories in adults 50 years of age and older to the self-defining memories of college students. Findings are largely congruent with previous memory and ageing research, but shed additional light on how personal memories are employed to achieve a sense of identity and continuity in older adults. Older adults' self-defining memories, compared to those of younger adults, were more positive in emotional tone, more summarised and less detailed, and more likely to contain integrative meaning. The implications of these findings for assessing normative personal memory in older adults are discussed along with more general observations about narrative identity in older adulthood.     

Coping sense of humor reduces effects of stereotype threat on women's math performance

Two studies demonstrated that coping sense of humor buffered women against the effects of stereotype threat on math performance. Using a correlational design, Study 1 demonstrated that women low in coping sense of humor assessed their performance on standardized math tests lower than did men and lower than did women high in coping sense of humor. Using an experimental design, Study 2 showed that coping sense of humor was positively related to women's performance on a math test taken under conditions of stereotype threat but not under conditions of no stereotype threat. Mediation analyses suggest that in the stereotype-threat condition, state anxiety mediated the relationship between coping sense of humor and test performance. Women higher in coping sense of humor performed better because they felt less anxiety while taking the test.