unemployment,social support,individual resources,and job search behavior

The authors investigated the relation between the social support received by unemployed individuals (N = 104) and their job search behavior. A moderated mediation model demonstrated that the effect of social support on job search behaviors was mediated by self‐esteem but only if adequacy of social support was perceived as low. In addition, the effect of social support on job search behavior was partially mediated by optimistic expectations and resilience. In sum, social support seems to be a resource with complex and partially surprising effects on job search behavior.     

XV—Self-Interest and Self-Sacrifice

Stephen Darwall has recently suggested (following work by Mark Overvold) that theories which identify a person's good with her own ranking of concerns do not properly delimit the 'scope' of welfare, making self-sacrifice conceptually impossible. But whether a theory of welfare makes self-sacrifice impossible depends on what self-sacrifice is. I offer an alternative analysis to Overvold's, explaining why self-interest and self-sacrifice need not be opposed, and so why the problems of delimiting the scope of welfare and of allowing for self-sacrifice are distinct. If my analysis is correct, desire theories may allow for self-sacrifice however they delimit the scope of welfare.     

“Octave illusion” or “Deutsch’s illusion”?

The “Deutsch’s illusion” occurs in most people when a dichotic pair of tones spaced an octave apart is presented repeatedly in alternation, so that when the right ear receives the high tone, the left ear receives the low tone, and vice versa. The illusory percept consists typically in a single low tone heard at one ear alternating with a single high tone heard at the other ear. Here, we investigate whether the frequency interval between the tones and their duration play a role in the perception of the illusion. By testing 74 subjects we demonstrate that the illusion is not confined to tones spaced an octave apart but it is perceivable also with tones separated by a major seventh, a minor ninth, a major ninth, and a minor tenth. Regarding duration, the present results show that the illusion is stronger with tones lasting 500 than 200 ms. The present results suggest that the perceptual mechanisms at the basis of the illusion are not strictly linked to the frequency relationships between the dichotic tones.     

Rapid learning of syllable classes from a perceptually continuous speech stream

To learn a language, speakers must learn its words and rules from fluent speech; in particular, they must learn dependencies among linguistic classes. We show that when familiarized with a short artificial, subliminally bracketed stream, participants can learn relations about the structure of its words, which specify the classes of syllables occurring in first and last word positions. By studying the effect of familiarization length, we compared the general predictions of associative theories of learning and those of models postulating separate mechanisms for quickly extracting the word structure and for tracking the syllable distribution in the stream. As predicted by the dual-mechanism model, the preference for structurally correct items was negatively correlated with the familiarization length. This result is difficult to explain by purely associative schemes; an extensive set of neural network simulations confirmed this difficulty. Still, we show that powerful statistical computations operating on the stream are available to our participants, as they are sensitive to co-occurrence statistics among non-adjacent syllables. We suggest that different learning mechanisms analyze speech on-line: A rapid mechanism extracting structural information about the stream, and a slower mechanism detecting statistical regularities among the items occurring in it.     

Mosaic trisomy 20 and mitigation in capital crimes sentencing: A review and case report

Trisomy 20 is a genetic abnormality in which individuals have an extra copy of chromosome 20. Complete trisomy 20 is rare and believed to be incompatible with life. A mosaic form of trisomy 20, in which only some cells or tissues contain the extra chromosome, is a relatively commonly encountered chromosomal abnormality found during prenatal testing, and c. 90% result in a normal phenotype. However, despite the absence of a consistent phenotype, certain findings have been reported across multiple cases of mosaic trisomy 20. These include an array of morphological findings, developmental delays, and learning disabilities. Beyond physical manifestations, a wide range of developmental and learning delays have also been reported. In this work, we provide an overview of the trisomy 20 literature and a case report of a young adult male with mosaic trisomy 20 who committed homicide. His developmental and life history, eventual diagnosis of mosaic trisomy 20, similarities and differences in his condition compared with prior research findings, and potentially new phenotypic findings associated with trisomy 20 that he manifested (childhood visual hallucinations, self‐injury, polydactyly) are presented. Additionally, the potential role of this genetic diagnosis in his neuropsychiatric history and its successful application as a mitigating factor at his capital sentencing trial are described. We did not identify other similar cases during our search of major scientific and legal databases. As a backdrop, the use of genetics in criminal trials is on the rise, and courts are increasingly likely to accept behavioral genetics evidence; therefore, it is crucial that the legal system is well acquainted with the opportunities and limitations of these approaches.     

Weak Rejection

Linguistic evidence supports the claim that certain, weak rejections are less specific than assertions. On the basis of this evidence, it has been argued that rejected sentences cannot be premisses and conclusions in inferences. We give examples of inferences with weakly rejected sentences as premisses and conclusions. We then propose a logic of weak rejection which accounts for the relevant phenomena and is motivated by principles of coherence in dialogue. We give a semantics for which this logic is sound and complete, show that it axiomatizes the modal logic KD45 and prove that it still derives classical logic on its asserted fragment. Finally, we defend previous logics of strong rejection as being about the linguistically preferred interpretations of weak rejections.     

Negative intergroup contact and support for social policies toward the minority outgroup in the aftermath of a natural disaster

In this field study, we tested whether negative intergroup contact experienced by majority (Italian) survivors in the aftermath of the earthquakes that struck Northern Italy in 2012 was associated with policy attitudes toward minority (immigrant) survivors. Results revealed a negative association between negative contact and support for social policies aimed at favoring immigrant survivors. Moreover, social policies toward immigrant survivors mediated the effect of negative contact on social policy attitudes toward the minority group as a whole. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of findings.     

(Still) Modern Times: Objectification at work

A great deal of research has investigated gender‐related objectification. In the current work, we aim to extend the empirical research on this phenomenon to the working domain. Consistent with several theoretical assumptions, we expected that factory workers would be objectified as a consequence of their work. In Study 1, we showed that each of the critical features of factory work (i.e., repetitiveness of movements, fragmentation of activities and dependence on the machine) significantly affected the view of the worker as an instrument (vs. a human being) and as less able to experience human mental states. Coherently, we found that factory workers, unlike artisans, were perceived as more instrument‐like (Study 2) and as less able to experience mental states (Study 3) when participants were asked to focus on the target's manual activities rather than on the target as a person. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are considered.     

Systemic-Oriented Psychological Counselling for Caregivers of People with Severe Brain Injury: Reflections on a Clinical Case

Severe brain injuries can have dramatic consequences on family life, often changing rules and routines and fostering intense and prolonged caregiving duties. People affected by the injuries have to face relevant restrictions in their activities and a loss of independence. Thus, primary caregivers are often involved in their assistance, which can entail the help for self-care, movements and many activities of daily living. Furthermore, cognitive and behavioural symptoms can complicate communication, disrupt previous relationships and put an additional strain on all family members. Indeed, caregiving relationships take place in wider familial and societal contexts and are obviously influenced by previous characteristic of such relationships, as they were before the onset of the pathological condition. Therefore, a thorough examination of typical emotions, feelings and thoughts that can emerge during caregiving must be paralleled by an ecological and developmental perspective, in order to appraise the complexity of these cases and provide effective interventions. The present work aims to address such topics taking inspiration from a clinical case.