A New Normalization Strategy for the Implicational Fragment of Classical Propositional Logic

The introduction and elimination rules for material implication in natural deduction are not complete with respect to the implicational fragment of classical logic. A natural way to complete the system is through the addition of a new natural deduction rule corresponding to Peirce’s formula (((A → B) → A) → A). E. Zimmermann [6] has shown how to extend Prawitz’ normalization strategy to Peirce’s rule: applications of Peirce’s rule can be restricted to atomic conclusions. The aim of the present paper is to extend Seldin’s normalization strategy to Peirce’s rule by showing that every derivation Π in the implicational fragment can be transformed into a derivation Π′ such that no application of Peirce’s rule in Π′ occurs above applications of →-introduction and →-elimination. As a corollary of Seldin’s normalization strategy we obtain a form of Glivenko’s theorem for the classical {→}-fragment.     

Psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) in general population

This is the first study that provides normative, reliability, factor validity and discriminant validity data of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI; Beck, Epstein, Brown, & Steer, 1988) in the Spanish general population, Sanz and Navarro's (2003) Spanish version of the BAI was administered to 249 adults. Factor analyses suggested that the BAI taps a general anxiety dimension comprising two related factors (somatic and affective-cognitive symptoms), but these factors hardly explained any additional variance and, therefore, little information is lost in considering only full-scale scores. Internal consistency estimate for the BAI was high (alpha = .93). The BAI was correlated .63 with the BDI-II and .32 with the Trait-Anger scale of the STAXI 2, but a factor analysis of their items revealed three factors, suggesting that the correlations between the instruments may be better accounted for by relationships between anxiety, depression, and anger, than by problems of discriminant validity. The mean BAI total score and the distribution of BAI scores were similar to those found in other countries. BAI norm scores for the community sample were provided from the total sample and from the male and female subsamples, as females scored higher than males. The utility of these scores for assessing clinical significance of treatment outcomes for anxiety is discussed.     

Multiple Kernel Contraction

This paper focuses on the extension of AGM that allows change for a belief base by a set of sentences instead of a single sentence. In [FH94], Fuhrmann and Hansson presented an axiomatic for Multiple Contraction and a construction based on the AGM Partial Meet Contraction. We propose for their model another way to construct functions: Multiple Kernel Contraction, that is a modification of Kernel Contraction, proposed by Hansson [Han94] to construct classical AGM contractions and belief base contractions. This construction works out the unsolved problem pointed out by Hansson in [Han99, pp. 369]. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

New measure o f perceived motorcompetence for children ages 4 to 6 years

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a test for the assessment of perceived motor competence in young children ages 4 to 6 years old. The structure of the Children's Perception of Motor Competence Scale was analyzed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis with 495 children between 4 and 6 years of age. A second-order model was selected and consisted of one scale of Perceived General Motor Competence and two subscales, Perceived Gross Motor Competence and Perceived Fine Motor Competence. The number of items was 22. This test showed acceptable internal reliability: global scale (alpha = .81), Perceived Gross Motor Competence (alpha = .80), and Perceived Fine Motor Competence (alpha = .65). Children manifested accuracy in the assessment of the competence. Perceived motor competence was related to actual motor competence as measured by the Movement ABC Test and by an observational scale used by Physical Education teachers. There were no sex differences. The Children's Perception of Motor Competence Scale could be considered an interesting assessment test for identifying current self-perceptions of motor competence in young children.     

The Emperor's Psycholinguistics

We discuss and debunk five common assumptions about the interrelation of semantics, syntax, and frequency during sentence processing. In the course of this, we explore the implications of the view that syntax is assigned as the last stage of comprehension rather than the first: Statistically based perceptual strategies propose an initial semantic representation, which then constrains the assignment of syntactic representations. This view accounts for a variety of facts, as well as suggesting some surprising new ones.     

A study of physicians' intention to quit: the role of burnout, commitment and difficult doctor-patient interactions

Research on burnout and turnover intentions offers some inconsistent findings about the effects of commitment. In addition, a factor which is insufficiently studied in the turnover field is the relationship with the recipient of physicians' work, that is, the patient. This study contributes to the research literature by examining how the moderating effect of commitment depends on difficult doctor-patient relations. A total of 480 physicians, representative of Madrid, completed the survey. According to the interaction effects and the three-way interaction analyses, the results support the argument that differences in commitment lead to differences in the way physicians perceive job, interpersonal, and chronic stress. These results add a new approach to the general assumption that commitment has a unilateral negative effect, and difficult patients have a positive effect on turnover intentions, suggesting an integrated perspective, rather than a diametrical one, that allows us comprehend the complexity of physicians' turnover intentions.     

Obediencia institucional en el laboratorio

Resumen

La presente investigación consistió en una réplica de los paradigmas experimentales de Milgram y Darley y Latané sobre conformidad y conducta de ayuda. Se utilizaron 28 S divididos en un grupo de control y uno experimental. La V.I. era la presencia o ausencia de una supuesta víctima que, en una estancia contigua, recibía descargas eléctricas contra su voluntad. La V.D. estudiada era la obediencia o no a las instrucciones del experimentador por parte de los S en ambas situaciones. Los resultados confirman los de anteriores trabajos al observarse altos porcentajes de conductas conformistas. Por último se discuten tales datos en base a su relevancia ecológica.     

Post‐Traumatic Symptoms Among Victims of Workplace Bullying: Exploring Gender Differences and Shattered Assumptions

The aims of the present study were twofold: assessing the prevalence and intensity of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in victims of bullying, and exploring whether victims of bullying differ in their basic assumptions compared to a control group. A total of 183 victims of bullying and 183 control group participants took part in the research. The results showed that 42.6% of the total sample met all DSM‐IV‐TR criteria for PTSD, whereas 54.1% did not fulfill the A1 criterion. Post‐traumatic symptoms were more prevalent among women (49%), as compared to men (35.3%). Furthermore, victims showed significantly more negative beliefs about the world, the people, and themselves, compared to their non‐bullied controls. These results fit well with cognitive theory of trauma.     

Needs and Cognition/Behavior Patterns at Work and the Big Five: An assessment of the Personality and Preference Inventory‐Normative (PAPI‐N) from the perspective of the five‐factor model

This study examined the relationship between psychological needs and cognition/behavior patterns at work as measured by the Personality and Preference Inventory – Normative (PAPI‐N) and the five‐factor model of personality as measured by the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO‐FFI) in a sample of 91 working adults and 71 psychology undergraduates who worked or had some work experience. Our results showed significant and theoretically congruent correlations between the PAPI‐N scales and the measures of the five‐factor model. These correlations were similar to those found using alternative instruments to measure Murray's needs. Despite the differences in the conceptual origins of the PAPI‐N and the NEO‐FFI and divergences in the aspects of personality measured by the two inventories, joint and interbattery factor analyses showed that most of the needs and cognition/behavior patterns measured by the PAPI‐N can be meaningfully organized within the framework of the five‐factor model. These results provide further empirical evidence for the validity of the five‐factor model and the PAPI‐N, although they also point out personality aspects that are not encompassed by the five‐factor model.