Superdupersizing the mind: extended cognition and the persistence of cognitive bloat

The hypothesis of extended cognition (EC) contends that parts of the world outside of the head partly comprise the vehicles of representation and mind. I consider and reject recent efforts to defend EC from the problem of “cognitive bloat.”     

Through hermeneutics of suspicion to a rediscovery of faith

Ric?ur argued that the critique of religion developed by the three modern masters of a hermeneutics of suspicion – Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud – is liberating insofar as it makes possible a mature faith. In the first part of the article, I explore this issue in relation to Kierkegaard. In the second part of the article, I discuss how Kierkegaard uses a biblical critique of religion, particularly the figure of the prophet, in his final attack on the church in his pamphlet “What Christ Judges of Official Christianity”. Through my investigation of the role of a hermeneutics of suspicion in Kierkegaard’s rediscovery of faith, I aim to question Ric?ur’s dichotomy between an external, atheistic hermeneutics of suspicion versus an internal hermeneutics of faith.     

Regulating self-defensiveness: If–then plans prevent claiming and creating performance handicaps

Claiming or creating obstacles before performing important tasks (i.e., self-handicapping) is a costly strategy to protect the self from implications of poor outcomes. We predicted that forming an if–then plan (implementation intention) helps individuals overcome their performance-related worries and thus prevents self-handicapping behavior. In two experiments, all participants formed the goal to perform well on an upcoming task and learned the strategies to ignore worries and tell themselves “I can do it”, either in an if–then format (implementation intention) or not (control). The task was either described as an intelligence test (highly threatening) or as a perception style test (less threatening). Participants could then claim a self-handicap (report stress, Experiment 1) or behaviorally self-handicap (inadequately prepare, Experiment 2). As predicted, implementation intentions reduced claimed and behavioral self-handicapping to levels observed in the low-threat control conditions. Experiment 2 demonstrated these effects among chronic self-handicappers. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Measuring the exchange-stiffness constant of nanocrystalline solids by elastic small-angle neutron scattering

In ferromagnets with a non-uniform magnetocrystalline and/or magnetoelastic anisotropy, such as nanocrystalline or cold-worked polycrystalline materials, the static magnetic microstructure gives rise to elastic magnetic small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). The paper explores a method for determining the exchange-stiffness constant A by analysis of the dependence of the elastic SANS cross-section on the applied magnetic field. Experimental results for A and for the spin-wave stiffness constant D in cold-worked or nanocrystalline Ni and Co are found to agree with literature data obtained by inelastic neutron scattering on single-crystal specimens.     

The earth is the Lord's: the biblical view of the environment

The Church needs a characteristically Christian voice in environment discourse. The Bible offers this in the form of symbols and stories. Familiar terms such as righteousness, covenant and atonement originated in the biblical teaching about creation, and the liturgy of the Temple was to maintain the creation. Angels and their music described the powers of creation and cosmic harmony, and Adam lost all this when he chose secular knowledge rather than Wisdom from the Tree of Life.     

Developmental Changes in the Use of Absolute and Relative Information: The Case of Spatial Extent

In the present paper we investigated the development of the ability to reproduce extent in elementary school students. Children were shown a target line in a frame and were asked to reconstruct the line in a frame of a different size. One experimental condition involved reproducing absolute extent, i.e., drawing a line that would be equal in length to the target line. The other condition involved reproducing relative extent; drawing a line that would preserve the relation between the target line and the frame. We found that in both conditions the length of the target and its relation to the frame affected children's responses. Yet, older children (7–9-year-olds) showed distinctive response patterns in the two conditions, indicating differentiation between absolute and relative extent. Whereas the performance of 5-year-olds in reproducing relative extent was similar to that of older children, their reproduction of absolute extent reflected a compromise between the use of absolute and relative cues. These findings extend the results of prior work suggesting an early advantage in the ability to use relative rather than absolute extent.     

The effect of performance setting and individual differences on the anxiety-performance relationship for elite cyclists

Fifty-three national level cyclists completed competitive rides under both laboratory and field conditions to investigate the relationship between pre-competition anxiety and performance. A total of 39 males and 14 females participated in the study, ranging in age from 19 to 26. The objectives of the study were to, (a) measure the relationship between state anxiety and performance, (b) investigate differences in the anxiety-performance relationship under laboratory versus field conditions, and (c) examine the effect of trait anxiety on the state anxiety-performance relationship. State anxiety was measured using the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2; Martens, Vealey, & Burton, 1990), and trait anxiety with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1970). Results indicated that anxiety was strongly correlated with performance on the field test, but that the anxiety-performance relationship was weaker under laboratory conditions. Results also showed that trait anxiety interacted with the relationship, as low and high trait-anxious subjects had differential response patterns to pre-competition anxiety. The findings are discussed in terms of their relevance for both practitioners and researchers.     

A review of: “Quality of life and mental health services”

Joseph Oliver, Peter Huxley, Keith Bridges and Hadi Mohamad (1996) Quality of Life and Mental Health Services, London: Routledge, $16.99 (pb)     

A personality profile of Mount Everest climbers

The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised was administered to a group of climbers (N=39) who were attempting to summit Mount Everest. The personality profiles for these climbers were characterized by higher scores on the Extraversion (sociability) and Psychoticism (toughmindedness) scales and lower scores on the Neuroticism (anxiety) scales than for the normative sample. This profile is consistent with the pattern typically observed for athletes and notably for higher achieving athletes.     

Reaction Papers and Journal Writing as Techniques for Assessing Resistance in Multicultural Courses

Writing reaction papers and journal entries has been a common assignment for multicultural courses (P. E. Priester, 2001). However, few individuals have discussed this technique in the literature in order to provide a model for those developing multicultural courses. The authors also discuss use of reaction papers to address student resistance in multicultural courses. Los ensayos de reacción y los diarios son trabajos comunmente asignados en cursos multiculturales (P.E. Priester, 2001). Pero, pocos han examinado esta técnica de una manera academica, para crear un modelo de los trabajos para aquellos que quieren desarroyar un curso multicultural. Los autores también tratan del uso de los ensayos de reacción para enfrentarse a la resistencia de los estudiantes en estos cursos.