Intention matters to make you (im)moral: Positive-negative asymmetry in moral character evaluations

ABSTRACT

Is intention, even if unfulfilled, enough to make a person appear to be good or bad? In this study, we investigated the influence of unfulfilled intentions of an agent on subsequent moral character evaluations. We found a positive-negative asymmetry in the effect of intentions. Factual information concerning failure to fulfill a positive intention mitigated the morality judgment of the actor, yet this mitigation was not as evident for the negative vignettes. Participants rated an actor who failed to fulfill their negative intention as highly immoral, as long as there was an external explanation to its unfulfillment. Furthermore, both emotional and cognitive (i.e., informativeness) processes mediated the effect of negative intention on moral character. For the positive intention, there was a significant mediation by emotions, yet not by informativeness. Results evidence the relevance of mental states in moral character evaluations and offer affective and cognitive explanations to the asymmetry.     

Therapeutic Groundhog Day – exploring the impact of the theory/approach on the self of the therapist

The ‘use of self’ of the therapist is a concept that can be considered from numerous directions. An underrepresented aspect of ‘the self of the therapist’ is the influence of the theoretical orientation and associated skills. As part of a recursive process, the theory and techniques shape the therapist's emergent self in the therapeutic relationship. This teaching event was designed to provide an opportunity for trainee therapists to experience contrasting ‘selves’. This is developed through role play where ‘family’ and ‘therapists’ attempt to reproduce the same episode but each is responded to with a different model and skill.     

Group cohesiveness in children free-play activity: A social network analysis

Despite the ethnic diversity and presence of Amerindian communities in all Brazilian states, the indigenous population suffers from a long process of invisibility and stereotyping. Aiming to increase interethnic associations, together with Mbya-Guarani leaders we promoted interventions in which indigenous and non-indigenous children shared free playtime. We hypothesised that free play activity would stimulate group cohesiveness, mitigating ethnic group avoidance in children's playgroups. Twenty-one Mbya-Guarani and 61 non-indigenous children participated in two “Encounters for Play.” We recorded children's social interactions during the free playtimes. We selected the first and last 10 minutes of each encounter and performed scans every 30s registering spatial proximity (children who were up to 1 m of each other) and play. Then, we applied Social Network Analysis to explore the children's association pattern at the beginning and end of playtime in each encounter. Our results show free play activity was effective in stimulating group cohesiveness. Children' proximity association pattern and playgroup configuration changed between clips, and there was a significant correlation between both categories' associations. We conclude that the encounters have potential applicability as an intervention to mitigate ethnic group avoidance in children.     

The role of context in intertrial interval effects in autoshaping

Two experiments evaluated the role of differential conditioning of the context in mediating the effect of intertrial interval (ITI) in autoshaping. In Experiment 1 pigeons were given acquisition with two keylights, each presented in a particular context. A given keylight/context combination had associated with it either a short (10-sec) or a long (2-min) ITI. Acquisition was more rapid with the long ITI. Tests with those keylights in a common third context indicated that the longer ITI had resulted in greater conditioning. On the other hand, pigeons trained on keylights with mixed ITIs in a third context evoked more responding when they were tested in the short ITI context compared with the long ITI context. That suggests that a context with a history of a short ITI enhances performance. In Experiment 2, two keylights were initially conditioned with mixed ITIs and then extinguished in different contexts under different ITI lengths. Extinction was more rapid for the keylight presented with a short ITI. That difference persisted when the keylights were tested with mixed ITIs in a common third context, suggesting a difference in associative strength of the keylights. The results are interpreted in terms of differential context conditioning resulting in differences in learning about the keylight.     

A systematic review of studies evaluating diffusion and dissemination of selected cancer control interventions.

With this review, the authors sought to determine what strategies have been evaluated (including the outcomes assessed) to disseminate cancer control interventions that promote the uptake of behavior change. Five topic areas along the cancer care continuum (smoking cessation, healthy diet, mammography, cervical cancer screening, and control of cancer pain) were selected to be representative. A systematic review was conducted of primary studies evaluating dissemination of a cancer control intervention. Thirty-one studies were identified that evaluated dissemination strategies in the 5 topic areas. No strong evidence currently exists to recommend any one dissemination strategy as effective in promoting the uptake of cancer control interventions. The authors conclude that there is a strong need for more research into dissemination of cancer control interventions. Future research should consider methodological issues such as the most appropriate study design and outcomes to be evaluated.     

Acquired Capability for Suicide,Pain Tolerance,and Fearlessness of Pain—Validation of the Pain Tolerance Scale of the German Capability for Suicide Questionnaire

The interpersonal theory of suicide (Joiner, 2005) postulates that for a serious suicide attempt, one has to possess the acquired capability to commit suicide. Acquired capability includes higher pain tolerance, which is further assumed to comprise both an elevated physical pain tolerance and fearlessness of pain. Recently, the German Capability for Suicide Questionnaire (GCSQ) was validated. The aim of this study is further validation of the GCSQ's Pain Tolerance scale by investigating the scale's association with objective pain tolerance and fearlessness of pain in two undergraduate samples (N = 81; N = 76). Both associations were found indicating a strong criterion validity of the Pain Tolerance scale.     

The effect of intertrial conditioned stimuli in autoshaping

Three autoshaping experiments, using pigeon subjects, examined the effect of presenting an S+ or an S- on acquisition to a different conditioned stimulus (CS). Experiment 1 found that signalling intertrial food with an S+ or an S- allowed acquisition of responding to the target-CS; however, that acquisition was slower when the signal was the S+. Experiment 2 found that even when the S+ or S- were presented without food in the intertrial interval, acquisition was slower in the group receiving the S+. Experiment 3 found that a similar, but weaker effect occurred when the S+ or S- stimuli were presented in the session prior to target-CS training, rather than intermixed. These results have implications for the interpretation of experiments that use a signalling manipulation to assess the interaction of CS and context in Pavlovian conditioning; they suggest that signalling unconditioned stimuli (USs) may have consequences other than that of modulating context-US learning.