Some highs and lows of hylomorphism: on a paradox about property abstraction

Philosophical Studies - We defend hylomorphism against Maegan Fairchild’s purported proof of its inconsistency. We provide a deduction of a contradiction from SH+, which is the...     

Time Points: A Gestural Study of the Development of Space–Time Mappings

Human languages typically employ a variety of spatial metaphors for time (e.g., “I'm looking forward to the weekend”). The metaphorical grounding of time in space is also evident in gesture. The gestures that are performed when talking about time bolster the view that people sometimes think about regions of time as if they were locations in space. However, almost nothing is known about the development of metaphorical gestures for time, despite keen interest in the origins of space–time metaphors. In this study, we examined the gestures that English‐speaking 6‐to‐7‐year‐olds, 9‐to‐11‐year‐olds, 13‐to‐15‐year‐olds, and adults produced when talking about time. Participants were asked to explain the difference between pairs of temporal adverbs (e.g., “tomorrow” versus “yesterday”) and to use their hands while doing so. There was a gradual increase across age groups in the propensity to produce spatial metaphorical gestures when talking about time. However, even a substantial majority of 6‐to‐7‐year‐old children produced a spatial gesture on at least one occasion. Overall, participants produced fewer gestures in the sagittal (front‐back) axis than in the lateral (left‐right) axis, and this was particularly true for the youngest children and adolescents. Gestures that were incongruent with the prevailing norms of space–time mappings among English speakers (leftward and backward for past; rightward and forward for future) gradually decreased with increasing age. This was true for both the lateral and sagittal axis. This study highlights the importance of metaphoricity in children's understanding of time. It also suggests that, by 6 to 7 years of age, culturally determined representations of time have a strong influence on children's spatial metaphorical gestures.     

Do you remember what you imagined you would do in that place? The motor encoding cue-failure effect in sighted and blind people

Three experiments examine why the recall of performed actions often fails to profit from provision of retrieval context. A cue failure has, for instance, been demonstrated with cued recall for performed actions in that cued recall is lower than free recall, whereas control conditions show the usual free to cued recall increase for non-enacted material. The first experiment confirms the cue-failure effect and extends the generality of the finding to everyday cue contexts (where the cues are represented by images of the locations associated to the actions), which intuitively should be of general retrieval help. The second experiment shows that the cue-failure effect is also present, even to a greater extent, in congenitally totally blind people; the third experiment suggests how the cue-failure effect may be defeated by means of simultaneous motor and non-motor encoding.

The results are discussed in terms of strategic and non-strategic conceptions of action memory and of the independence of motor and visuospatial codes. This independence appears maintained also in the blind.     

The Comorbidity of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Suicidality in Vietnam Veterans

Vietnam veterans (N = 232) recruited from three sources were assessed for suicidal thinking and behaviors, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Findings support the notion that suicidal thoughts are prevalent in this group, with veterans in psychotherapy reporting a greater likelihood of such symptoms (82.6%) than veterans in the community (35.7%) or those seeking assistance through a veteran's outreach center (66.7%). Thoughts of ending one's life and a previous suicide attempt were significantly correlated with a diagnosis of PTSD (r = .53, p < .001; and r = .33, p < .001, respectively). Veterans with a diagnosis of PTSD and depression or dysthymia were also more likely to report suicidal thinking and behaviors than veterans with only one of the diagnoses.     

Questionable research practices among Brazilian psychological researchers: Results from a replication study and an international comparison

Research on scientific integrity is growing in psychology, and questionable research practices (QRPs) have received more attention due to its harmful effect on science. By replicating the procedures of previous research, the present study aimed at describing the use of QRPs among Brazilian psychological researchers and to make an international comparison with previous studies in other countries—the US and Italy. Two hundred and thirty-two Brazilian researchers in the field of psychology answered questions related to 10 different QRPs. Brazilian researchers indicated a lower tendency to engage in two QRPs (failing to report all of a study's dependent measures; deciding whether to collect more data after looking to see whether the results were significant) when compared to their Italian and North American counterparts, but indicated a higher tendency to engage in two other QRPs (selectively reporting studies that “worked”; not reporting all of a study's conditions). Most of the sample did not admit integrity conflicts in their own research but indicated that others have integrity problems, as observed in previous studies. Those discrepancies could be attributed to contextual and systemic factors regarding different publication demands among the different nations. Further studies should focus on identifying the antecedents of QRPs.     

Direct‐Supervision and Remote‐Supervision Jails: A Comparative Study of Psychosocial Factors1

The direct‐supervision style correctional facility has been offered as a design that provides a better atmosphere for staff and inmates. Prior research has shown minor support in favor of the general environment created by direct‐supervision facilities. However, the claims of benefits associated with direct supervision far outweigh the number of empirical research studies on the design. This research examined corrections officers' and inmates' feelings of boredom, perceived control, aggression, attitudes toward each other, and stress in a direct‐supervision style facility and a remote‐supervision style facility. Results from 164 inmates and 82 correctional officers showed that staff in the direct‐supervision facility reported elevated levels of perceived control, less anger and hostility, and less boredom.