Psychological situations illuminate the meaning of human behavior: Recent advances and application to social influence processes

Psychologists have long sought to understand how people experience, think, and communicate about situations. Psychology's protracted journey toward understanding psychological situations recently took a momentous turn toward more rigorous conceptualization and measurement of situational characteristics along multiple dimensions. We provide a selective review of recent developments in research on psychological situations and highlight the value that these recent contributions deliver for researchers interested in human cognition, emotion, and behavior. We illustrate this value with an application of insights and instruments from the CAPTION and DIAMONDS models to social influence processes in groups. Specifically, we demonstrate how utilizing validated multidimensional scales of situational characteristics can illuminate the psychological meaning of brokering behaviors. We conclude by discussing current challenges and promising future directions for research on psychological situations.     

When Is More Better?

Abstract— We examine three determinants of the relationship between the magnitude of a stimulus and a person's subjective "value" of that stimulus: the process by which value is assessed (either by feeling or by calculation), the evaluability of the relevant magnitude variable (whether the desirability of a given level of that variable can be evaluated independently), and the mode of evaluation (whether stimuli are encountered and evaluated jointly or separately). Reliance on feeling, lack of evaluability, and separate evaluation lead to insensitivity to magnitude. An analysis invoking these factors provides a novel account for why people typically become less sensitive to changes in the magnitude of a stimulus as magnitude increases.     

Posttraumatic stress disorder following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks: a review of the literature among highly exposed populations

The September 11, 2001 (9/11), terrorist attacks were unprecedented in their magnitude and aftermath. In the wake of the attacks, researchers reported a wide range of mental and physical health outcomes, with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) the one most commonly studied. In this review, we aim to assess the evidence about PTSD among highly exposed populations in the first 10 years after the 9/11 attacks. We performed a systematic review. Eligible studies included original reports based on the full Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., rev.; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) criteria of PTSD among highly exposed populations such as those living or working within close proximity to the World Trade Center (WTC) and the Pentagon in New York City and Washington, DC, respectively, and first responders, including rescue, cleaning, and recovery workers. The large body of research conducted after the 9/11 attacks in the past decade suggests that the burden of PTSD among persons with high exposure to 9/11 was substantial. PTSD that was 9/11-related was associated with a wide range of correlates, including sociodemographic and background factors, event exposure characteristics, loss of life of significant others, and social support factors. Few studies used longitudinal study design or clinical assessments, and no studies reported findings beyond six years post-9/11, thus hindering documentation of the long-term course of confirmed PTSD. Future directions for research are discussed.     

Mission Impossible and Wittgenstein's Standard Metre

In this paper, I argue that context sensitivity is crucial for a proper exegesis of Wittgenstein's remark that one can say of the standard metre rod neither that it is one metre long nor that it is not one metre long. I discuss cases in which we can meaningfully assert that the rod in question is one metre long and explain why these cases do not conflict with Wittgenstein's insight. I analyse Pollock's recent defence of Wittgenstein's remark, as well as Kripke's objections to it, and show that, while their commentaries are helpful, blindness to context renders them unsatisfactory.     

Adult attachment, perceived stress, and PTSD among civilians exposed to ongoing terrorist attacks in Southern Israel

This study examined the relationships among exposure to terrorism, individual differences in adult attachment dimensions, perceived stress, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A representative sample of 254 adults who had experienced more than 7 years of ongoing exposure (OGE) to rocket and mortar fire in southern Israel was compared to 308 individuals with no exposure (NE) to terrorism. OGE individuals reported significantly elevated levels of insecure attachment, perceived stress, and PTSD-symptoms as compared to the NE individuals. The associations between perceived stress and PTSD-symptoms were significantly stronger in the OGE group, compared to the NE group. For OGE individuals, the elevated level of perceived stress mediated the association between Attachment Anxiety and PTSD-symptoms. Theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.     

The internal morality of medicine: a constructivist approach

Synthese - Physicians frequently ask whether they should give patients what they want, usually when there are considerations pointing against doing so, such as medicine’s values and...     

Professional Basketball's Unsportsmanlike Fouls in the Eyes of the Beholders

A series of three experiments, based on the method of Functional Measurement, has explored the importance assigned by professional basketball players to relevant dispositions of defense and offense players, as determinants of unsportsmanlike fouls. The 106 participants were leading male players in the premier basketball league in Israel. Experiment 1 was based on a 16 (2⁴)‐cell model. In an individual meeting, each participant estimated the likelihood that a defense player would commit an unsportsmanlike foul on an offense player. In each of the 16 to‐be‐judged incidents, specific information on a specific combination of aggressiveness and susceptibility to victimisation of two imaginary protagonists in an offense–defense on‐the‐court incident was given to the participant. Experiment 2 was a replication of Experiment 1. There, however, names of 16 well‐known players were mentioned, the aggressiveness and susceptibility to victimisation of each fitting the model requirements. In Experiment 3, a partial replication of Experiment 2, likelihood estimations were made from two perspectives—potential perpetrator and potential victim. Overall, meaningful importance was assigned especially to the dispositions of the perpetrator, not the victim. The findings are conceived as reflections of players' cognitive schemata of on‐the‐court violence. Basée sur la méthode de la mesure fonctionnelle, une série de 3 expérimentations a exploré l’importance que des joueurs de basket professionnels attribuent aux dispositions de joueurs attaquant ou défenseur à commettre des fautes anti sportives. Les 106 sujets sont des joueurs de sexe masculin de la ligue 1 de basket israélienne. L'expérience 1 est basée sur un modèle à 16 (2⁴) cases. Lors de passation individuelle, chaque participant estime la probabilité qu'un joueur arrière commette une faute anti sportive sur un joueur avant. Pour chacun des 16 incidents à juger, une information spécifique a été donnée aux participants. Il s'agissait d'une combinaison particulière de l'agressivité et de la propension à la victimisation des deux protagonistes imaginaires dans une situation d'incident soit offensif soit défensif sur le terrain. L'expérimentation 2 est une réplique de la première. Cependant, les noms de 16 joueurs connus sont mentionnés, l'agressivité et la propension à la victimisation étaient appropriées aux exigences du modèle. Dans l'expérience 3, réplique partielle de la deuxième, la probabilité des estimations a été faite selon deux perspectives: auteur potentiel et victime potentielle. Globalement, une importance significative a été assignée aux dispositions de l'auteur et non de la victime. Les résultats sont conçus comme reflétant le schéma cognitif des joueurs lors de violence sur le terrain.     

Effectiveness of primiparae and multiparae at soothing their newborn infants

To examine the effectiveness of new parents at soothing their infants, the authors filmed primiparae (20 mothers, 20 fathers) and, for comparison, multiparae (25 mothers, 25 fathers) during an interaction with their crying 2- to 3-day-old infants. Data were derived from loudness ratings of the infants' distress signals and by measuring the time it took parents to quiet their infants. In addition, specific parental behaviors were coded by microanalysis. From these data, measures of soothing effectiveness and behavioral profiles were derived. Data analyses showed that most primiparae were effective at soothing their infants' cries and that there were no parity effects on measures of soothing effectiveness. However, mothers, regardless of parity, were more effective at quieting their infants than were fathers, and there were significant differences in mothers' and fathers' caregiving behaviors. These data suggest that primiparae are effective at quickly soothing their newborns and that their skill, as measured, does not depend on parenting experience. Moreover, the data point to significant differences in mothers' and fathers' competence at quieting their newborns whether or not they are experienced at parenting.