Catching the liar as a matter of justice: Effects of belief in a just world on deception detection accuracy and the moderating role of mortality salience

Belief in a just world has been linked to high interpersonal trust and less suspicion of deception. We therefore predicted people with a strong dispositional belief in a just world to have low motivation to accurately detect deception. Accordingly, we hypothesized such a belief to be negatively related to accuracy in deception detection. Furthermore, research on Terror Management Theory has indicated that culturally shared values, such as justice, become more important after mortality salience. Thus, we assumed engaging in justice concerns after a death threat is especially relevant for people with a strong belief in a just world, and further, that accurate deception detection is a matter of justice. Based on this reasoning, we expected people with a strong belief in a just world to have an increased motivation to accurately detect deception after mortality salience. Consequently, we hypothesized dispositional differences in belief in a just world to be unrelated to accuracy in deception detection after mortality salience. In line with these predictions, our study revealed that participants with a strong (vs. weak) belief in a just world were worse in deception detection unless they had first been reminded of their mortality.     

Borderline Personality Organization predicts Machiavellian interpersonal tactics

Despite the phenomenological (e.g., manipulativeness) and dynamic (i.e., emotion dysregulation) analogies between Machiavellianism and Borderline Personality Organization (BPO), the relationship between these constructs has not yet been investigated. In our study, 225 non-clinical, non-student adults (130 females; 32.33 ± 5.42 years of age on average) completed measures of BPO and Machiavellianism. Results showed that Machiavellian personality traits were positively correlated with fear of fusion, diffuse identity, and use of primitive defenses. Machiavellianism, in general, and Machiavellian interpersonal tactics were predicted by fear of fusion and use of primitive defenses. Results are discussed from the perspective of Life History Theory.     

The Scientist and the Artist: adaptive dissociation within the HIV-positive population

This paper reports on the findings of two independent qualitative studies which were conducted with HIV-positive cohort over a period of 2010–2012. Although the original studies used different qualitative designs (IPA and Grounded Theory), the authors have nevertheless sought to explore the combined utility of their findings by using a broad stance of phenomenological enquiry. The authors argue that evidence of a particular dissociative pattern in their accounts of an HIV-related experience is present in the contributors' narrative. Dissociation in this context occurred not in personality but between different or discrete mental faculties such as memory, emotions, perceptions and thought. It was suggested that it serves adaptive function and therefore could be utilised in clinical work when appropriate.     

The felt presence of other minds: Predictive processing,counterfactual predictions,and mentalising in autism

The mental states of other people are components of the external world that modulate the activity of our sensory epithelia. Recent probabilistic frameworks that cast perception as unconscious inference on the external causes of sensory input can thus be expanded to enfold the brain’s representation of others’ mental states. This paper examines this subject in the context of the debate concerning the extent to which we have perceptual awareness of other minds. In particular, we suggest that the notion of perceptual presence helps to refine this debate: are others’ mental states experienced as veridical qualities of the perceptual world around us? This experiential aspect of social cognition may be central to conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, where representations of others’ mental states seem to be selectively compromised. Importantly, recent work ties perceptual presence to the counterfactual predictions of hierarchical generative models that are suggested to perform unconscious inference in the brain. This enables a characterisation of mental state representations in terms of their associated counterfactual predictions, allowing a distinction between spontaneous and explicit forms of mentalising within the framework of predictive processing. This leads to a hypothesis that social cognition in autism spectrum disorder is characterised by a diminished set of counterfactual predictions and the reduced perceptual presence of others’ mental states.     

Smelling matter

While the objects of olfaction are intuitively individuated by reference to the ordinary objects from which they arise, this intuition does not accurately capture the complex nature of smells. Smells are neither ordinary three-dimensional objects, nor Platonic vapors, nor odors. Rather, smells are the molecular structures of chemical compounds within odor plumes. Molecular Structure Theory is offered as an account of smells, which can explain the nature of the external object of olfactory perception, what we experience as olfactory objects, and what determines the olfactory quality of smells by which we can demarcate the spatiotemporal boundaries of smells.     

The Word Superiority Effect in central and peripheral vision

The Word Superiority Effect (WSE) is a well-known phenomenon in reading research, where words are reported more accurately than single letters or non-words. We report two experiments that investigate the WSE in the central and peripheral visual field, as well as laterality differences in the perception of words and letters, using methods based on the Theory of Visual Attention. The results show a WSE in the central visual field, reflected in mean scores, perception thresholds, and processing speed, whereas the effect is eliminated or reversed in the periphery. This may be caused by crowding, which prevents lexical analysis of a word in the periphery. We conclude that perception of words and letters differs according to location in the visual field. Linking our results to previous studies of crowding effects in patients with reading impairments, we hypothesize that similar mechanisms may limit normal word peripheral processing.     

Testing social-cognitive mediators for objective estimates of physical activity from the Healthy Eating and Active Living for Diabetes in Primary Care Networks (HEALD-PCN) study

Objective: More evidence from prospective studies is needed to determine ‘if’ and ‘how’ social cognitive constructs mediate behaviour change. In a longitudinal study, we aimed to examine potential social cognitive mediators of objectively measured physical activity (PA) behaviour among people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who participated in a six-month PA intervention. Methods: All participants from the proven effective Healthy Eating and Active Living for Diabetes in Primary Care Networks trial were included for this secondary analysis. Change in pedometer-derived daily step counts (baseline to six months) was the outcome of interest. Primary constructs of interest were from Social Cognitive Theory, however constructs from and Theory of Planned Behaviour were also tested in a mediating variable framework using a product-of-coefficients test. Results: The sample (N = 198) had a mean age of 59.5 (SD 8.3) years, haemoglobin A1c 6.8% (SD 1.1), 50% women, BMI 33.6 kg/m² (SD 6.5), systolic pressure 125.6 mmHg (SD 16.2) and average daily steps were 5879 (SD 3130). Daily pedometer-determined steps increased for the intervention group compared to usual care control at six-months (1481 [SD 2631] vs. 336 [SD 2712]; adjusted p = .002). There was a significant action theory test effect for ‘planning’ (A = .21, SE = .10, p = .037), and significant conceptual theory test results for ‘subjective norms’ (B = 657, SE = 312, p = .037) and ‘cons’ (B = ?664, SE = 270, p = .015). None of the constructs satisfied the criteria for mediation. Conclusions: We were unable to account for the effect of a pedometer-based PA intervention for people with T2D through our examination of mediators. Our findings are inconsistent with some literature concerning PA interventions in diabetes; this may be due to variability in measures used or in study populations.     

The effectiveness of road safety interventions using three different messages: Emotional,factual or a combination of both messages

The present study is an evaluation of a road safety intervention programme dealing with alcohol in traffic. The intervention was based on a programme developed by the Swedish Road Administration using three different messages. The aim of the study was to evaluate which message (emotional, factual or a combination of both messages) had the largest effect on the variables included in the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Of the 930 Senior High School Students who took part in the study 265 received an emotional message, 251 received a factual message, 254 received a combination of both messages and 160 were assigned to a control group who did not receive any message. Two scenarios were used describing situations where the participants would receive a lift from someone who had drunk two ‘strong’ beers and was either someone they did not know very well or their best friend. The results showed that the intervention combining the emotional and the factual message had the largest effect on the variables included in the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Attitude was affected the most by the interventions while further activities need to be taken in order to better target perceived behavioural control and especially subjective norm and thereby also intention.     

A Book for None? Teaching Biblical Studies to Millennial Nones

The millennial generation is distinctive for several reasons, not the least is its growing religious disaffiliation. Given a growing disinterest in religion in general and the Bible in particular especially among the fast growing group of millennial “nones” how can biblical studies classes still be seen as appealing and relevant? This article seeks to answer this question by examining the identity and concomitant values of millennials. As a result of this analysis I argue that while the Bible as inherent authority may be quickly losing its appeal, the Bible as an example of human creativity, group reflection, political rhetoric, and social discourse makes the study of the Bible particularly relevant for millennials contemplating careers in the global marketplace even if the importance of the Bible itself is waning for this generation. I show how in my introductory New Testament class I attempt to implement these ideas.