守范?失范?——作为参照点的社会规范对决策行为的影响

作为参照点的社会规范指个体为实现群体目标保持活动一致性所建立起来的、视为决策与判断标准的规范。社会规范研究经历了从完全理性到有限理性的转变过程。其对决策行为影响的解释机制包括预期理论、后悔理论、"齐当别"抉择模型、程数说和三参照点理论等,能较好解释避税、见死不救与医患冲突等现象。今后研究注意结合社会认知角度,实现研究思想与范式的转变,侧重探索多重参照点、群体决策机制,丰富跨文化研究等,为转型期的守范与失范行为提供科学的解释。     

Assertion,Complexity, and Sincerity

The target of this paper is the ‘simple’ knowledge account of assertion, according to which assertion is constituted by a single epistemic rule of the form ‘One must: assert p only if one knows p’ (where p is a proposition). My aim is to argue that those who are attracted to a knowledge account of assertion should prefer what I call the ‘complex’ knowledge account, according to which assertion is constituted by a system of rules all of which are, taken together, constitutive of assertion. One of those rules—which, following John Searle, I call the ‘preparatory condition’—is of the form ‘One must: assert p only if one knows p.’ All else being equal, simple accounts are preferable to complex accounts. I argue in this paper that all else isn't equal. While the simple knowledge account provides an elegant explanation of certain data, it is hard to see how to integrate the simple knowledge account into a more general theory of illocutionary acts. Because the complex knowledge account avoids this objection while explaining the same data as the simple knowledge account does, I conclude that the complex knowledge account is superior to the simple knowledge account.     

Sense of body ownership in patients affected by functional motor symptoms (conversion disorder)

Background and aimPatients with functional neurological symptoms are commonly seen in neurological practice. Nevertheless their aetiopathology remains unclear. We have recently shown that patients affected by functional motor symptoms (FMS) present lower interoceptive awareness and higher alexithymia levels than healthy controls. Nevertheless sense of body ownership has never been studied in FMS patients.The aim of the present study was to systematically investigate the sense of body ownership, with the rubber hand illusion (RHI) paradigm, in patients with FMS and healthy controls.Materials and methodsWe included in the study 16 patients with FMS and 18 healthy controls (HC). Patients and HC were asked to complete the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the self-consciousness scale (self-objectification questionnaire). All participants underwent the RHI paradigm: illusionary experience was measured by self-report and by proprioceptive alteration.ResultsA Mann–Whitney U test performed revealed that FMS (median = 2.11) participants embodied the rubber hand to the same extent than HC participants (median = 2.0, Z = −0.86, p > 0.05, r = −0.15). The same test revealed no significant difference in the Proprioceptive Drift experience between FMS (median = 0.0) and HC participants (median = −0.5, Z = −0.96, p > 0.05, r = −0.16).ConclusionsOur study revealed that sense of body ownership is not impaired in patients affected by FMS. This, together with the results from our previous experiment (studying the interoceptive awareness), supports the hypothesis that interoceptive awareness and sense of body ownership may be dissociated in patients with FMS.     

Cohen on ‘Epistemic’

Stewart Cohen offers a critique of much contemporary epistemology. Epistemologies use the term ‘epistemic’ in order to specify the issues they investigate and about which they disagree. Cohen sees widespread confusion about these issues. The problem, he argues, is that ‘epistemic’ is functioning as an inadequately defined technical term. I will argue, rather, that the troubles come more from non-technical vocabulary, in particular with ‘justification’ and ‘ought’, and generally from the difficulty of explaining normativity. Overall, the message of this paper is that normativity is what’s hard to understand, not the term ‘epistemic.’     

The perception of nested affordances: An examination of expert climbers

Nested affordances in climbing comprise of multiple sequential actions, encompassing more than isolated reaching and grasping. This study examined the extent to which the perception of (multiple) nested affordances in climbing can be understood relative to body-scaled anthropometrics (arm span) and action-scaled (maximal action capabilities) measures, in relation to sequential task-goals of varying complexity. The utilisation of functionally equivalent actions during the actualisation of nested affordances was also investigated. Participants were required to estimate the maximal distance a handhold could be reached in four conditions of varying complexity: nested affordances (reach to Touch; reach to Grasp) vs. multiple nested affordances (reach to grasp with one hand followed by Removing the other hand from the starting handhold; reach to grasp with one hand followed by Moving up to another handhold). Ten expert climbers first had to estimate their maximal reaching distance in these different conditions (Touch, Grasp, Remove, Move Up) before performing the climbing movement. This sequence of estimation-action was repeated four times in each condition. Results revealed that action-scaling measures better captured nested affordances when multiple sequential behaviours are nested than body-scaled measures. Our findings also suggest that expert climbers utilise functionally equivalent movements during the realisation of multiple nested affordances (Remove and Move Up conditions).     

The Deliberative Pulpit? The Democratic Norms and Practices of the PCUSA

In contrast to typical approaches that view religion as problematic or benign, thicker conceptions of religion's place in promoting and sustaining democratic politics are possible. This includes religious organizations modeling democratic practices and engaging in debate on common terms. We initiate this program of inquiry with data from a survey of Presbyterian Church, USA clergy gathered during the late summer and fall of 2009. We asked explicitly about clergy commitment to democratic norms and practices as reflected in their public speech and small group activities in their congregations. We use this article to explain variance in the results, looking especially to see if democratic commitments fall at the expense of religious competition, organizational maintenance, and personal preference and increased conservatism.     

The Effects of Contextual Dissonance on the Self-Concept of Youth from a High versus Low Socially Valued Group

Abstract

The present study examined the self-concept of subjects from either a high or low socially valued group who were immersed in a contextually dissonant school setting. Subjects were 315 seventh- and eighth-grade black and white boys and girls. Of this group, 54 were bused to a school where their group was in the minority (dissonant context). The remaining subjects stayed in the school where their group was in the majority (consonant context). The results supported the contextual dissonance theory for the subjects from the lower socially valued group but not for those from the higher socially valued group. A significant interaction for the former group of subjects involving Dissonant Versus Consonant Context × Male Versus Female × Fall Versus Spring Semester showed that the number of negative attributes ascribed to the self was higher for the subjects bused into a dissonant context than for those remaining in a consonant context; this difference was, however, significant for the fall testing only. Also, change in self-concept from fall to spring semester differed depending on whether the subjects were male or female as well as on whether or not they were bused into a dissonant context.