On the Fulfillment of Moral Obligation

This paper considers three general views about the nature of moral obligation and three particular answers (with which these views are typically associated) concerning the following question: if on Monday you lend me a book that I promise to return to you by Friday, what precisely is my obligation to you and what constitutes its fulfillment? The example is borrowed from W.D. Ross, who in The Right and the Good proposed what he called the Objective View of obligation, from which he inferred what is here called the First Answer to the question. In Foundations of Ethics Ross repudiated the Objective View in favor of the Subjective View, from which he inferred a Second Answer. In this paper each of the Objective and Subjective Views and the First and Second Answers are rejected in favor of the Prospective View and a Third Answer. The implications of the Prospective View for another question closely related to the original question are then investigated: what precisely is your right regarding my returning the book and what constitutes its satisfaction?     

我国大学生在关爱价值观者特征上的公众观

在开放式预调查基础上,对452名大学各专业学生进行调查研究。结果表明:我国大学生认为善良、真诚、有爱心、不歧视残障者、宽容、设身处地、尊重7项是关爱价值观者最应该具有的特征;个人修养、利他助人、处事交往、外表印象、内在气质、尊重宽容、奉献与责任是关爱价值观者的7个品质因素,其中个人修养的品质因素最为突出;对这些品质因素,男女大学生看法没有明显差异,对某些品质因素城乡大学生、不同专业大学生有明显不同的看法。     

Implicit but not explicit self-esteem predicts future depressive symptomatology

To date, research on the predictive validity of implicit self-esteem for depressive relapse is very sparse. In the present study, we assessed implicit self-esteem using the Name Letter Preference Task and explicit self-esteem using the Rosenberg self-esteem scale in a group of currently depressed patients, formerly depressed individuals, and never depressed controls. In addition, we examined the predictive validity of explicit, implicit, and the interaction of explicit and implicit self-esteem in predicting future symptoms of depression in formerly depressed individuals and never depressed controls. The results showed that currently depressed individuals reported a lower explicit self-esteem as compared to formerly depressed individuals and never depressed controls. In line with previous research, all groups showed a positive implicit self-esteem not different from each other. Furthermore, after controlling for initial depressive symptomatology, implicit but not explicit self-esteem significantly predicted depressive symptoms at six months follow-up. Although implicit self-esteem assessed with the Name Letter Preference Test was not different between formerly depressed individuals and never depressed controls, the findings suggest it is an interesting variable in the study of vulnerability for depression relapse.     

Processing focus structure and implicit prosody during reading: differential ERP effects

Several recent studies have shown that focus structural representations influence syntactic processing during reading, while other studies have shown that implicit prosody plays an important role in the understanding of written language. Up until now, the relationship between these two processes has been mostly disregarded. The present study disentangles the roles of focus structure and accent placement in reading by reporting event-related brain potential (ERP) data on the processing of contrastive ellipses. The results reveal a positive-going waveform (350-1300 ms) that correlates with focus structural processing and a negativity (450-650 ms) interpreted as the correlate of implicit prosodic processing. The results suggest that the assignment of focus as well as accent placement are obligatory processes during reading.     

Implicit associations between smoking and social consequences among smokers in cessation treatment

Explicit expectations of the negative and positive social consequences of smoking are likely to have substantial influence on decisions regarding smoking. However, among smokers trying to quit, success in smoking cessation may be related not only to the content of expectancies about smoking's social effects but also to the ease with which these cognitive contents come to mind when confronted with smoking stimuli. To examine this possibility, we used the implicit association test (IAT) [Greenwald, A. G., McGhee, D. E., & Schwartz, J. L. K. (1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The implicit association test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1464-1480] to assess implicit cognitive associations between smoking and negative vs. positive social consequences among 67 heavy social drinkers seeking smoking cessation treatment in a randomized clinical trial. Results showed that the relative strength of implicit, negative, social associations with smoking at baseline predicted higher odds of smoking abstinence during treatment over and above the effects of relevant explicit measures. The only variable that significantly correlated with IAT scores was the density of smokers in participants' social environment; those with more smoking in their social environment showed weaker negative social associations with smoking. Results suggest implicit cognition regarding the social consequences of smoking may be a relevant predictor of smoking cessation outcome.     

IAT范式下自尊内隐性的再证明

该研究用IAT测量了被试的内隐自尊,并通过操纵被试在不同的认知负荷条件下进行外显自我评价来考察外显自我评价和内隐自尊之间的关系。得到的结论是,在低认知负荷条件下进行外显自我评价时,外显自我评价和内隐自尊没有表现出一致性;在高认知负荷条件下进行外显自我评价时,外显自我评价和内隐自尊表现出一致性。该研究在IAT范式下表明了内隐自尊和外显自尊的分离,内隐自尊具有无意识性和自动化的特点。     

The hidden sides of self-esteem: Two dimensions of implicit self-esteem and their relation to narcissistic reactions

Implicit, or nonconscious, self-esteem is often assumed to involve a unidimensional evaluation of the self. Our studies demonstrate that implicit self-esteem is in fact multifaceted and can be divided into at least two dimensions, which we term self-liking and self-attractiveness. Among participants for whom narcissistic thoughts and feelings were experimentally activated, we found that the two dimensions of implicit self-esteem were differentially associated with self-reported narcissism (Study 1) and feelings of aggressiveness (Study 2). In particular, narcissistic reactions were predicted by the combination of a high level of implicit self-attractiveness and a low level of implicit self-liking. These findings add to the growing understanding of the complexities of implicit self-esteem.     

内隐学习的意识性研究述评

在内隐学习的研究中,尽管目前已经默认了内隐学习的存在,但是,内隐学习与意识的关系,一直有着不断的争论.文章从内隐学习足否是无意识的、次级任务对内隐学习的影响和内隐学习的关系等三个方面对内隐学习的意识性研究主要的矛盾焦点进行了述评.     

社会智力研究视角和方法的转变——从社会智力的测量观到人格的社会智力观

在社会智力研究的早期,研究者们运用测量观的视角和方法对社会智力进行了研究,取得了不少的成果。但是随着研究的进行,传统测量观的发展却遇到了极大的困难,如不能对社会智力和学业智力进行有效的区分等。人格的社会智力观强调社会行为的背景具体化和行为的主观意义,主张探询人的一般化的社会认知机制,为社会智力的研究展开了一个新的视角。     

Mutual influence of implicit and explicit attitudes

Research and theory distinguish two types of attitude: automatic evaluative reactions and deliberate evaluative judgments, referred to as implicit and explicit attitudes, respectively. Although these attitudes are distinct, they may influence each other. Four studies tested whether implicit and explicit attitudes are both influenced by propositional and associative learning. We also tested whether changes in one kind of attitude mediate changes in the other. Study 1 found that propositional learning about novel individuals directly influenced explicit attitudes and indirectly influenced implicit attitudes through changes in explicit attitudes. Studies 2 and 3 replicated this finding and extended it by simultaneously demonstrating that associative learning through Evaluative Conditioning directly influences implicit attitudes and indirectly influences explicit attitudes through changes in implicit attitudes. Study 4 replicated these effects for attitudes toward familiar, rather than novel, targets. These results suggest that implicit and explicit attitudes can share common antecedents and influence each other.