The metacognitions of climate change

How do individuals think about global climate change? Although a body of research on the cognitive elements of climate change has begun to accumulate (e.g., Bord, O'Connor, & Fisher, 2000, few studies have distinguished between categories of cognitions. One key distinction is between primary, direct thoughts such as perceptions and evaluations, and secondary, indirect thoughts which reflect upon and control primary cognitions (Petty, Brinol, Tormala, & Wegner, 2007); secondary thoughts are thus considered metacognitive. This distinction is important to climate change engagement given that primary and secondary thoughts may exert independent effects on behavior. Three metacognitive elements of climate change are delineated: metacognitive knowledge, or assessments of confidence in one's thoughts; metacognitive certainty, or assessments of the likelihood of an outcome; and metacognitive importance, or the relative emphasis placed on one's thoughts. The relations between these dimensions and climate change-relevant behaviors are explored. Possibilities for future research are also discussed.     

坏念头，罪几何？意图信息的强弱变化对大学生道德判断的影响

成人在对他人的行为进行道德判断时,对意图和结果信息的利用存在不稳定的现象。Cushman提出道德判断双加工过程理论,认为当存在重大负性后果时,需要综合考虑意图和结果信息;而当不存在负性后果时,主要关注意图信息。本研究通过句式变化操控意图信息的明显性,分别考察了两组大学生在对道德情景进行判断时意图信息强弱变化所造成的影响,结果发现：（1）对中性行为进行道德判断时,突显负性意图信息后被试会增加道德谴责;（2）对负性行为进行道德判断时,道德谴责程度没有因意图信息明显性的改变而发生显著变化。此研究结果表明,在行为结果为中性时,人们主要利用意图的信息做出道德判断,但此时对负性意图的谴责程度并不稳定,容易受明显性变化的干扰。     

人力资源实践对员工创新行为的影响：心理契约破裂的中介作用及上下级沟通的调节作用

本研究选取了影响员工创新行为的组织（人力资源管理实践）、个体（对心理契约破裂的感知）及领导因素（上下级沟通）,通过402名企业员工的问卷调查,采用有调节的中介研究设计,对人力资源实践影响员工创新行为的机制进行研究。结果发现：（1）人力资源管理实践水平与员工创新行为正相关;（2）心理契约破裂在人力资源管理实践与创新行为关系间起部分中介作用;（3）上下级沟通水平调节了心理契约破裂与创新行为的关系,也调节了心理契约破裂对人力资源实践与创新行为关系的中介作用。     

Parents' description of conduct problems in their children - a test of the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI) in a Swedish sample aged 3-10

The Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI) is a widely used 36-item uni-dimensional parent rating scale constructed to measure disruptive behavior problems in children. However, in an American sample a 22-item version, including three subscales, has been suggested in order to increase the usefulness of the ECBI. Two studies were conducted to test the ECBI in a Swedish sample (N = 841). The aims of Study I were (a) examine the psychometric properties of the ECBI (b) to investigate the correspondence between mothers' and fathers' ratings, and (c) to obtain Swedish norms. The aim of Study II was to test the suggested three-factor solution in the Swedish sample using a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The ECBI showed good psychometric properties also in the present study, and Swedish normative data is presented. The best-fitting CFA-model was identical to the previously suggested three-factor model, which thus might be a useful alternative to the 36-item version.     

The lover of the beautiful and the good: Platonic foundations of aesthetic and moral value

Though acknowledged by scholars, Plato’s identification of the Beautiful and the Good has generated little interest, even in aesthetics where the moral concepts are a current topic. The view is suspect because, e.g., it is easy to find examples of ugly saints and beautiful sinners. In this paper the thesis is defended using ideas from Plato’s ancient commentators, the Neoplatonists. Most interesting is Proclus, who applied to value theory a battery of linguistic tools with fixed semantic properties—comparative adjectives, associated gradable adjectives, mass nouns, and predicate negations—all with a semantics that demand a privative scale of value. It is shown how it is perfectly possible to interpret value terms Platonically over privative Boolean algebras so that beautifuland good diverge while at higher levels other value terms are coextensional. Considerations are offered that this structure conforms to actual usage.     

Variability in Adaptive Behavior in Autism: Evidence for the Importance of Family History

Adaptive behavior in autism is highly variable and strongly related to prognosis. This study explored family history as a potential source of variability in adaptive behavior in autism. Participants included 77 individuals (mean age = 18) with average or better intellectual ability and autism. Parents completed the Family History Interview about the presence of broader autism phenotype symptoms and major psychiatric disorders in first degree relatives. Adaptive behavior was assessed via the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS). Based on family history variables, age, and intelligence quotient (IQ), 87% of participants were correctly classified as having impaired or average VABS scores. Family history of depression and shyness accounted for the most variance in VABS scores, and they had the greatest influence on VABS Socialization scores in particular. Possible underlying mechanisms include genetics, psychosocial factors, and social resources. This study provides initial evidence of the importance of family history to adaptive behavior in autism and has implications for genetics and treatment.     

How Should We Do Nanoethics? A Network Approach for Discerning Ethical Issues in Nanotechnology

There is no agreement on how nanoethics should proceed. In this article I focus on approaches for discerning ethical issues in nanotechnology, which is as of yet one of the most difficult and urging tasks for nanoethics. I discuss and criticize two existing approaches for discerning ethical issues in nanotechnology and propose a network approach as alternative. I discuss debates in nanoethics about the desirable role of ethics in nanotechnological development and about the newness of ethical issues in nanotechnology. On basis of a critical analysis of both debates, I formulate a number of desiderata for a method for discerning ethical issues in nanotechnology and argue that the network approach that my colleagues and I have developed for ethical issues in research and development networks is also appropriate in nanotechnology.

Reducing emergency medical service use in patients with chronic psychotic disorders: results from the FAST intervention study

Patients with schizophrenia have disproportionately high rates of emergency medical service use, likely contributing to the high cost this illness places on society. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of a theory-based, behavioral intervention on immediate and long-term use of emergency medical services. Older patients with schizophrenia (n=240) were randomized to receive either a behavioral, skills-building intervention known as Functional Adaptation and Skills Training (FAST) or a time-equivalent attention-control condition (AC). Logistic regression analyses indicated that AC participants were nearly twice as likely to use emergency medical services in general (OR=2.54; p=0.02) and emergency psychiatric services in particular (OR=3.69; p=0.05) during the active intervention phase of the study. However, there were no differences between the interventions in terms of emergency service use during the long-term follow-up phase of the study (i.e., 6-18 months post-baseline). The FAST intervention appears efficacious for reducing the short-term risk of using emergency medical services. However, the long-term efficacy of the FAST intervention appears less clear. Future studies may want to provide more powerful maintenance sessions to encourage continued use of skills in patients' real-world settings.     

The psychology of meta-ethics: exploring objectivism

How do lay individuals think about the objectivity of their ethical beliefs? Do they regard them as factual and objective, or as more subjective and opinion-based, and what might predict such differences? In three experiments, we set out a methodology for assessing the perceived objectivity of ethical beliefs, and use it to document several novel findings. Experiment 1 showed that individuals tend to regard ethical statements as clearly more objective than social conventions and tastes, and almost as objective as scientific facts. Yet, there was considerable variation in objectivism, both across different ethical statements, and across individuals. The extent to which individuals treat ethical beliefs as objective was predicted by the way they grounded their ethical systems. Groundings which emphasize the religious, pragmatic, and self-identity underpinnings of ethical belief each independently predicted greater ethical objectivity. Experiment 2 replicated and extended these findings with a refined measure of ethical objectivism. Experiment 3 demonstrated the robustness of the religious grounding of ethics, and differentiates it from mere religious belief and from political orientation. The results shed light on the nature of ethical belief, and have implications for the resolution of ethical disputes.