CREATIONISM IN THE NETHERLANDS

Recent events indicate that creationists are becoming increasingly active in the Netherlands. This article offers an overview of these events. First, I discuss the introduction of intelligent‐design (ID) creationism into the Dutch public sphere by a renowned physicist, Cees Dekker. Later, Dekker himself shifted toward a more evolution‐friendly position, theistic evolution. Second, we see how Dekker was followed in this shift by Andries Knevel, an important figure within the Dutch evangelical broadcasting group, the Evangelische Omroep (EO). His conversion to ID, and subsequently to theistic evolution, brought him into conflict with young‐Earth creationists who still strongly identify themselves with the EO. Third, provoked by the dissidence of prominent orthodox believers and the celebrations surrounding the Darwin year, young‐Earth creationists became very visible. After three decades of relative silence, they started a project to make sure that the Dutch people would hear of the “alternatives” to evolutionary theory. This article (1) adds to the growing number of reports on creationists' increased activity in Europe and (2) suggests that ID, in a context different from the United States, did not unite but rather divided the Dutch orthodox Protestant community.     

The role of pattern recognition in children's exact enumeration of small numbers

Enumeration can be accomplished by subitizing, counting, estimation, and combinations of these processes. We investigated whether the dissociation between subitizing and counting can be observed in 4‐ to 6‐year‐olds and studied whether the maximum number of elements that can be subitized changes with age. To detect a dissociation between subitizing and counting, it is tested whether task manipulations have different effects in the subitizing than in the counting range. Task manipulations concerned duration of presentation of elements (limited, unlimited) and configuration of elements (random, line, dice). In Study 1, forty‐nine 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds were tested with a computerized enumeration task. Study 2 concerned data from 4‐, 5‐, and 6‐year‐olds, collected with Math Garden, a computer‐adaptive application to practice math. Both task manipulations affected performance in the counting, but not the subitizing range, supporting the conclusion that children use two distinct enumeration processes in the two ranges. In all age groups, the maximum number of elements that could be subitized was three. The strong effect of configuration of elements suggests that subitizing might be based on a general ability of pattern recognition.     

Exploring a Training IRAP as a single participant context for analyzing reversed derived relations and persistent rule-following

Rule-governed behavior and derived stimulus relations have always shared strong conceptual links within behavior analysis. However, experimental analysis linking the two domains remains limited. The current study consisted of three experiments that aimed to continue to bridge this experimental gap. The first experiment sought to establish the extent to which a training version of the implicit relational assessment procedure (IRAP) could be used to establish and successfully reverse experimentally established derived relations. The results suggested that the Training IRAP could successfully produce derived reversals. Experiments 2 and 3 explored the extent to which reversed derived relations would control rule-governed behavior when the contingencies for rule-following competed with the rule. In Experiment 2, the task contingencies were immediately in opposition to the (reversed) derived rule, and participants generally responded in accordance with the task contingencies, rather than the rule. In Experiment 3, the task contingencies were initially rule-consistent before a contingency reversal that later made them rule-inconsistent. Here evidence of rule-persistence emerged. The results of the research are considered within the context of a recent framework that has emerged out of RFT for analyzing the dynamics involved in derived relational responding.     

人本主义心理学评价新探

本文从宏观上对人本主义心理学提出了新的评价。指出其主要贡献：（1）把人的本性与价值提到了心理学研究的首位；（2）突出人的动机系统与高级需要的重要作用；（3）提出实验客观范式与经验主观范式综合的新构想；（4）促进以人为本的组织管理与教育改革以及心理治疗的发展。根本缺陷：（1）未摆脱自然主义人性论的羁绊；（2）渗透个人本位主义精神；（3）缺乏实证性的检验与支持。     

基于模式分类的中医医案分析技术

中医药经历数千年的发展,已积累了大量数据,特别是从古到今的医案数据,但这些数据因没有用现代信息手段整理、分析,而不能为中医药的科学研究提供支持。本文将模式分类技术应用于医案数据的分析中,从已知的病症推断出所属的证型。该方法能够进行自动学习,不需要专家的辅助即可从医案中学习到病症和证型的联系。     

Moderating effects of appreciation on relationships between illegitimate tasks and intrinsic motivation: a two-wave shortitudinal study

ABSTRACT

This study investigated possible reciprocal relationships between illegitimate tasks and intrinsic motivation and whether appreciation moderated these relationships. Based on a two-wave panel study across one week and a sample of 366 nurses, we examined whether appreciation buffered effects of illegitimate tasks on reduced intrinsic motivation; or enhanced reversed effects of intrinsic motivation on decreased perceived illegitimate tasks. Additionally, we differentiated whether illegitimate tasks and appreciation were elicited by supervisors, colleagues, or patients. Latent structural equation analyses primarily revealed effects for unnecessary than for unreasonable tasks. Such tasks were predominantly the consequence rather than the cause of intrinsic motivation, and intrinsic motivation increased perceived illegitimate tasks under conditions of low appreciation. Regarding the different sources, most effects were present for illegitimate tasks ascribed by supervisors and for appreciation conveyed by patients. It follows that the perception of illegitimate tasks seems to be a matter of motivation; that the sources of illegitimate tasks and appreciation matter; and that appreciation as a low-budget, but highly powerful practice, is able to facilitate a positive environment where work tasks are less likely to be perceived as illegitimate.     

PALEY'S iPOD: THE COGNITIVE BASIS OF THE DESIGN ARGUMENT WITHIN NATURAL THEOLOGY

The argument from design stands as one of the most intuitively compelling arguments for the existence of a divine Creator. Yet, for many scientists and philosophers, Hume's critique and Darwin's theory of natural selection have definitely undermined the idea that we can draw any analogy from design in artifacts to design in nature. Here, we examine empirical studies from developmental and experimental psychology to investigate the cognitive basis of the design argument. From this it becomes clear that humans spontaneously discern purpose in nature. When constructed theologically and philosophically correctly, the design argument is not presented as conclusive evidence for God's existence but rather as an abductive, probabilistic argument. We examine the cognitive basis of probabilistic judgments in relationship to natural theology. Placing emphasis on how people assess improbable events, we clarify the intuitive appeal of Paley's watch analogy. We conclude that the reason why some scientists find the design argument compelling and others do not lies not in any intrinsic differences in assessing design in nature but rather in the prior probability they place on complexity being produced by chance events or by a Creator. This difference provides atheists and theists with a rational basis for disagreement.     

Holistic face processing is penetrable … depending on the composite design

Holistic processing (HP) of faces is usually measured by the composite effect. While Weston and Perfect [2005. Effects of processing bias on the recognition of composite face halves. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 12, 1038–1042. doi:10.3758/BF03206440] found that priming at the local level speeded recognition of components of faces, Gao et al. [2011. Priming global and local processing of composite faces: Revisiting the processing-bias effect on face perception. Attention Perception & Psychophysics, 73, 1477–1486. doi:10.3758/s13414-011-0109-7] found that only global priming had an effect on HP of faces. The two studies used different versions of the composite task (the partial design, which is considered to be prone on bias, and the complete design). However, the two studies also differed in other respects and it is difficult to know to what extent issues with the partial design contributed to the differing conclusions. In the present study, the HP indexed by the complete design measure was augmented by global priming. In contrast, no effect was observed in the partial design index. We claim that the partial design index reflects other factors besides HP, including response bias, and conclude that HP can be understood within the context of domain-general attentional processes.     

Quasi‐Experimental Single‐Subject Design: Comparing Seeking Safety and Canine‐Assisted Therapy Interventions Among Mentally Ill Female Inmates

This repeated measures quasi‐experimental study evaluated the effectiveness of 2 interventions, Seeking Safety and canine‐assisted therapy, with female prisoners with trauma histories on a mental health unit. Results indicate both are effective at reducing anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder.