Studies on time: a proposal on how to get out of circularity

The analysis of time is vitiated very often by circularity: several disciplines, such as psychology, linguistics, and neurosciences, analyze time by using concepts or terms which already contain in themselves, or are based, on the experience and notion of time (as when, for example, time is defined as “duration”, or when our ability to estimate durations is explained by resorting to the notion of an internal clock). Some detailed examples of circularity in the analysis of time are given here and examined. A way out of circularity is then given: it is represented by the proposal of attentional semantics (AS) of considering words and their meanings in terms of the aim they serve, and the means and processes developed and implemented in order to achieve that aim. According to AS, the main aim of words is that of indicating to, and eliciting in, the listener or reader a specific conscious experience: namely, the conscious experience referred to by their meanings. Words achieve their main aim by conveying the condensed instructions on the attentional operations one has to perform if one wants to consciously experience what is expressed through and by them. By describing the conscious experiences elicited by words in terms of the attentional operations that are responsible for the production of such conscious experiences, AS offers an a-linguistic counterpart to language, and therefore an effective way out of circularity. Following in footsteps of Mach (Contributions to the analysis of the sensations, 1890), but slightly revising his hypothesis, AS defines time-sensation as the perception of the effort made, or alternatively the nervous energy expended, by the organ of attention when performing a “temporal activity” (for instance, estimating duration), that is, when one’s own attention is focused in a continuous and incremental way on the conscious product of the (“non-temporal”) activity performed by means of another portion of one’s attention.

On the Idea that God is Continuously Re-creating the Universe

Many theists believe that God is continuously acting to sustain the universe in existence. One way of understanding this act of sustenance is to see God as actually creating the universe anew at each moment. This paper argues against the coherence of this view by drawing out some of its consequences. I argue that the re-creationist must deny the causal efficacy of created f things, as well as the identity of things across time. Most problematically, I argue that re-creationism ultimately denies the reality of time itself.

Neuropsychological correlates of psychopathic traits in a non-incarcerated sample

The present study examined the association between neuropsychological behavioral performance and psychopathic personality traits, measured via the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI), in a non-incarcerated sample. Specifically, performance involving general executive cognitive functioning (ECF) and response inhibition was investigated in regards to the two main psychopathy factors (affective-interpersonal and social deviance) of the PPI. A group of 95 student volunteers were administered the PPI and a variety of neuropsychological measures. Analyses revealed that total PPI scores were related to deficits in response inhibition but not general ECF. However, this relationship was qualified by the differential associations observed for the two PPI factors. The social deviance factor was associated with deficits in general ECF and response inhibition, whereas the affective-interpersonal facet was associated with enhanced general ECF performance but not response inhibition. The results suggest that cognitive functioning shows predicted associations with a self-report measure of psychopathy among non-incarcerated young adults, providing further evidence for psychopathy conceptualizations from a normal-range personality perspective.     

青少年时间管理倾向相关因素的研究

本研究探讨时间管理倾向与学生学业成绩、自我价值感和主观幸福感三者的关系,进一步验证个人的时间管理倾向与生活质量的关系。对重庆和成都两地三组1387名大、中学生(重庆312名中学生、339名大学生,成都736名中学生)的问卷调查研究发现：(1)时间监控观对学业成绩具有一定的预测作用,时问价值感和时间效能感是通过时间监控观来影响学业成绩。(2)时间管理倾向各维度与总体、一般和特殊自我价值感之间存在显著的正相关。随着自我价值感抽象程度的降低,时间管理倾向对自我价值感的影响程度也就越大。(3)时间管理倾向各维度与积极情绪之间存在显著正相关,与消极情绪之间存在显著负相关。时间管理的好坏可能是影响主观幸福感的一个重要因素。     

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) in the New Millenium: A Cross-Cultural Approach

This paper reviews and discusses the results of five cross-cultural studies in Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Spain, and USA, using 2 (college students vs. their parents) × 2 (males vs. females) MANOVA match group designs with the Attitudes and Beliefs Inventory subscales as dependent variables, two multicultural studies investigating the relationship between some demographic variables (Pan American Health Organization's Index of Violence, and Acculturation) and people's Irrationality, and two multidisciplinary studies on the relationship between some medical conditions (skin diseases, and severity of symptoms during menopause) and Irrational Beliefs.     

A methodological investigation of the Intermodal Preferential Looking paradigm: Methods of analyses,picture selection and data rejection criteria

The Intermodal Preferential Looking paradigm provides a sensitive measure of a child's online word comprehension. To complement existing recommendations (Fernald, Zangl, Portillo, & Marchman, 2008), the present study evaluates the impact of experimental noise generated by two aspects of the visual stimuli on the robustness of familiar word recognition with and without mispronunciations: the presence of a central fixation point and the level of visual noise in the pictures (as measured by luminance saliency). Twenty-month-old infants were presented with a classic word recognition IPL procedure in 3 conditions: without a fixation stimulus (No Fixation – noisiest condition), with a fixation stimulus before trial onset (Fixation, intermediate), and with a fixation stimulus, a neutral background and equally salient images (Fixation Plus – least noisy). Data were systematically analyzed considering a range of data selection criteria and dependent variables (proportion of looking time towards the target, longest look, and time-course analysis). Critically, the expected pronunciation and naming interaction was only found in the Fixation Plus condition. We discuss the impact of data selection criteria and the dependent variable choice on the modulation of these effects across the different conditions.     

Biased judgments of the effects of speed change on travel time,fuel consumption and braking: Individual differences in the use of simplifying rules producing the same biases

The main purpose of this study was to identify different cognitive rules that lead to a particular judgment bias. To fulfill this purpose, a new method Spectral analysis was introduced and applied. Participants judged time saved by driving faster, fuel saved by replacing a car and braking capacity at different speeds. These problems invite the time saving bias (e.g., time saved from speed increases at higher speeds overestimated), the miles per gallon, MPG illusion (misjudgment of fuel saved by replacing a car) and the braking capacity bias (overestimation of braking capacity after speed increase). The average results replicated the biases. Spectral analysis of individual participants and problems showed that a speed difference rule explained about half of the time saving judgments and about three fourth of the MPG judgments. A difference between speeds rule described about one third of the biased braking judgments and a ratio/proportion rule about one fifth of the time saving and MPG judgments. All rules give biased judgments in all three domains. The paper ends with a discussion of hierarchies of cognitive rules, applications of the results, and how to mitigate or avoid the biases and the risks associated with the biases.     

Psychological and sexual functioning among outpatient sexual offenders against children: A Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) cluster analytic study

Multivariate clustering procedures were used to identify homogeneous subgroups of outpatient sex offenders against children (n=110)on the basis of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Results indicated a five-subgroup solution. Two within-normal-limits and two clinically elevated profile subgroups replicated subtypes found in previous cluster analytic studies of child sex offenders. The fifth subgroup appeared similar in MMPI profile pattern and elevation to a previously identified subtype of rapists. Discriminant analyses showed that subgroups differed along dimensions of cognitive disturbance and sexual functioning. Furthermore, levels of psychopathology corresponded with levels of sexual pathology. Results are discussed with reference to previous MMPI cluster analytic studies of sex offenders and theories of sexual aggression.Portions of this paper were presented at the meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, 1992, Chicago, Illinois.     

The General Behavior Inventory as an outpatient screen for dysthymic disorder

High prevalence, morbidity, and response to treatment make the detection of dysthymic disorder an important public health issue. We report our experience with the General Behavioral Inventory, a self-report questionnaire developed to detect affective illness, including dysthymic disorder. In a small sample of psychiatric outpatients the instrument yielded a sensitivity of 61% and a specificity of 88% for dysthymic disorder. These results challenge the utility of this instrument for detecting dysthymic disorder in this population.This work was supported in part by Grants MH-19069 and MH7103 from the National Institutes of Mental Health.     

Personal warmth and psychological health at midlife

Personal warmth, arguably a strong trait in the makeup of psychological health, seems to fade in conceptual importance at midlife. In contrast, ideas of interiority and androgyny appear to gain conceptual importance at midlife. The present study sought to rebalance these foci by determining the predictive power of personal warmth for psychological health of men and women at age 50: first, by developing separate California Psychological Inventory (CPI) scales to assess personal warmth; next, by joining these warmth scales with the 20 standard CPI scales to predict psychological health. Without the personal warmth scale, the standard CPI scales do not significantly predict psychological health for men; for women, the standard scales do. For both genders, the personal warmth scales add significantly to the predictability of psychological health. The results point to an amendment of current theoretical formulations of interiority and androgyny to better understand optimal psychological development in men and women at midlife.