The Astounding Assumption of Infinite Life

The multimillennial philosophical discussion about life after death has received a recent boost in the prospect of immortality attained via technologies. In this newer version, humans generally are considered mortal but may develop means of making themselves immortal. If “immortal” means not mortal, thus existing for infinity, and if the proposed infinite‐existing entity is material, it must inhabit an infinite material universe. If the proposed entity is not material, there must be means by which it can shed its material substance and exist nonmaterially. The article examines arguments for how an infinite life would be possible given current physical understanding. The paper considers a Pascalian‐style wager weighing the likelihood of adjusting to existence wholly within a finite universe versus betting on there being some way to construe the universe(s) as a viable medium for infinite beings. Conclusion: the case for a finite being to exist infinitely has little viable support.     

Explicit Awareness does not Modulate Retrograde Interference Effects in Sequence Learning

Motor sequences are learned explicitly or implicitly based on conscious awareness of the sequence. Interference happens when two sequences are learned successively. Here, we aimed to determine whether implicit and explicit sequence learning are affected differently by retrograde interference. Young healthy volunteers participated in either a control or interference group and either an explicit or implicit learning condition. We used a modified serial reaction time task to induce sequence learning and control awareness. Results showed that the overall amount of sequence learning was greater in the explicit condition compared to implicit. However, sequence learning was equally susceptible to retrograde interference under either condition. We conclude that although susceptible to interference, explicit awareness improves overall sequence learning compared to implicit conditions.     

Intraindividual Variability of Neuromotor Function Predicts Falls Risk in Older Adults and those with Type 2 Diabetes

This study was designed to examine the effect of increasing age and type 2 diabetes on the average responses and inter- and intraindividual variability of falls risk, reaction time, strength, and walking speed for healthy older adults and older persons with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Seventy-five older individuals (controls) and 75 persons with T2DM aged between 50 and 79 years participated in the study. Assessments of falls risk, reaction time (RT), knee extension strength, and walking speed were conducted. The results revealed that advancing age for both control and T2DM groups was reflected by a progressive increase in falls risk, decreased leg strength and a decline (i.e., slowing) of reactions and gait speed. Conversely, the level of intraindividual variability for the RT, strength and gait measures increased with increasing age for both groups, with T2DM persons tending to be more variable compared to the healthy controls of similar age. In contrast to the intraindividual changes, measures of interindividual variability revealed few differences between the healthy elderly and T2DM individuals. Taken together, the findings support the proposition that intraindividual variability of neuromotor measures may be useful as a biomarker for the early detection of decline in physiological function due to age or disease.     

Supporting Out‐of‐School Time Staff in Low Resource Communities: A Professional Development Approach

Federally funded out‐of‐school time (OST) programs provide academic support, enrichment, and safety for students and families in low‐resource communities. However, programs struggle to meet these aims, in part because of the lack of program structure and limited training and support for staff. This observational case study documents the training and technical assistance (TA) delivered to OST frontline staff and program leadership to implement Positive Behavior in Out‐of‐School Time (Positive BOOST), an adaptation of positive behavior interventions and supports conducted in multiple settings. Findings across three programs indicate that varied levels of TA (i.e., business as usual, performance feedback, coaching) are associated with different levels of staff‐ and program‐level implementation. Taken together with previous research, these findings suggest that targeted investment in developing the skills of OST staff and improving program‐wide outcomes is critical for supporting youth in low‐resource communities.     

Foresight and the Seven Dimensions of Experience

How we understand and treat time says a great deal about our worldview. The major global crises we are enmeshed in are largely the result of dominant worldviews that do not correspond sufficiently with the realities of how the cosmos works. Although what humanity has learned through science has some areas of correspondence it does not have the requisite variety to correlate with the complexities unleashed in the Anthropocene. This is clear from the feedback that the world system is giving us in areas of, for example, climate change, species extinction, mental stress, and endemic violence. In this article it is proposed that the resulting deficiency of foresight occurs because our current notions of time and our resulting way of organizing and interpreting our world that follows from that seriously restricts our understanding where it is most needed. This article introduces an alternative view of time as only one of seven dimensions of our lived experience and opens more scope for practical as well as theoretical understanding.     

适应性时间管理：死亡意识对时间知觉和跨期决策的影响

死亡意识是个体对自身死亡必然性的认识; 基于进化适应性的考量, 作者认为具有前瞻性的死亡意识作为人类特有的认知能力和个体生命史的终极坐标, 不仅可能引起恐惧感和防御反应, 更重要的是可以帮助人们做出适应性的时间管理。据此推论, 死亡意识的启动会加强人们对时间有限性的关注, 体验出更强的时间流逝感, 影响人们对时间的评估, 以及人们对不同时间点的成本与收益进行权衡而做出的跨期决策。本研究采用死亡凸显范式启动死亡意识, 通过两个实验探讨了死亡意识、时间知觉和跨期决策三者之间的关系。结果发现, 死亡意识启动使被试低估时间距离, 并表现出较低的跨期决策延迟折扣率, 从而在较小的即时获益与更大的延迟的获益之间更为偏好未来导向的选项。进一步的分析显示, 时间知觉在死亡意识和跨期决策延迟折扣率之间起到部分中介变量的作用。以上的研究结果初步揭示了死亡意识在时间管理上的适应性价值。     

状态焦虑对时距知觉的影响：认知评价和注意偏向有调节的中介作用

探讨状态焦虑对时距知觉的影响以及注意偏向与认知评价在其中的中介和调节作用。招募大学生60人, 随机分为高、低状态焦虑组, 用情绪诱导程序诱导高、低状态焦虑; 用点探测范式测量注意偏向; 用时间再现任务测量时距知觉; 用视觉模拟心境量表测量认知评价。结果发现：(1)状态焦虑会导致对2000 ms时距的高估; (2)注意偏向在状态焦虑对2000 ms时距知觉的影响中具有部分中介作用; (3)状态焦虑通过注意偏向影响时距知觉的中介过程受到认知评价的调节作用：只有当认知评价得分较高时, 即个体认为焦虑对心理健康有害程度较高时, 状态焦虑通过注意偏向影响2000 ms时距知觉。研究结果揭示了焦虑个体时距知觉的内部过程, 丰富了焦虑通过注意偏向影响时距知觉的解释视角, 为通过认知评价和注意偏向的调整改善焦虑个体时距偏差现象提供了重要参考。     

Salesperson time perspectives and customer willingness to pay more: roles of intraorganizational employee navigation,customer satisfaction,and firm innovation climate

This research aims to fill a critical gap in the sales literature by proposing a relationship-based model of customer willingness to pay more, involving salesperson time perspectives (i.e., long-term perspective and short-term perspective), intraorganizational employee navigation, and customer satisfaction with the salesperson. We also examine the moderating role of firm innovation climate. Multisource survey data were collected from 204 salespeople in a business-to-business sales context along with external ratings from customers of these salespeople three months later. The findings indicate that both long- and short-term perspectives have positive effects on intraorganizational employee navigation and customer satisfaction, which, in turn, positively affect customer willingness to pay more. In addition, short-term perspective has a stronger impact than long-term perspective on intraorganizational employee navigation. Further, the effect of long-term perspective on customer satisfaction is strengthened by the innovation climate of the firm, whereas the effect of short-term perspective on customer satisfaction is weakened by it.     

高低创造性思维水平者的认知抑制能力：行为和生理的证据

本研究采用2个实验, 考察创造性思维测验得分高低者在Stroop任务干扰条件上的差异, 从行为和生理指标探讨认知抑制与创造性思维的关系, 以及时间压力对认知抑制与创造性思维关系的调节作用。实验1采用Stroop颜色命名任务。结果发现, 相比低创者, 高创者的反应时干扰效应量和正确率干扰效应量均更小。实验2采用更灵活的Stroop字义-颜色命名转换任务, 操纵不同的时间压力条件, 并记录被试完成任务时的皮肤电活动。结果发现, 高创者在有时间压力条件下的干扰效应量显著小于无时间压力条件下, 而低创者在有和无时间压力条件下的干扰效应量无显著差异; 高创者在颜色命名任务的不一致条件下的皮肤电活动变化显著高于一致条件, 而低创者在颜色命名任务的一致和不一致条件下无显著差异。研究表明：总体而言, 相比低创者, 高创者的认知抑制能力更高, 能够有效抑制优势的但不相关的反应倾向。时间压力在认知抑制与创造性思维的关系中起调节作用, 高创者面对不同任务要求能够灵活调整自身的认知抑制水平, 并表现出变化的生理唤醒水平。结果支持创造性思维的适应性认知抑制假说。     

The Quarter-life Time Period: An Age of Indulgence,Crisis or Both?

A new developmental stage called the quarter-life is proposed, extending from approximately 18–29 years of age and sometimes later. The emergence of this period is believed to be the result of several social, historic and economic factors that occurred post WWII. This article explores these changes in terms of the experiences of affluent young people in today’s Western society. A typology of adaptational responses are presented and explored as the quarter-lifers attempt to navigate their way to adulthood within the context of this ‘new’ affluent society. Implications for family therapists are considered.