For the greater goods? Ownership rights and utilitarian moral judgment

People often judge it unacceptable to directly harm a person, even when this is necessary to produce an overall positive outcome, such as saving five other lives. We demonstrate that similar judgments arise when people consider damage to owned objects. In two experiments, participants considered dilemmas where saving five inanimate objects required destroying one. Participants judged this unacceptable when it required violating another’s ownership rights, but not otherwise. They also judged that sacrificing another’s object was less acceptable as a means than as a side-effect; judgments did not depend on whether property damage involved personal force. These findings inform theories of moral decision-making. They show that utilitarian judgment can be decreased without physical harm to persons, and without personal force. The findings also show that the distinction between means and side-effects influences the acceptability of damaging objects, and that ownership impacts utilitarian moral judgment.     

You are Such a Bad Child! Appraisals as Mechanisms of Parental Negative and Positive Affect

Although parent cognitions are considered important predictors that determine specific emotional reactions and parental practices, models on the cognitive strategies for regulating parental distress or positive emotions are not well developed. Our aim was to investigate the nature of cognitions involved in parental distress and satisfaction, in terms of their specificity (parental or general) and their processing levels (inferential or evaluative cognitions). We hypothesized that parent's specific evaluative cognitions will mediate the impact of more general and inferential cognitive structures on their affective reactions. We used bootstrapping procedures in order to test the mediation models proposed. Results obtained show indeed that rather specific evaluative parental cognitions are mediating the relationship between general cognitions and parental distress. In terms of the cognitive processing levels, it seems that when parents hold both low self-efficacy and parental negative global evaluations for the self/child, this adds significantly to their distress.     

The Evolution of Mindfulness‐based Cognitive Therapy

Metcalf and Dimidjian (this issue) present a timely review of the evolving evidence base and mechanisms of mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy (MBCT). The present commentary extends the discussion on the current evidence base for MBCT based on findings from recent meta‐analytic reviews in this field which attest to the promising outcome for mindfulness‐based therapies, particularly for depressed populations. However, the specific effects of MBCT as applied to anxiety, health and developmental populations is still very much in its infancy. The second objective of this commentary extends discussion on the transdiagnostic applications of MBCT versus traditional cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). It is recommended that with the continuing expansion of MBCT, the effects of this therapeutic approach needs to be evaluated against other empirically supported therapies, including traditional CBT.     

Individual differences in 10‐month‐olds' performance on the A‐not‐B task

This study used the classical A‐not‐B task (Piaget, 1954 ) to explore individual differences in cognitive flexibility in 10‐month‐old infants by: (1) examining how differences in search performance during A trials relate to search performance during B trials; (2) studying the relation between temperamental dimensions and A‐not‐B performance; and (3) investigating differences in search performance between looking and reaching responses within the same task. Forty infants were tested on a fixed‐design‐version of the A‐not‐B task, not allowing for training or individual adjustment, but instead eliciting additional search behaviors than the common correct responses in A trials and perseverative errors in B trials. Infants were also rated by their parents on the temperamental scales Activity level and Attention span. The main findings were: (1) performance on A trials affected B trial performance, with infants being more correct on A trials having more incorrect and less ‘no search’ responses on B trials; (2) activity level, but not attention span, was related to performance on the A‐not‐B task, with infants performing better on A trials having a lower activity level; and (3) there were a few differences in performance with regard to modality, indicating that responding correctly by looking may be less cognitively demanding than doing so by reaching. This study demonstrated that 10‐month‐olds show a wide variation of search behaviors on this A‐not‐B task, resulting in individual differences in performance. These differences are suggested to reflect variation in temperamental activity level as well as maturity of short term/working memory, inhibition and cognitive flexibility.     

A qualitative study of citizens' experience of participating in health counseling

Individual health counseling is a form of intervention designed to minimize the effects of chronic health disease and to offer a path towards good health practices. The aim of the present study was to explore the experiences of those persons who participated in health counseling in order to assess the psychosocial significance of the counseling upon their health behavior. In addition the study was concerned with the factors which underlay peoples' decision to sign up for health counseling. The research involved 11 semi‐structured interviews with individuals who had participated in a municipality based health counseling program. Data was analyzed using Malterud's systemic text condensation and a theoretical framework around Bandura's social cognitive theory. Analysis revealed that an approach tailored to each individual with minor short‐term goals accompanied by feeling supported by the counselor produced the greatest impact on behavior. Receiving feedback from the counselor and feeling positive about the relationship were seen as essential. These aspects were also crucial in the decision to undertake health counseling. The study indicates that whether individual's sign up on their own initiative or conversely are invited to join the program has no influence upon their motivation to change their behavior. Overall the respondents demonstrated improvement in their behavior and attitudes towards their health. However, the study also indicates that this form of intervention is less or even ineffective without the support of the individual's immediate family.     

DEFINING “RELIGION” AS NATURAL: A CRITICAL INVITATION TO ROBERT McCAULEY

Previous critics have argued that Robert McCauley defines religion and science selectively and arbitrarily, cutting them to fit his model in Why Religion Is Natural and Science Is Not. McCauley has responded that final definitions are “overrated” and that artificial distinctions can serve an important role in naturalistic investigation. I agree with this position but argue that a genealogy of the category of religion is crucial to the methodology that McCauley describes. Since the inherent ambiguity of religion will undermine any essential claims about its cognitive naturalness, I invite McCauley to consider how his research might investigate scientific and religious cognition in new terms.     

EXPLANATORY MODESTY

Although I certainly have differences with some of my commentators, I am grateful for the time, effort, and attention that each has devoted to my book, Why Religion Is Natural and Science Is Not. They have helpfully pointed out features of my positions that need clarification and elaboration. I am also grateful to the editor of Zygon, Willem Drees, for this opportunity to undertake that task here.     

组织型插图对不同认知方式个体说明性文本阅读的影响

采用图文相继呈现、文本逐句阅读的范式,通过反应时技术与出声思维的方法考察了组织型插图对不同认知方式个体说明性文本阅读过程与阅读结果的影响,结果发现,与单一文本相比,场独立个体在有插图条件下的阅读成绩显著提高,而阅读时间没有增加,并产生了更多的推理、细化和提问策略;而场依存个体在有插图条件下的阅读成绩显著提高,阅读时间也显著增多,而理解策略没有变化。这说明组织型插图对两种认知方式个体说明性文本的阅读均起到促进作用,但场独立个体没有因为增加组织型插图而付出更多的加工努力,而是通过调整理解策略的方式来提高阅读效果;而场依存个体在阅读过程中没有根据组织型插图调整理解策略,阅读效果的提高是以付出更多的加工努力为代价的。