Towards a relational framework for pathological gambling (Part I): Five circuits

Relationship patterns before and after pathological gambling were investigated qualitatively using eight in‐depth clinical case studies in which one partner met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders‐IV pathological gambling criteria. Five circuits of couple interactions are described: (i) fault‐lines; (ii) pressure points; (iii) escalation; (iv) relapse and (v) congruence. The exploration of these circuits is developed in two complementary articles. This first article delineates the first four circuits as recursive self‐perpetuating cycles of couple distress in systemic interaction with pathological gambling development and relapse. The second article delineates how a couple can be helped to extricate themselves from these recursive circuits through ‘congruence’. Implications of this relational formulation of pathological gambling for conceptualization, assessment and treatment are discussed.     

HIV Testing and Pregnancy: A Case of Cultural Moral Equivocation

The concept of “moral equivocation” may be defined in the context of an ethical framework for moral judgment. This framework comprises two universal principles of right: the Dependency Principle, found (but not endorsed) in Plato's Republic, and the Democracy Principle. Moral equivocation is evident in a violation of either of these two principles. At the cultural level, coping with moral equivocation often requires moral compromise, as is evident in applying the Dependency-Democracy Principles Ethical Framework to the issue of HIV testing for pregnant women.     

Attribution of movement: Potential links between subjective reports of agency and output monitoring

According to agency memory theory, individuals decide whether “I did it” based on a memory trace of “I am doing it”. The purpose of this study was to validate the agency memory theory. To this end, several hand actions were individually presented as samples, and participants were asked to perform the sample action, observe the performance of that action by another person, or imagine performing the action. Online feedback received by the participants during the action was manipulated among the different conditions, and output monitoring, in which participants were asked whether they had performed each hand action, was conducted. The rate at which respondents thought that they themselves had performed the action was higher when visual feedback was unaltered than when it was altered (Experiment 1A), and this tendency was observed across all types of altered feedback (Experiment 1B). The observation of an action performed by the hand of another person did not increase the rate at which respondents thought that they themselves had performed the action unless the participants actually did perform the action (Experiments 2A and 2B). In Experiment 3, a relationship was observed between the subjective feeling that “I am the one who is causing an action” and the memory that “I did perform the action”. These experiments support the hypothesis that qualitative information and sense of “self” are tagged in a memory trace and that such tags can be used as cues for judgements when the memory is related to the “self”.     

行为决策中的基线比例忽略：心理机制与影响因素

基线比例忽略是指个体进行决策和判断时不能充分利用或者忽略基线比例而偏好新信息的现象。该现象普遍存在于日常行为与决策的许多领域,尤其显著表现在临床医疗领域,因此对这一现象的研究具有重要的应用价值。目前,基线比例忽略的心理机制主要有双加工理论和因果贝叶斯框架等。基线比例忽略的影响因素主要包括认知能力、年龄、基线比例的表述形式等。未来的研究需要从基线比例忽略的神经机制、影响因素以及应用研究的拓展等方面着手。     

心理距离与决策者角色对风险决策的影响

采用改编的I0S量表测量自我与他人的心理距离,在收益和损失情境下,综合探讨了为他人和预测他人决策时心理距离对个体风险偏好的影响.结果发现:(1)与他人心理距离越远,个体决策时越偏好风险,且反应时越短;(2)个体预测他人决策时比为他人决策时更偏好风险,但两者反应时没有显著差异;(3)心理距离与决策者角色存在交互作用,即预测时个体认为远心理距离他人比近心理距离他人更冒险,而为他人决策时两者差异消失;(4)决策角色与决策框架、心理距离与决策框架存在交互作用:在收益框架下,自我他人心理距离较远时个体更偏好风险,且个体预测比为他人决策时更冒险,损失条件下无差异.依据相关理论对这些结果进行了分析讨论.     

FALSIFIABILITY AND TRACTION IN THEORIES OF DIVINE ACTION

One of the most focused research programs in the science‐religion dialogue that has taken place up to the present is the series of volumes published jointly by the Vatican Observatory and the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences. Originating with the encouragement of Pope John Paul II, this series has produced seven volumes focusing on how divine action can be understood in light of contemporary science. A retrospective volume published in 2008, Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action: Twenty Years of Challenge and Progress, contains articles reviewing the series as a whole. In this article I analyze the series as a whole as well as some of the pivotal problems discussed throughout the series, such as the zero‐sum game, scientific “traction,” falsifiability in theories of divine action, and locating special divine action in the physical world.     

The personality systems framework: Current theory and development

The personality systems framework is a fieldwide outline for organizing the contemporary science of personality. I examine the theoretical impact of systems thinking on the discipline and, drawing on ideas from general systems theory, argue that personality psychologists understand individuals’ personalities by studying four topics: (a) personality’s definition, (b) personality’s parts (e.g., traits, schemas, etc.), (c) its organization and (d) development. This framework draws on theories from the field to create a global view of personality including its position and major areas of function. The global view gives rise to new theories such as personal intelligence—the idea that people guide themselves with a broad intelligence they use to reason about personalities.     

Precision Weapons,Civilian Casualties,and Support for the Use of Force

Precision weapons such as drones have become important elements of the military strategies of the United States and other countries. How does the use of precision weapons influence public support for the use of force? The public is averse to casualties, mission failure, and collateral damage. I argue that precision weapons increase the salience and importance of avoiding civilian harm. Individuals adopt their expectations about the outcomes of using these weapons and have lower tolerance for attacks that result in civilian deaths. This proposition is consistent with the results of two survey experiments. In the first, the possibility of civilian casualties leads to larger declines in support for the use of force than do military casualties or mission failure. In the second, respondents primed with information about an attack with precision weapons exhibited less tolerance for civilian harm than those primed with other weapons systems, despite the fact that the outcomes described to all respondents were identical.     

Statement Validity Analysis

Summary

All information regarding 103 Dutch sexual abuse cases was analyzed using the Validity Checklist, the second part of the Statement Validity Analysis procedure. The fulfillment of the VC items was compared for four different age groups. Only two VC items differed significantly between the age groups. The systematic summarization of content analysis and validity checks revealed only a weak relationship between the fulfillment of the CBCA criteria and the VC items together and the outcome of the cases. The results suggest that SVA cannot yet be used as a scientifically validated instrument for judging the truthfulness of allegations of child sexual abuse.