Evolution and the nonlegal equivalent of aggressive criminal behavior

Within the framework of modern evolutionary theory, arguments are reviewed that the nonlegal equivalent of aggressive criminal behavior may have evolved by natural selection among mammals, particularly primates, as part of their overall approach to reproduction. If so, the commission of aggressive crimes (or their nonlegal equivalent) by humans, and even efforts to prevent fellow social group members from being victimized by aggressive crimes, may also be partially explainable in natural selection terms. The plausibility of this deduction was explored, first, by specifying the three elements that a human act must have to be regarded as an aggressive crime. Summarily, these were that (1) injury to a victim must be a likely result of the act, (2) the act must be intended, and (3) the act must elicit negative responses from those witnessing it. The primate behavior literature was examined for evidence that some behavior of nonhumans met all three conditions. Affirmative results were obtained. Therefore, while further research is in order, human aggressive criminal behavior, as well as human efforts to control it, seem to have close parallels in other primates. This would be consistent with the notion that aggressive criminal behavior (along with its condemnation by fellow group members) is part of a social system produced and sustained by natural selection.     

Toward law–gospel harmony in Lutheran theology and ethics

Lutheran antipathy toward the law is harmful to Christian ethics. This antipathy arises from the false notion that law and gospel are opposed. However, the Lutheran Confessions show that law–gospel distinction does not necessarily imply law–gospel opposition. When law and gospel are properly defined, they interrelate harmoniously within a multiperspectival model of Christian ethics. Moreover, the third use of the law then emerges as the basic and primary use.     

Experimental evaluation of matching via a commercially available basketball video game

Many recent nonlaboratory-based quantitative analyses of behavior have relied on archival competitive sporting data. However, the ratio-based reinforcement schedules in most athletic competitions and the correlational nature of archival data analyses raise concern over the contributions of such findings to the behavior analytic literature. The current experiment evaluated whether matching in a human operant paradigm would approximate matching observed in nonlaboratory-based sports data. To this end, we used in-game attributes to parametrically manipulate 2- and 3-point shooting in a commercially available basketball video game. The behavior of 6 of 9 participants conformed to the generalized matching equation. These results suggest matching in sporting contexts may be a product of restricted nonindependent concurrent random-ratio schedules. Implications of this experiment, including those in applied behavior analysis and potential influence on gamification, are discussed.     

Differential aggressiveness and litigiousness: Social support and social status hypotheses

The Qolla Indians have high rates of involvement in agonistic forms of interaction. In previous reports the author suggested that ecological and physiological factors are causally associated with intracommunity differential participation in aggressive behavior. The present article described tests of hypotheses using other variables to explain this behavioral differentiation. The hypothesis that aggressiveness and participation in litigation are a function of the amount of social support the individual can potentially mobilize is tested. The relationships between indicators of social status (wealth, education, age, political activities, and ritual participation), on the one hand, and aggressiveness and litigiousness, on the other, also are examined.     

GROUP FORAGING SENSITIVITY TO PREDICTABLE AND UNPREDICTABLE CHANGES IN FOOD DISTRIBUTION: PAST EXPERIENCE OR PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES?

The ideal free distribution theory (Fretwell & Lucas, 1970) predicts that the ratio of foragers at two patches will equal the ratio of food resources obtained at the two patches. The theory assumes that foragers have "perfect knowledge" of patch profitability and that patch choice maximizes fitness. How foragers assess patch profitability has been debated extensively. One assessment strategy may be the use of past experience with a patch. Under stable environmental conditions, this strategy enhances fitness. However, in a highly unpredictable environment, past experience may provide inaccurate information about current conditions. Thus, in a nonstable environment, a strategy that allows rapid adjustment to present circumstances may be more beneficial. Evidence for this type of strategy has been found in individual choice. In the present experiments, a flock of pigeons foraged at two patches for food items and demonstrated results similar to those found in individual choice. Experiment 1 utilized predictable and unpredictable sequences of resource ratios presented across days or within a single session. Current foraging decisions depended on past experience, but that dependence diminished when the current foraging environment became more unpredictable. Experiment 2 repeated Experiment I with a different flock of pigeons under more controlled circumstances in an indoor coop and produced similar results.     

Effects of methylphenidate on sensitivity to reinforcement in children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: an application of the matching law

The behavior of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been hypothesized to be the result of decreased sensitivity to consequences compared to typical children. The present study examined sensitivity to reinforcement in 2 boys diagnosed with ADHD using the matching law to provide more precise and quantitative measurement of this construct. This experiment also evaluated the effects of methylphenidate (MPH) on sensitivity to reinforcement of children with ADHD. Subjects completed math problems to earn tokens under four different variable-interval (VI) schedules of reinforcement presented in random order under both medicated and nonmedicated conditions. Results showed that, in the medicated condition, the matching functions for both subjects resulted in higher asymptotic values, indicating an overall elevation of behavior rate under these conditions. The variance accounted for by the matching law was also higher under the medicated conditions, suggesting that their behavior more closely tracked the changing rates of reinforcement while taking MPH compared to placebo. Under medicated conditions, the reinforcing efficacy of response-contingent tokens decreased. Results are discussed with respect to quantifying behavioral changes and the extent to which the drug interacts with prevailing contingencies (i.e., schedule values) to influence behavioral variability.     

Informed consent and the use of placebo in poland: Ethical and legal aspects

The concept of informed consent was one of the most fruitful ideas that deeply changed the relationships between physicians and their patients from paternalism to respect for the personal autonomy of subjects needing professional medical care. The great progress in medicine, also involving the pharmaceutical industry, has created an increasing need to perform different clinical and experimental trials. The evolution of clinical research in the last decades has influenced strongly the design of these studies. One of the most important changes in this field has been the use of placebo groups in double-blind controlled studies. The controversies have involved not only the use of placebo when standard or proven treatment was available, but also some specific problems concerning the procedure of obtaining informed consent in such trials. This paper briefly presents the evolution of informed consent in Poland as well as different ethical and legal problems concerning informed consent and the use of placebo controls in clinical trials. An earlier version of this paper was presented at an international conference, “Placebo: Its Action and Place in Health Research Today,” held in Warsaw, Poland on 12–13 April, 2003.     

The Incoherence of the Patriotic State: A Critique of ‘Constitutional Patriotism’

Habermas proposes a new solution to the problematic relation between republican values and democracy. He asserts that a new model of social cohesion is needed and he suggests that the sense of community in a democratic society should be founded exclusively on the acceptance and support of a system of constitutionally established rules which are the logical result of the historical evolution of constitution-making. He argues that an account of the constitutional process which led to the formation of the modern republican state should provide the criteria for a rational set of norms which will exclude nationalism from the political arena. In this article, I point out the democratic hazards and the internal incoherence of Habermass alternative to the national state and I argue that a theoretical substitute should consider the existence of national identities as one of the aspects of modern pluralistic society.I should like to thank Zenon Bankowski, Bob Brecher, Emilios Christodoulidis, Alasdair Fay, Peter Fitzpatrick, Stefania Morandini, Rick Mohr and Res Publicas anonymous reviewers for their very helpful comments.     

Effects of alternative reinforcement on human behavior: the source does matter

Competing theories regarding the effects of delivering periodic response-independent reinforcement (more accurately, response-independent points exchanged for money) on a baseline rate of behavior were evaluated in human subjects. Contiguity theory holds that these events decrease target responding because incompatible behavior is adventitiously strengthened when the point deliveries follow target behavior closely in time. Matching theory holds that response-independent points, like any other alternative reinforcer, should reduce target responding. On this view, temporal contiguity between target responding and response-independent point delivery is unimportant. In our experiment, four different responses (moving a joystick in four different directions) were reinforced with points exchangeable for money according to four independent variable-interval schedules. Different schedules of point delivery were then superimposed on these baselines. When all superimposed point deliveries occurred immediately after one of the four responses (the target response), time allocated to target responding increased. When the superimposed point deliveries could be delivered at any time, time allocated to target responding declined and other behavior increased. When superimposed points could never immediately follow target responses, time allocated to target responding decreased further and other behavior or pausing predominated. The findings underscore the contribution of temporal contiguity in the effects of response-independent deliveries of food, money, points, etc.     

评中国思想家对道德与法律之关系的探索

儒家礼法合一论的真义是对“善法”的追求 ,对“恶法”的否定。因为善法体现了儒家的道德精神 ,反映了一种人道主义的价值取向 ,而恶法则是反人道的。墨家强调“法不仁不可以为法” ,其真实的意思是不道德的法律不是真正的法律 ,与儒家的礼法合一论有相似之处。法家主张“法虽不善犹善于无法” ,从而否定了法律的道德基础和价值根据。今天 ,我们在立法中贯彻道德的法律化取向需要谨慎从事 :一是注意把那些体现时代精神、合乎社会潮流的道德予以法律化 ,不能把落伍于时代的道德法律化 ;二是切忌把过高的道德义务转化为法律义务。必须认识到 ,应该法律化的道德只是“底线道德” ,而高层次的道德是不宜法律化的 ,否则就是强人所难。