The ethics of doing policy relevant science: The precautionary principle and the significance of non-significant results

The precautionary principle is a widely accepted policy norm for decision making under uncertainty in environmental management, However, some of the traditional ways of ensuring trustworthy results used in environmental science and of communicating them work contrary to the general goal of providing the political system and the public with as good an input as possible in the decision making process. For example, it is widely accepted that scientists should only communicate results fulfilling the traditional scientific standard for hypothesis testing. The need for introducing complementary norms in environmental science is illustrated by a recent discussion among scientists on how the precautionary principle should be used in the context of marine biological studies. This discussion highlights the importance of the use of statistical power in communicating scientific results to decision makers and to the general public as well as to the scientific peers. We argue that it would be unethical to report only certainties—because of the need of early warnings—and it would in the same way be unethical to hide the uncertainties. Environmental science can make a better contribution to environmental decision making, if the available knowledge is communicated in a manner which allows for insight on how strong the evidence is.     

Power and the origins of unhappiness: Working with individuals

Evidence that the ‘ultimate repressed’ in our understanding of emotional distress is power can be gleaned even from Freud's writing. This is a form of repression which community psychology is well placed to lift. Impossible though it is to stand outside the ‘apparatus of power’ (and, therefore to give a complete analysis of it), we cannot achieve an accurate account of the causes of human unhappiness without taking its operations into account as fully as possible. The psychological therapies do have an implicit notion of will power, but this serves only to distract our attention from the external, material nature of power. We have to be careful, moreover, not to ‘psychologize’ power by trying to turn it into an internal attribute to be ‘switched on’ by an essentially mysterious process of ‘empowerment’. We need to specify empirically the types of power that contribute to ‘clinical’ distress and give an account of ‘therapy’ in terms of the powers to which it has access (recognizing also that these are limited).     

SIX CHARACTERISTICS OF A POSTPATRIARCHAL CHRISTIANITY

Abstract. Christianity is best understood not as a set of timeless doctrines, but as a historical movement capable of change and growth. In this respect, Christianity is like a science. Heretofore, most instances of Christianity have exhibited certain ways of thinking that, taken as a whole, have led to the subordination of women (and the Earth and animals as well) to men in power. This article describes these ways of thinking, then contrasts six ways of thinking and acting that can inform postpatriarchal Christianity and science.     

Alternative test criteria in covariance structure analysis: A unified approach

In the context of covariance structure analysis, a unified approach to the asymptotic theory of alternative test criteria for testing parametric restrictions is provided. The discussion develops within a general framework that distinguishes whether or not the fitting function is asymptotically optimal, and allows the null and alternative hypothesis to be only approximations of the true model. Also, the equivalent of the information matrix, and the asymptotic covariance matrix of the vector of summary statistics, are allowed to be singular. When the fitting function is not asymptotically optimal, test statistics which have asymptotically a chi-square distribution are developed as a natural generalization of more classical ones. Issues relevant for power analysis, and the asymptotic theory of a testing related statistic, are also investigated.This research has been supported by the U.S.-Spanish Joint Committee for Cultural and Educational Cooperation, grant number V-B.854020. The author wishes to express his gratitude to P. M. Bentler who provided very helpful suggestions and research facilities—with an stimulating working environment—at the University of California, Los Angeles, where this work was undertaken. Thanks are also due to W. E. Saris who provided very valuable comments to earlier versions of this paper. Finally, it has also to be acknowledged the editor's and reviewers suggestions which led to substantial improvements of this article.     

不同权力关系对消极特质否定句使用偏向的影响

采用固定反应范式和自由反应范式, 通过创设语用情景, 考察不同权力关系对消极特质否定句使用偏向的影响。结果表明：(1)低权力者评价高权力者时, 被试倾向于使用否定方式(如“不聪明的”), 并认为否定的表述方式合适性较高, 出现否定偏向; 而高权力者评价低权力者, 或者权力平级时则没有否定偏向的出现, 肯定表述(如“愚蠢的”)被更多使用; (2)权力平级时, 社会距离会影响消极特质否定句的使用, 社会距离越远, 消极特质否定句的使用越少; 社会距离越近, 消极特质否定句的使用越多。结果表明, 权力关系与社会距离是影响消极特质否定句使用偏向的重要因素。     

非任务相关条件下社会权力对愤怒表情加工的影响

之前的研究表明权力能够影响愤怒表情的加工，但是并不清楚当愤怒刺激是非目标任务刺激时(非任务相关条件下)，权力是否影响以及如何影响愤怒表情的加工。本研究采用事件相关电位技术，首先操纵情绪观察者（被试）和情绪表达者（目标）的权力水平（高VS 低），之后采用修正的oddball范式考察当愤怒刺激是非目标任务刺激时，情绪观察者和表达者的权力水平对愤怒情绪加工的影响。行为结果表明，与高权力个体相比，低权力个体在识别年老面孔目标时成绩更低。脑电结果发现，与高权力个体相比，低权力个体对中性目标刺激和愤怒的非目标刺激均产生了更强的N170波幅，表现出更强的敏感性。该研究结果说明，高权力个体的行为成绩优于低权力个体的行为成绩，即使在非任务相关条件下，与高权力个体相比，低权力个体对愤怒情绪刺激的早期敏感性仍然更强。     

Power Bases and Attribution in Three Cultures

Abstract

The authors used a Saudi context to verify the cross-cultural generality of findings (A. Rodrigues & K. L. Lloyd, 1998) reported for U.S. and Brazilian samples in which compliant behavior caused by reward, informational, and referent influences was perceived as more controllable and more internal than compliant behavior resulting from legitimate, expert, and coercive influences. This differential attribution led, in turn, to different affective and behavioral responses. In the present study, cognitive and affective reactions of Saudi students were measured with regard to compliant behavior (leading to a good outcome or a bad outcome) caused by each of the 6 bases of power described by B. H. Raven (1965). As expected, power bases had significant effects. However, when the outcome of the compliant behavior was bad, compliant behavior caused by a coercive influence led to the perception of more internality and controllability. Also—and not found in previous studies—the perception of less internality and controllability of compliant behavior was caused by an informational influence. Findings are discussed in the light of related research and Saudi cultural characteristics.     

A Comparison of the Neurotic Tendencies of Students of Different Racial Ancestry in Hawaii

ABSTRACT

Research has shown that altruism plays a role in mate choice, and recent studies suggest it is most important for long-term relationships. This study examined whether altruism is preferred for long-term relationships for both males and females. This was achieved using two versions of the Mate Preferences Towards Altruistic Traits (MPAT) scale that assessed preferences for short-term and long-term relationships. Both males and females significantly preferred altruistic mates for long-term relationships, and the size of this preference was greater than for other traits in mate choice. This provides support for previous findings that state that altruism conveys information about an individual's partner/parenting qualities or good character.     

Sample Size Planning for Detecting Mediation Effects: A Power Analysis Procedure Considering Uncertainty in Effect Size Estimates

Abstract

When planning mediation studies, researchers are often interested in the sample size needed to achieve adequate power for testing mediation. Power depends on population effect sizes, which are unknown in practice. In conventional power analysis, effect size estimates, however, are often used as population values, which could result in underpowered studies. Uncertainty in effect size estimates has been considered in other sample size planning contexts (e.g., t-test, ANOVA), but has not been handled properly for planning mediation studies. In the current study, we proposed an easy-to-use sample size planning method for testing mediation with uncertainty in effect size estimates considered. We conducted simulation studies to demonstrate the impact of uncertainty in effect size estimates on power of testing mediation, and to provide sample size suggestions under different levels of uncertainty. Empirical examples were provided to illustrate the application of our method. R functions and a web application were developed to facilitate implementation.