CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVES,MORAL REQUIREMENTS,AND MORAL MOTIVATION

Abstract: Kant has argued that moral requirements are categorical. Kant's claim has been challenged by some contemporary philosophers; this article defends Kant's doctrine. I argue that Kant's claim captures the unique feature of moral requirements. The main arguments against Kant's claim focus on one condition that a categorical imperative must meet: to be independent of desires. I argue that there is another important, but often ignored, condition that a categorical imperative must meet, and this second condition is crucial to understanding why moral requirements are not hypothetical. I also argue that the claim that moral requirements are not categorical because they depend on desires for motivation is beside the point. The issue of whether moral requirements are categorical is not an issue about whether moral desires or feelings are necessary for moral motivation but are rather an issue about the ground of moral desires or moral feelings. Moral requirements are categorical because they are requirements of reason, and reason makes moral desires or feelings possible.     

Conditional effects of interventions in note-taking procedures on learning: A meta-analysis

Abstract:  A meta-analysis was conducted on 17 studies (27 separate samples and 73 effect sizes) examining the effects of interventions in the note-taking procedures on learning from lectures or texts. The overall mean weighted effect size ( d ) for the intervention groups versus the no intervention groups was 0.02. To explore what factors influence the intervention effects, moderator analyses were conducted separately for intervention type, schooling level, presentation method, publication source, and publication year. The results indicated that students at a lower schooling level gained some benefits from the interventions, whereas students at a higher schooling level did not. Also, the intervention effects were greater for journal articles than for doctoral dissertations and Education Resources Information Center reports. Other variables did not significantly account for the variance in effect sizes.     

Experimental studies of sequential selection and assignment with relative ranks

We study a class of sequential selection and assignment problems in which a decision maker (DM) must sequentially assign applicants to positions with the objective of minimizing expected cost. In modeling this class of problems, we assume that on each period the DM is only informed of the rank of the present applicant relative to the applicants that she previously observed and assigned. We first present the optimal decision policy that we subsequently use as a normative benchmark, and then report results from three experiments designed to study sequential assignment behavior. In comparing the aggregate results from all three experiments to the optimal decision policy, we identify a systematic bias, called the middleness bias, to over‐assign applicants to intermediate positions. The results also reveal a strong bias for early applicants to be over‐assigned to important positions. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Individual-oriented and socially oriented cultural conceptions of subjective well-being: Conceptual analysis and scale development

Adopting a 'cross-cultural indigenous approach' (CCI), we attempted a conceptual analysis of cultural conceptions of SWB in terms of individual-oriented SWB (ISWB) and socially oriented SWB (SSWB) views. Also incorporating findings from our previous qualitative studies, a culturally balanced and fair measurement, The Individual-oriented and Socially oriented cultural conceptions of SWB Scales (ISSWB) was developed and evaluated in two studies involving Chinese and American participants. The 51-item version of the new measure showed good internal consistency reliability, test–retest reliability, convergent and discriminant validity. Further analysis showed that the Chinese possessed stronger SSWB than the Americans, while the Americans possessed stronger ISWB than the Chinese. There were also intracultural differences among the Chinese people. Overall, the studies showed the utility of ISSWB scales for future studies.     

Happy People Become Happier through Kindness: A Counting Kindnesses Intervention

We examined the relationship between the character strength of kindness and subjective happiness (Study 1), and the effects of a counting kindnesses intervention on subjective happiness (Study 2). In Study 1, participants were 175 Japanese undergraduate students and in Study 2, participants were 119 Japanese women (71 in the intervention group and 48 in the control group). Results showed that: (a) Happy people scored higher on their motivation to perform, and their recognition and enactment of kind behaviors. (b) Happy people have more happy memories in daily life in terms of both quantity and quality. (c) Subjective happiness was increased simply by counting one’s own acts of kindness for one week. (d) Happy people became more kind and grateful through the counting kindnesses intervention. Discussion centers on the importance of kindness in producing subjective happiness.     

Chickens or eggs? A follow‐up case study exploring links between physical and psychological impact of Tourette's syndrome and sexual abuse

This follow‐up case study highlights the complex relationship when working at the interface between physical and psychological symptoms. The paper draws upon conversations between an ex‐client and myself, held seven years after the end of our six year therapeutic relationship. Conversational interviews, based upon social constructionist beliefs, led to an unexpected exploration of the client's subsequent diagnosis of Tourette's syndrome (given several years after the end of therapy) and evolved into a struggle to reach a shared understanding of how she now makes connection between her problem with eating in public, her neck and facial tics, and childhood sexual abuse. Our research relationship provided both of us with a rare opportunity to reflect upon how she had made meaning of her counselling and its outcomes. The paper draws attention to the impact of counselling and therapy discourses concerning sexual abuse on the work we did at the time and asks how that work might be different today. It also helps us understand the layers of complexity and ambiguity contained within the client's stories. This multi‐layered case study represents the overlap and ‘messiness’ that mirrors the ‘lived experience’ of the persons involved, and provides an example of how co‐constructed research conversations can evoke stories that create meaning as they are told.     

The Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale: Sex,Race, and Grade Effects for Applications with Middle School Students

Preliminary normative data for the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS) total score were collected from 2,987 South Carolina middle school students in Grades 6 though 8. Tests for gender and ethnicity (African-American vs. Caucasian) effects were non-significant. Statistically significant differences between grade levels were discovered, but the magnitude of these differences was quite small. Thus, a single set of norms is appropriate for use when interpreting middle school students’ responses to the BMSLSS.     

大学生自我价值感与主观幸福感的关系研究

对384名大学生采用生活满意度量表、积极情感、消极情感量表和自我价值感量表进行了测试。结果表明:除个人取向的道德自我价值观外,自我价值感的三个维度和两种取向与主观幸福感的三维度之间有着显著的相关。多元回归分析后发现:总体自我价值感与主观幸福感关系密切且呈较强的间接联系,一般自我价值感与主观幸福感的回归效应最为明显。     

内隐序列学习的表征机制及年龄效应研究

该研究从年龄效应这一独特视角探讨了内隐序列学习的表征机制。结果表明:(1)内隐序列学习存在具体联结和抽象层级编码双重表征机制,且在该研究中以抽象编码为主;(2)老、青、幼三组被试的内隐序列学习无显著差异,间接支持了具体联结机制不起主要作用的结论。该研究的推论是:(1)内隐序列学习的表征是一个遵循“最优级编码”的动态过程;(2)该过程不涉及注意机制和短时记忆。     

Lexical effects on compensation for coarticulation: a tale of two systems?

We reply to McQueen's commentary by comparing the parsimony of his account of relevant data and the computational model he favors with the explanation and model we favor. His account requires multiple independent explanations and mechanisms. Ours requires one: lexical feedback.