Experimental philosophers,conceptual analysts,and the rest of us

Abstract

Theories of personal identity purport to specify truth conditions for sentences of the form ‘x‐at‐t_i is the same person as y‐at‐t_j. Most philosophers nowadays agree that such truth conditions are to be stated in terms of psychological continuity. However; opinions vary as to how the notion of psychological continuity is to be understood. In a recent contribution to this journal, Slors offers an account in which psychological continuity is spelled out in terms of narrative connectedness between mental states.The present paper argues that Slors’ theory either is no theory of personal identity at all or is too weak.Towards the end of the paper, it is indicated how the problem uncovered for Slors’ theory may be avoided.     

Forgoing Debriefing in Deceptive Research: Is It Ever Ethical?

The use of deception in research is generally permitted so long as participants are debriefed at the conclusion of their participation. Several authoritative research ethics guidelines allow investigators to omit debriefing under certain circumstances, however. Here we examine various justifications for forgoing debriefing in deceptive research, including concerns about subject pool contamination, the risk that revealing the deception will be harmful or distressing to participants, and issues of practicability. We conclude that, contrary to current practice, omitting debriefing is ethically acceptable only when debriefing is impracticable, the deception is innocuous, and no reasonable person would object to involvement in the research.     

Is risk-taking propensity associated with unethical behaviors? An experimental study

Are risk-takers more likely to engage in unethical behaviors? We examined the relationship between risk-taking propensity and cheating in two experimental studies. In Study 1, we examined the relationship between subjects’ risk-taking propensity and their actual self-serving dishonesty using a gambling-like task. The results suggested that risk-taking propensity, measured using a behavioral approach, was positively correlated with actual self-serving dishonest behavior. In Study 2, we measured participants’ performances using a matrices test and found that the positive correlation still held. We found that participants with high risk-taking propensity reported a lower perceived probability of being detected, which might drive their dishonest behavior.     

Trends and Progress in Philosophy

This article is in three parts. The first discusses trends in philosophy. The second defends reliance on intuitions in philosophy from some doubts that have recently been raised. The third discusses Philip Kitcher's contention that contemporary analytic philosophy does not have its priorities straight. While the three parts are independent, there is a common theme. Each part defends what is regarded as orthodoxy from attacks. Of course there are other reasonable challenges to philosophical methodology. The article's aim is just to respond to some charges that have been made.     

Carnapian explications,experimental philosophy,and fruitful concepts

It seems natural to think that Carnapian explication and experimental philosophy can go hand in hand. But what exactly explicators can gain from the data provided by experimental philosophers remains controversial. According to an influential proposal by Shepherd and Justus, explicators should use experimental data in the process of ‘explication preparation’. Against this proposal, Mark Pinder has recently suggested that experimental data can directly assist an explicator’s search for fruitful replacements of the explicandum. In developing his argument, he also proposes a novel aspect of what makes a concept fruitful, namely, that it is taken up by the relevant community. In this paper, I defend explication preparation against Pinder’s objections and argue that his uptake proposal conflates theoretical and practical success conditions of explications. Furthermore, I argue that Pinder’s suggested experimental procedure needs substantial revision. I end by distinguishing two kinds of explication projects, and showing how experimental philosophy can contribute to each of them.     

A Preliminary Investigation of the Effects of Reading Fluency Interventions on Comprehension

Abstract

Brief experimental analyses were conducted using two dependent variables to evaluate the effectiveness of reading interventions. Specifically reading rate (words read correctly per minute) and mean reading comprehension levels for six students with reading difficulties were obtained using six different reading intervention/intervention combinations. These interventions included contingent reinforcement, listening passage preview, repeated reading, listening passage preview with contingent reinforcement, repeated reading with contingent reinforcement, and repeated reading with listening passage preview. Results suggested that no one intervention was best for all students. In addition, it was found that interventions that increased reading rate for half of the students also increased reading comprehension for the same students. Discussion focuses on student-treatment interactions, measuring student reading performance, matching treatments to students, and directions for future research.     

Assessing the Relationship Between Cold Pressor Pain Responses and Dimensions of the Anxiety Sensitivity Profile in Healthy Men and Women

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) has been shown previously to be an important factor in the perception and experience of experimentally induced pain within healthy adults. The aim of the current study was to extend this research by: (i) using the Anxiety Sensitivity Profile (ASP) as an alternative measure of AS; (ii) examining whether different coping instructions affect pain reports; and (iii) investigating potential differences between men and women. Participants were 50 healthy adults (23 males, 27 females) who were required to complete 2 versions of the cold pressor pain task; one version required the use of control instructions, whereas the other made use of acceptance‐based instructions. Although the coping instructions were found to affect pain thresholds (acceptance resulted in lower thresholds), a similar pattern of correlations were found between the pain indexes and AS under both conditions. Of the ASP subscales, the gastrointestinal and cognitive concerns components were found to be the most strongly related to pain experiences. When the analysis was conducted separately for each sex, the ASP scales were related to the self‐report measures of pain in women, whereas they were related to the behavioural measures of pain in men. These results not only confirm that AS is associated with experimental pain, but that there may be sex differences in this relationship.     

A community led approach to delivery of the Parents Plus Children's Programme for the parents of children aged 6–11

Childhood internalising and externalising disorders tend to persist when left untreated and place affected individuals at higher risk of compromised outcomes. The social costs include school dropout, unemployment, family breakdown and substance abuse. Effective preventive interventions require a public health approach. The aim of this experimental study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Parents Plus Children's Programme (PPCP) delivered in community and school contexts by frontline professionals from diverse backgrounds. Participating parents with children aged 6 to 11 were randomly assigned to a Treatment Group (n = 44) or a no treatment Control Group (n = 31). The efficacy of training was assessed using self-report questionnaires completed by participants in both Treatment and Control groups. Significant post treatment improvements were recorded on measures of parenting-related stress, child problem behaviour and parent satisfaction with medium to large effect sizes. Treatment group results were maintained at six-month follow-up. These results support the efficacy of the PPCP as a community led intervention with potential to prevent and interrupt child behaviour problems through supported parenting practice, before problems become critical and entrenched.     

预设路径模型及其在认知心理学研究中的应用

预设路径模型(Fixed-links modeling)是在结构方程模型框架下发展出的用于分析心理学实验数据的统计模型。该类模型的主要特征是根据前期理论基础和实验设计,通过预先设定模型中显变量与潜变量之间的因素载荷矩阵实现对显变量方差的拆分。因素载荷矩阵的设定主要基于实验水平与所表征的心理过程之间的关系,选取相应函数来表征不同实验水平之间的变化趋势。该模型在表征工作记忆、注意和学习的内部加工过程及揭示不同认知过程的具体联系中发挥了重要作用。     

Successes and failures in resisting cigarettes affect partner support for smoking cessation

Objective: Potential support providers may rely on observable behaviours (e.g. resisting a cigarette vs. smoking) to determine how much and what kind of support to provide. We evaluated the effect of smokers’ salient behaviour on partners’ likelihood of providing positive and negative support.

Design: Partners of smokers (N = 131) were randomly assigned to recall a time when their partner either successfully resisted a cigarette, failed to resist a cigarette or a control condition (no recall). All participants reported the likelihood of providing positive and negative support to their partner. Perceived commitment to quitting smoking was measured as a potential mediator.

Main Outcome Measures: The main outcome was intention to provide support for a quit attempt.

Results: Participants who recalled their partners’ past failures reported more intentions to engage in negative support and smaller ratios of positive to negative intended support than did participants in the success or control condition. These effects were partially mediated by perception of commitment to quitting.

Conclusion: Lapses in a quit attempt may change the nature of the support quitters receive. Interventions to improve communication between partners about the smoker’s commitment to quitting and experienced challenges may result in better support.