Moral Theory in the Fiction of Isabelle de Charrière: The Case of Three Women

Not all those who write philosophy are recognized as philosophers. In this paper I argue that Dutch writer Isabelle de Charrière, usually known as a novelist, is actually engaged in doing moral philosophy. In the second half of the eighteenth century, Charrière wrote novels about characters who endorsed moral theories and commitments. Her novels track the dilemmas that these characters face in trying to live according their moral theories and commitments. I consider the case for treating fiction as philosophically valuable, and argue that Charrière's novels fall into the category of philosophically valuable fiction.     

Influence of Maternal Denomination, God Concepts, and Child-Rearing Practices on Young Children's God Concepts

This study tests a model of individual differences in God concepts among kindergarteners, based on social learning and projection theory. Relations among maternal education, religious denomination, God concepts, child-rearing practices, and young children's God concepts were examined. Subjects were 363 Dutch preschoolers (mean age = 66 months) and 271 of their mothers belonging to three religious denominations (open Christian, orthodox Christian, and nonaffiliated). Child-rearing practices as well as God concepts were measured using questionnaires. God concepts were operationalized as ideas about potential characteristics of God. The model was partly supported. Maternal orthodox Christian denomination, God concepts, and child-rearing practices all had effects on children's "potent God" concept, confirming all parts of the model. Differences in children's "punishing God" concept were explained by strict child-rearing practices, providing evidence for projection theory only. Children's "loving and caring God" concepts were predicted by mothers'"loving God" concept, lending support for social learning theory .     

Negativity and potency effects in impression formation

This study examined the combined effects of likeability-related and potency-related information in an impression formation setting, using a 2 (likeability of target behaviour: high/low)×2(potency: high/low) design. Presumably, the behaviour of a strong, dislikeable person can produce more severe consequences than the behaviour of a weak, dislikeable or a strong, likeable person and, consequently, should be perceived as more informative. As predicted, judgements of the target person's likeability and potency indicated that (a) dislikeable behaviour carries more weight in likeability judgements when it co-occurs with strong than with weak behaviour, and that (b) strong behaviour carries more weight in potency judgements when it co-occurs with dislikeable than with likeable behaviour. These results suggest that the informativeness of behaviour is not only a function of its perceived causes (i.e. underlying dispositions) but also of its potential consequences for others.     

Co‐Witness Influence on Children's Memory Reports: The Difference is in the Details1

This study examined the effect of social influence on children's witness reports, with respect to a number of details varying in centrality. Children (N = 115; age = 10 years, 4 months to 13 years, 8 months) were interviewed about a personally experienced event. Half of the children were interviewed together with a confederate who answered the interview questions before the child did, while the other half were interviewed alone. Children were influenced by the confederate's answers to withhold some critical details observed (omission errors), but not to add details not observed (commission errors). When the children were asked to follow up on their reports, truthful reports contained more information than did false reports.     

In search of a science‐based application: A learning tool for reading acquisition

This is a story about the fate of a psychological application: from its conception to the optimistic vision surrounding its future. We hope that this application – an enjoyable learning game (www or mobile phone‐based, available free of charge to the end users) for children – can at best help millions of children in their reading acquisition in the future. Its basis was created by following intensively the development of children with (N = 107) and without (N = 92) genetic (familial) risk for dyslexia from birth to puberty in the Jyväskylä Longitudinal study of Dyslexia (JLD)‐project. We summarize some of the major findings of the JLD in order to facilitate understanding of the reasons and logic behind the development of the game. Originally intended as a research tool for reading acquisition, its potential for prevention of reading difficulties was quickly recognized.     

STRUCTURED STRATEGY INSTRUCTION: INVESTIGATING AN INTERVENTION FOR IMPROVING SIXTH-GRADERS' READING COMPREHENSION

ABSTRACT

The author assesses students’ understanding of several print‐related concepts toward the conclusion of one year of formal reading instruction. There may be some need for teachers to alter their language of instruction so as to eliminate specialized terms that create confusion among beginning readers.     

The Integral Place of Religion in the Lives of Rural African–American Women Who Use Cocaine

To understand the culture of rural African–American women who use cocaine, ethnographic research was conducted in rural North Central Florida using in-depth interviews and participant observations with 30 respondents. Fourteen major themes emerged from the data; however, this paper focuses on one theme, that of religion. Nine sub-themes about religion and spirituality emerged. Religion was viewed as a personal relationship with God, which is not dependent on socializing with other church members, but was helpful in sustaining the respondents. While religiosity was a stable and consistent place in the respondents’ lives and some relied on their faith in God to replace their addiction, faith was not uniformly utilized by all respondents in this manner. Religiosity among African–American women who use cocaine cannot solely overcome the lack of drug treatment or treatment options and the stigma associated with drug use although it maybe a resiliency factor, which warrant promoting.Dr. Emma J. Brown, Ph.D., A.P.R.N., B.C., F.A.A.N., is an associate professor at the University of Central Florida in the School of Nursing. Dr. Brown’s primary area of research is STD/HIV prevention intervention among rural adolescents, women of color, and individuals who ab(use) illegal drugs. Dr. Brown’s secondary area of research is drug ab(use) prevention interventions among rural populations.     

Is the truth in the details? Extended narratives help distinguishing false “memories” from false “reports”

The present study examined the effects of fantasy proneness on false "reports" and false "memories", of existent and non-existent footage of a public event. We predicted that highly fantasy prone individuals would be more likely to stand by their initial claim of having seen a film of the event than low fantasy prone participants when prompted for more details about their experiences. Eighty creative arts students and 80 other students were asked whether they had seen CCTV footage preceding the attack on Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh up to, and including, non-existent footage of the actual moment of the attack. If affirmative, they were probed for extended narratives of what they claimed to have seen. Overall, 64% of participants provided a false "report" by answering yes to the initial question. Of these, 30% provided no explicit details of the attack, and a further 15% retracted their initial answer in their narratives. This left 19% of the sample who appeared to have false "memories" because they provided explicit details of the actual moment of the attack. Women scored higher than men and art students scored higher than other students on fantasy proneness, but there was no effect on levels of false reporting or false "memory". Memories were rated more vivid and clear for existent compared to non-existent aspects of the event. In sum, these data suggest a more complex relationship between memory distortions and fantasy proneness than previously observed.     

Machiavellian flexibility in negative mate retention

Among the Dark Triad traits (psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism), Machiavellianism is uniquely associated with flexibility. This flexibility should result in the use of aggressive short‐term tactics only when they do not interfere with long‐term goals. Study 1 found that individuals high in Machiavellianism differed from those high in psychopathy with respect to retrospective accounts of negative mate retention tactics. Study 2 found an interaction between Machiavellianism and relationship type such that individuals high in Machiavellianism tempered the use of negative tactics for long‐term (but not short‐term) relationships. The findings highlight the flexibility of the Machiavellianism construct and its relevance to mating strategies among the Dark Triad.