Interpolation properties of superintuitionistic logics

A family of prepositional logics is considered to be intermediate between the intuitionistic and classical ones. The generalized interpolation property is defined and proved is the following. Theorem on interpolation. For every intermediate logic L the following statements are equivalent:

1. Craig's interpolation theorem holds in L,
2. L possesses the generalized interpolation property,
3. Robinson's consistency statement is true in L.

There are just 7 intermediate logics in which Craig's theorem holds. Besides, Craig's interpolation theorem holds in L iff all the modal companions of L possess Craig's interpolation property restricted to those formulas in which every variable is proceeded by necessity symbol.     

The relationship of positive and negative expressiveness to the processing of emotion information

The tendency to express emotions non-verbally is positively related to perception of emotions in oneself. This study examined its relationship to perception of emotions in others. In 40 healthy adults, EEG theta synchronization was used to indicate emotion processing following presentation of happy, angry, and neutral faces. Both positive and negative expressiveness were associated with higher emotional sensitivity, as shown by cortical responses to facial expressions during the early, unconscious processing stage. At the late, conscious processing stage, positive expressiveness was associated with higher sensitivity to happy faces but lower sensitivity to angry faces. Thus, positive expressiveness predisposes people to allocate fewer attentional resources for conscious perception of angry faces. In contrast, negative expressiveness was consistently associated with higher sensitivity. The effects of positive expressiveness occurred in cortical areas that deal with emotions, but the effects of negative expressiveness occurred in areas engaged in self-referential processes in the context of social relationships.     

Genomic Counseling in the Newborn Period: Experiences and Views of Genetic Counselors

As newborn screening (NBS) technology expands, genetic counselors will become more involved in counseling for NBS results, including those potentially generated from whole exome sequencing (WES) and eventually whole genome sequencing (WGS). Members of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) responded to an online survey (n?=?208) regarding genomic counseling in the context of NBS. The majority of participants (82.1 %) did not feel prepared to counsel for WGS results from NBS. Counselors with previous WES/WGS counseling experience felt more prepared (p?=?0.005) to counsel for WGS results from NBS than those without WES/WGS experience. Overall, counselors expressed ethical and practical concerns regarding WGS in NBS, as well as a need for additional training regarding this application of the technology before it is implemented. Based on the results of this study, genetic counselors voice caution to the larger genetics community regarding expansion of NBS to incorporate genomic sequencing and advocate for additional education prior to initiating WGS into NBS.     

Stereotypical attitudes amongst black students at a rural historically black South African university

This study investigated stereotypical attitudes towards race amongst Black students (N=274) attending a historically Black South African university (females=62%; mean age of 22.15 years; SD=3.00 years). Data on group stereotyping by race were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. The data were analysed for themes using discourse analysis. The findings indicated that Black students from a rural background stereotyped those from urban centres as lacking in African culture and being overly westernised. Conversely, rural Blacks from urban settings stereotyped those from rural areas as respectful, cultured and materially poor. Regardless of geographical origin, the Black students perceived English-speaking Whites as competent and friendly, while Afrikaans-speaking Whites were stereotyped as racist, aggressive and hardworking. The Black students perceived Indian South Africans as unethical and deceitful whilst Coloureds were noted to lack culture and to be aggressive. Findings suggest stereotypical racist language or discourse to be persistent among a student population with historical disadvantage.     

Amalgamation and interpolation in normal modal logics

This is a survey of results on interpolation in propositional normal modal logics. Interpolation properties of these logics are closely connected with amalgamation properties of varieties of modal algebras. Therefore, the results on interpolation are also reformulated in terms of amalgamation.     

Factor Analysis of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist in a Population of Children with Voiding Dysfunction and/or Nocturnal Enuresis

The research objective was to identify the factor structure of the pediatric symptom checklist (PSC) in children with voiding dysfunction and/or nocturnal enuresis who were seen in a pediatric urology clinic. Retrospective chart reviews were conducted for 498 consecutive patients, ages 6–16, who were seen over a 13-month period. The PSC, a 35-item measure used to screen for psychosocial difficulties, was completed by the patient’s caregiver. Confirmatory factor analyses using three previous models were conducted. A four factor model comprised of internalizing, externalizing, attention problems, and chronic illness factors represented the best fit to the data. Within this population, the PSC appears to capture internalizing and externalizing problems, difficulties with attention, and possible side effects of a medical condition. This information could aid clinicians in assessing adjustment difficulties within this population and concurrently allow researchers to examine whether these specific factors are related to other relevant outcomes.     

How Children and Adults Represent God's Mind

For centuries, humans have contemplated the minds of gods. Research on religious cognition is spread across sub‐disciplines, making it difficult to gain a complete understanding of how people reason about gods' minds. We integrate approaches from cognitive, developmental, and social psychology and neuroscience to illuminate the origins of religious cognition. First, we show that although adults explicitly discriminate supernatural minds from human minds, their implicit responses reveal far less discrimination. Next, we demonstrate that children's religious cognition often matches adults' implicit responses, revealing anthropomorphic notions of God's mind. Together, data from children and adults suggest the intuitive nature of perceiving God's mind as human‐like. We then propose three complementary explanations for why anthropomorphism persists in adulthood, suggesting that anthropomorphism may be (a) an instance of the anchoring and adjustment heuristic; (b) a reflection of early testimony; and/or (c) an evolutionary byproduct.     

The Role of Moral Beliefs,Memories, and Preferences in Representations of Identity

People perceive that if their memories and moral beliefs changed, they would change. We investigated why individuals respond this way. In Study 1, participants judged that identity would change more after changes to memories and widely shared moral beliefs (e.g., about murder) versus preferences and controversial moral beliefs (e.g., about abortion). The extent to which participants judged that changes would affect their relationships predicted identity change (Study 2) and mediated the relationship between type of moral belief and perceived identity change (Study 3). We discuss the role that social relationships play in judgments of identity and highlight implications for psychology and philosophy.     

Goal Setting Theory,Job Feedback,and OCB: Lessons From a Longitudinal Study

This study examines the relationships among goal setting, job feedback, and employees' formal and informal performance. We argue that the knowledge gained in the field of goal setting may be useful in understanding organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), beyond formal performance. A longitudinal design based on two points in time (T1, T2) and four research stages (A-D) was developed to test a series of hypotheses among student-employees. 176 participants provided data on goal setting (goal specificity and goal difficulty) and on work attitudes (job satisfaction, organizational justice, job commitment) at T1 (stage A). 23 supervisors provided additional data on formal performance and OCB at T1 (stage B) and at T2 (stage D). Employees were given feedback regarding their formal and informal work performance between T1 and T2 (stage C). The results generally support a positive relationship between goal setting, formal performance, and altruistic OCB at T1 but not at T2. Furthermore, job feedback was related to formal performance and to altruistic and compliance OCB at T2. Implications of these findings are discussed in both the context of goal setting theory and the ongoing study of OCB.     

Effect of stress induced by electrical stimulation of the hypothalamus on the electrical stability of the heart in rabbits

The influence of stress on cardiac electrical stability (CES) and chaotic dynamics of the electrical activity of the heart was studied in acute and chronic experiments in rabbits. Stress was caused by 2-3 h daily immobilization of the animals with electrical stimulation of emotiogenic centers of the hypothalamus through implanted electrodes. CES was estimated by the thresholds for ventricular arrhythmia: paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia, repeated ventricular extrasystoles and ventricular fibrillation (VF). The results showed: (i) CES in stressed rabbits was decreased significantly compared with controls; (ii) the level of chaos at the onset of VF in stressed rabbits was increased significantly compared with controls; (iii) heart rate of stressed rabbits was significantly greater than in controls; (iv) changes in CES parameters depended on whether stress was acute or chronic; (v) acute stress promoted transition of spontaneously reversible VF into spontaneously irreversible VF. Thus, stress increased the degree of disorganization of heart electrical activity and also decreased its electrical stability. The experiments indicate that stress is a destabilizing factor influencing the reversibility of heart rate disorders. The probability of such reversibility depends on whether stress is acute or chronic: acute stress is more likely to lead to irreversible spontaneous VF.