Llamas use social information from conspecifics and humans to solve a spatial detour task

Animal Cognition - Learning by observing others (i.e. social learning) is an important mechanism to reduce the costs of individual learning. Social learning can occur between conspecifics but also...     

On a three-valued logical calculus and its application to the analysis of the paradoxes of the classical extended functional calculus

A three-valued propositional logic is presented, within which the three values are read as ‘true’, ‘false’ and ‘nonsense’. A three-valued extended functional calculus, unrestricted by the theory of types, is then developed. Within the latter system, Bochvar analyzes the Russell paradox and the Grelling-Weyl paradox, formally demonstrating the meaninglessness of both.     

Memory issues pertaining to social marketing messages about behavior enactment versus non-enactment

This article examines efficiency issues pertaining to social marketing messages about behavior enactment (e.g., smoker) vs. non-enactment (e.g., nonsmoker). Building on a wealth of psycholinguistics research, we posit that underlying differences in the processing and storage of word concepts with affixal negations affect learning and memory for these concepts (i.e., associations with non-enactment concepts will be harder to learn and remember than associations with enactment concepts). Two experiments support our predictions, suggesting that messages about enactment will demonstrate superior efficiency. Implications of study findings are discussed in terms of possibilities for improving the efficiency of social marketing messages about non-enactment.     

When prosocials act like proselfs in a commons dilemma

Past research has shown that people with prosocial orientations exercise restraint when collectively shared resources are close to being depleted, whereas people with proself orientations tend to maintain high levels of consumption. This research seeks to extend this important finding by examining whether the presence of noise in social-ecological interaction may modify the effects of social values in a commons dilemma. Participants were taking resources from a gradually declining pool. For half of the participants, the intended consumption was subject to incidental increases in consumption (negative noise). Consistent with hypotheses, noise exerted detrimental effects on cooperation when resources became scarce, yet these effects were only observed for prosocials, not for proselfs. These results indicate that noise in social-ecological interaction plays an important role in common-pool management. It tends to undermine cooperation among those who are otherwise inclined to save resources.     

No control,no drive: how noise may undermine conservation behavior in a commons dilemma

Sometimes people may no longer engage in conservational behavior (e.g., to reduce emissions) because their attempts to do so have been thwarted by “negative noise”, or external forces that may cause otherwise cooperative intentions to translate into non‐cooperative action (e.g., strikes prevented to commute by public transport rather than by car). The purpose of the present research is to examine whether experiences with negative noise in a commons dilemma may undermine conservational motivation and behavior, even in a subsequent commons dilemma that is free of noise. Participants first interacted in a commons dilemma task—with noise versus without noise—in which the common pool was sustained versus deteriorating. Afterwards, participants were involved in an identical second task in the same pool size condition but noise‐free for everybody. Consistent with hypotheses, participants who faced noise and a deteriorating resource in the first task exhibited lower levels of conservation in the second task than did participants who were always acting free of noise. This pattern was mediated by a reduced motivation to preserve the common pool, suggesting that the experience of noise in combination with a decline in collective resources may especially undermine cooperative motivation and behavior. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Roles of Shared Stereotypes and Shared Processing Goals on Mock Jury Decision Making

Some research on creativity has linked higher levels of neuroticism with greater creative achievement, whereas existential psychology sees the neurotic as incapable of channeling anxiety through creativity. The current research examines how levels of neuroticism affect individuals' creative responses in coping with existential threats. Drawing from terror management theory and creativity research, this research conceptualizes creative endeavors as a means to ameliorate existential anxiety that possesses varying degrees of appeal to different individuals. All three experiments found an interaction between levels of neuroticism and mortality salience in determining levels of creative interest, with neuroticism either measured or primed. Specifically, mortality salience is less likely to boost creative interest among more neurotic individuals.     

Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching and the Mathematical Quality of Instruction: An Exploratory Study

This study illuminates claims that teachers' mathematical knowledge plays an important role in their teaching of this subject matter. In particular, we focus on teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT), which includes both the mathematical knowledge that is common to individuals working in diverse professions and the mathematical knowledge that is specialized to teaching. We use a series of five case studies and associated quantitative data to detail how MKT is associated with the mathematical quality of instruction. Although there is a significant, strong, and positive association between levels of MKT and the mathematical quality of instruction, we also find that there are a number of important factors that mediate this relationship, either supporting or hindering teachers' use of knowledge in practice.     

Dogs and wolves do not differ in their inhibitory control abilities in a non-social test battery

Animal Cognition - Being able to inhibit certain behaviours is of clear advantage in various situations. In particular, it has been suggested that inhibitory control plays a role in problem-solving...