Prosodic influences on the resolution of temporary ambiguity during on-line sentence processing

We present three experiments designed to investigate the role of prosody during sentence processing. The first investigated the question of whether an utterance's prosodic contour influences its comprehension on-line. We spliced the beginning and end portions of direct object and embedded clause sentences and observed the consequent effects on comprehension using a dual-task procedure to measure processing load. Our second experiment sought to determine-whether the constituent structure of these sentences could be reliably predicted using prosodic information. We found that the duration and F₀ contour associated with the main-clause verb and the following NP reliably distinguished between the direct object and embedded clause constructions. In the final experiment, we manipulated the duration of the main-clause verb and found that subjects used this information to guide their initial parse during on-line sentence comprehension. The need for a model of sentence processing that addresses the use of prosodic information is discussed.The work reported in this paper was supported in part by NTH grant DC00494.     

Self-Imagery and Attentional Control Maintenance Factors of Social Anxiety: A Comparison of Trait and State Assessments

Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment - Models of social anxiety (SA) posit that socially-evaluative fears may be maintained by biased cognitive processes such as attention and...     

A Unified Empirical Account of Responsibility Judgments*

Skeptical worries about moral responsibility seem to be widely appreciated and deeply felt. To address these worries—if nothing else to show that they are mistaken—theories of moral responsibility need to relate to whatever concept of responsibility underlies the worries. Unfortunately, the nature of that concept has proved hard to pin down. Not only do philosophers have conflicting intuitions; numerous recent empirical studies have suggested that both prosaic responsibility judgments and incompatibilist intuitions among the folk are influenced by a number of surprising factors, sometimes prompting apparently contradictory judgments. In this paper, we show how an independently motivated hypothesis about responsibility judgments provides a unified explanation of the more important results from these studies. According to this ‘Explanation Hypothesis’, to take an agent to be morally responsible for an event is to take a relevant motivational structure of the agent to be part of a significant explanation of the event. We argue that because of how explanatory interests and perspectives affect what we take as significant explanations, this analysis accounts for the puzzling variety of empirical results. If this is correct, the Explanation Hypothesis also provides a new way of understanding debates about moral responsibility.     

Sociological factors in the development of eating disorders.

In recent years, anorexia and bulimia nervosa, whether combined into a single clinical picture or considered as distinct syndromes, have reached epidemic proportions among adolescents. Professionals in the educational and physical and mental health care fields need to be aware of the influence of social pressures on teenagers' perceptions of body image and appearance. This article reviews the sociocultural, socioeconomic, and sex-related factors which contribute to the development of eating disorders. It is recommended that professionals help adolescents resist societal pressure to conform to unrealistic standards of appearance, and provide guidance on nutrition, realistic body ideals, and achievement of self-esteem, self-efficacy, interpersonal relations and coping skills.     

Guestbooks in multifaith spaces as (inter-)religious media

ABSTRACT

In recent years, various forms of multifaith spaces have been emerging in Germany which include so-called Rooms of Silence in hospitals or educational institutions as well as Gardens of Religions. So far, empirical research on these spaces has focused on their establishment or their functions within the surrounding organisations. In this article we will put a focus on the ‘user experience’ of multifaith spaces based on an analysis of guestbooks. These books are a unique source of data for a qualitative in-depth analysis as they offer an opportunity for visitors for commentary including religious references and speech acts. Drawing on two case studies from a Room of Silence within a hospital and a Garden of Religions, we investigate how users experience and appropriate multifaith spaces and how guestbooks may become media of (inter-) religious contact.