Logical Foundations for Belief Representation

This essay presents a philosophical and computational theory of the representation of de re, de dicto, nested, and quasi-indexical belief reports expressed in natural language. The propositional Semantic Network Processing System (SNePS) is used for representing and reasoning about these reports. In particular, quasi-indicators (indexical expressions occurring in intentional contexts and representing uses of indicators by another speaker) pose problems far natural-language representation and reasoning systems, because—unlike pure indicators—they cannot be replaced by coreferential NPs without changing the meaning of the embedding sentence. Therefore, the referent of the quasi-indicator must be represented in such a way that no invalid coreferential claims are entailed. The importance of quasi-indicators is discussed, and it is shown that all four of the above categories of belief reports can be handled by a single representational technique using belief spaces containing intensional entities. Inference rules and belief-revision techniques for the system ore also examined.     

Why are you passionately in love? Attachment styles as determinants of romantic passion and conflict resolution strategies

Motivation and Emotion - Three studies explored the role of attachment styles as determinants of romantic passion and investigated how the interplay between these variables contributes to conflict...     

Pathological laughter as a symptom of midbrain infarction

Pathological laughter is an uncommon symptom usually caused by bilateral, diffuse cerebral lesions. It has rarely been reported in association with isolated cerebral lesions. Midbrain involvement causing pathological laughter is extremely unusual. We describe three patients who developed pathological laughter after midbrain and pontine-midbrain infarction. In two patients a small infarction in the left paramedian midbrain was detected, whereas the third one sustained a massive bilateral pontine infarction extending to the midbrain. Laughter heralded stroke by one day in one patient and occurred as a delayed phenomenon three months after stroke in another. Pathological laughter ceased within a few days in two patients and was still present at a two year follow-up in the patient with delayed-onset laughter. Pathological laughter can herald midbrain infarction or follow stroke either shortly after onset of symptoms or as a delayed phenomenon. Furthermore, small unilateral midbrain infarctions can cause this rare complication.     

Augmenting the theory of planned behaviour: Motivation to provide practical assistance and emotional support to parents

Abstract

Surveys indicate that the highest proportion of people receiving informal care are parents (Green, 1988), yet a literature search showed that psychological studies of motivation to care for parents are limited. The present study utilised an augmented model of the theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1985) including measures of anticipated regret and carer self-concept, to examine individuals' motivations to provide practical assistance and emotional support to their parents. Intention to provide emotional support was predicted by the theory of planned behaviour constructs, while intention to provide practical assistance was predicted by subjective norm and perceived behavioural control but not by attitude. Anticipated regret substantially improved prediction of both types of behavioural intention. These findings indicate that providing practical assistance and emotional support are motivated behaviours, governed by both rational and emotional factors, suggesting that future research may benefit from adopting a broader perspective based upon social psychological theory     

Dimensions of interpersonal orientation: Cross-cultural studies regarding the structure of the ‘DOI Kit’

The DOI Kit is a four-version instrument (Junior Self and Other-Report, and Adult Self-and Other-Report) developed in Spain to measure ‘Dimensions of Interpersonal Orientation’ (Spanish: ‘Dimensiones de Orientación Interpersonal’ or DOI), which are defined as prevalent postures in interpersonal behaviour. The DOI Kit has six first-level scales that collapse into two broad oblique dimensions: Prosocial versus Antisocial Behaviour, and Sociability versus Unsociability.The aim of this article is to find out whether the first- and second-level structure of the Spanish DOI Kit can also be applied to data gathered in Chile and in Germany. A total of eight groups of data were studied. In order to find the best common structure for Spanish, Chilean, and German samples, Simultaneous Component Analysis (SCA) was applied. SCA shows an excellent replication of the original DOI Kit structure. This is also found when separate factor analyses (varimax and oblimin rotations) are performed.     

Collective Trauma From the Lab to the Real World: The Effects of the Holocaust on Contemporary Israeli Political Cognitions

This research tested whether chronic or contextually activated Holocaust exposure is associated with more extreme political attitudes among Israeli Jews. Study 1 (N = 57), and Study 2 (N = 61) found that Holocaust primes increased support for aggressive policies against a current adversary and decreased support for political compromise via an amplified sense of identification with Zionist ideology. These effects, however, were obtained only under an exclusive but not an inclusive framing of the Holocaust. Study 3 (N = 152) replicated these findings in a field study conducted around Holocaust Remembrance Day and showed that the link between Holocaust exposure, ideological identification, and militancy also occurs in real‐life settings. Study 4 (N = 867) demonstrated in a nationally representative survey that Holocaust survivors and their descendants exhibited amplified existential threat responses to contemporary political violence, which were associated with militancy and opposition to peaceful compromises. Together, these studies illustrate the Holocaustization of Israeli political cognitions 70 years later.     

Quasi-Indexicals and Knowledge Reports

We present a computational analysis of de re, de dicto, and de se belief and knowledge reports. Our analysis solves a problem first observed by Hector-Neri Castaneda, namely, that the simple rule '(A knows that P) implies P' apparently does not hold if P contains a quasi-indexical. We present a single rule, in the context of a knowledge-representation and reasoning system, that holds for all P, including those containing quasi-indexicals. In so doing, we explore the difference between reasoning in a public communication language and in a knowledge-representation language, we demonstrate the importance of representing proper names explicitly, and we provide support for the necessity of considering sentences in the context of extended discourse (e.g., written narrative) in order to fully capture certain features of their semantics.