Divine Command Theory and Theistic Activism

If the divine will is not subject to any principle, and God controls all truths including moral truths, morality will be arbitrary at the deepest level. It will not be possible to offer any explanation of why God has willed certain actions rather than their contraries. Throughout the history of philosophical debate there have been many attempts to support the dependence of moral truths on God's command (or divine command theory) and at the same time to avoid this charge of arbitrariness. In the West, one such an attempt has been made by Thomas V. Morris and Christopher Menzel ( 1986 , hereafter M&M), who refer to their position as theistic activism. In this paper I will discuss their view and argue that: 1) their position does not satisfy the requirements of divine freedom, and that 2) to regard moral truths as necessary and unalterable is not adequate.     

“Everybody knows it’s true”: Social dominance orientation and right-wing authoritarianism moderate false consensus for stereotypic beliefs

European American university students (N = 89) judged the percentage of African Americans who possess 16 traits (e.g., poor, violent, and emotionally expressive) and then estimated how other students would make the same judgments. Participants also completed measures of social dominance orientation (SDO) and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA). Individuals with both high SDO and high RWA held the least positive views of African Americans. False consensus emerged in the form of a significant positive average within-person partial correlation between participants’ own ratings and their judgments of how other students would respond, controlling for the actual responses of other students. False consensus was positively related to SDO and a significant SDO × RWA interaction indicated that false consensus was highest for participants with both high SDO and high RWA. Results suggest that hierarchy-legitimizing beliefs in the form of stereotypes may be sustained internally through false consensus, especially among those most prone to prejudice.     

Comparing online group therapy based on emotional schema therapy with transdiagnostic therapy in improving distress tolerance and cognitive emotion regulation among university students with adjustment disorders due to romantic break-ups

This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of online group therapy based on emotional schema therapy with that of transdiagnostic therapy in improving distress tolerance and cognitive emotion regulation among university students with adjustment disorders due to romantic break-ups. The statistical population included all students who experienced a romantic break-up in Iran in 2020, aged 18–38 years. Due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, participants were selected online. After filling in initial forms, diagnostic interviews were conducted through purposive sampling. A group was then randomly selected and divided into three groups: the first experimental group (transdiagnostic group therapy) included 15 participants; the second experimental group (emotional schema therapy) consisted of 15 participants; and the third group was the control group with 15 participants. The experimental groups received ten 90-min group therapy sessions. Participants completed the Distress Tolerance Questionnaire and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire at pretest, post-test and 1-month follow-up stages. According to the results of repeated measures ANOVA, there were significant differences between the experimental and control groups (p < 0.05) in the post-test scores of distress tolerance and cognitive emotion regulation strategies. However, there were no significant differences between the two experimental groups. The results indicated that both internet-based transdiagnostic group therapy and emotional schema therapy were effective interventions in mitigating symptoms of adjustment disorders due to romantic break-ups among university students. This highlights the potential of online group therapy as a viable option for students experiencing such disorders, particularly during pandemic-related restrictions.     

Survey of organizational job stress among physical education managers

To explore job stress among the 115 male managers in physical education from Fars province in Iran, participants completed the Job Stress Survey by Spielberger and Vagg. Analysis indicated that these managers experienced high frequency and severity of job stress, especially for an inadequate salary. Lack of organizational support contributed more to the variability of job stress among participants than job pressure.     

The role of passion for studies on academic procrastination and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

Social Psychology of Education - Procrastination is a maladaptive behaviour that students often experience in academic activities and can result in negative consequences to mental health. The...     

Nanoscale partitioning of Mn between austenite and martensite revealed by Curie temperature variations

The partitioning of Mn between deformation-induced martensite and austenite phases of a Fe?18Mn?2Al?2Si?0.04C high-Mn steel was studied by tracking variations in the Curie temperature of martensite after exposure to successively higher annealing temperatures. The increase in Curie temperature was justified by the Mn depletion of martensite. Assuming a linear relationship between the Curie temperature and Mn concentration, the average Mn concentration of martensite was expressed as a function of annealing temperature. The proposed method, which is applicable in a dilatometer with inductive heating, enables the ready estimation of Mn partitioning in intercritically annealed medium- and high-Mn steels.