Science and politics: Dangerous liaisons

In contrast to the opinion of numerous authors (e.g. R. Rudner, P. Kitcher, L. R. Graham, M. Dummett, N. Chomsky, R. Lewontin, etc.) it is argued here that the formation of opinion in science should be greatly insulated from political considerations. Special attention is devoted to the view that methodological standards for evaluation of scientific theories ought to vary according to the envisaged political uses of these theories.I wish to thank the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for having supported the work on this paper.     

How serious a fallacy is inconsistency?

Consistency is often pictured as an indispensable requisite for rationality. The paper argues that this is overly rigoristic. Inconsistency can be treated as a matter of isolable singularities rather than an all-destructive disaster. The paper, supports and illustrates a perspective on which consistency can be seen as a desideratum rather than a totaly non-negotiable demand. The argumentation of the paper casts consistency in the role of a cognitive ideal rather than a sine qua non condition of rational process.     

Arguers as editors

People use editorial criteria to decide whether to say or to suppress potential arguments. These criteria constitute people's standards as to what effective and appropriate arguments are like, and reflect general interaction goals. A series of empirical investigations has indicated that the standards fall into three classes: those having to do with argument effectiveness, those concerned with personal issues for arguer and target, and those centered on discourse quality. The essay also sketches the affinities certain types of people have for the different criteria.     

Positive and negative self-related goals and subjective well-being: A prospective study

To examine whether having self-related personal goals, or rather whether positive or negative appraisal of them, is associated with subjective well-being, 311 students were asked to complete the Personal Project Analysis (PPA) and revised Beck Depression Inventory, first at the beginning of their studies, and then 2 years later. After 3 years they were asked about the use of mental health services. Two groups of students were identified: (1) those with positive self-projects and (2) those with negative self-projects. The results showed that both positive and negative self-related projects showed stability across a 2-year period, but only negative ones were prospectively predicted by earlier depressive symptomatology. Although neither positive nor negative projects predicted depressive symptomatology, both predicted the use of mental health services.     

Change in goals and values of men and women from early to mature adulthood

Changes in goals and values between early and middle adulthood were investigated using a longitudinal sample of women and their male partners. Measures designed to assess personality changes as described by Gutmann and Jung were coded from open-ended responses to questions about middle-aged subjects' concurrent and recollected goals and values. The findings indicated that both women and men declined in gender-traditional goals and values and increased in individual goals and values. Archival data for women showed that recollections were accurate and that both cohort and personality factors were related to the extent to which individuals' goals and values changed over time.     

Social interactions as predictors of children's likability and friendship patterns: A multiple regression analysis

The concurrent and predictive validity of four qualitative behavioral classes of social interaction (initiating and receiving positive and negative social interaction) was investigated using sociometric measures of peer acceptance (ratings) and friendship (nominations). Correlational analyses showed significant relationships between behavioral and sociometric measures supporting previous work with preschool populations. Stepwise multiple regression analyses suggested that receiving social interaction from peers best predicted overall acceptance, whereas initiating social interactions best predicted children's friendship patterns. Tentative implications for the behavioral assessment of children's social skills were discussed.The current data were gathered as part of a larger research project concerning social skills assessment and training in children.     

Close‐knit ties through thick and thin: Sharing social exclusion and acceptance enhances social bond

Three experiments investigated whether and why sharing experiences of social exclusion or social acceptance with others strengthens social bonds. Participants experienced either social exclusion or social acceptance alongside another co‐participant who either also experienced the same outcome, or experienced a different outcome, as them. Multilevel modeling results showed that participant dyads who shared the experience of social exclusion or social acceptance felt closer to each other than those who experienced different outcomes, and that perceived similarity mediated the effect of shared experiences on social bonds. Interestingly, participants felt closer to one another after having shared social acceptance, more so than when they have shared social exclusion. Implications of the present findings are interpreted in light of theories of social exclusion, shared experiences, and social bonding.     

Different level automation technology acceptance: Older adult driver opinion

The increase in the number of older adult drivers in developed countries has raised safety concerns due to the decline in their sensory, motor, perceptual, and cognitive abilities which can limit their driving capabilities. Their driving safety could be enhanced by the use of modern Automated Driver Assistance Systems (ADASs) and might totally resolved by full driving automation. However, the acceptance of these technologies by older adult drivers is not yet well understood. Thus, this study investigated older adult drivers’ intention to use six ADASs and full driving automation through two questionnaires with 115 and 132 participants respectively in Rhode Island, USA. A four-dimensional model referred to as the USEA model was used for exploring older adult drivers’ technology acceptance. The USEA model included perceived usefulness, perceived safety, perceived ease of use, and perceived anxiety. Path Analysis was applied to evaluate the proposed model. The results of this study identified the important factors in older adult drivers’ intention to use ADASs and full driving automation, which could assist stakeholders in improving technologies for use by older drivers.     

Bullying as a group process: Participant roles and their relations to social status within the group

Bullying was investigated as a group process, a social phenomenon taking place in a school setting among 573 Finnish sixth-grade children (286 girls, 287 boys) aged 12–13 years. Different Participant Roles taken by individual children in the bullying process were examined and related to a) self-estimated behavior in bullying situations, b) social acceptance and social rejection, and c) belongingness to one of the five sociometric status groups (popular, rejected, neglected, controversial, and average). The Participant Roles assigned to the subject were Victim, Bully, Reinforcer of the bully, Assistant of the bully, Defender of the victim, and Outsider. There were significant sex differences in the distribution of Participant Roles. Boys were more frequently in the roles of Bully, Reinforcer and Assistant, while the most frequent roles of the girls were those of Defender and Outsider. The subjects were moderately well aware of their Participant Roles, although they underestimated their participation in active bullying behavior and emphasized that they acted as Defenders and Outsiders. The sociometric status of the children was found to be connected to their Participant Roles. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.