Centro Universitário Farias Brito: FB UNI Portal de Periódicos
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Effects of Psychological Distance on Mental Abstraction: A Registered Report of Four Tests of Construal Level Theory
No full textConstrual level theory (CLT) proposes that psychological distance influences the level of abstraction at which something is mentally construed: things perceived as less probable (likelihood) or further away from the here (spatial distance), now (temporal distance), or self (social distance) are thought about more abstractly. This international multi-lab study tests four basic hypotheses derived from core assumptions of CLT and explores potential moderators and boundary conditions of the effects. Participants (N = 11,775) from 27 countries and regions were randomly assigned to one of four experimental protocols focused on different types of psychological distance (temporal, spatial, social, or likelihood), and each experiment manipulated psychological distance (close vs. distant). The protocols for temporal distance (N = 2,941) and spatial distance (N = 2,973) were direct replications of Liberman and Trope (1998, Study 1) and Fujita et al. (2006, Study 1), respectively. The remaining two protocols were paradigmatic replications, applying to social distance (N = 2,926) and likelihood (N = 2,936). The effects of psychological distance on construal level for the four present studies were (original effects within parentheses; positive effects are consistent with hypotheses): dtemporal = 0.08, 95% CI [0.003, 0.16] (cf. d = 0.92); dspatial = 0.04, 95% CI [-0.03, 0.11] (cf. d = 0.55); dsocial = -0.27, 95% CI [-0.34, -0.19]; and dlikelihood = 0.03, 95% CI [-0.05, 0.11]. Pretests indicated that valence and abstraction were confounded in response options on the outcome measure. Controlling for this confound eliminated the hypothesis-inconsistent effect of social distance, d = 0.006, 95% CI [-0.05, 0.07]. These findings provide limited evidence for the predictions of the theory and present a critical challenge for CLT
Searching for a positive theory of power
No full textWe cannot effectively combat negative exercises of power—that is domination—unless we are able to articulate an alternative, coherently and concisely. Power-to and power-with emerged in separate dichotomous debates to oppose domination (power-over), the traditional focus of power theory. Efforts to combine power-to, power-over, and power-with into a trichotomy, rather than producing a clear and robust positive theory of power to challenge domination, have created a complex and contested mix of definitions. This paper proposes a simplified formulation of the trichotomy: power at its most fundamental is the capacity to act and achieve outcomes and is labelled power-to. Power-over and power-with become two opposing exercises of this capacity. Power-over retains its emphasis on the hoarding of value by the dominant (normatively negative). Power-with is redefined to refer to an exercise of power in which value is equitably shared (normatively positive). These new definitions require that we abandon some of the distinguishing features that have been attached to these terms, but doing so resolves some outstanding disputes and provides new opportunities. It opens the way to more effectively ask what power-with and the conditions for collective flourishing and value creation might look like and why we should choose them over domination
The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in Europe
No full textHow do opportunities for intergenerational mobility depend on where you live? We address this question using European Social Survey data, studying the association between parents' and children's occupation, and how it varies by region of residence. Absolute mobility, largely driven by shifts in occupational structure, differs from relative mobility, which reflects the extent to which opportunities are equal across social origins. Capital regions emerge as hubs of absolute, but not necessarily relative, mobility. Absolute mobility correlates with human capital, labor market, demographic, and spatial factors. In contrast, relative mobility is primarily shaped by economic disparities between social classes. Greater inequality entails less mobility, even comparing different places within a country
Examining cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between multidomain physical fitness metrics, education, and cognition in Black older adults
No full textA limited number of studies examine cognitive aging in Black or African American older adults. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between health-related fitness metrics, education, and cognition at baseline and over a 4-year follow-up in a sample of Black older adults. Data were analyzed from 321 Black older adults in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Physical fitness was assessed with measures of gait speed, peak expiratory flow, grip strength, and body mass index. Global cognition was assessed with an adapted version of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS). Analyses of relative importance and hierarchical multiple regression were used to examine baseline cross-sectional relationships. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine prospective relationships with longitudinal cognitive status. Education was the strongest predictor of global cognition at baseline and follow-up. More years of education significantly increased the odds of maintaining cognitive status at 4-year follow-up. After accounting for education, gait speed was independently associated with baseline cognitive performance and accounted for additional variance. Grip strength, peak expiratory flow, and body mass index were not significantly associated with cognition. The results indicated that modifiable variables, including years of educational attainment and gait speed, are more strongly associated with global cognition than other modifiable variables including body mass index, grip strength, and peak expiratory flow. The lack of observed associations between other fitness variables and cognition may be attributable to the brief assessment methods implemented, which was necessitated by the large-scale, epidemiological approach of the HRS study
Laypeople Have Difficulty Processing Efficiency When Assessing Environmental Policies
No full textWhen evaluating policies, what should mostly matter is how successful public policies are at satisfying citizens' policy preferences (e.g., reducing carbon emissions), relative to the policies’ cost. Yet, across 6 studies (N = 2759), we found that participants’ judgments tended to be quite insensitive to policy efficiency. French citizens regarded an environmental policy driven by an altruistic intention that turned out to be inefficient as being more commendable than a policy motivated by selfishness that dramatically reduced carbon emissions (Experiments 1a-d, N = 854). Similarly, an altruistic but low efficiency policy was supported more than a selfish but high efficiency policy (Experiment 2, N = 1105). Independent manipulation of intent and efficiency (Experiment 2) suggested that assessments of policies are characterized by low sensitivity to large differences in efficiency expressed numerically, and relatively high sensitivity to actors’ intentions. The more citizens were morally committed to tackle a policy issue (e.g., reducing emissions), the more they voiced support for any policy decision addressing the issue, regardless of its efficiency (Experiment 2). Encouragingly, Experiment 3 (N = 800) found that introducing subtle qualitative appraisals of an environmental policy’s impact and financial cost can nudge participants towards greater attention to its efficiency. Overall, our paper highlights the importance of using contextual and qualitative (vs. numeric) appraisals of environmental policies in political communication to make citizens more focused on their efficiency
An entropy model of decision uncertainty
No full textStudying metacognition, the introspection of one’s own decisions, can provide insights into the mechanisms underlying the decisions. Here we show that observers’ uncertainty about their decisions incorporates both the entropy of the stimuli and the entropy of their response probabilities across the psychometric function. Describing uncertainty data with a functional form permits the measurement of internal parameters not measurable from the decision responses alone. To test and demonstrate the utility of this novel model, we measured uncertainty in 11 participants as they judged the relative contrast appearance of two stimuli in several experiments employing explicit bias or attentional cues. The entropy model enabled an otherwise intractable quantitative analysis of participants’ uncertainty, which in one case distinguished two comparative judgments that produced nearly identical psychometric functions. In contrast, comparative and equality judgments with different behavioral reports, yielded uncertainty reports that were not significantly different. The entropy model was able to successfully account for uncertainty in these two different types of decisions that resulted in differently shaped psychometric functions, and the entropy contribution from the stimuli, which were identical across experiments, was consistent. An observer’s uncertainty could therefore be measured as the total entropy of the inputs and outputs of the stimulus-response system, i.e. the entropy of the stimuli plus the entropy of the observer’s responses
Effects of COVID-19 related social media use on well-being
No full textIn times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, citizens need to stay informed about recent political events. To this end, people increasingly use social media. However, because social media are particularly engaging, many find it hard to disconnect, especially during times of crisis. In this preregistered study, I investigate whether using social media for COVID-19 related reasons affects psychological well-being. Using data from the Austrian Corona Panel Project consisting of 3,485 participants from 34 waves, this research question was analyzed using random effects within between models, controlling for several stable and varying confounders. The results showed that COVID-19 related social media use did not meaningfully reduce well-being. Other factors such as health, income, exercise, or internal locus of control showed larger and meaningful effects
Tablet based arithmetic fluency assessment reveals developments in math cognition and math achievement from childhood to adolescence
No full textFluency in mental arithmetic is regarded as a foundational math skill typically measured as a single construct with pencil and paper-based assessments. Here we introduce a novel tablet-based paradigm that allows for the rapid assessment of single-digit fluency while also capturing trial to trial information. We administered our tablet-based assessment of single digit arithmetic across a large (n=914), diverse cohort of 3rd- 7th grade students (ages 7-13 years). The tablet-based paradigm enabled us to analyze performance across individual items, allowing us to capture established effects, such as operation and operand distance. We also distinguished problems that are common in arithmetic tests from those that are generally excluded from such assessments. Fluency with problems commonly included in arithmetic assessments also proved to be a stronger predictor of achievement on state-mandated standardized tests than traditional aggregate raw scores. This fluency across problem sets also partially mediated the relationship between parental income and mathematics achievement. Finally, we explore how speed-accuracy tradeoffs differ across these two problem types and find that they become more similar as a function of both age and overall math achievement. We propose that assessing single-digit arithmetic with this novel tablet-based paradigm reliably replicates known effects from laboratory based studies in an efficient 3-minute session. This form of assessment is vital for large-scale datasets looking to explore the development of mathematical cognition
Who Was Who in the Aether of the Weimar Republic? Tracing the Callbooks That Never Existed
No full textA listing of amateur radio operators is provided who actively transmitted on shortwave during the Weimar Republic in Germany (1924-1933). Some biographical information is added, when available. Such a listing never existed before because transmissions were clandestine. It is helpful for researching the history of electrical engineering and radio in this period. The listing is subdivided by different time periods between which the call sign system changed. Each time period contains separate alphabetical lists of official (“lis”) and unofficial (“unlis”) calls. For reference we added also a list of the calls EK4/D4 operators and DE listeners held after 1949. D4 and DA calls in the period from 1933-1948 are included, when known, but not alphabetically listed.
(1) 1927-1930: 1a) EK4xxx/D4xxx – “lis”; 1b) EK4xx/D4xx – “unlis”; 1c) Foreign calls of EK/D stations
(2) 1930-1933: 2a) D4xxx – “lis”; 2b) D4xxx – “unlis”; 2c) Foreign calls of EK/D stations; 2d) Arbeiterempfangsdienst SWLs
(3) 1924-1927: 3a) KA0-KZ9 – “lis”; 3b) Freestyle calls – “unlis”; 3c) Occupational forces; 3d) Official freestyle calls
(4) After 1949: Post-WW2 calls of EK/D stations and holders of DE numbers (< DE6000
Bridging the gap: skill development in curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities and the impact on students' perceived readiness for employment
No full textThe development of graduate employability and skills is an important driver of UK Higher Education strategy and policy but less is known about how students perceive and access opportunities for skill development. This study explores students’ perspectives on how curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities contribute to their development of skills and preparedness for the graduate workplace.
319 students from a range of disciplines studying at 15 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) were asked how they perceived graduate, global and digital skills, the types of activities they believed had contributed to their skill development, and their readiness for employment.
Findings indicate: 1) graduate, digital and global skills predicted readiness for employment; 2) curricular activities associated with graduate skills predicted readiness for employment and graduate skills mediated this relationship; 3) co-curricular and extra-curricular activities in the digital domain predicted readiness for employment and digital skills mediated this relationship; 4) Global skills predicted readiness for employment but activities associated with global skills did not.
We discuss the role of reflection on skill development in linking curricular, co- and extra-curricular activities to employability in the context of the challenges students face in in engaging in non-core activities in HE.
Keywords: graduate skills; employability; digital skills; extra-curricular activities; global skills; professional identit