1,720,965 research outputs found
The influence of high autistic personality traits on the attribution of intentionality in typically developing individuals
No full textThe present study investigated the association between autistic personality traits and cognitive and affective Theory of Mind abilities, as well as whether intentionality attribution was atypical in individuals with autistic personality traits, such as in individuals with autism spectrum disorder, who tend to over-attribute intentions when facing accidental harm involving negative outcomes. One-hundred individuals performed tasks assessing autistic personality traits, Theory of Mind abilities, and provided intentionality judgments to scenarios characterized by side effects, which involved unintended negative outcomes as well. Results showed that autistic personality traits are associated with reduced cognitive and affective Theory of Mind abilities, as well as with increased intentionality attributions towards side effects. Reduced cognitive Theory of Mind ability mediates the relationship between autistic personality traits and over-attribution of intentionality, suggesting that individuals with autistic personality traits base their intentionality evaluations more on side effects than on agent’s intentions, as in autism spectrum disorder
The Fear to Move in a Crowded Environment. Poor Spatial Memory Related to Agoraphobic Disorder
Get PDFIndividuals with agoraphobia exhibit impaired exploratory activity when navigating unfamiliar environments. However, no studies have investigated the contribution of visuospatial working memory (VSWM) in these individuals’ ability to acquire and process spatial information while considering the use of egocentric and allocentric coordinates or environments with or without people. A total of 106 individuals (53 with agoraphobia and 53 controls) navigated in a virtual square to acquire spatial information that included the recognition of landmarks and the relationship between landmarks and themselves (egocentric coordinates) and independent of themselves (allocentric coordinates). Half of the participants in both groups navigated in a square without people, and half navigated in a crowded square. They completed a VSWM test in addition to tasks measuring landmark recognition and egocentric and allocentric judgements concerning the explored square. The results showed that individuals with agoraphobia had reduced working memory only when active processing of spatial elements was required, suggesting that they exhibit spatial difficulties particularly in complex spatial tasks requiring them to process information simultaneously. Specifically, VSWM deficits mediated the relationship between agoraphobia and performance in the allocentric judgements. The results are discussed considering the theoretical background of agoraphobia in order to provide useful elements for the early diagnosis of this disorder
Decisions about a crime: downward and upward counterfactuals
No full textDeciding about people’s responsibility, intentions and need for punishment is particularly hard and it may be often associated with counterfactual thinking, which refers to the creation of mental alternatives to actual events. Ninety-three participants were asked to generate downward or upward counterfactuals regarding a given criminal event and, then, to give judgments about defendant’s predictability, responsibility, intentionality and punishment. Results showed that downward counterfactuals had led people to judge the event less intentional, the defendant less responsible and, therefore, to give him a less severe punishment (vice versa for upward). The relationship between counterfactuals and intentionality judgments was partially mediated by the perceived defendant’s predictability of the negative outcomes. Finally, downward counterfactuals were linked to a greater focus on the context (external factors), whereas upward counterfactuals on the defendant/victim’s behaviours (internal factors). Findings were discussed considering both theoretical decision-making models and applications on the judicial field
How does reasoning influence intentionality attribution in the case of side effects?
Get PDFTo evaluate others' actions objectively, one must integrate the actor's mental states with the potential consequences of his actions. However, consequences can distort the perception of intentionality. The Knobe effect, or "side-effect effect," demonstrates that individuals attribute greater intentionality to negative than positive foreseen yet unintended side effects. This study explores how reasoning styles and abilities influence these judgments. A sample of 172 college students completed validated reasoning style questionnaires, including the Rational-Experiential Inventory (REI) and the Actively Open-Minded Thinking scale (AOT), a syllogistic reasoning task, and scenario-based tasks in a randomized, between-subjects design (negative vs. positive side effect). Our findings reveal that a more deliberative reasoning style and longer response times both reduce bias in attributing intentionality to negative side effects, highlighting two distinct pathways through which response times mediate the influence of reasoning style on reducing biased judgments. We explore how reasoning affects our attributions of intentionality leading to a more balanced consideration of an actor's mental state and the consequences in moral judgment
The Contribution of Cognitive Factors to Compulsive Buying Behaviour: Insights from Shopping Habit Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Get PDFThe last decade has seen an increase in compulsive behaviours among young adults
worldwide, particularly in 2020, during restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Importantly,
even if shopping is an ordinary activity in everyday life, it can become a compulsive behaviour
for certain individuals. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of working memory and
decision-making style in compulsive behaviour. A total of 105 participants (65 F, 40 M) were recruited
online from May 2020 to December 2020. They completed a series of questionnaires to measure
shopping compulsive behaviour, decision-making styles, deficits in working memory and online
shopping habits. The results show that during the COVID-19 pandemic, people spent much more
time shopping online, made more purchases and spent more money than prior to the pandemic.
Moreover, both higher working memory deficits and spontaneous decision-making style predicted a
greater tendency to engage in compulsive buying. These results suggest the need to develop specific
training programs to improve cognitive aspects related to compulsive shopping behaviour
Environmental cognitive load and spatial anxiety: What matters in navigation?
No full textSpatial navigation is essential for orienting oneself in familiar and novel environments. Several internal factors may affect spatial navigation, such as anxiety. This study explored the mediating role of anxiety (spatial, trait and state) in the relationship between cognitive load and spatial navigation (egocentric and allocentric) using parallel mediation models. A sample of 125 participants (60 females) completed self-reported measures of anxiety (spatial and state-trait) during free navigation in a virtual reality square with or without environmental cognitive load. After the virtual learning experience, three spatial tasks evaluating landmark recognition and the use of egocentric and allocentric coordinates were administered. Results showed that spatial anxiety partially mediated the relationship between environmental load and spatial skills, specifically for egocentric and allocentric tasks. In addition, trait anxiety mediated the relationship between environmental load and allocentric performance. Overall, these findings update the Environmental Knowledge Model (EKM) that explains human navigation in terms of individual and environmental factors. The study results suggest that navigation could be facilitated by reducing anxiety and the spatial complexity of the environment
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Does intentionality decision-making depend on who you are? The role of individual differences.
Get PDFIntentionality attribution is a critical ability in everyday life, necessary for attributing meaning to others’ actions. Any impairment in its ascription has been shown to produce significant difficulties in the handling of one’s social life. Recent evidence has indicated that healthy individuals may exhibit systematic bias in their assessment of other people’s intentions: when presented with the negative side effect of an action, the majority of people tend to judge it as intentionally performed, as opposed to a positive side effect (Knobe Effect).Recent research has considered the role of the individual characteristics of the person who judges in order to explain this effect.
The experiments included in this dissertation aim to explore the role of certain individual differences strongly associated with intentionality attribution. Specifically, Study 1 revealed that individual production of downward counterfactuals decreases intentionality attributions, whereas upward ones increase them. Study 2 explored the role of individual differences in Theory of Mind (ToM) ability, finding that higher ToM allows individuals to focus on information about the intentions of the agent, reducing attention towards side effects and thus the Knobe Effect. Study 3 confirmed this result, showing that individuals with autistic personality traits tend to over-attribute intentionality to the side effects, due to their reduced attention to intentions. Finally, Study 4 explored the influence of individual ability in processing emotions, by testing individuals with alexithymic personality traits who, conversely, are less influenced by the side effect information and reduce the intentionality attributed to them.
In summary, according to their individual characteristics, people focus their attention on different elements (e.g.intentions-side effects) while analyzing social situations, which are consequently perceived in different ways. Future conceptual models of intentionality should take into greater account the influence of individual differences in determining which elements people focus on when ascribing meaning to others’ actions
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
- …
