Practical Approaches to USO Costing and Financing

In this paper we set out a holistic approach that incorporates recent developments in assessing the net cost of the USO and presents a robust methodology for practical implementation. We analyse the issues relating to assessing the net costs of the USO with particular focus on the benefits associated with USO and current empirical approaches to calculating the net costs. We then present an overview of approaches that have been applied in various countries and highlight their strengths and shortcomings in light of the necessarily theoretical aspects discussed in the first part of the paper. Finally, we present a practical approach that we believe assesses robustly the net cost of the USO.Regulation, Post, Universal service obligation, Financing

Policy Forum: Studying Eyewitness Investigations in the Field

This article considers methodological issues arising from recent efforts to provide field tests of eyewitness identification procedures. We focus in particular on a field study (Mecklenburg 2006) that examined the “double blind, sequential” technique, and consider the implications of an acknowledged methodological confound in the study. We explain why the confound has severe consequences for assessing the real-world implications of this study

Reward processing in self-harm

Self-harm is a complex yet common behaviour, which can be learned instrumentally through positive and negative reinforcement. It is thought to be processed in part via the reward system. Evidence for this comes mainly from pain research and studies combining neuroimaging with pain application in populations with self-harm. However, relatively little is understood about how reward processes may sustain self-harm. It is also equally important to understand whether biases in how rewards are processed contribute to difficulties managing self-harm, for example self-reported escalation, loss of control and relapse. To address these gaps in our understand- ing, this thesis has systematically reviewed the literature on reward mechanisms involved in self-harm, and reward processing biases that may be associated with self-harm. It has experi- mentally investigated whether processes underpinned by the reward system, such as incentive salience and approach biases, are involved in motivation for self-harm using a Dot Probe task and an Incentive Delay task. Finally, it has experimentally investigated whether biases process- ing non-salient rewards (as opposed to self-harm a potentially ‘salient’ reward) are present in young people with self-harm using an Incentive Delay task and Probabilistic Reversal Learn- ing task, with a particular focus on behavioural motivation, and reward learning as related to compulsivity. Evidence for incentive salience and approach biases towards self-harm was lim- ited in this thesis. However, other findings showed that avoidance of self-harm stimuli may be associated with ambivalence towards self-harm in young people. There was limited evidence to support the role of compulsivity in repetitive self-harm measured using a PRL task, or that individuals with self-harm exhibit differences in reward sensitivity as compared with controls. However, reward processing biases associated with comorbid depression and borderline person- ality disorder may contribute to self-harm in these individuals. Areas for future research and the implications of these results are discussed.Open Acces

Cultural norm fulfillment, interpersonal belonging, or getting ahead? A large-scale cross-cultural test of three perspectives on the function of self-esteem.

What is the function of self-esteem? We classified relevant theoretical work into 3 perspectives. The cultural norm-fulfillment perspective regards self-esteem a result of adherence to cultural norms. The interpersonal-belonging perspective regards self-esteem as a sociometer of interpersonal belonging. The getting-ahead perspective regards self-esteem as a sociometer of getting ahead in the social world, while regarding low anxiety/neuroticism as a sociometer of getting along with others. The 3 perspectives make contrasting predictions on the relation between the Big Five personality traits and self-esteem across cultures. We tested these predictions in a self-report study (2,718,838 participants from 106 countries) and an informant-report study (837,655 informants from 64 countries). We obtained some evidence for cultural norm fulfillment, but the effect size was small. Hence, this perspective does not satisfactorily account for self-esteem's function. We found a strong relation between Extraversion and higher self-esteem, but no such relation between Agreeableness and self-esteem. These 2 traits are pillars of interpersonal belonging. Hence, the results do not fit the interpersonal-belonging perspective either. However, the results closely fit the getting-ahead perspective. The relation between Extraversion and higher self-esteem is consistent with this perspective, because Extraversion is the Big Five driver for getting ahead in the social world. The relation between Agreeableness and lower neuroticism is also consistent with this perspective, because Agreeableness is the Big Five driver for getting along with others.We acknowledge support from the German Research Foundation (DFG; Grant GE 2515/2-1).This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the American Psychological Association via http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp000005

A biopsychosocial formulation of pain communication

We present a detailed framework for understanding the numerous and complicated interactions among psychological and social determinants of pain through examination of the process of pain communication. The focus is on an improved understanding of immediate dyadic transactions during painful events in the context of broader social phenomena. Fine-grain consideration of social transactions during pain leads to an appreciation of sociobehavioral events affecting both suffering persons as well as caregivers. Our examination considers knowledge from a variety of perspectives, including clinical health psychology, social and developmental processes, evolutionary psychology, communication studies, and behavioral neuroscience

Consciousness in Artificial Intelligence: Insights from the Science of Consciousness

Whether current or near-term AI systems could be conscious is a topic of scientific interest and increasing public concern. This report argues for, and exemplifies, a rigorous and empirically grounded approach to AI consciousness: assessing existing AI systems in detail, in light of our best-supported neuroscientific theories of consciousness. We survey several prominent scientific theories of consciousness, including recurrent processing theory, global workspace theory, higher-order theories, predictive processing, and attention schema theory. From these theories we derive "indicator properties" of consciousness, elucidated in computational terms that allow us to assess AI systems for these properties. We use these indicator properties to assess several recent AI systems, and we discuss how future systems might implement them. Our analysis suggests that no current AI systems are conscious, but also suggests that there are no obvious technical barriers to building AI systems which satisfy these indicators