1,797 research outputs found

    To blame? The effects of moralized feedback on implicit racial bias

    Get PDF
    Implicit bias training (IBT) is now frequently provided by employers, in order to raise awareness of the problems related to implicit biases, and of how to safeguard against discrimination that may result. However, as Atewologun et al (2018) have noted, there is very little systematicity in IBT, and there are many unknowns about what constitutes good IBT. One important issue concerns the tone of information provided regarding implicit bias. This paper engages this question, focusing in particular on the observation that much bias training is delivered in exculpatory tone, emphasising that individuals are not to blame for possessing implicit biases. Normative guidance around IBT exhorts practitioners to adopt this strategy (Moss-Racusin et al 2014). However, existing evidence about the effects of moralized feedback about implicit bias is equivocal (Legault et al 2011; Czopp et al 2006). Through a series of studies, culminating in an experiment with a pre-registered analysis plan, we develop a paradigm for evaluating the impact of moralized feedback on participants’ implicit racial bias scores. We also conducted exploratory analyses of the impact on their moods, and behavioural intentions. Our results indicated that an exculpatory tone, rather than a blaming or neutral tone, did not make participants less resistant to changing their attitudes and behaviours. In fact, participants in the blame condition had significantly stronger explicit intentions to change future behaviour than those in the ‘no feedback’ condition (see experiment 3). These results indicate that considerations of efficacy do not support the need for implicit bias feedback to be exculpatory. We tease out the implications of these findings, and directions for future research

    Four simplified gradient elasticity models for the simulation of dispersive wave propagation

    Get PDF
    Gradient elasticity theories can be used to simulate dispersive wave propagation as it occurs in heterogeneous materials. Compared to the second-order partial differential equations of classical elasticity, in its most general format gradient elasticity also contains fourth-order spatial, temporal as well as mixed spatial temporal derivatives. The inclusion of the various higher-order terms has been motivated through arguments of causality and asymptotic accuracy, but for numerical implementations it is also important that standard discretization tools can be used for the interpolation in space and the integration in time. In this paper, we will formulate four different simplifications of the general gradient elasticity theory. We will study the dispersive properties of the models, their causality according to Einstein and their behavior in simple initial/boundary value problems

    Characterizing Behavioral and Brain Changes Associated with Practicing Reasoning Skills

    Get PDF
    We have reported previously that intensive preparation for a standardized test that taxes reasoning leads to changes in structural and functional connectivity within the frontoparietal network. Here, we investigated whether reasoning instruction transfers to improvement on unpracticed tests of reasoning, and whether these improvements are associated with changes in neural recruitment during reasoning task performance. We found behavioral evidence for transfer to a transitive inference task, but no evidence for transfer to a rule generation task. Across both tasks, we observed reduced lateral prefrontal activation in the trained group relative to the control group, consistent with other studies of practice-related changes in brain activation. In the transitive inference task, we observed enhanced suppression of task-negative, or default-mode, regions, consistent with work suggesting that better cognitive skills are associated with more efficient switching between networks. In the rule generation task, we found a pattern consistent with a training-related shift in the balance between phonological and visuospatial processing. Broadly, we discuss general methodological considerations related to the analysis and interpretation of training-related changes in brain activation. In summary, we present preliminary evidence for changes in brain activation associated with practice of high-level cognitive skills.National Science Foundation (U.S.). Graduate Research FellowshipEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U.S.) (F32HD079143-01

    Parmenides reloaded

    Get PDF
    I argue for a four dimensional, non-dynamical view of space-time, where becoming is not an intrinsic property of reality. This view has many features in common with the Parmenidean conception of the universe. I discuss some recent objections to this position and I offer a comparison of the Parmenidean space-time with an interpretation of Heraclitus' thought that presents no major antagonism.Comment: 11 pages, accepted for publication in Foundations of Scienc

    Neurodevelopment of relational reasoning: Implications for mathematical pedagogy

    Get PDF
    a b s t r a c t Reasoning ability supports the development of mathematics proficiency, as demonstrated by correlational and longitudinal evidence, and yet this skill is not emphasized in traditional elementary mathematics curricula. We propose that targeting reasoning skills from elementary school onward could help more students succeed in advanced mathematics courses. Here, we review the links between reasoning and mathematics, discuss the neural basis and development of reasoning ability, and identify promising school curricula

    Quantum Ontologies and Mind-Matter Synthesis

    Full text link
    Aspects of a quantum mechanical theory of a world containing efficacious mental aspects that are closely tied to brains, but that are not identical to brains.Comment: 69 pages. Invited contribution to Xth Max Born Symposium: "Quantum Future". Published in "Quantum Future", eds. P. Blanchard and A. Jadczyk, Springer-Verlag, 1999, ISBN 3-540-65218-3. LBNL 4072

    Interpretation of the evolution parameter of the Feynman parametrization of the Dirac equation

    Get PDF
    The Feynman parametrization of the Dirac equation is considered in order to obtain an indefinite mass formulation of relativistic quantum mechanics. It is shown that the parameter that labels the evolution is related to the proper time. The Stueckelberg interpretation of antiparticles naturally arises from the formalism.Comment: 6 pages, RevTex, no figures, submitted to Phys. Lett.
    • 

    corecore