199 research outputs found
Haag's theorem in renormalised quantum field theories
We review a package of no-go results in axiomatic quantum field theory with
Haag's theorem at its centre. Since the concept of operator-valued
distributions in this framework comes very close to what we believe canonical
quantum fields are about, these results are of consequence to quantum field
theory: they suggest the seeming absurdity that this highly victorious theory
is incapable of describing interactions. We single out unitarity of the
interaction picture's intertwiner as the most salient provision of Haag's
theorem and critique canonical perturbation theory to argue that
renormalisation bypasses Haag's theorem by violating this very assumption.Comment: 80 pages, 8 Feynman diagrams, 3 appendix section
Measuring individual differences in decision biases: methodological considerations
BACKGROUND: Individual differences in peopleâs susceptibility
to heuristics and biases (HB) are often measured by multiple-
bias questionnaires consisting of one or a few items for each
bias. This research approach relies on the assumptions that
(1) different versions of a decision bias task measure are
interchangeable as they measure the same cognitive failure;
and (2) that some combination of these tasks measures the
same underlying construct. Based on these assumptions, in
Study 1 we developed two versions of a new decision bias
survey for which we modified 13 HB tasks to increase their
comparability, construct validity, and the participantsâ
motivation. The analysis of the responses (N = 1279) showed
weak internal consistency within the surveys and a great
level of discrepancy between the extracted patterns of the
underlying factors. To explore these inconsistencies, in
Study 2 we used three original examples of HB tasks for each
of seven biases. We created three decision bias surveys by
allocating one version of each HB task to each survey. The
participantsâ responses (N = 527) showed a similar pattern as
in Study 1, questioning the assumption that the different
examples of the HB tasks are interchangeable and that they
measure the same underlying construct. These results
emphasize the need to understand the domain-specificity of
cognitive biases as well as the effect of the wording of the
cover story and the response mode on bias susceptibility
before employing them in multiple-bias questionnaires
The Construal of Midwives by Pregnant Women with a Body Mass Index Greater Than or Equal to 30âkg/m2 (BMIââ„â30âkg/m2): A Repertory Grid Study
Objective
To explore the construal of midwives by pregnant women with a body mass index greater than 30âkg/m2 (BMIââ„â30âkg/m2).
Method
Ten pregnant women with a BMIââ„â30âkg/m2 were recruited from antenatal clinics at a maternity hospital in the North West of England. Each participant completed a repertory grid. The participants chose people to match roles including themselves, pregnant women, midwives of different BMIs and hypothetical elements. They also generated psychological constructs to describe them.
Results
Pregnant women with a BMIââ„â30âkg/m2 construed themselves as vulnerable and self-conscious. Some women endorsed obesity-related stereotypes for themselves and felt responsible for their weight. The midwife with a BMI 18â<â30âkg/m2 was considered to be most similar to the ideal midwife, while the midwife with a BMIââ€â18âkg/m2 was construed as having an undesirable interpersonal style. The midwife with a BMIââ„â40âkg/m2 was often construed as sharing similar experiences to the pregnant women with a BMIââ„â30âkg/m2, such as struggling with the psychological consequences of a raised BMI. Some women construed the midwife with a BMI 30â<â40âkg/m2 in a positive way, whereas others viewed it as sharing similar feelings about weight as the midwife with a BMIââ„â40âkg/m2.
Conclusions
The pregnant women with a BMIââ„â30âkg/m2 in this study described perceptions of themselves and the midwives responsible for their care, which may affect their engagement and satisfaction with services. Pregnant women with a BMIââ„â30âkg/m2 should be involved in service development activities to ensure the structure of services and the language used by midwives are acceptable and do not confirm weight-related stereotypes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Key Practitioner Message
Pregnant women with a BMIââ„â30âkg/m2 construe themselves as vulnerable and self-conscious and perceive themselves responsible for their weight.
Pregnant women with a BMIââ„â30âkg/m2 construe midwives with a low BMI as having an undesirable, cold, interpersonal style.
Midwives with a raised BMI are construed as similar to the women, because they share the uncomfortable psychological consequences of a raised BMI.
The nature of pregnant women's construal may affect their engagement and satisfaction with maternity services and midwifery care
Development of intuitive rules: Evaluating the application of the dual-system framework to understanding children's intuitive reasoning
This is an author-created version of this article. The original source of publication is Psychon Bull Rev. 2006 Dec;13(6):935-53
The final publication is available at www.springerlink.com
Published version: http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/BF0321390
Thinking styles and doctors' knowledge and behaviours relating to acute coronary syndromes guidelines
Background
How humans think and make decisions is important in understanding behaviour. Hence an understanding of cognitive processes among physicians may inform our understanding of behaviour in relation to evidence implementation strategies. A personality theory, Cognitive-Experiential Self Theory (CEST) proposes a relationship between different ways of thinking and behaviour, and articulates pathways for behaviour change. However prior to the empirical testing of interventions based on CEST, it is first necessary to demonstrate its suitability among a sample of healthcare workers.
Objectives
To investigate the relationship between thinking styles and the knowledge and clinical practices of doctors directly involved in the management of acute coronary syndromes.
Methods
Self-reported doctors' thinking styles (N = 74) were correlated with results from a survey investigating knowledge, attitudes, and clinical practice, and evaluated against recently published acute coronary syndrome clinical guidelines.
Results
Guideline-discordant practice was associated with an experiential style of thinking. Conversely, guideline-concordant practice was associated with a higher preference for a rational style of reasoning.
Conclusion
Findings support that while guidelines might be necessary to communicate evidence, other strategies may be necessary to target discordant behaviours. Further research designed to examine the relationships found in the current study is required
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