318 research outputs found
Stalking the perfect measure of implicit self-esteem: The blind men and the elephant revisited?
Childrenâs Feedback Preferences in Response to an Experimentally Manipulated Peer Evaluation Outcome: The Role of Depressive Symptoms
The present study examined the linkage between pre-adolescent childrenâs depressive symptoms and their preferences for receiving positive vs. negative feedback subsequent to being faced with an experimentally manipulated peer evaluation outcome in real time. Participants (n = 142) ages 10 to 13, played a computer contest based on the television show Survivor and were randomized to either a peer rejection (i.e., receiving the lowest total âlikeabilityâ score from a group of peer-judges), a peer success (i.e., receiving the highest score), or a control peer evaluation condition. Childrenâs self-reported feedback preferences were then assessed. Results revealed that participants assigned to the negative evaluation outcome, relative to either the success or the control outcome, showed a significantly higher subsequent preference for negatively tuned feedback. Contrary to previous work and predictions derived from self-verification theory, children higher in depressive symptoms were only more likely to prefer negative feedback in response to the negative peer evaluation outcome. These effects for depression were not accounted for by either state mood at baseline or mood change in response to the feedback manipulation
The Hypermultiplet with Heisenberg Isometry in N=2 Global and Local Supersymmetry
The string coupling of N=2 supersymmetric compactifications of type II string
theory on a Calabi-Yau manifold belongs to the so-called universal dilaton
hypermultiplet, that has four real scalars living on a quaternion-Kaehler
manifold. Requiring Heisenberg symmetry, which is a maximal subgroup of
perturbative isometries, reduces the possible manifolds to a one-parameter
family that describes the tree-level effective action deformed by the only
possible perturbative correction arising at one-loop level. A similar argument
can be made at the level of global supersymmetry where the scalar manifold is
hyper-Kaehler. In this work, the connection between global and local
supersymmetry is explicitly constructed, providing a non-trivial gravity
decoupled limit of type II strings already in perturbation theory.Comment: 24 page
N = 2 supersymmetric sigma-models and duality
For two families of four-dimensional off-shell N = 2 supersymmetric nonlinear
sigma-models constructed originally in projective superspace, we develop their
formulation in terms of N = 1 chiral superfields. Specifically, these theories
are: (i) sigma-models on cotangent bundles T*M of arbitrary real analytic
Kaehler manifolds M; (ii) general superconformal sigma-models described by
weight-one polar supermultiplets. Using superspace techniques, we obtain a
universal expression for the holomorphic symplectic two-form \omega^{(2,0)}
which determines the second supersymmetry transformation and is associated with
the two complex structures of the hyperkaehler space T*M that are complimentary
to the one induced from M. This two-form is shown to coincide with the
canonical holomorphic symplectic structure. In the case (ii), we demonstrate
that \omega^{(2,0)} and the homothetic conformal Killing vector determine the
explicit form of the superconformal transformations. At the heart of our
construction is the duality (generalized Legendre transform) between off-shell
N = 2 supersymmetric nonlinear sigma-models and their on-shell N = 1 chiral
realizations. We finally present the most general N = 2 superconformal
nonlinear sigma-model formulated in terms of N = 1 chiral superfields. The
approach developed can naturally be generalized in order to describe 5D and 6D
superconformal nonlinear sigma-models in 4D N = 1 superspace.Comment: 31 pages, no figures; V2: reference and comments added, typos
corrected; V3: more typos corrected, published versio
Off-shell superconformal nonlinear sigma-models in three dimensions
We develop superspace techniques to construct general off-shell N=1,2,3,4
superconformal sigma-models in three space-time dimensions. The most general
N=3 and N=4 superconformal sigma-models are constructed in terms of N=2 chiral
superfields. Several superspace proofs of the folklore statement that N=3
supersymmetry implies N=4 are presented both in the on-shell and off-shell
settings. We also elaborate on (super)twistor realisations for (super)manifolds
on which the three-dimensional N-extended superconformal groups act
transitively and which include Minkowski space as a subspace.Comment: 67 pages; V2: typos corrected, one reference added, version to appear
on JHE
J D Bernal: philosophy, politics and the science of science
This paper is an examination of the philosophical and political legacy of John Desmond Bernal. It addresses the evidence of an emerging consensus on Bernal based on the recent biography of Bernal by Andrew Brown and the reviews it has received. It takes issue with this view of Bernal, which tends to be admiring of his scientific contribution, bemused by his sexuality, condescending to his philosophy and hostile to his politics. This article is a critical defence of his philosophical and political position
J D Bernal: philosophy, politics and the science of science
This paper is an examination of the philosophical and political legacy of John Desmond Bernal. It addresses the evidence of an emerging consensus on Bernal based on the recent biography of Bernal by Andrew Brown and the reviews it has received. It takes issue with this view of Bernal, which tends to be admiring of his scientific contribution, bemused by his sexuality, condescending to his philosophy and hostile to his politics. This article is a critical defence of his philosophical and political position
The mediating role of shared flow and perceived emotional synchrony on compassion for others in a mindful-dancing program
While there is a growing understanding of the relationship between mindfulness and compassion, this largely relates to the form of mindfulness employed in first-generation mindfulness-based interventions such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. Consequently, there is limited knowledge of the relationship between mindfulness and compassion in respect of the type of mindfulness employed in second-generation mindfulness-based interventions (SG-MBIs), including those that employ the principle of working harmoniously as a âsecular sangha.â Understanding this relationship is important because research indicates that perceived emotional synchrony (PES) and shared flowâthat often arise during participation in harmonized group contemplative activitiesâcan enhance outcomes relating to compassion, subjective well-being, and group identity fusion. This pilot study analyzed the effects of participation in a mindful-dancing SG-MBI on compassion and investigated the mediating role of shared flow and PES. A total of 130 participants were enrolled into the study that followed a quasi-experimental design with an intervention and control group. Results confirmed the salutary effect of participating in a collective mindful-dancing program, and demonstrated that shared flow and PES fully meditated the effects of collective mindfulness on the kindness and common humanity dimensions of compassion. Further research is warranted to explore whether collective mindfulness approaches, such as mindful dancing, may be a means of enhancing compassion and subjective well-being outcomes due to the mediating role of PES and shared flow.N/
Anti-depressant and anxiolytic like behaviors in PKCI/HINT1 knockout mice associated with elevated plasma corticosterone level
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Protein kinase C interacting protein (PKCI/HINT1) is a small protein belonging to the histidine triad (HIT) family proteins. Its brain immunoreactivity is located in neurons and neuronal processes. PKCI/HINT1 gene knockout (KO) mice display hyper-locomotion in response to D-amphetamine which is considered a positive symptom of schizophrenia in animal models. <it>Postmortem </it>studies identified PKCI/HINT1 as a candidate molecule for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. We investigated the hypothesis that the PKCI/HINT1 gene may play an important role in regulating mood function in the CNS. We submitted PKCI/HINT1 KO mice and their wild type (WT) littermates to behavioral tests used to study anti-depressant, anxiety like behaviors, and goal-oriented behavior. Additionally, as many mood disorders coincide with modifications of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function, we assessed the HPA activity through measurement of plasma corticosterone levels.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared to the WT controls, KO mice exhibited less immobility in the forced swim (FST) and the tail suspension (TST) tests. Activity in the TST tended to be attenuated by acute treatment with valproate at 300 mg/kg in KO mice. The PKCI/HINT1 KO mice presented less thigmotaxis in the Morris water maze and spent progressively more time in the lit compartment in the light/dark test. In a place navigation task, KO mice exhibited enhanced acquisition and retention. Furthermore, the afternoon basal plasma corticosterone level in PKCI/HINT1 KO mice was significantly higher than in the WT.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>PKCI/HINT1 KO mice displayed a phenotype of behavioral and endocrine features which indicate changes of mood function, including anxiolytic-like and anti-depressant like behaviors, in conjunction with an elevated corticosterone level in plasma. These results suggest that the PKCI/HINT 1 gene could be important for the mood regulation function in the CNS.</p
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