scholarly journals From electric shocks to the electoral college: How boredom steers moral behavior

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meltem Yucel ◽  
Erin Corwin Westgate
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Moral Behavior ◽  
Airport Security ◽  
Electoral College ◽  
Political Extremism ◽  
Electric Shocks ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Attentional Engagement ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Meaningful Experiences

We all experience boredom, from being stuck in airport security lines to reading poorly written book chapters. But what is boredom, why do we experience it, and what happens when we do? We suggest a new take on this everyday emotional experience, as an important and potentially useful cue that we’re not cognitively engaged in meaningful experiences. According to the Meaning and Attentional Components (MAC) model of boredom, people feel bored when they can’t successfully engage their attention in meaningful activities. Boredom can be painful, but it gives us important feedback about our lives, by signaling a lack of meaningful attentional engagement. In short, boredom tells us whether we want to and are able to focus on what we are doing or thinking, and steers us towards behaviors that ensure that we do. Across a broad range of situations, attention and meaning independently predict boredom, are not highly correlated, and do not interact. But more importantly, attention and meaning deficits result in different types of boredom with different downstream consequences for how people behave. For instance, being bored because what you’re doing lacks meaning feels different and has different consequences than being bored because you can’t pay attention, in part because they signal different problems. Likewise, boredom can result when something is too easy or too hard, because both make it hard to pay attention. All of these different causes of boredom matter, we argue, because they result in different types of boredom with different downstream consequences. Why we are bored shapes what we want to do next, and helps explain why bored people make often puzzling decisions, such as choosing to self-administer painful electric shocks or turning to political extremism. In short, like pain, boredom may be unpleasant but it plays an important role in alerting us when we either don’t want to (or are unable to) pay attention to what we’re doing, and motivating us to change our behavior to restore attention and meaning to our lives, for good or for ill.

Bracketed Morality Revisited: How Do Athletes Behave in Two Contexts?

2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 449-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Kavussanu ◽  
Ian D. Boardley ◽  
Sam S. Sagar ◽  
Christopher Ring
Keyword(s):  
Moral Reasoning ◽  
Prosocial Behavior ◽  
Antisocial Behavior ◽  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Moral Disengagement ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Moral Behavior ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Ego Orientation ◽  
Highly Correlated

The concept of bracketed morality has received empirical support in several sport studies (e.g., Bredemeier & Shields, 1986a, 1986b). However, these studies have focused on moral reasoning. In this research, we examined bracketed morality with respect to moral behavior in sport and university contexts, in two studies. Male and female participants (Study 1: N = 331; Study 2: N = 372) completed questionnaires assessing prosocial and antisocial behavior toward teammates and opponents in sport and toward other students at university. Study 2 participants also completed measures of moral disengagement and goal orientation in both contexts. In most cases, behavior in sport was highly correlated with behavior at university. In addition, participants reported higher prosocial behavior toward teammates and higher antisocial behavior toward opponents in sport than toward other students at university. The effects of context on antisocial behavior were partially mediated by moral disengagement and ego orientation. Our findings extend the bracketed morality concept to prosocial and antisocial behavior.

scholarly journals Do Androids Dream of Electric Shocks?  Utilitarian Machine Ethics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Brendan Vize
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
The Other ◽  
Machine Ethics ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Moral Obligations ◽  
Star Wars ◽  
Electric Shocks ◽  
Tv Shows ◽  
The One

<p>Consider Lt. Commander Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, the droid C3PO from Star Wars, or the Replicants that appear in Bladerunner: They can use language (or many languages), they are rational, they form relationships, they use language that suggests that they have a concept of self, and even language that suggests that they have “feelings” or emotional experience. In the films and TV shows that they appear, they are depicted as having frequent social interaction with human beings; but would we have any moral obligations to such a being if they really existed? What would we be permitted to do or not to do to them? On the one hand, a robot like Data has many of the attributes that we currently associate with a person. On the other hand, he has many of the attributes of the machines that we currently use as tools. He (and other science-fiction machines like him) closely resembles one of the things we value the most (a person), and at the same time, one of the things we value the least (an artefact), leading to an apparent ethical paradox. What is its solution?</p>

scholarly journals Do Androids Dream of Electric Shocks?  Utilitarian Machine Ethics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Brendan Vize
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
The Other ◽  
Machine Ethics ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Moral Obligations ◽  
Star Wars ◽  
Electric Shocks ◽  
Tv Shows ◽  
The One

<p>Consider Lt. Commander Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, the droid C3PO from Star Wars, or the Replicants that appear in Bladerunner: They can use language (or many languages), they are rational, they form relationships, they use language that suggests that they have a concept of self, and even language that suggests that they have “feelings” or emotional experience. In the films and TV shows that they appear, they are depicted as having frequent social interaction with human beings; but would we have any moral obligations to such a being if they really existed? What would we be permitted to do or not to do to them? On the one hand, a robot like Data has many of the attributes that we currently associate with a person. On the other hand, he has many of the attributes of the machines that we currently use as tools. He (and other science-fiction machines like him) closely resembles one of the things we value the most (a person), and at the same time, one of the things we value the least (an artefact), leading to an apparent ethical paradox. What is its solution?</p>

BCL6 Programs Lymphoma Cells for Survival and Differentiation through Distinct Biochemical Mechanisms, Both of Which Can Be Therapeutically Targeted.

Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 225-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir Parekh ◽  
Jose Polo ◽  
Przemyslaw Juszczynski ◽  
Paola Lev ◽  
Stella Ranuncolo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Constitutive Expression ◽  
Lymphoma Cells ◽  
Proliferation And Differentiation ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Biochemical Mechanisms ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
On Chip ◽  
Specific Peptide

Abstract The BCL6 transcriptional repressor is the most commonly involved oncogene in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL). Constitutive expression of BCL6 has been proposed to mediate lymphomagenesis through several mechanisms, including evasion of cell death, proliferation and differentiation blockade. We show here that BCL6 mediates these effects through distinct mechanisms. First, we show that blocking the association of the SMRT corepressor with BCL6 using our specific peptide inhibitor (BPI) abrogates only the survival effects of BCL6 but has no effect on differentiation. Accordingly, BPI upregulates survival genes such as ATR and p53, but not genes associated with differentiation such as Blimp1, XBP and Syndecan. In contrast, BCL6 shRNA upregulates both survival and differentiation genes and induces both cell death and differentiation. We and others have shown that BCL6 can also directly bind to the MTA3 corepressor, which is implicated in differentiation of Burkitt lymphoma cells. We found that BCL6 and MTA3 are co-expressed in DLBCL cells and primary human centroblasts (the precursor cell for most DLBCLs). The endogenous BCL6 and MTA3 proteins interacted in DLBCLs cells in co-immunoprecipitation experiments. In contrast to SMRT blockade with BPI, siRNA depletion of MTA3 induced expression of the Blimp1, XBP and Syndecan but not p53 and ATR. MTA3 depletion induced plasmacytic differentiation within 72 hours as shown in functional assays and by surface markers. We performed ChIP on chip using custom arrays densely tiling with oligonucleotides covering the entire genomic loci of 20 BCL6 target genes. Interestingly, BCL6 formed different types of repression complexes at differentiation genes (Complex with MTA3/NuRD) vs. survival genes (complex with SMRT and N-CoR). BCL6-mediated repression of genes involved in survival and differentiation thus depend on distinct biochemical mechanisms. The relevance of these findings for human disease was underscored by the fact that we found a statistically significant positive correlation between MTA3 and BCL6 gene expression in a database of 176 human DLBCLs (p&lt;0.00001). Likewise, protein expression of BCL6 and MTA3 was also highly correlated (p&lt;0.00001) (74 cases examined) and staining for Blimp1 revealed mutually exclusive expression from MTA3. Taken together these results illustrate the basic mechanisms through which BCL6 mediates DLBCL lymphomagenesis and provide the basis for powerful targeted therapy regimens that could be translated to the clinical setting.

scholarly journals Gender differences in the associations between childhood trauma and parental bonding in panic disorder

2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 314-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Carolina Gaspar Seganfredo ◽  
Mariana Torres ◽  
Giovanni Abrahão Salum ◽  
Carolina Blaya ◽  
Jandira Acosta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Panic Disorder ◽  
Childhood Trauma ◽  
Emotional Abuse ◽  
Parental Bonding ◽  
The Other ◽  
Childhood Trauma Questionnaire ◽  
Parental Bonding Instrument ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Highly Correlated

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between childhood trauma and the quality of parental bonding in panic disorder compared to non-clinical controls. METHOD: 123 patients and 123 paired controls were evaluated with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and the Parental Bonding Instrument. RESULTS: The Parental Bonding Instrument and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire were highly correlated. Panic disorder patients presented higher rates of emotional abuse (OR = 2.54, p = 0.001), mother overprotection (OR = 1.98, p = 0.024) and father overprotection (OR = 1.84, p = 0.041) as compared to controls. Among men with panic disorder, only mother overprotection remained independently associated with panic disorder (OR = 3.28, p = 0.032). On the other hand, higher father overprotection (OR = 2.2, p = 0.017) and less father warmth (OR = 0.48, p = 0.039) were independently associated with panic disorder among female patients. CONCLUSION: Higher rates of different types of trauma, especially emotional abuse, are described in panic disorder patients as compared to controls. The differences regarding gender and parental bonding could be explained in the light of the psychodynamic theory.

Getting Bodily Feelings Into Emotional Experience in the Right Way

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien A. Deonna ◽  
Fabrice Teroni
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Bodily Feelings ◽  
Bodily Feeling ◽  
The Right

We argue that the main objections against two central tenets of a Jamesian account of the emotions, that is, that (a) different types of emotions are associated with specific types of bodily feelings ( specificity), and that (b) emotions are constituted by patterns of bodily feeling ( constitution), do not succeed. In the first part, we argue that several reasons adduced against specificity, including one inspired by Schachter and Singer’s work, are unconvincing. In the second part, we argue that constitution, too, can withstand most of the objections raised against it, including the objection that bodily feelings cannot account for the outward-looking and evaluative nature of emotions. In both sections, we argue that the kinds of felt bodily changes posited by a Jamesian account of emotions are best understood in terms of felt states of action readiness.

Parenting and Prosocial Moral Behavior in Predominantly Muslim Countries

2019 ◽  
pp. 226-246
Author(s):  
Asiye Kumru ◽  
Burcu Bugan ◽  
Zehra Gulseven
Keyword(s):  
Prosocial Behavior ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Moral Behavior ◽  
Prosocial Behaviors ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Muslim Countries ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Cultural Specificity ◽  
Different Types

This chapter aims to examine how parenting relates to prosocial moral behavior in predominantly Muslim countries. First, we briefly define two theoretical approaches to explain prosocial behavior across cultures. Next, we present a discussion of Islam, its sects (Sunni, Shi‘a, and Khawarij), basic teachings, rites, rules, and beliefs, and how all these factors are associated with prosocial and moral behavior in Islamic families. After reviewing the literature on different aspects of parenting and prosocial behavior in these majority Muslim countries, it is concluded that examining of prosocial behaviors in different ethnic and cultural groups in Muslim populations reveals both cultural specificity and universality. Future studies should focus on the analysis of contextual factors as well as parenting to help us to better understand which settings are most appropriate for interventions to promote different types of prosocial moral behaviors in different Muslim societies.

scholarly journals Neuroscience and the Social Origins of Moral Behavior: How Neural Underpinnings of Social Categorization and Conformity Affect Everyday Moral and Immoral Behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 513-520
Author(s):  
Naomi Ellemers ◽  
Félice van Nunspeet
Keyword(s):  
Moral Behavior ◽  
Social Origins ◽  
Social Conformity ◽  
Immoral Behavior ◽  
The Social ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Neural Underpinnings ◽  
Process Feedback ◽  
The Brain

Neuroscientific evidence identifies the brain networks and cognitive processes involved in people’s thoughts and feelings about their behavior. This helps individuals understand the judgments and decisions they make with regard to their own and others’ moral and immoral behavior. This article complements prior reviews by focusing on the social origins of everyday moral and immoral behavior and reviewing neuroscientific research findings related to social conformity, categorization, and identification to demonstrate (a) when people are motivated by social norms of others to follow particular moral guidelines, (b) what prevents people from considering the moral implications of their actions for others, and (c) how people process feedback they receive from others about the appropriateness of their behavior. Revealing the neural mechanisms involved in the social processes that influence the moral and immoral behaviors people display helps researchers understand why and when different types of interventions aiming to regulate moral behavior are likely to be successful or unsuccessful.

Understanding the Influence of Self-Critical, Self-Managing, and Social-Assessing Self-Talk on Performance Outcomes in a Public Speaking Context

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 356-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaowei Shi ◽  
Thomas Brinthaupt ◽  
Margaret McCree
Keyword(s):  
Public Speaking ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Performance Outcomes ◽  
Public Speaking Anxiety ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Speaking Anxiety ◽  
Actual Performance ◽  
Self Talk ◽  
Different Types

This study examines how different types of self-talk (self-reinforcing, self-critical, self-managing, and social-assessing) influence speakers’ emotional experience of public speaking anxiety and actual performance outcomes. A total of 152 participants reported their speech-specific self-talk frequencies and emotional states of anxiety at two time periods. External raters scored each participant’s video-recorded speech. Results revealed that different types of self-talk exert influence on performance outcomes through distinct pathways. For example, self-managing self-talk had a direct positive impact on speakers’ performance qualities, whereas social assessing self-talk had both a direct and an indirect effect but with opposite operating mechanisms. The study found that self-reinforcing self-talk provides little benefit in overcoming anxiety. It appears that the frequent engagement of self-critical self-talk that contributes substantially to the experience of speech-related anxiety. Theoretical and practical implications for self-talk monitoring and public speaking interventions are discussed.

scholarly journals Measuring emotions during learning: lack of coherence between automated facial emotion recognition and emotional experience

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 308-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franziska Hirt ◽  
Egon Werlen ◽  
Ivan Moser ◽  
Per Bergamin
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Recognition ◽  
Affective Computing ◽  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Facial Emotion Recognition ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Facial Emotion ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Promising Source

AbstractMeasuring emotions non-intrusively via affective computing provides a promising source of information for adaptive learning and intelligent tutoring systems. Using non-intrusive, simultaneous measures of emotions, such systems could steadily adapt to students emotional states. One drawback, however, is the lack of evidence on how such modern measures of emotions relate to traditional self-reports. The aim of this study was to compare a prominent area of affective computing, facial emotion recognition, to students’ self-reports of interest, boredom, and valence. We analyzed different types of aggregation of the simultaneous facial emotion recognition estimates and compared them to self-reports after reading a text. Analyses of 103 students revealed no relationship between the aggregated facial emotion recognition estimates of the software FaceReader and self-reports. Irrespective of different types of aggregation of the facial emotion recognition estimates, neither the epistemic emotions (i.e., boredom and interest), nor the estimates of valence predicted the respective self-report measure. We conclude that assumptions on the subjective experience of emotions cannot necessarily be transferred to other emotional components, such as estimated by affective computing. We advise to wait for more comprehensive evidence on the predictive validity of facial emotion recognition for learning before relying on it in educational practice.

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