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41st Annual Meeting of the Jean Piaget Society for the Study of Knowledge & Development
Please join us at the 41st Annual Meeting of the Piaget Society for the Study of Knowledge & Development! Early registration ends on April 15th. In association with the Institute of Human Development, University of California, Berkeley The meeting will take place on June 2–4, 2011 in Berkeley, California, USA (Doubletree Marina Hotel) The program theme for this year is Cultural Supports for Developing Mathematical & Scientific Reasoning Organizers: Rich Lehrer & Leona Schauble (Vanderbilt University) As always, our general program for 2011 includes a wide variety of topics on knowledge and development.
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Is ‘enhanced interrogation’ torture? Yes, say those given small dose
The Vancouver Sun: Those who approve "enhanced interrogation techniques" probably have a flawed idea of whether this constitutes torture, because few have felt the pain these methods can cause, researchers report. A study that gave its subjects a mild taste of such interrogation methods as solitary confinement, sleep deprivation and extreme cold found most respondents characterized what they felt as torture. Those who did not experience these techniques but were told about them generally underestimated how much pain they might cause, the researchers found.
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Why people with a European background can’t help but judge a book by its cover
The Daily Mail: It is often said that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But it seems that some of us can’t help but do just that. A study found people from European backgrounds are more likely to be guilty of jumping to conclusions than those with an Asian heritage. And brain scans show that these cultural differences are embedded deep within people’s minds. Read the whole story: The Daily Mail
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Is it torture? Those who decide have not felt it
Reuters: Those who approve "enhanced interrogation techniques" probably have a flawed idea of whether this constitutes torture, because few have felt the pain these methods can cause, researchers reported Monday. A new study that gave its subjects a mild taste of such interrogation methods as solitary confinement, sleep deprivation and extreme cold found most respondents characterized what they felt as torture. Those who did not experience these techniques but were told about them generally underestimated how much pain they might cause, the researchers found. Read the whole story: Reuters
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Crossing the Line: What Constitutes Torture?
Torture. The United Nations defines it as the “infliction of severe physical or mental pain or suffering.” But how severe is severe? That judgment determines whether or not the law classifies an interrogation practice as torture. Now, a study published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, condemns this method of classification as essentially flawed. The reason: The people estimating the severity of pain aren’t experiencing that pain—so they underestimate it. As a result, many acts of torture are not classified—or prohibited—as torture, say authors, Loran F.
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Physicians May Heal Themselves Differently .
The Wall Street Journal: Doctors weigh treatment options differently when they are deciding for themselves and when they are treating patients, according to a new study. Doctors were more likely to opt for treatments with a higher chance of death—but lower risk of serious side effects—for themselves than for their patients in a survey of 940 primary-care physicians evaluating one of two hypothetical medical scenarios. The results suggest that the "act of making a recommendation changes the psychological processes influencing their decisions," write the authors, from Duke University and the University of Michigan.
