Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:25:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2008-10-23Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:53:23Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 cocchieri_t_me_mar.pdf: 416905 bytes, checksum: 14bb78803d1bdc1da924acbe9d5ce33b (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O objetivo desta Dissertação é realizar uma pesquisa sobre a natureza da criatividade como processo, com possibilidade de ser explicado de modo sistematizado. Buscamos refutar uma hipótese contrária que compartimenta o processo de criação em uma aura subjetivada e inefável. Com intuito de fundamentar nossa argumentação, procuramos reconstruir os argumentos desenvolvidos por C. S. Peirce referentes a um tipo específico de raciocínio lógico que está associado ao conceito de criatividade, por ser de natureza gerativa de idéias novas chamado pelo filósofo de raciocínio abdutivo. Investigamos aspectos da filosofia de Peirce que estruturam e permeiam a análise desta inferência lógica. Ao longo do desenvolvimento de nossas argumentações, apresentamos o pensamento de filósofos contemporâneos que se debruçaram à análise deste tema. / This dissertation aims at realizing a research on the nature of creativity understood as a process, with the possibility of explaining it in a systematic manner. We refute the hypothesis which ascribes to creative process a subjective and ineffable aura. In order to settle our argumentation we reconstruct that hypotheses of C. S. Peirce referring to a specific sort of logical reasoning associated with the concept of creativity, called abductive reasoning. As we also consider aspects of Peirce's philosophy which organize and integrate the analysis of such logical inference. As our argumentation is developed, we present the theses of contemporary philosophers that have worked on the analysis of this subject.

abstract: The purpose of this study was to create a brief strength of religious/nonreligious worldview scale that has language inclusive for nontheistic populations. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted using 207 participants from a major public southwestern university and a public midwestern university in the United States. It was determined that the Strength of Worldview Scale (SOWS) is a single-factor measure, which also demonstrated high test-retest reliability. It was hypothesized that scores on the SOWS would be negatively correlated with the Depression, Stress, and Anxiety Scale (DASS), positively correlated with the Purpose in Life Subscale, and not correlated with the Extraversion Subscale of the Big Five Inventory (BFI). Only a modest statistically significant correlation between the SOWS and Purpose in life was found. A regression analysis was also conducted with theistic/atheistic belief as a predictor of scores on the SOWS. A curvilinear relationship was found, indicating that strong theists and atheists score more highly in the SOWS than those who are unsure of their beliefs on the existence of a God, Gods, or Higher Power. Preliminary results suggest that the SOWS may be a promising measure for assessing strength of belief in both theist and nontheist populations. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Counseling Psychology 2015

The aim of this study is to offer a reflection on the theory of knowledge ofFrancisco Suárez and his nominalism in the light of Sextus Empiricus’ sceptical thought in his Outlines of Pyrrhonism. It is Sextus who allows us to compare the epistemology of Suárez with a dynamic system of knowledge. With this in view, in the first place, I examine Sextus’s scepticism and Suárez’s nominalist ontology. In the second place, I analyse the mental representation as conceived by Sextus in analogy with the formal and objective concepts of Suárez, and I also discuss the concept of relation in both authors. Finally, I proceed to examine the concept of belief inasmuch as certain restrictions in the configuration of our judgements are manifest and recognized. / El objetivo del presente trabajo es ofrecer una reflexión acerca de la teoría del conocimiento de Francisco Suárez y su nominalismo a la luz del pensamientoescéptico de los Esbozos Pirrónicos de Sexto Empírico. Es Sexto quien nos permitecomparar la epistemología de Suárez con un sistema dinámico del conocimiento. Para esto, en primer lugar, examino el escepticismo de Sexto y la ontología nominalista de Suárez. En segundo lugar, analizo la representación mental concebida por Sexto análogamente a los conceptos formal y objetivo de Suárez, procediendo también a un análisis en torno al concepto de relación en ambos autores. Finalmente, procedo a desarrollar un examen acerca del concepto de creencia en cuanto son patentes y reconocidas ciertas restricciones en la configuración de nuestros juicios.

A presente dissertação trata das crenças e representações de alunos e professores de língua estrangeira como fatores que interferem no processo de ensino/aprendizagem. O trabalho resulta de uma pesquisa de cunho qualitativo na qual foram utilizadas como base teórica as noções de crença e de reprodução cultural, de Bourdieu, e o conceito de representação, de Chartier. O enfoque do tema também considerou as contribuições teóricas em aquisição e aprendizagem de línguas. Foi empregada na pesquisa a metodologia etnográfica, incluindo observação participante e elaboração de notas de campo. A análise do material produzido durante as atividades da pesquisa aponta para a importância da explicitação das crenças e representações em jogo no processo de ensino/aprendizagem de língua estrangeira, como mais um recurso para o professor no processo de reflexão sobre sua prática e solução de problemas didáticos. / The present dissertation discusses beliefs and representations of foreign language students and teachers as factors which interfere with teaching and learning processes. The work stems from a qualitative research project in which Bourdieu´s notions of belief and cultural reproduction, as well as Chartier´s concept of representation, were used as theoretical bases. The theme focus has also taken into account theoretical contributions related to language acquisition and learning. Ethnographic methodology was employed, which included in-class participative observation and elaboration of field notes. Analysis of material produced during research activities points out the importance of explicitness of those beliefs and representations in play at foreign language teaching and learning processes, as they constitute one more set of resources to teachers within their reflection process about practices and solutions to didactical issues.

The aim of the present dissertation is to contribute to the understanding of putative paranormal beliefs and experiences. The introduction provides a conceptual analysis of past research into the paranormal and establishes the rationale for our decision to focus on a specific type of paranormal experience – precognitive dreams. The dissertation evaluates several different hypotheses that have been proposed to account for such experiences. Chapter II describes an online dream precognition study testing the so-called psi hypothesis (Study 1). Participants (N = 50) collected details of their dreams over four weekly periods. Independent judges rated the similarity of the dream reports to randomly selected target and decoy video clips. Compared to the chance baseline of 50 hits out of 200 trials, the obtained 64 hits was significantly more than could be expected under the null hypothesis. However, based on a post hoc exploration of the data, we concluded that Study 1 yielded no evidence of any anomalous cognition within participants’ dreams. It did, however, illustrate the potential theoretical and methodological issues with the psi hypothesis and the way it is habitually assessed. Chapter III focuses on explanations of putative precognitive dreams in terms of unconscious cognition. Two studies test the hypothesis that precognitive dreams arise as a result of unconscious inferences about likely future events based on subtle cues from the environment perceived in the absence of awareness. Study 2 explores individual differences in implicit processing and their relationship to precognitive dream belief and experience. Participants (N = 50) completed the serial reaction time task as well as a series of questionnaire measures. Contrary to prediction, no relationship was found between precognitive dream experience – or belief – and implicit task performance. Following these null findings, Study 3 tested another prediction of the same hypothesis. Participants (N = 49) completed a modified change detection task. The modification allowed for assessing explicit and implicit change detection separately. The results of Study 3 did not support the hypothesis, as the measure of explicit change detection was not related to precognitive dream experience. They did, however, provide a conceptual replication of the findings of Study 2, since we again found no relationship between implicit detection and precognitive dream experience. On a large sample of participants (N = 672), Study 4, reported in Chapter IV, explores several demographic and sleep- and dream-related variables and their relationship with precognitive dream belief and experience. We hypothesised that precognitive dream experience is associated with erratic patterns of sleep behaviour. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found that a higher subjective frequency of precognitive dreams was associated with more nocturnal awakenings, higher dream recall, lower overall sleep quality, and a higher likelihood of using sleep medication. We also explored the demographic factors of precognitive dream belief and experience, namely gender, age and education. Women were more likely to believe in the reality of precognitive dreams as well as report experiencing them. And there was a negative relationship between completed years of formal education and the precognitive dream variables. Frequency of these experiences was positively related to age. Moreover, we predicted that both precognitive dream belief and experience would be positively related to the subjective importance ascribed to one’s dreams in general. We found support for this hypothesis. Finally, the study investigated the relationship between the belief in and the experience of precognitive dreams. Although, as could be expected, we found these two to be strongly positively related, we argued that this relationship is not sufficient to gloss over the conceptual distinction. In order to further develop our line of research, we identify a need for a new measurement tool addressing attitudes towards one’s precognitive dream experiences. Study 5, reported in Chapter V, concerns the development and validation of such a tool. A sample of people who reported having had a precognitive dream experience (N = 330) completed an initial 49-item questionnaire. After removing items with unsatisfactory psychometric characteristics an exploratory factor analysis coupled with exploratory structural equation modelling revealed a well-interpretable 5-factor structure with good internal consistency. Additional variables collected on the sample were subsequently used to test the validity of the derived subscales. Overall, the predicted relationships were confirmed by the analyses, which indicates both convergent and divergent/discriminant validity of the questionnaire. Importantly, we found that personal significance of one’s precognitive dreams was related to the frequency with which they are experienced. The final empirical chapter, Chapter VI, explores the relationship between precognitive dream belief and experience, their personal significance, and memory. Study 6 tested three hypotheses: earliest precognitive dream experiences would tend to date to a period of identity formation in one’s life; the vividness of the memory of this earliest experience would correlate with the frequency of precognitive dream experience; and this relationship would be accounted for by the personal significance ascribed to one’s precognitive dreams. All three hypotheses were supported. Finally, Chapter VII summarises the findings of the six studies conducted for this dissertation. We discuss our results in the context of the existing literature and highlight the main theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions of our research. Directions for future research are also provided.

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In a series of experiments, with a total sample of over 2,400 participants, this thesis investigates how various threats that customers may encounter influence the customers’ subsequent purchase and choice behaviors. Furthermore, this thesis examines whether individuals’ predicted behaviors in certain consumer contexts are congruent with customers’ actual behaviors in these very contexts. Paper I takes an evolutionary approach and investigates whether a status threat to male customers, induced by exposure to physically dominant men, results in compensatory consumption of products that signal status through price or size. Paper II takes a reactance-based approach and examines whether customers whose freedom to touch has been threatened compensate by touching, and ultimately purchasing, a larger number of products. Paper III investigates whether threats to customers’ self-control in one domain influence choice behavior and consumption preferences in another unrelated domain. More specifically, the paper examines whether exposure to attractive opposite-sex faces (and hence a subtle activation of sexual desire and its associated pleasure-seeking mindset) makes individuals more motivated to choose and consume unhealthy-but-rewarding foods.      The main findings of this work can be summarized as follows: Consumer threats result in compensatory consumption, not only in the specific domain under threat, but also in unrelated or only symbolically similar domains. Such compensatory responses are in direct contrast to consumer lay beliefs and even the predictions made by marketing professors and other scholars, which suggests that people are generally unaware of the impact that certain threats have on their behavior. These results should be as interesting for customers who want to make informed choices and resist various influence attempts as for marketers, advertisers, and retail managers who want to influence customers. / In a series of experiments, this thesis investigates how threats that customers may encounter influence their subsequent purchase and choice behaviors. Moreover, this thesis examines whether individuals’ predicted behaviors are congruent with customers’ actual behaviors in certain consumer contexts. Paper I investigates whether a status threat to male customers, induced by physically dominant men, results in compensatory consumption of products that signal status through price or size. Paper II examines whether customers whose freedom to touch has been threatened compensate by touching, and ultimately purchasing, more products. Paper III investigates whether attractive opposite-sex faces threaten individuals’ self-control, thereby making them more motivated to choose and consume unhealthy-but-rewarding foods. The results reveal that consumer threats do indeed lead to compensatory consumption. Such compensatory responses are in direct contrast to lay beliefs and even predictions made by marketing professors, suggesting that people are generally unaware of the impact certain threats have on their behavior. These results should be as interesting for customers trying to make informed choices as for marketers, advertisers, and retail managers trying to influence customers.

Patients diagnosed with Multidrug-resistant(MDR) and Extreme drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis (TB) have to be hospitalised for a period of six to twelve months, according to the MDR/XDR Policy Guidelines on the treatment of drug-resistant TB – until the patient recovers, and is no longer infectious. There are factors associated with both the patients’ and their partners’ (spouses) resistance to long-term hospitalisation. This has resulted in several acts of violence against the hospital property and members of the health-care team. However, there are a small number of partners who assist the health-care team – by ensuring compliance from the patients and providing their continued support to the patient – despite their own risk of being infected with MDR and XDR TB. This qualitative study was aimed at exploring and describing the resilience factors that have been observed amongst a small number of partners of patients with MDR and XDR TB at an in-patient treatment centre in Port Elizabeth. The research design was exploratory, descriptive and contextual in nature; and the researcher interviewed eight spouses or live-in partners of patientsfor this study, until data saturation was achieved. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews; and the data analysis was conducted, according to the eight steps proposed by Tesch model of data analysis (in Creswell, 1998).Guba’smodel of trustworthiness was used to assess the data collected during the interviews. The findings from this study will inform the health-care team on methods of how the support of the patients’ partners could be mobilised in the holistic treatment plan of MDR and XDR TB patients in an in-patient treatment centre.

The world needs entrepreneurs now more than ever; fresh thinkers, who spot opportunities and apply their talents to overcome obstacles to make their ideas happen. Entrepreneurs need to reframe the recession as an area of business opportunity for all. They must unleash their innovative ideas around the world and inspire solutions that will tackle issues ranging from poverty, unemployment and climatic change. It is the fundamental precept of the Christian faith that God calls not only ministers and other spiritual workers, but everyone to specific roles in his kingdom. Christian Entrepreneurs must realise that their calling to establish and lead business organisations that are designed to achieve results in the secular world. Christian Entrepreneur Organisations differ from secular businesses because they do business while being led by the Holy Spirit. Christian Entrepreneurship is the return of unfulfilled business leaders to the sense of "calling" enjoyed by fellow laity in the U.S.A. and Western Europe prior to the 20th Century. The goal is to develop a business that blends business excellence and entrepreneurship with Christian Biblical and theological perspectives. This exploratory study investigated the role of the Christian faith in Entrepreneurship and in Entrepreneurial businesses. The study identified some of the Christian business practices and introduced the reader to the different approaches this group of entrepreneurs have to that of the secular business equivalent.

The passive perception of irrelevant actions can facilitate or interfere with the execution of one’s own actions, known as ‘automatic imitation’ (AI). For example, when one is pressing down on a button, reaction times (RTs) are faster when observing a finger depression (compatible action) and slower whilst observing a finger lift (incompatible action). This phenomenon has been attributed to the mirror neuron system and is thought to represent a laboratory model of spontaneous motor mimicry which facilitates social interactions. AI is typically reduced or absent when the observed movement is produced by a non-human agent. However, previous findings suggest that the magnitude of this ‘human bias’ can be modulated by top-down factors, such as attention and prior instructions regarding whether the movement was produced by a human or non-human agent. This thesis aimed to further examine the role of attention and belief regarding stimulus agency in automatic imitation. Participants were required to perform a pre-specified key press or release response to a diffuse yellow flash go signal. This response was either compatible or incompatible with the finger or object movement, which was presented simultaneously. AI was measured by subtracting compatible from incompatible RTs to calculate the compatibility effect. Experiments 1a, 1b, 2 and 7 focused on exploring the role of attention in AI. Experiment 1a revealed that the human bias is dependent on when the go signal occurs. AI was greater for the finger stimulus relative to the object stimulus when the go signal occurred during the movement, but not after the movement. It is suggested that attention to the movement is reduced when the go signal occurs after the movement. This implies that the human bias in AI is dependent on attention being directed towards the movement. Experiments 1b and 2 indicated that AI was removed if a visual dual task was added, but that AI remained and was greater when an auditory dual task was added. This indicates that AI was removed when the visual dual task competed for cognitive resources with action observation. The facilitation of AI when an auditory dual task was added suggests that the additional cognitive load may have occupied cognitive resources required for the inhibition of imitation. These findings highlight that AI is susceptible to attentional load, implying that AI is not a strongly automatic process. Experiment 7 explored whether the spread of attention modulates the magnitude of AI by comparing a ‘diffuse’ go signal to a ‘focused’ go signal which directed attention to the stimulus movement. Significantly larger AI effects were produced for the group of participants who saw the focused flash first, indicating that focusing attention on the spatial location of the movement increased AI, and furthermore that initially observing the focused flash ‘trained’ participants to pay attention to the stimulus movement in the diffuse flash condition. Experiments 3 and 4 examined why AI effects for non-human stimuli are more likely to be significant when trials are presented in separate blocks (e.g. human vs. non-human stimuli) as opposed to randomly mixed trials. It was hypothesised that this pattern of previous results could be due to less attention being drawn to stimulus differences when stimuli are presented separately as opposed to mixed with a block of trials. However, in both experiments, AI effects were present for the object stimulus in the group of participants who observed the block of finger trials first. This suggests that the prior observation of the finger movement caused a carry-over of human agency to the object stimulus. Experiments 5, 6, 8 and 9 directly explored the role of belief regarding stimulus agency in AI by instructing participants that the object movement was generated by a human finger movement. Experiments 5, 6 and 8 provided preliminary evidence that AI is affected by belief instructions, but the effects were weak or confounded by spatial stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) effects (i.e. compatibility effects based on spatial correspondence of the stimulus and response location). Experiment 9 was designed to differentiate imitative compatibility from SRC effects, thus providing a pure measure of imitative compatibility. Imitative compatibility was present for the object stimulus after the belief manipulation. This demonstrates that a human belief regarding stimulus agency of the object modulated imitative compatibility effects due to the top-down knowledge that the movement was human generated, and not due to increased attention and SRC effects. The presented work has provided multiple lines of evidence which demonstrate that so-called ‘automatic’ imitation effects are strongly susceptible to top-down influences, including attention and belief regarding stimulus agency. The current work could be used to evaluate top-down modulation of imitation in autistic populations, as it has been proposed that top-down modulation of the automatic imitation pathway may be atypical in autism.