Neutral Actions Research Articles

Temporal dynamics of implicit moral evaluation: from empathy for pain to mentalizing processes

To understand how we evaluate harm to others, it is crucial to consider the offender’s intent and the victim’s suffering. Previous research investigating event-related potentials (ERPs) during moral evaluation has been limited by small sample sizes and a priori selection of electrodes and time windows that may bias the results. To overcome these limitations, we examined ERPs in 66 healthy human adults using a data-driven analytic approach involving cluster-based permutation tests. Participants performed an implicit moral evaluation task requiring to observe scenarios depicting intentional harm (IHS), accidental harm (AHS), and neutral actions (NAS) while judging whether each scenario was set indoors or outdoors. Our results revealed two distinct clusters, peaking at ∼170 and ∼250 ms, showing differences between harm scenarios (IHS and AHS) and NAS, suggesting rapid processing of the victim’s physical outcome. The difference between IHS and AHS scenarios emerged later, at ∼400 ms, potentially reflecting subsequent evaluation of the agent’s intentions. Source analysis showed that brain regions associated with empathy for pain were associated with the earlier peaks at ∼170 and ∼250 ms, while the modulation of the activity of the mentalizing network was presented at ∼250 and ∼400 ms. These findings advance our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying implicit moral evaluation. Notably, they provide electrocortical new insights for models of implicit moral evaluation, suggesting an early neural response linked to empathy for pain, with subsequent integration of empathy response with mentalizing processes, followed by later cognitive evaluations, likely reflecting the assessment of the agent’s moral responsibility.

Flexible and fine-grained simulation of speed in language processing.

According to the embodied cognition theory, language comprehension is achieved through mental simulation. This account is supported by a number of studies reporting action simulations during language comprehension. However, which details of sensory-motor experience are included in these simulations is still controversial. Here, three experiments were carried out to examine the simulation of speed in action language comprehension. Experiment 1 adopted a lexical decision task and a semantic similarity judgment task on isolated fast and slow action verbs. It has been shown that fast action verbs were processed significantly faster than slow action verbs when deep semantic processing is required. Experiment 2 and Experiment 3 investigated the contextual influence on the simulation of speed, showing that the processing of verbs, either depicting fast actions or neutral actions, would be slowed down when embedded in the slow action sentences. These experiments together demonstrate that the fine-gained information, speed, is an important part of action representation and can be simulated but may not in an automatic way. Moreover, the speed simulation is flexible and can be modulated by the context.

Analysis of players’ stroke performance relevance in tennis matches

ABSTRACT In this study, we applied the stroke performance relevance (SPR) method to analyse the performance of players in 53 elite men’s singles matches at the 2018 and 2019 Australian Open, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon championships. The SPR method assigns a distinct contribution value to each stroke, considering the stroke’s outcome and timing. The investigation scrutinised every stroke, analysing stroke technique, placement, and game action across three court surfaces to understand their impact on match outcomes. The results revealed that 1) serve technique is crucial in high-level men’s singles matches, especially on hard court and grass, while groundstrokes significantly influence match outcomes. Forehand groundstrokes, with notably higher SPR values than backhand groundstrokes, are more beneficial for winning players. 2) Court surfaces minimally impact stroke placements; deeper and closer-to-the-sideline shots yield better scores on all courts. 3) Neutral actions (both players use offensive techniques to strike the ball) show significant differentiation in match outcomes. For both players who won match and players who lost the match, negative SPR values for return and defence across different courts indicate a negative impact on match outcomes. 4) SPR is a new method to help coaches and players quantify stroke performance in matches.

Digitally-enhanced dog behavioral testing

Behavioral traits in dogs are assessed for a wide range of purposes such as determining selection for breeding, chance of being adopted or prediction of working aptitude. Most methods for assessing behavioral traits are questionnaire or observation-based, requiring significant amounts of time, effort and expertise. In addition, these methods might be also susceptible to subjectivity and bias, negatively impacting their reliability. In this study, we proposed an automated computational approach that may provide a more objective, robust and resource-efficient alternative to current solutions. Using part of a ‘Stranger Test’ protocol, we tested n = 53 dogs for their response to the presence and neutral actions of a stranger. Dog coping styles were scored by three dog behavior experts. Moreover, data were collected from their owners/trainers using the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ). An unsupervised clustering of the dogs’ trajectories revealed two main clusters showing a significant difference in the stranger-directed fear C-BARQ category, as well as a good separation between (sufficiently) relaxed dogs and dogs with excessive behaviors towards strangers based on expert scoring. Based on the clustering, we obtained a machine learning classifier for expert scoring of coping styles towards strangers, which reached an accuracy of 78%. We also obtained a regression model predicting C-BARQ scores with varying performance, the best being Owner-Directed Aggression (with a mean average error of 0.108) and Excitability (with a mean square error of 0.032). This case study demonstrates a novel paradigm of ‘machine-based’ dog behavioral assessment, highlighting the value and great promise of AI in this context.

Regional carbon efficiency and corporate cash holdings: evidence from China

Improving regional carbon efficiency is significant for achieving carbon emission peak and carbon neutrality. Local governments’ carbon reduction regulations to improve regional carbon efficiency greatly influence the macro environment of enterprise production and operation. However, only some studies have focused on the relationship between regional carbon efficiency and corporate production and operation. Based on the data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2019, this study aims to identify the impact and influencing mechanism of regional carbon efficiency on corporate cash holdings. The main results are as follows. (1) With the improvement of regional carbon efficiency, the cash holdings level of enterprises can be reduced. The reason is that facing the dual tasks of reducing carbon emissions and promoting economic growth, the uncertainty of China’s local government’s carbon reduction policy will be more obvious. This is bound to have uncertain impacts on enterprises in many aspects, resulting in local enterprises facing carbon risk. Regional carbon efficiency will reduce carbon risk and weaken the preventive motivation of enterprises holding cash under the condition of stabilizing enterprise cash flow, alleviating financing constraints and improving the availability of external funds. (2) Regional carbon efficiency reduces the cash holdings of enterprises by improving corporate debt financing capability and promoting long-term investment. That is because improvements in regional carbon efficiency can reduce the carbon risks faced by enterprises. In terms of cash source, it can alleviate the financing constraints of enterprises, while in terms of cash destination, it may promote enterprises to make long-term investments and reduce cash holdings. This study enriches the literature on the factors influencing corporate cash holdings, documents the initiative of Chinese enterprises to participate in peak carbon programs and carbon neutral actions, and may enhance support for carbon emissions reduction in developing countries.

Neural, physiological and behavioural correlates of empathy for pain in Tourette syndrome.

Persons with Tourette syndrome show altered social behaviours, such as echophenomena and increased personal distress in emotional situations. These symptoms may reflect an overactive mirror neuron system, causing both increased automatic imitation and a stronger tendency to share others' emotions. To test this, we measured the individual level of echophenomena with a video protocol and experimentally induced empathy for pain in 21 participants with Tourette syndrome and 25 matched controls. In the empathy for pain paradigm, pictures of hands and feet in painful or neutral situations were presented, while we measured participants' EEG and skin conductance response. Changes in somatosensory mu suppression during the observation of the pictures and pain ratings were compared between groups, and correlations were calculated with the occurrence of echophenomena, self-reported empathy and clinical measures. Our Tourette syndrome sample showed significantly more echophenomena than controls, but the groups showed no behavioural differences in empathic abilities. However, controls, but not patients with Tourette syndrome, showed the predicted increased mu suppression when watching painful compared to neutral actions. While echophenomena were present in all persons with Tourette syndrome, the hypothesis of an overactive mirror neuron system in Tourette syndrome could not be substantiated. On the contrary, the Tourette syndrome group showed a noticeable lack of mu attenuation in response to pain stimuli. In conclusion, we found a first hint of altered processing of others' emotional states in a brain region associated with the mirror neuron system.

The Greatest Menace Review: Living with Shadows of the Past

The Greatest Menace is an investigative podcast by Patrick Abboud and Simon Cunich which examines the history of Cooma Gaol, Australia’s experimental homosexual prison. The podcast explores a difficult and confronting piece of history, weaving together the past and the present as host Abboud attempts to uncover buried information about Cooma Gaol, the people incarcerated there and the people who operated it. This review explores the approaches taken by Abboud and Cunich to explore this history, mindful of the present-day impact that digging up these stories has on those involved. While investigating the prison’s past, Abboud interviews former prisoners, victims of police entrapment, family members of those who ran the prison, people in the town and the community and many others. The Greatest Menace reminds listeners that the process of interviewing and researching history are not neutral actions; they are actions that have the potential to open (and sometimes help heal) old wounds.

Embodied cognition and emotion, two variables improving memory abilities in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.

This study investigated whether emotions and enactment can jointly increase memory performance in nondemented Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Actions' drawings with negative, positive, or neutral valence were presented to 17 PD patients, 17 AD patients, and 37 elderly controls, matched to age. Two conditions of intentional encoding were proposed to each participant: one verbal, in which participants had to name the represented actions; and one motor, in which they had to mime the displayed actions. Thereafter, participants were submitted to an immediate free recall task and a delayed recognition task. The enactment effect was found in all three groups. The effect of emotion was also observed in that all three groups recalled negative actions better than both neutral and positive (PD patients), only neutral (AD patients), or only positive actions (elderly controls). Positive actions were not recalled better than neutral actions in any group. These results constitute an evidence for the preservation of the enactment effect and of the emotion effect on memory in AD and PD patients. However, they do not support the hypothesis of the combined effect of emotion and enactment on memory, neither in AD and PD patients nor in normal aging. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Self-Hierarchy in Perceptual Matching: Variations in Different Processing Stages

People have three cognitive representations of the self, namely, the individual, relational, and collective selves (CS), which are indispensable components of selfhood but not necessarily given equal preference. Previous studies found that people displayed varied self-hierarchy in miscellaneous tasks involving different research materials that had pre-existing learned associations established over long periods of time. Therefore, this study tries to explore a purer self-hierarchy without the influence of research materials, using perceptual matching tasks. The behavioral and event-related potentials’ (ERPs) findings showed that people recognized information association with their individual self (IS) faster compared with their relational (RS) and CS. Smaller N2, stronger P3 and late positive complex (LPC) amplitudes were evoked during IS compared with RS and CS. However, the three selves evoked equal P2 amplitudes at the early processing stage. Moreover, CS showed a weaker advantage than RS, demonstrating a longer reaction time, lower d prime, and weaker P3 and LPC amplitudes in the parietal region. Overall, self-hierarchy during simple perceptual processing manifested as IS > RS > CS at the late processing stage but manifested as IS = RS = CS at the early processing stage. Self-hierarchy varies according to the processing stage, even without meaningful information and during the simple perception processing. This result provides direct evidence that all selves can be tagged with neutral actions, which would fit the idea of an organism attuned to self-survival at multiple processing levels.

GENETICS OF PARANOIDPERSONALITYDISORDER

Paranoid personality disorder (PPD) is characterized by the following leading features: excessive sensitivity to failures and refusals; inclination to persistently endure even minor insults and injuries or slights, refusing to forgive them; suspicion and distortion of facts, interpretation of friendly or neutral actions of other people as hostile or contemptuous; unjustified suspicions of sexual infidelity of a partner; unfounded concern about the imaginary conspiracy of events both in relation to himself and around the world; feeling of one's own usually exaggerated significance; unfounded militant defense of their personal rights. The prevalence of PPD is 2.3-4.4% and is more often diagnosed in men. Heritability of PPD varies from 28% to 66%.
 By now various authors have described 16 genes associated with the development of PPD: SLC6A4, COMT, CACNA1C, NOS1AP, DYNC1I1 and 11 genes of mitochondrial complex 1. The SLC6A4 gene (17q11.2) encodes a reverse serotonin transporter. A slight deletion in the promoter of this gene reduces its activity and can minimize the expression of paranoid traits. The product of the COMT gene (22q11.21) is actively involved in dopamine metabolism. A G-to-A transition atcodon 158 of this gene increases its activity by 3-4 times and, as a consequence, decreases dopamine expression in the prefrontal cortex, which causes paranoid symptoms of personality disorders. The CACNA1C gene (12p13.33) encodes a protein that plays an important role in the formation and activity of brain neurons. The single nucleotide polymorphism rs1006737, located in the 3rd intron of this gene, is associated with PPD, schizophrenia, schizotypal personality disorder, major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder.
 Mitochondrial complex 1 and cellular bioenergetic pathways play a significant role in the etiology and features of PPD and schizophrenia. Significant changes in expression of 11 genes were detected in patients with PPD compared to the control sample. Expression of genes NDUFS1 (2q33.3), NDUFV1 (11q13.2), NDUFV2 (18p11.22), NDUFB5 (3q26.33), NDUFB9 (8q24.13), NDUFA13(19p13.11), NDUFA8 (9q33. 2) and NDUFA5 (7q31.32) was increased, and the genes NDUFB11 (Xp11.3), NDUFS7 (19p13.3) and NDUFS8 (11q13.2) were decreased. The NDUFS1 gene expression was particularly high. None of the sevenmitochondrial genes showed a change in expression,which may reduce the importance of a maternal patternin the heritance of PPD.The results of the study showed that the NDUFS1 gene may be a specific marker for PPD.
 In the presence of relevant genetic factors certain environmental conditions can provoke the development of PPD. It is possible to predict PPD on the presence of NOS1AP (1q23.3) gene polymorphisms and childhood abuse. The protein encoded by this gene is involved in the functioning of brain synapses. There is shown that emotional violence and SNPs rs348624 and rs4145621, located respectively in the 9th exon and 3rd intron of the NOS1AP gene, reliably predict PPD.
 In addition to described above 16 genes, whose variants are reliably involved in PPD, various researchers have identified at least 8 other genes that are likely to be associated with PPD, although they have been identified in the study of other mental disorders, mainly schizophrenia.
 A review of available scientific sources on PPD genetics shows that research of this problem isin its beginning. It is necessary to expand and deepen these studies on the basis of the most modern molecular genetic technologies, one of which is the genome-wide associations study. This technology makes it possible not only to detect candidate genes, but also to determine the nature of mutations that cause hereditary disease. Such mutations can be single nucleotide polymorphisms, small insertions / deletions and changes in the number of copies. In addition, they can be located not only within genes (in exons and introns), but also in intergenic regions of DNA. Gene expression can be affected not only by mutations within its exons, but also by mutations within its introns and intergenic DNA regions.

К интерпретации понятия «среднего надлежащего» в ранней стоической этике

This paper examines two alternative ways to interpret the early Stoic concept of “inter­mediate appropriate” action (μέσον καθῆκον). According to the first interpretation, which the author calls “dichotomous”, appropriate actions can be “intermediate” or morally neutral only when viewed in abstracto, i.e. without reference to the virtuous or vicious disposition of those who commit them, whereas in practice they always become either morally right or morally wrong depending on this disposition. According to the second interpretation, which the author calls “trichotomous”, “intermediate appropriate” actions constitute a separate class of morally neutral actions along with morally right and morally wrong ones. The author believes that the dichotomous interpretation is preferable. On the whole, it fits much better with the early Stoic view that all moral agents are divided into virtuous sages who only per­form morally right actions (κατορθώματα) and vicious fools who only commit morally wrong transgressions (ἁμαρτήματα). Nevertheless, some Stoic fragments contain statements that might seem to support the trichotomous reading. The author offers a detailed analysis of these fragments, demonstrating that they do not in fact contradict the dichotomous interpre­tation – either because on closer examination these texts prove to be quite compatible with it and even to some extent confirm it or because they do not provide evidence for authentically Stoic teaching at all.

Negative emotion increases false memory for person/action conjunctions

ABSTRACT Two experiments demonstrate that eyewitnesses often falsely recognise an actor performing an action that had actually been performed by someone else, even if the action involves negative emotions and the actor in question had only appeared in emotionally neutral contexts. Participants viewed videos, each involving an actor performing a neutral (e.g. making oatmeal) or negatively valenced (e.g. killing a roach) action, and were asked to remember the events (Experiment 1) or to rate them for valence and arousal (Experiment 2). In both experiments, participants remembered negative actions better than neutral actions. Participants were also especially likely, however, to falsely recognise a different person performing a negative action. Experiment 2 revealed that this effect was modulated by the prior emotional contexts in which an actor had appeared. Participants were still just as likely, however, to falsely recognise an actor who had only appeared in neutral contexts now performing a negative action as they were to falsely recognise this actor performing a different neutral action. These results suggest that even individuals seen only in benign contexts can be falsely remembered as having participated in emotionally charged events (e.g. crimes).

The effect of empathy and context on face-processing ERPs

The investigation of emotional face processing has largely used faces devoid of context, and does not account for within-perceiver differences in empathy. The importance of context in face perception has become apparent in recent years. This study examined the interaction of the contextual factors of facial expression, knowledge of a person's character, and within-perceiver empathy levels on face processing event-related potentials (ERPs). Forty-two adult participants learned background information about six individuals' character. Three types of character were described, in which the character was depicted as deliberately causing harm to others, accidently causing harm to others, or undertaking neutral actions. Subsequently, EEG was recorded while participants viewed the characters' faces displaying neutral or emotional expressions. Participants' empathy was assessed using the Empathy Quotient survey. Results showed a significant interaction of character type and empathy on the early posterior negativity (EPN) ERP component. These results suggested that for those with either low or high empathy, more attention was paid to the face stimuli, with more distinction between the different characters. In contrast, those in the middle range of empathy tended to produce smaller EPN with less distinction between character types. Findings highlight the importance of trait empathy in accounting for how faces in context are perceived.

Incidental disgust does not cause moral condemnation of neutral actions

ABSTRACT Emotivism in moral psychology holds that making moral judgements is at least partly an affective process. Three emotivist hypotheses can be distinguished: the elicitation hypothesis (that moral transgressions elicit emotions); the amplification hypothesis (that disgust amplifies moral judgments); and the moralisation hypothesis (that affect moralises the non-moral). Even though the moralisation hypothesis is the strongest and most radical form of emotivism, it has not been systematically experimentally tested. Most previous studies have used as stimuli morally wrong actions, and thus they cannot answer whether disgust is sufficient to moralise an otherwise neutral action. In Experiment 1 (N = 87) we tested the effect of incidental disgust on morally neutral scenarios, and in Experiment 2 (N = 510) the differential effect of disgust on neutral and wrong scenarios. The results did not support either the moralisation or the amplification hypothesis. Instead, Bayesian analyses provided substantial evidence for the null hypothesis that incidental disgust does not affect moral ratings. The results are in line with a recent meta-analysis suggesting that disgust has no effect on moral ratings.

Preschoolers use helpful and harmful interactions to predict social category membership.

A core question in social categorization research focuses on how children organize social categories. We examined whether 4- and 5-year-olds: (a) identify the social category membership of a person based on relational interactions between that person and a known category member; and (b) use these social categories to guide inferences about certain shared properties. Preschoolers (n = 229) were introduced to 2 novel social categories (comprised of diverse individuals), each possessing a distinct property (e.g., dancing vs. singing). During test trials, children witnessed members from each category direct helpful, harmful, or neutral actions toward ambiguous characters. In Experiment 1, when a member of a category exhibited helpful actions toward an ambiguous character, children inferred that the ambiguous character belonged to the same category as the helper. In contrast, when a group member directed harmful actions toward the ambiguous character, children inferred that ambiguous character belonged to the alternate category. In neither case did children extend category properties to the new member. In Experiment 2, category properties were introduced as mutually exclusive social conventions. Here, children used helpful and harmful actions to identify the social category of an ambiguous character and generalize the property. In Experiment 3, when social categories were introduced using only shared physical location and shared activity as a marker of category membership, children did not use helpful or harmful behavior to predict category membership. Together findings indicate that children can identify social category membership based on observed social interactions when meaningful category information is available. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

On Life and Value within Objectivist Ethics

Abstract This article considers the meanings of “life” within Objectivist ethics. It distinguishes between life lived moment to moment (a flow concept) and life-as-a-whole (a stock concept). It examines life's finality as related to life being the ultimate value. It questions whether one “lives to consume” or “consumes to live” from a desert island perspective. It discusses what one's whole life entails within the context of decision making. It looks at decisions between competing values. Finally, it discusses the distinction between ethical and ethically neutral actions and suggests ways in which inquiries regarding these may be approached.

Are morally good actions ever free?

Research has shown that people ascribe more responsibility to morally bad actions than both morally good and neutral ones, suggesting that people do not attribute responsibility to morally good actions. The present work demonstrates that this is not so: People ascribe more free will to morally good than neutral actions (Studies 1a-1b, Mini Meta). Studies 2a-2b distinguished the underlying motives for ascribing freedom to morally good and bad actions. Free will ascriptions for immoral actions were driven predominantly by affective responses (i.e., punitive desires, moral outrage, and perceived severity of the crime). Free will judgments for morally good actions were similarly driven by affective responses (i.e., reward desires, moral uplift, and perceived generosity), but also more pragmatic considerations (perceived utility of reward, counternormativity of the action, and required willpower). Morally good actions may be more carefully considered, leading to generally weaker, but more contextually sensitive free will judgments.

Are Morally Good Actions Ever Free?

Research has shown that people ascribe more responsibility to morally bad actions than both morally good and neutral ones, suggesting that people do not attribute responsibility to morally good actions. The present work demonstrates that this is not so: People ascribe more free will to morally good than neutral actions (Studies 1a-1b, Mini Meta). Studies 2a-2b distinguished the underlying motives for ascribing freedom to morally good and bad actions. Free will ascriptions for immoral actions were driven predominantly by affective responses (i.e., punitive desires, moral outrage, and perceived severity of the crime). Free will judgments for morally good actions were similarly driven by affective responses (i.e., reward desires, moral uplift, and perceived generosity), but also more pragmatic considerations (perceived utility of reward, counternormativity of the action, and required willpower). Morally good actions may be more carefully considered, leading to generally weaker, but more contextually sensitive free will judgments.

Modulating anosognosia for hemiplegia: The role of dangerous actions in emergent awareness

Anosognosia for hemiplegia is a lack of awareness of motor deficits following a right hemisphere lesion. Residual forms of awareness co-occur with an explicit denial of hemiplegia. The term emergent awareness refers to a condition in which awareness of motor deficits is reported verbally during the actual performance of an action involving the affected body part. In this study, two tasks were used to explore the potential effects of i) attempting actions which are impossible for sufferers of hemiplegia and ii) attempting actions which are potentially dangerous. Sixteen hemiplegic patients (8 anosognosic, and 8 non-anosognosic) were asked to perform both potentially dangerous and neutral actions. Our results confirm an increase in emergent awareness in anosognosic patients during the execution of both of these types of action. Moreover, actions that are potentially dangerous improved the degree of awareness. However, lesions in the fronto-temporal areas appear to be associated with a reduced effect of action execution (emergent awareness) while lesions in the basal ganglia and amygdale and the white matter underlying the insula and fronto-temporal areas are associated with a lesser degree of improvement resulting from attempting to perform dangerous actions.

Geographies of Risk, the Regulatory State, and the Ethic of Care

We examine the role of the regulatory state in the inequitable distribution of social advantages and disadvantages. To illustrate this, we examine the spatial distribution of exposures to air toxics from noxious land uses (commonly referred to as the environmental justice problem) and inquire into the nature of state action that would allow such inequity. Findings from our inquiry lead us to focus more closely on the administrative functions of the state, especially its role as a regulatory body. A case study focusing on health risks from incompatible land uses illustrates how spatial inequities result from the formally neutral rule-making actions of regulatory agencies and their particular organizational cultures. We describe the ethical basis of the regulatory state in terms of its formal, juridical, deontological underpinnings. In contrast to this stands the alternative ethical concept of care, which is inherently relational, contextual, and preferentially attentive to the needs of the vulnerable. We argue that the regulatory state can be reformed, building structures of care to better address issues of spatial inequity. We end with a discussion of how the institutional model of the caring state might be achieved in practice.