Responsibility Beliefs Research Articles

Modelling OCD: a test of the inflated responsibility model.

The Salkovskis (1999) model of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), which emphasizes the role of inflated responsibility, has proven highly influential in both the understanding and treatment of OCD. This study aimed to empirically test several core processes of this model. The individual components of the model were measured using multiple indicators in a sample of undergraduate students (n = 170), and confirmatory factor analyses were used to ascertain the most reliable, valid and theoretically consistent latent variables. Structural equation modelling was used to test proposed relations between latent constructs in the model. The inflated responsibility model was a good fit for the data in the present sample. As predicted by the model, misinterpretations of intrusive thoughts as indicating personal responsibility fully mediated the relationships between responsibility beliefs and counterproductive safety strategies, neutralizing actions and mood changes. The Salkovksis (1999) inflated responsibility model of OCD is empirically supported in the present sample of undergraduate students, lending support to the proposed mechanisms in the model and supporting prior evidence.

Inflated Responsibility Beliefs in Paediatric OCD: Exploring the Role of Parental Rearing and Child Age.

Cognitive-behavioural models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) propose that inflated responsibility beliefs are central to the maintenance of the disorder and are proposed to originate during early childhood via experiences of harsh and/or controlling parenting. The current study aimed to examine the associations between perceived parental rearing behaviours, inflated responsibility/threat beliefs, and OCD severity and impairment in children (aged 7-12years) and adolescents (aged 13-17years) with OCD (n = 136). Results indicated that for younger children, greater child perceptions of overprotection and anxious rearing were each associated with increased inflated responsibility beliefs. For older children, these positive associations remained, and furthermore, inflated responsibility beliefs mediated the association between perceived maternal anxious rearing and OCD impairment. Results highlight the role of the family in the development of inflated responsibility bias and OCD-related impairment.

The Self-sufficient Citizen: Ecological Habitus and Changing Environmental Practices

Past research demonstrates that social practices are not simply a matter of individual choices, but a reflection of social conditions that take place within systems of power. Applying theories of practice to environmental practices, this paper analyzes the adoption of self-sufficiency by two groups, homesteaders and preppers, based on evidence from interviews ( n = 23, 13 homesteaders and 10 preppers) and participant observation between 2013 and 2017. Seeking to re-negotiate the material flows of their daily lives to account for discomfort with contemporary social and environmental risk, homesteaders and preppers adopt an environmental self-sufficiency practice that purports to decrease or eliminate reliance on institutions they distrust, a model I call “the self-sufficient citizen.” Homesteaders and preppers experience a double bind of reliance and distrust, which they channel into renegotiating their ecological habitus. They do so by calling on traditional American beliefs in individual responsibility, which, although they appear politically neutral, reinforce the dominant power structures that they distrust. By situating self-sufficiency as reflexively cultural and material, I suggest that our study of environmental practices must move beyond individual attitudes, beliefs, values, and practices, to consider environmental subjectivities: the lived experience of relating to the environment in a social context that incorporates the study of power, ideology, and agency.

Health empowerment of elderly fragility fracture patients and its influencing factors

Objective To explore the current situation of health empowerment of elderly fragility fracture patients and to analyze its influencing factors. Methods We selected four Class Ⅲ Grade A hospitals randomly in Hengyang. From October 2017 to February 2018, a total of 176 elderly fragility fracture inpatients were investigated with the self-designed general information questionnaire, Elderly Frailty Assessment Scale, Osteoporosis Self-Efficacy Scale (OSES) , Health Empowerment Scale for Elderly Patients with Chronic Disease. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore the influencing factors of health empowerment of patients. Results The score of health empowerment of elderly fragility fracture patients was (89.00±14.31) and responsibility belief dimension was with the highest score (3.74±0.88) . Patients' health empowerment had a negative correlation with the frailty (r=-0.576, P<0.01) and had a positive correlation with the self-efficacy (r=0.496, P<0.01) . Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the main influencing factors of health empowerment of patients included ages, education levels, medical payment methods, frailty and self-efficacy (P<0.05) . Conclusions Nurses should pay attention to patients' health empowerment ability and provide the individualized nursing to strengthen the health empowerment ability of elderly fragility fracture patients. Key words: Aged; Osteoporotic fractures; Health empowerment; Fragility; Self efficacy

Development and Validation of the Black Community Activism Orientation Scale

In this article, we describe the development and validation of a measure of orientation toward activism in and for the Black community—the Black Community Activism Orientation Scale (BCAOS)—in a sample of Black adolescents and emerging adults. An exploratory factor analysis ( n = 446) was conducted and the results were a 26-item measure with scores of three internally consistent factors: high-risk, low-risk, and formal political activism orientation. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted ( n = 447) and strong model fit estimates confirmed the factor structure of the exploratory factor analysis. Convergent validity was established through bivariate correlations of the BCAOS factors with social responsibility beliefs and nationalist ideology. In light of increased participation in sociopolitical movements in support of Black lives, the BCAOS can contribute to investigations of the psychology of adolescent and emerging adult activism in and for the Black community. We recommend additional scale development research to further contribute to this growing field.

Jamie Carlin Watson’s Winning Votes by Abusing Reason: Responsible Belief and Political Rhetoric

Jamie Carlin Watson’s Winning Votes by Abusing Reason: Responsible Belief and Political Rhetoric

Against Voluntarism about Doxastic Responsibility

According to the view Rik Peels defends in Responsible Belief (2017), one is responsible for believing something only if that belief was the result of choices one made voluntarily, and for which one may be held responsible. Here, I argue against this voluntarist account of doxastic responsibility and in favor of the rationalist position that a person is responsible for her beliefs insofar as they are under the influence of her reason. In particular, I argue that the latter yields a more plausible account of the conditions under which ignorance may serve as an excuse for wrongdoing.

Responsible Belief, Influence, and Control: Response to Stephen White

I reply to Stephen White’s criticisms of my Influence View. First, I reply to his worry that my Appraisal Account of responsibility cannot make sense of doxastic responsibility. Then, I discuss in detail his stolen painting case and argue that the Influence View can make sense of it. Next, I discuss various other cases that are meant to show that acting in accordance with one’s beliefs does not render one blameless. I argue that in these cases, even though the subjects act in accordance with their own beliefs, there is plenty of reason to think that at some previous point in time they violated certain intellectual obligations that led to them to hold those beliefs. Even on a radically subjective account of responsibility, then, we can perfectly well hold these people responsible for their beliefs. I go on to defend the idea that reasons-responsiveness will not do for doxastic responsibility: we need influence on our beliefs as well. Thus, doxastic compatibilism or rationalism is untenable. Subsequently, I defend my earlier claim that there is a crucial difference between beliefs and actions in that actions are often subject to the will, whereas beliefs are not. Finally, I respond to White’s worry that if one has a subjective epistemic obligation just because one believes that certain actions are epistemically bad, some people will have a wide range of absurd epistemic obligations, such as the obligation to listen to Infowars.

Research on the Influence of Psychological Privilege in Work Situation

Privilege refers to a psychological feel right to preferential treatment, being exempt stable social responsibility and universal subjective belief or perception, in different areas can be expressed as a sense of academic privilege, the consumer a sense of privilege, the privilege workplace flu. Psychological privilege enables individuals to become narcissistic, induced interpersonal conflict, selfishness and aggression and so on. The main factors affecting the psychological privilege of individual factors contextual factors have life experience, rearing, attachment type, socioeconomic status, and other environmental organizations and self-compassion, subjective construct, egalitarian values, and so on. Future studies should further explore the psychological privileges concept and structure, expand its research methods, longitudinal studies and strengthen indigenous research and to further explore the psychological factors that may affect the privileges of the privileged and psychological ways to avoid negative consequences (or reduced). As an important element of people's social life, a psychological sense of privilege determines the individual's attitude and implementation efficiency towards social rules, corporate requirements, and work. As a result, people with high levels of psychological privilege are more resistant to being bound by rules and more difficult to manage. Individuals with low levels of psychological privilege are more likely to follow orders. At the same time, from the perspective of identity theory resources and self-regulation and another theoretical perspective of workplace, psychological privilege research is summarized and reviewed.

Doxastic Responsibility is Owed to Others

In this paper I argue that Rik Peels’s account of doxastic responsibility (in his 2017 book Responsible Belief) is too subjectivist, as it fails to deliver the correct verdicts in some cases in which one’s responsibilities derive from a social role and where one has misleading higher-order evidence about the first-order evidence. The take-home point is that the notion of responsibility in doxastic responsibility is something that is owed to others.

Inflated sense of responsibility, explanatory style and the cognitive model of social anxiety disorder: a brief report of a case control study

AbstractWe sought to investigate situation-specific inflated sense of responsibility and explanatory style in social anxiety disorder (SAD) according to the cognitive model. Participants aged 17–68 years (mean = 31.9, SD = 11.1) included waiting list patients referred to a primary care mental health service for cognitive behavioural therapy for SAD (n = 18) and non-anxious control participants (n = 65). A battery of psychometric measures, including a bespoke measure of responsibility beliefs, was used. Compared with controls, participants with SAD were more likely to demonstrate an inflated sense of responsibility (p ≤ 0.001), and to adopt a negative explanatory style specific to social interaction (p ≤ 0.01). Inflated sense of responsibility was found to correlate with SAD symptomatology (r = 0.47, p ≤ 0.05), and with increased usage of safety behaviours (r = 0.47, p ≤ 0.05). Caseness (β = 1.45, p ≤ 0.01) and stability of causal attribution (β = 0.25, p ≤ 0.001) were found to predict inflated responsibility in our sample. To our knowledge this study represents the first attempt to investigate inflated responsibility within the context of SAD. Our results support the notion of inflated responsibility as a feature of SAD.Key learning aims(1)To understand the cognitive behavioural components of Clark and Wells’ model of SAD, and their bi-directional nature.(2)To understand what the term ‘inflated sense of responsibility’ refers to, and how it relates to CBT.(3)To understand what the term ‘explanatory style’ refers to, and how this concept can also relate to CBT.

The Social Dimension of Responsible Belief: Response to Sanford Goldberg

Goldberg has argued in several writings of his that our social context is crucial in determining whether we believe responsibly or not. In this reply to his criticisms, I explore whether my Influence Account of responsible belief can do justice to this social dimension of responsible belief. I discuss the case of Nancy the scientist, that of Fernando the doctor, and that of Janice who promises Ismelda to shovel her lane. I argue that the core solution to the challenges these cases provide is to distinguish between different kinds of intellectual obligations, such as epistemic, moral, and professional obligations. My Influence Account leaves plenty of room to make these distinctions. Even though my account is not primarily meant as an account of epistemically justified belief but rather as an account of responsible belief, I also argue that it can accommodate our intuitions about various important cases of epistemically (un)justified belief.

The Cognitive Profile of Persons with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Introduction:Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is often comorbid with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). But to what extent can obsessional symptoms in individuals with ASD be considered “genuinely” comorbid OCD – or are there other mechanisms that are related to ASD? Which mechanisms in OCD with and without ASD share common features? People with ASD have a cognitive profile characterized by “mindblindness”; the antecedent is often referred to in terms of not knowing how to perform or behave and this is the cause of discomfort. This raises the question whether individuals with ASD and comorbid OCD share the same cognitive elements of responsibility interpretation and the same fear of causing harm as individuals who merely have OCD.Objective:The aim of the present study is therefore to evaluate the extent of responsibility interpretation in individuals with OCD alone compared with people experiencing OCD in the context of ASD.Methods:Two instruments, the Responsibility Attitude Scale (RAS) and the Responsibility Interpretations Questionnaire (RIQ), were administered to three groups of participants: (i) individuals diagnosed with OCD (n = 32); (ii) individuals with ASD and OCD (n = 19); and (iii) non-clinical control participants (n = 23).Results:Results indicate significant differences in all measures of responsibility belief (interpretation of obsession and assumption of responsibility) between the OCD-only group and the two other groups.Conclusion:The conclusion is that OCD in people with ASD is not as “genuine” as in people with only OCD, according to cognitive behavioral theory of OCD.

The Impact of Enhanced Responsibility and Threat Beliefs on Self-Report and Behavioural Indices During a Sorting Task for Young People with OCD

We aimed to experimentally assess the role of cognitive processes in provoking anxiety and compulsive behaviours in young people with OCD, and to determine whether specific cognitive appraisal subtypes (e.g., threat) best explain OCD symptoms. 29 young people with a principal diagnosis of OCD, 30 young people with an anxiety disorder other than OCD, and 25 young people meeting no diagnostic criteria completed a sorting task designed to increase or decrease responsibility/threat biases. We expected that OCD participants in the high responsibility/threat group would demonstrate higher scores on subjective (belief and anxiety ratings) and behavioural variables (e.g., urge to check, time taken to sort) compared to anxious and nonclinical control groups. Young people with OCD in the inflated responsibility/threat condition were more anxious and showed enhanced delay behaviours (e.g., slower on the task, more time checking) compared to control groups, who were not affected by the manipulation. Regression analyses revealed that threat appraisals played a more prominent role than responsibility beliefs in state anxiety ratings, overall time taken and time spent checking. The present study supports cognitive models of OCD showing a clear relationship between inflated responsibility beliefs, threat beliefs and perfectionism levels and OCD-related behaviours.

Public perceptions of self-harm—A test of an attribution model of public discrimination.

This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study applied Corrigan, Markowitz, Watson, Rowan, and Kubiak’s (2003) attribution model of public discrimination toward individuals with mental ill-health to explore public perceptions of self-harm—an underresearched topic, given the size and scale of the problem of self-harm.Participants (community-based adult sample, N=355, aged 18–67 years) were presented with 1 of 10, first-person, vignettes describing an episode of adolescent self-harm and completed self-report measures assessing dispositional empathy, familiarity with self-harm (professional; personal), perceived dangerousness, personal responsibility beliefs, emotional responses toward the person depicted in the vignette and helping/rejecting intentions. Vignettes were manipulated across conditions for the controllability of the stated cause (controllable; uncontrollable; unknown), stated motivation for self-harm (intrapersonal; interpersonal; unknown) and presentation format (video; text). Across the sample, attitudes were largely tolerant, with significantly higher levels of sympathetic than fearful or angry responding and significantly higher endorsement of helping responses than avoidance, segregative or coercive approaches. The manipulation of controllability of cause (controllable; uncontrollable), but not stated motivation (intrapersonal; interpersonal), was related to differences in cognitive, emotional or behavioral responding. Taken together, results were largely consistent with the attribution model, suggesting this may be a useful framework for understanding public perceptions of self-harm.

Scrupulosity and hoarding

ObjectiveRecent evidence suggests that avoiding waste may be a prominent motive to save in hoarding disorder. Such beliefs are reminiscent of scrupulosity obsessions in OCD. This paper reports on three studies examining scrupulosity-like beliefs in hoarding and the development and validation of a measure of material scrupulosity. MethodsStudy one examined the reliability and validity of a measure of material scrupulosity (MOMS) and its relationship to hoarding in a college student sample, as well as the relationship between hoarding and OCD-base scrupulosity. Study 2 examined the psychometric properties of the MOMS in a replication of study 1 with a sample of people with hoarding problems. Study 3 examined the reliability and validity of the MOMS in a large nonclinical/community sample. ResultsFindings across the studies provided evidence for the reliability and validity of the MOMS. It was highly correlated with hoarding symptoms, especially difficulty discarding, and hoarding related beliefs, especially responsibility beliefs. It accounted for significant variance in hoarding symptoms independent of other correlates, including other hoarding beliefs. OCD-based scrupulosity was correlated with hoarding in sample 1, but not in the hoarding sample in study 2. ConclusionsMaterial Scrupulosity refers to an exaggerated sense of duty or moral/ethical responsibility for the care and disposition of possessions to prevent their being harmed or wasted. It appears to be distinct from other hoarding-related beliefs and a significant predictor of hoarding symptoms. The MOMS appears to possess good reliability and validity in both clinical and nonclinical samples.

Internalized Homophobia, HIV Knowledge, and HIV/AIDS Personal Responsibility Beliefs: Correlates of HIV/AIDS Discrimination among MSM in the Context of Institutionalized Stigma

ABSTRACTThere exists a paucity of research on the psychosocial risk factors of HIV/AIDS among men who have sex with men (MSM) in settings where they are stigmatized or face prosecution. The present study investigates discrimination against people living with HIV (PLHIV), internalized homophobia, HIV/AIDS personal responsibility beliefs and HIV knowledge in a purposive sample of 106 self-identified MSM obtained through a web-based survey disseminated by two voluntary welfare organizations. Results indicate that internalized homophobia is positively associated with discrimination against PLHIV. Internalized homophobia also substantially mediates the effect of HIV/AIDS personal responsibility beliefs on discrimination against PLHIV, highlighting the confounded nature of HIV/AIDS and homosexual stigma in a setting where stigma is deep-rooted and institutionalized. Internalized homophobia may thus serve as a barrier to the effectiveness of HIV prevention efforts among MSM in Singapore.

Whose Responsibility Is It? Beliefs About Preventing HIV Transmission Among Men Who Have Sex With Men.

HIV-negative and HIV-positive men believed that they both are responsible for preventing HIV. Responsibility beliefs, however, did not always correspond with discussing HIV status or refraining from serodiscordant condomless anal sex. Discrepancies between individuals' HIV prevention responsibility beliefs and their sexual risk behaviors merit further examination, particularly in the preexposure prophylaxis era.

An investigation of shippers’ satisfaction and behaviour towards corporate social responsibility in maritime transport

Anchoring on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), the current paper investigates the moderating influences of shippers’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) beliefs on their satisfaction and behaviour towards shipping firms’ involvement in CSR. It also analyses organisational and environmental factors that shape shippers’ CSR beliefs. Survey data were obtained from 276 shippers with business offices located in Singapore, and analysed using multi-sampling approach and linear regression modelling. The results show that shippers with strong CSR beliefs derive greater satisfaction, and exhibit stronger behavioural intentions towards shipping firms’ involvement in CSR. In addition, shippers’ CSR beliefs are influenced by shippers’ organisational characteristics such as (1) firm’s age, (2) firm’s size, (3) degree of internationalisation, (4) types of products shipped, and environmental factors such as (5) perceived environmental and social threats, (6) perceived level of competition, and (7) level of CSR practices in headquarters. The results contribute to TPB research application in both B2C and B2B contexts, and motivate changes to the current marketing and communication practices of shipping firms.

The paradox of moral cleansing: When physical cleansing leads to increased contamination concerns

Background and objectivesMoral threats, including threats to moral self-worth, have been associated with contamination concerns. Paradoxically, although self-cleansing provides temporary relief, it can worsen feelings of contamination. Self-affirmation might be an effective strategy, especially following obsessive type cognitions (e.g., responsibility beliefs) when moral threats are reactivated. MethodsIn Experiment 1, participants recalled an immoral deed and then self-cleansed (using a hand-wipe), completed a control task, or self-affirmed. Contamination concerns were subsequently measured by a washing task. In Experiment 2, the same procedure was used but obsessive-type cognitions were activated by asking participants a series of questions about obsessive beliefs. ResultsAs expected, relative to the control condition, both self-affirmation and self-cleansing resulted in less subsequent repeated washing behaviour in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, when the immoral recall was followed by activation of obsessive-type cognitions, self-cleansing led to more guilt and repeated washing than self-affirmation and control. Rather than alleviating feelings of contamination, physical self-cleansing led to more contamination concerns and guilt when in the context of activated obsessive-type cognitions, possibly because it paradoxically makes (moral) cleanliness goals salient. LimitationsFuture research needs to test clinical populations, for whom contamination concerns are all the more central. ConclusionsThis research provides further evidence of the influence of moral threat in contamination concerns, and the limits of moral cleansing. Self-affirmation resulted in less contamination concerns under both a neutral condition and activated obsessive type cognitions.