Can the Variation Be Explained Away?

Relative Justice ◽

10.23943/princeton/9780691139937.003.0005 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Tamler Sommers

Keyword(s):

Moral Responsibility ◽

Social Environment ◽

Physical Environment ◽

Emotional Responses ◽

Evolution Of Cooperation ◽

Human Beings ◽

Cognitive Mechanisms ◽

Empirical Assumption ◽

Psychological Mechanisms ◽

Social And Physical Environment

The success of defending universalist or objectivist theories of moral responsibility rests on a crucial empirical assumption. Specifically, the assumption that under ideal conditions of rationality human beings would come to share considered intuitions about moral responsibility regardless of their physical and social environment. This chapter raises serious doubts about the plausibility of this assumption by examining the origins of these intuitive differences and the psychological mechanisms that underlie them. It reviews recent theories in the evolution of cooperation, which suggest that a wide variety of norms may emerge as a response to the different features of a culture's social and physical environment. It then appeals to theories about the psychology of norm acquisition to argue that variation in norms about responsibility is grounded in cognitive mechanisms associated with emotional responses and intuitions about deservingness. It concludes that it is unlikely that we would ever reach agreement about the criteria of moral responsibility—even under ideal conditions of rationality.

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The social dimensions of space in school environment

Facta universitatis - series Architecture and Civil Engineering ◽

10.2298/fuace180323010t ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 307-314

Author(s):

Milan Tanic ◽

Danica Stankovic ◽

Vojislav Nikolic ◽

Aleksandra Kostic

Keyword(s):

Social Environment ◽

School Children ◽

Physical Environment ◽

School Environment ◽

Spatial Planning ◽

Social Dimensions ◽

The Social ◽

Patterns Of Behavior ◽

Social And Physical Environment ◽

Dimensions Of Space

Children?s patterns of behavior in the school environment, conditioned by various levels of individual or group needs, represent the basic modalities of their relationship towards the immediate, both social and physical, environment. This paper studies the connection between the behavior of school children, whose relationships with their given social environment can take various forms, and certain spatial characteristics of elementary schools. The results indicate that there is a need to achieve a balanced relationship between a strictly defined and an open form of the physical environment in order to create conditions in which school children will express their current orientation and attitude toward their immediate social environment through their behavior in that particular physical environment. This includes the organization of a dynamic and shifting environment, spatial planning which needs to enable a greater degree of privacy in certain zones and the organization of spatial flow which enables adequate visual communication between the school children and the flexible structure of the space meant for education.

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Aging in Place for Older Subsidized Housing Residents: The Influence of Social Connection and Social Environment

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.522 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 135-136

Author(s):

Rebecca Brown ◽

David Reyes-Farias ◽

Erin Finucane ◽

Amanda Watson ◽

Momana Jahan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Environment ◽

Social Relationships ◽

Physical Environment ◽

Aging In Place ◽

Public Spaces ◽

Subsidized Housing ◽

Nursing Home Admission ◽

Staff Members ◽

Private And Public ◽

Social And Physical Environment

Abstract Older adults living in subsidized housing experience health disparities including disproportionate rates of social isolation and nursing home admission. Little is known about how social relationships and social environment influence aging in place for this population. We interviewed 58 residents aged 62 or older. Qualitative thematic analyses revealed that social relationships both inside and outside the building contributed to residents’ experience of aging in place. Relationships with other residents and staff members provided social support, while connections to family and friends outside the building “opened up” the residents’ world and provided a sense of connection to the larger community. Social and physical environment also contributed, with residents’ ability to move between private and public spaces leading to feelings of freedom and independence. Discussion focuses on expanding definitions of aging in place to encompass residents’ experiences and implications for improving aging in place for this population.

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The Effect of the Social and Physical Environment on Children’s Independent Mobility to Neighborhood Destinations

Journal of Physical Activity and Health ◽

10.1123/jpah.2014-0271 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 12 (s1) ◽

pp. S84-S93 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Hayley E. Christian ◽

Charlotte D. Klinker ◽

Karen Villanueva ◽

Matthew W. Knuiman ◽

Sarah A. Foster ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Environment ◽

Physical Environment ◽

Green Space ◽

Independent Mobility ◽

Large Size ◽

The Social ◽

Different Types ◽

Social And Physical Environment ◽

Context Specific ◽

The Impact

Background:Relationships between context-specific measures of the physical and social environment and children’s independent mobility to neighborhood destination types were examined.Methods:Parents in RESIDE’s fourth survey reported whether their child (8–15 years; n = 181) was allowed to travel without an adult to school, friend’s house, park and local shop. Objective physical environment measures were matched to each of these destinations. Social environment measures included neighborhood perceptions and items specific to local independent mobility.Results:Independent mobility to local destinations ranged from 30% to 48%. Independent mobility to a local park was less likely as the distance to the closest park (small and large size) increased and less likely with additional school grounds (P < .05). Independent mobility to school was less likely as the distance to the closest large park increased and if the neighborhood was perceived as unsafe (P < .05). Independent mobility to a park or shops decreased if parenting social norms were unsupportive of children’s local independent movement (P < .05).Conclusions:Independent mobility appears dependent upon the specific destination being visited and the impact of neighborhood features varies according to the destination examined. Findings highlight the importance of access to different types and sizes of urban green space for children’s independent mobility to parks.

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Wake After Sleep Onset Mediates the Link Between Neighborhood Social Environment and Cognition in Older Adults

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.1467 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 380-381

Author(s):

Kexin Yu ◽

Paul Duberstein ◽

Bernadette Fausto

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Social Environment ◽

Physical Environment ◽

Social Life ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Sleep Onset ◽

Public Health Intervention ◽

Neighborhood Environment ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Social And Physical Environment

Abstract Cognition is influenced by the neighborhood social and physical environment, but the underlying mechanisms by which neighborhood environment affects cognition are unclear. We tested the hypothesis that sleep mediates the effects between environmental exposures and cognition. We employed structural equation modeling to examine interrelationships among neighborhood social and physical environment, actigraphic sleep characteristics, and global cognition in a sample of older adults (N=3,196) from Round 2 of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project. Results indicated that participants with better cognition lived in salutary (e.g., cohesive, safe) social environments (est.=0.03, p<.001) and less disruptive (e.g., noisy, polluted) physical environments (est.=-0.04, p<.001). The mediation hypothesis was partially supported. Time spent awake after sleep onset mediated the social environment-cognition relationship, but sleep characteristics did not mediate the physical environment-cognition relationship. Future work should identify other environmental influences on sleep and cognition in aging to inform public health intervention priorities.

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The school policy, social, and physical environment and change in adolescent physical activity: An exploratory analysis using the LASSO

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0249328 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. e0249328

Author(s):

Campbell Foubister ◽

Esther M. F. van Sluijs ◽

Anna Vignoles ◽

Paul Wilkinson ◽

Edward C. F. Wilson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Linear Regression ◽

Social Environment ◽

Physical Environment ◽

Vigorous Physical Activity ◽

School Policy ◽

Adolescent Physical Activity ◽

Social And Physical Environment ◽

Post Hoc ◽

Predictors Of Change

Purpose We examined the association between the school policy, social and physical environment and change in adolescent physical activity (PA) and explored how sex and socioeconomic status modified potential associations. Methods Data from the GoActive study were used for these analyses. Participants were adolescents (n = 1765, mean age±SD 13.2±0.4y) from the East of England, UK. Change in longitudinal accelerometer assessed moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was the outcome. School policy, social and physical environment features (n = 267) were exposures. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator variable selection method (LASSO) was used to determine exposures most relevant to the outcome. Exposures selected by the LASSO were added to a multiple linear regression model with estimates of change in min/day of MVPA per 1-unit change in each exposure reported. Post-hoc analyses, exploring associations between change in variables selected by the LASSO and change in MVPA, were undertaken to further explain findings. Findings No school policy or physical environment features were selected by the LASSO as predictors of change in MVPA. The LASSO selected two school social environment variables (participants asking a friend to do physical activity; friend asking a participant to do physical activity) as potential predictors of change in MVPA but no significant associations were found in subsequent linear regression models for all participants (β [95%CI] -1.01 [-2.73;0.71] and 0.65 [-2.17;0.87] min/day respectively). In the post-hoc analyses, for every unit increase in change in participants asking a friend to do PA and change in a friend asking participants to do PA, an increase in MVPA of 2.78 (1.55;4.02) and 1.80 (0.48;3.11) min/day was predicted respectively. Conclusions The school social environment is associated with PA during adolescence. Further exploration of how friendships during adolescence may be leveraged to support effective PA promotion in schools is warranted.

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Social Prerequisites for the Proper Function of Individual Reason

Episteme ◽

10.3366/epi.2004.1.3.169 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 169-176 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hilary Kornblith

Keyword(s):

Social Environment ◽

Physical Environment ◽

Good Deal ◽

Proper Function ◽

Psychological Processes ◽

Human Beings ◽

The Social

Human beings form beliefs by way of a variety of psychological processes. Some of these processes of belief acquisition are innate; others are acquired. A good deal of interesting work has been done in assessing the reliability of these processes. Any such assessment must examine not only features intrinsic to the psychological processes themselves, but also features of the environments in which those processes are exercised; a mechanism which is reliable in one sort of environment may be quite unreliable in others. This is true not only of the physical environment; it is true of the social environment as well. This has important implications for how we should think about the exercise of individual reason, as well as the interpersonal practice of giving and asking for reasons.

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Induced Empathy Moderates Emotional Responses to Expressive Qualities in Music

Musicae Scientiae ◽

10.1177/1029864920974729 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 102986492097472

Author(s):

Katherine O’Neill ◽

Hauke Egermann

Keyword(s):

Ecological Validity ◽

Emotional Responses ◽

Control Group ◽

Causal Mechanism ◽

Music Listening ◽

Psychological Mechanisms ◽

Priming Paradigm ◽

Valence And Arousal ◽

Experimental Group

Recent research has explored the role of empathy in the context of music listening. Here, through an empathy priming paradigm, situational empathy was shown to act as a causal mechanism in inducing emotion, although the way empathy was primed had low levels of ecological validity. We therefore conducted an online experiment to explore the extent to which information about a composer’s expressive intentions when writing a piece of music would significantly affect the degree to which participants reportedly empathise with the composer and in turn influence emotional responses to expressive music. A total of 229 participants were randomly assigned to three groups. The experimental group read short texts describing the emotions felt by the composer during the process of composition. To control for the effect of text regardless of its content, one control group read texts describing the characteristics of the music they were to hear, and a second control group was not given any textual information. Participants listened to 30-second excerpts of four pieces of music, selected to express emotions from the four quadrants of the circumplex theory of emotion. Having heard each music excerpt, participants rated the valence and arousal they experienced and completed a measure of situational empathy. Results show that situational empathy in response to music is significantly associated with trait empathy. As opposed to those in the control conditions, participants in the experimental group responded with significantly higher levels of situational empathy. Receiving this text significantly moderated the effect of the expressiveness of stimuli on induced emotion, indicating that it induced empathy. We conclude that empathy can be induced during music listening through the provision of information about the specific emotions of a person relating to the music. These findings contribute to an understanding of the psychological mechanisms that underlie emotional responses to music.

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Critiquing Anthropocentrism in Henry Ole Kulet’s Vanishing Herds

Contemporary Research: An Interdisciplinary Academic Journal ◽

10.3126/craiaj.v3i1.27490 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 52-55

Author(s):

Pushpa Raj Jaishi

Keyword(s):

Environmental Degradation ◽

Physical Environment ◽

Critical Issue ◽

The Novel ◽

Contemporary Society ◽

Human Beings ◽

East African ◽

To Come

Vanishing Herds (2011) is Henry Ole Kulet’s novel that hovers around the ecological depletion caused by the anthropocentric attitude of the human beings. Set in the East African Savannah, the novel grapples with the critical issue of anthropogenic environmental degradation. The novel is based on the tribulations of a young Maasai couple –Kedoki and Norpisia whose epic journey through the wilderness provides a window through which the destruction of the physical environment can be viewed. Additionally, the text catalogues the challenges faced by a pastoralist community’s attempt to come to terms with the socio-economic realities of a fast-evolving contemporary society. The paper is an attempt to study this novel under the surveillance of green lens and throw light on the ecological destruction especially the clearing of the forest by human self centered endeavors and to critique the anthropocentric attitude of the human beings that render the environment at the verge of destruction.

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