Judgments in causal chains: The impact of positive and negative motives and outcomes on lay attributions

<p>Research on attributions about several events in causal chains has focused on chains ending in negative outcomes and has not examined positive outcomes and actions (e.g., Hilton, McClure, & Sutton, 2010; Lagnado & Channon, 2008; McClure, Hilton, & Sutton, 2007). On the other hand, research on attributions for positive and negative events has examined judgments about one event in the chain and has not examined effects on other causes in the chain or made comparative judgments about physical causes that produce similar effects to actions (e.g., Alicke, 1992; Alicke, Rose, & Bloom, 2011). This thesis integrates these two lines of research. Six studies examined judgments about two consecutive events (intentional actions and physical events) in chains leading to positive as well as negative outcomes. The intentional action was the same action (e.g. a man started a fire) that differed in motive (positive or negative). The physical event had the same causal effect as the action (e.g., a lightning strike started a fire), or was a physical event (e.g., strong wind) that occurred later in the causal chain. The results replicate previous findings that when both actions and outcomes are negative, participants rate intentional actions more causal and blameworthy than physical events. However, when the intended outcomes fail to eventuate or positively motivated actions pre-empt positive outcomes, two distinct patterns emerged: A mismatch effect that explains the cause of the outcome; and a motive effect that explains judgments of culpability (measured by judgments of blame and punitiveness in these studies). Specifically, judgments of cause, responsibility, intentionality and foresight follow the same pattern that reflects the congruence between the valence of the agent‟s motive and the outcome. In contrast, judgments of culpability follow a different pattern where motive and outcome information have independent effects. Notably, it is the moral intent of actions that primarily determines judgments of culpability. The valence of the outcome plays a secondary role and amplifies ratings. These results show that the important psychological and legal concepts of intentionality, abnormality, foresight, proximity, and outcome information are core determinants in lay attributions (e.g., Hart & Honoré, 1985; Heider, 1958; Kelley, 1973; Weiner, 1995). But it is valence that plays the critical role in shaping lay reasoning. Several theoretical approaches applied in previous research on causal chains are examined, for example, Alicke's (2000) culpable control model, Tetlock's (2002) social functionalist model, and Spellman's (1997) crediting causality model. Yet none of the theories are able to account for the findings for chains that include positive actions or positive outcomes. The theoretical scope of this thesis was expanded in Study 6 to include research on the folk concept of intentionality, hindsight, and actor-observer biases (Fischhoff, 1975; Kashima, McKintyre, & Clifford, 1998; Malle & Knobe, 1997; Malle, Knobe, & Nelson, 2007). The results are interpreted in terms of Sloman, Fernbach and Ewings' (2012) causal model of intentionality.</p>

Judgments in causal chains: The impact of positive and negative motives and outcomes on lay attributions

<p>Research on attributions about several events in causal chains has focused on chains ending in negative outcomes and has not examined positive outcomes and actions (e.g., Hilton, McClure, & Sutton, 2010; Lagnado & Channon, 2008; McClure, Hilton, & Sutton, 2007). On the other hand, research on attributions for positive and negative events has examined judgments about one event in the chain and has not examined effects on other causes in the chain or made comparative judgments about physical causes that produce similar effects to actions (e.g., Alicke, 1992; Alicke, Rose, & Bloom, 2011). This thesis integrates these two lines of research. Six studies examined judgments about two consecutive events (intentional actions and physical events) in chains leading to positive as well as negative outcomes. The intentional action was the same action (e.g. a man started a fire) that differed in motive (positive or negative). The physical event had the same causal effect as the action (e.g., a lightning strike started a fire), or was a physical event (e.g., strong wind) that occurred later in the causal chain. The results replicate previous findings that when both actions and outcomes are negative, participants rate intentional actions more causal and blameworthy than physical events. However, when the intended outcomes fail to eventuate or positively motivated actions pre-empt positive outcomes, two distinct patterns emerged: A mismatch effect that explains the cause of the outcome; and a motive effect that explains judgments of culpability (measured by judgments of blame and punitiveness in these studies). Specifically, judgments of cause, responsibility, intentionality and foresight follow the same pattern that reflects the congruence between the valence of the agent‟s motive and the outcome. In contrast, judgments of culpability follow a different pattern where motive and outcome information have independent effects. Notably, it is the moral intent of actions that primarily determines judgments of culpability. The valence of the outcome plays a secondary role and amplifies ratings. These results show that the important psychological and legal concepts of intentionality, abnormality, foresight, proximity, and outcome information are core determinants in lay attributions (e.g., Hart & Honoré, 1985; Heider, 1958; Kelley, 1973; Weiner, 1995). But it is valence that plays the critical role in shaping lay reasoning. Several theoretical approaches applied in previous research on causal chains are examined, for example, Alicke's (2000) culpable control model, Tetlock's (2002) social functionalist model, and Spellman's (1997) crediting causality model. Yet none of the theories are able to account for the findings for chains that include positive actions or positive outcomes. The theoretical scope of this thesis was expanded in Study 6 to include research on the folk concept of intentionality, hindsight, and actor-observer biases (Fischhoff, 1975; Kashima, McKintyre, & Clifford, 1998; Malle & Knobe, 1997; Malle, Knobe, & Nelson, 2007). The results are interpreted in terms of Sloman, Fernbach and Ewings' (2012) causal model of intentionality.</p>

First International Workshop on Quantum Software Engineering (Q-SE 2020)

The First International Workshop on Quantum Software Engineering (Q-SE 2020), co-located with the 42nd International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE 2020), was held between July 2 and July 3, 2020. The workshop was originally scheduled to be a physical event in May 2020. Due to the SARS-CoV-2, aligned with the main conference, the workshop was held virtually instead. This report summarizes the keynote speeches, the paper presentations in the workshop, and the ensuing discussions. IEEE and ACM publish the proceedings of the workshop as part of the ICSE 2020 Workshops Companion.

Ambisonic-centred location sound recording - reinvigorating the Observational Documentary genre?

The art of location-based Sound Recording specifically, has been a neglected area of academic research. I seek to address this by drawing critical attention to the intricacies and skills involved in location Sound Recording within single-camera Observational Documentaries (ObsDocs). I show how this art continues to be central to the creative process of production, in driving the narrative and shaping the text’s influence, within the pro-filmic space.I go on to consider the future for location-based Sound Recording within ObsDocs and its place in a new multi-platform, multi-screen consumption space. Examining a case study, I seek to develop and define a new working methodology and aesthetic for the craft and art, predicated on an anticipated resurgence of the ObsDoc genre, centred around opportunities afforded by the emerging technologies of immersive sound: ambisonic microphone arrays being a vital part of that development. Ambisonics is a method for capturing a full 3D sound field, and its genre-bridging adaptability means it can be converted to a dynamically steerable binaural format. I argue that deploying an ambisonic-centred location Sound Recording methodology, fused with the art of recording unscripted actuality Sound within the pro-filmic geographic event-space, will offer new creative opportunities impacts for ObsDoc makers and crucially, tomorrow’s Documentary audiences. Presenting audiences with an exciting new ability to experience the sense of geographical place and physical event that immersive audio delivers, bears the potential of re-invigorating a content driven ObsDoc market, which once again, will foreground the primacy of neglected storytelling capabilities, in a New consumption World.

Realizing an online conference

This paper aims to assist future organizers of international online conferences with designing and realizing these events. On the basis of the authors’ experience of having to move a corpus linguistics conference – originally planned as a physical event – into the digital space, this paper describes the conference’s organization and management structure, outlines the software and communication tools used and sketches what is important to foster interaction and discourse among participants. The paper contains a manual and a checklist for preparing an online conference, and a discussion of the chances of online and hybrid conferences in terms of outreach, Open Access and co-creation. It ends with an appeal to colleagues to devise conferences with courage, develop new ways of transferring linguistic research findings (to the public) and to move out of their comfort zones to sustainably use the digital transformation for innovative paths of exchanging research findings.

Sound dimensions and formants

Every physical event that can be observed can be measured and described, including sounds. This paper discusses computer algorithms that were developed to depict vowels and speech sounds in their three dimensions: frequency, energy, and time. Each vowel has a separate distinguishable shape based on its dimensions. Two-dimensional vowel plots can be more accurately represented in three-dimensional plots. Algorithms using the Chebyshev Transform were written and vowel speech signals were converted to accurate numerical data sets that were examined and then plotted. Comparisons of vowels can be made, based on their sonic shape. This algorithm also used the Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) to measure, vowel formants giving clear formant regions with the frequency regions identified on the y-axis plots.

Fatalistic causal determinism, problematic informal logic and pretended free will

Causal determinism is not widely accepted. My worldview is the only correct worldview; it’s a type of causal determinism; it’s fatalistic. The physical events corresponding to the mind act as pseudo mind. If my mind exists, mentality seems to be fundamental and ubiquitous in the natural world. Mind might not exist. Physical law rules the physical world; mind has no influence on the physical world; so, every physical event is inevitable. Some misunderstandings in your mind make you feel like that you have free will. We have no free will, but we assume that we have free will, so we unintentionally pretend to have free will. Brain has a tendency to survival, despite of the logic it has, so it tends to ignore determinism. Our informal logic has problems which cause a paradox about causal determinism; the future is deterministic does not mean that you are free to do anything now.