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Proceedings of the National Academy of... Feb 2023In online content moderation, two key values may come into conflict: protecting freedom of expression and preventing harm. Robust rules based in part on how citizens...
In online content moderation, two key values may come into conflict: protecting freedom of expression and preventing harm. Robust rules based in part on how citizens think about these moral dilemmas are necessary to deal with this conflict in a principled way, yet little is known about people's judgments and preferences around content moderation. We examined such moral dilemmas in a conjoint survey experiment where US respondents ( = 2, 564) indicated whether they would remove problematic social media posts on election denial, antivaccination, Holocaust denial, and climate change denial and whether they would take punitive action against the accounts. Respondents were shown key information about the user and their post as well as the consequences of the misinformation. The majority preferred quashing harmful misinformation over protecting free speech. Respondents were more reluctant to suspend accounts than to remove posts and more likely to do either if the harmful consequences of the misinformation were severe or if sharing it was a repeated offense. Features related to the account itself (the person behind the account, their partisanship, and number of followers) had little to no effect on respondents' decisions. Content moderation of harmful misinformation was a partisan issue: Across all four scenarios, Republicans were consistently less willing than Democrats or independents to remove posts or penalize the accounts that posted them. Our results can inform the design of transparent rules for content moderation of harmful misinformation.
Topics: Humans; Speech; Communication; Morals; Emotions; Politics; Social Media
PubMed: 36749721
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2210666120 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2022In this paper, we propose to account for the blame addressed to vaccine skeptics and "anti-vax" (VS and AV) by considering their attitude as the result of the...
In this paper, we propose to account for the blame addressed to vaccine skeptics and "anti-vax" (VS and AV) by considering their attitude as the result of the psychological mechanism of denial, understood in a psychodynamic manner. To that effect, we draw on a secondary account of our clinical experience in two hospital units (psychiatry and intensive care unit), and on openly available media material. First, we lay out how VS and AV can be understood as the result from fetishist risk denial, a specific psychological transaction with an object by which VS and AV people feel intimately protected; this object is viewed as so powerful that its protection makes the vaccine appear irrelevant. Second, we show how this mechanism can explain the specific content of the blame frequently addressed to VS and AV, who are reproached with being selfish by vaccinated people and caregivers. We contend that, contrary to common belief, they are thus blamed because they force others (and especially caregivers) to compensate their lack of self-protection and preservation, which derives from their exclusive relation to an almighty object. While such a relation accounts for the unwillingness to consider vaccination, it also explains the harshness of the blame voiced by caregivers, who feel helpless in most situations as they cannot effectively force VS and AV to take care of themselves and others.
PubMed: 35910972
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.886368 -
Nursing Open Feb 2023The aim of this meta-synthesis was to identify and synthesize qualitative research evaluating the real feelings, inner needs and emotional experience of women undergoing... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
AIM
The aim of this meta-synthesis was to identify and synthesize qualitative research evaluating the real feelings, inner needs and emotional experience of women undergoing hysterectomy.
DESIGN
Meta-synthesis.
METHODS
The PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Embase, Ovid Medline and Sino Med were systematically searched until November 2021 and updated until June 2022. Two reviewers independently extracted data into a Microsoft Excel sheet. Qualitative meta-synthesis was performed by coding relevant citations, organizing codes into descriptive themes and developing analytical themes.
RESULTS
Qualitative meta-synthesis yielded three themes and nine sub-themes: comprehensive consideration before hysterectomy (a. disease factors; b. fertility factors; c. opinions of others); emotions and experience after hysterectomy (a. postoperative physical condition; b. psychological resilience to the loss of the uterus; c. changes in the couple's relationship); coping strategies (a. self-denial and avoidance; b. change of perception and self-adjustment; c. seek help from others).
Topics: Female; Humans; Adaptation, Psychological; Hysterectomy; Qualitative Research; Resilience, Psychological
PubMed: 36071582
DOI: 10.1002/nop2.1348 -
Drug and Alcohol Dependence Jun 2015Despite harmful consequences of drug addiction, it is common for individuals with substance use disorders to deny having problems with drugs. Emerging evidence suggests...
BACKGROUND
Despite harmful consequences of drug addiction, it is common for individuals with substance use disorders to deny having problems with drugs. Emerging evidence suggests that some drug users lack insight into their behavior due to neurocognitive dysfunction, but little research has examined potential neurocognitive contributions to denial.
METHODS
This study explored the relationship between denial, cognitive performance and functional connectivity in brain. The participants were 58 non-treatment-seeking, methamphetamine-dependent participants who completed the URICA precontemplation scale, a self-report measure of denial of drug problems warranting change, as well as a cognitive test battery. A subset of participants (N = 21) had functional MRI scans assessing resting-state functional connectivity. Given literature indicating roles of the rostral anterior cingulate (rACC), anterior insula and precuneus in self-awareness, relationships between denial and resting-state connectivity were tested using seeds placed in these regions.
RESULTS
The results revealed a negative relationship between denial and an overall cognitive battery score (p = 0.001), the effect being driven particularly by performance on tests of memory and executive function. Denial was negatively associated with strength of connectivity between the rACC and regions of the frontal lobe (precentral gyri, left ventromedial prefrontal cortex, left orbitofrontal cortex), limbic system (left amygdala, left hippocampus and left parahippocampal gyrus), occipital lobes and cerebellum; and between the precuneus and the midbrain and cerebellum. Anterior insula connectivity was unrelated to denial.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that denial by methamphetamine users is linked with a cognitive and neural phenotype that may impede the development of insight into their behavior.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Amphetamine-Related Disorders; Brain; Brain Mapping; Central Nervous System Stimulants; Cognition; Denial, Psychological; Female; Frontal Lobe; Gyrus Cinguli; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Methamphetamine; Middle Aged
PubMed: 25840750
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.03.004 -
Developmental Psychobiology Mar 2021Blunted cardiovascular responses to stress have been associated with both mental and physical health concerns. This multi-method, longitudinal study examined the role of...
Blunted cardiovascular responses to stress have been associated with both mental and physical health concerns. This multi-method, longitudinal study examined the role of chronic social-developmental stress from adolescence onward as a precursor to these blunted stress responses. Using a diverse community sample of 184 adolescents followed from age 13 to 29 along with friends and romantic partners, this study found that high levels of parental psychological control at age 13 directly predicted a blunted heart rate response and indirectly predicted blunted respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity under stress. Heart rate effects were mediated via indicators of a developing passive response style, including observational measures of withdrawal during conflict with friends and romantic partners, social disengagement, and coping with stressors by using denial. RSA effects were mediated via withdrawal during conflict with romantic partners and coping by using denial. The current findings are interpreted as suggesting a mechanism by which a key social/developmental stressor in adolescence may alter relational and ultimately physiological patterns of stress responding into adulthood.
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Adolescent; Adult; Heart Rate; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia; Stress, Psychological; Young Adult
PubMed: 32419144
DOI: 10.1002/dev.21977 -
British Journal of Neurosurgery Jun 2022The ability of neurosurgeons to analyze and reflect on their complications in a constructive way is important both for professional development and for patient safety.... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE
The ability of neurosurgeons to analyze and reflect on their complications in a constructive way is important both for professional development and for patient safety. The purpose of the present paper is to highlight some psychological factors that might impair or bias the ability of the neurosurgeon to do this successfully.
METHODS
Five fictitious cases, loosely inspired by real events and situations, are used as a basis for a discussion of some of the most important potential sources of psychological bias in the context of understanding neurosurgical complications.
RESULTS
The issues of a) self-serving bias and the actor-observer effect; b) heuristics and biases in interpreting probabilistic events; c) emotional avoidance and denial; d) limitations of attention (dual systems theory) and e) errors of memory, are discussed.
CONCLUSION
There are a number of psychological factors, that are well known to science that may be ubiquitous sources of influence on the ability of neurosurgeons to grow by reflection on their own complications. Exactly how these factors can and should be efficiently adressed by the individual neurosurgeon and/or the organisation and team in which the neurosurgeon works may vary according to type of bias, context and circumstances. However, being aware of these issues and addressing them on an individual and organizational level remains important to the quality of our craft.
Topics: Bias; Humans; Neurosurgeons; Patient Safety
PubMed: 34615418
DOI: 10.1080/02688697.2021.1981242 -
Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome 2020Diabetes mellitus affects approximately 8.5% of the world's population with the majority of cases diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Impaired awareness or denial of...
BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Diabetes mellitus affects approximately 8.5% of the world's population with the majority of cases diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Impaired awareness or denial of T2DM is a common yet understudied construct that may negatively contribute to clinical outcomes. The aim of this study was to develop the Diabetes Awareness and Insight Scale (DAS), a self-report scale that measures illness awareness in persons with T2DM.
METHODS
Nine items were developed for the DAS that measure four domains of illness awareness, namely General Illness Awareness, Accurate Symptom Attribution, Awareness of Need for Treatment, and Awareness of Negative Consequences attributable to T2DM (www.illnessawarenessscales.com). A total of 100 participants with a diagnosis of T2DM were recruited using a digital data collection platform.
RESULTS
The DAS demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity, internal consistency, and one-month test-retest reliability. An exploratory factor analysis showed that the DAS exhibited three factors.
CONCLUSIONS
Overall, the DAS is a novel and easy-to-administer scale that comprehensively measures subjective illness awareness in persons with T2DM. As the first scale of its kind, the DAS holds promise for use in epidemiology studies to examine the extent to which impaired illness awareness or illness denial contributes to clinical outcomes and T2DM management.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Denial, Psychological; Diabetes Complications; Diabetes Mellitus; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Psychometrics; Reproducibility of Results; Socioeconomic Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 32145679
DOI: 10.1016/j.dsx.2020.02.006 -
African Health Sciences Dec 2019Certain real life applications of scientific and social science ideas that knowingly reject accumulated empirical biomedical evidence have been termed 'pseudoscience,'...
INTRODUCTION
Certain real life applications of scientific and social science ideas that knowingly reject accumulated empirical biomedical evidence have been termed 'pseudoscience,' or empirical rejectionism. An uncritical acceptance of empiricism, or even of evidence-based medicine, however, can also be problematic.
OBJECTIVES
With reference to a specific type of medical denialism associated with moral failure, justified by dissident AIDS and anti-vaccine scientific publications, this paper seeks to make the argument that this type of denialism meets certain longstanding definitions for classification as pseudoscience.
METHODS
This paper uses a conceptual framework to make certain arguments and to juxtapose arguments for evidence-based approaches to medicine against literature that highlights certain limitations of an unquestioning approach to empiricism.
RESULTS
Discussions of certain real life examples are used to derive the important insight that, under certain conditions, moral failure can result in the violation both Type I and Type II scientific error types, with catastrophic consequences.
CONCLUSION
It is argued that the validity of all theory should not be assumed before sufficient empirical evidence has accumulated to support its validity across contexts. However, caution is required, to avoid the consequences of an unquestioning approach to empiricism.
Topics: Adult; Attitude to Health; Delivery of Health Care; Denial, Psychological; Female; Health Personnel; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Philosophy, Medical; Practice Guidelines as Topic
PubMed: 32127888
DOI: 10.4314/ahs.v19i4.34 -
Psychiatry Research Sep 2016The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of minimization and gender on the interaction between childhood trauma and general cognitive ability. The study...
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of minimization and gender on the interaction between childhood trauma and general cognitive ability. The study included 345 students. The data were obtained via an information form, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and Raven's standard progressive matrices (RSPM). The mean CTQ total score and the mean sexual abuse, physical, and emotional neglect subscale scores of the male students were significantly higher than those of the female students (p<0.05). The mean minimization score of the female students was greater than that of the male students (p<0.05). However, among the female students with minimization scores of 3, there was a moderate and significant negative correlation between the CTQ and RSPM scores (r=-0.533, p<0.05). This study found that general cognitive ability was influenced by childhood trauma among female students with higher minimization/neglect scores. The results of the current study suggest that ignoring the effects of minimization may be a misleading factor for determining the gender ratio of childhood trauma and evaluating its effect on long-term cognitive functions.
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Adult Survivors of Child Adverse Events; Cognition; Cross-Sectional Studies; Denial, Psychological; Female; Humans; Male; Sex Factors; Students; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
PubMed: 27392231
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2016.02.025 -
Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular... Feb 2022To investigate cerebrovascular event (CVE) denials reported by registered patients to the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry, and to examine the factors associated with...
OBJECTIVES
To investigate cerebrovascular event (CVE) denials reported by registered patients to the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry, and to examine the factors associated with CVE denial.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
CVE denials reported from January 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018 were followed up with hospitals to verify their discharge diagnosis. CVE denials were compared with all non-CVE denial registrants and a 5% random sub-sample of non-CVE deniers according to patient and clinical characteristics, quality of care indicators and health outcomes. Multilevel, multivariable logistic regression models were used. Factors explored were age, sex, stroke severity, type of stroke, treatment in a stroke unit, length of stay and discharge destination. Level was defined as hospital.
RESULTS
Overall, 339/23,830 (<2%) CVE denials were reported during the 18-month period. Hospitals confirmed 117 (61%) of CVE denials as a verified diagnosis of stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA). Compared to non-CVE deniers, CVE deniers were younger, had a shorter median length of stay (four days versus one day) and were more likely to be diagnosed with a TIA (64%) compared to the other types of stroke (11% intracerebral haemorrhage; 20% ischaemic; 5% undetermined).
CONCLUSION
Very few patients denied their CVE, with the majority of denials subsequently confirmed as eligible for registry inclusion. Diagnosis of a TIA and shorter length of stay were associated with CVE denial. These findings provide evidence that very few cases are incorrectly entered into a national registry, and highlight the characteristics of those unlikely to accept their clinical diagnosis where further education of diagnosis may be needed.
Topics: Australia; Cerebrovascular Disorders; Denial, Psychological; Female; Humans; Ischemic Attack, Transient; Male; Registries; Retrospective Studies; Stroke
PubMed: 34864608
DOI: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2021.106210