Freedom and security are often portrayed as things that have to be traded off against one another, but this view does not capture the full complexity of the freedom-security relationship. Rather,... Show moreFreedom and security are often portrayed as things that have to be traded off against one another, but this view does not capture the full complexity of the freedom-security relationship. Rather, there seem to be four different ways in which freedom and security connect to each other: freedom can come at the cost of security, security can come at the cost of freedom, freedom can work to the benefit of security, and security can work to the benefit of freedom. This paper analyses each of these connections in turn. It shows that particular understandings of freedom can help us to see particular connections between freedom and security. The practical examples used to illustrate these connections are drawn from the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be suggested that, in the face of challenges such as this one, taking into account all four connections between freedom and security can ultimately help decision-makers in upholding both. Show less
As mental disorders impact quality of life and result in high costs for society, it is important patients receive timely and adequate care. This scoping review first aims to summarize which factors... Show moreAs mental disorders impact quality of life and result in high costs for society, it is important patients receive timely and adequate care. This scoping review first aims to summarize which factors contribute to specialized mental health care (SMHC) use. Within the Dutch health care system, the general practitioner (GP) is the filter for SMHC and care use costs are relatively low. Second, to organize factors by Andersen and Newman's care utilization model in illness level, predisposing, and enabling factors. Third, to assess equity of access to SMHC in the Netherlands. A health care system is equitable when illness level and the demographic predisposing factors age and gender account for most variation in care use and inequitable when enabling factors and social predisposing factors such as education predominate. We identified 13 cross-sectional and cohort studies in the Netherlands published between 1970 and September 2020 with 20 assessed factors. Illness level factors, disease severity, diagnosis, personality, and comorbidity contributed the most to SMHC use. Predisposing factors related to a more solitary lifestyle contributed to a lesser degree. Enabling factors income and urbanicity contributed the least to SMHC use. These results imply inequity. Factors that did not fit the care utilization model were GP related, for example the ability to recognize mental disorders. This emphasizes their importance in a system where patients are dependent on GPs for access to SMHC. Focus should be on improving recognition of mental disorders by GPs as well as collaboration with mental health care professionals. Show less
The central thesis of this essay is that basic income experiments are justified if their expected benefits in terms of justice exceed their expected costs in terms of justice. The benefits are a... Show moreThe central thesis of this essay is that basic income experiments are justified if their expected benefits in terms of justice exceed their expected costs in terms of justice. The benefits are a function of basic income’s effect on the level of justice attained in the context in which it is implemented, and the experiment’s impact on future policy-making. The costs comprise the sacrifices made as a result of the experiment’s interventional character, as well as the study’s opportunity costs. In light of the proposed standard of justification for basic income experiments, the factors that play a role in it, and the way these interact with one another, this essay provides some practical recommendations for researchers hoping to conduct such an experiment. Show less
Cooperation is pivotal for society to flourish. To foster cooperation, humans express and read intentions via explicit signals and subtle reflections of arousal visible in the face. Evidence is... Show moreCooperation is pivotal for society to flourish. To foster cooperation, humans express and read intentions via explicit signals and subtle reflections of arousal visible in the face. Evidence is accumulating that humans synchronize these nonverbal expressions and the physiological mechanisms underlying them, potentially influencing cooperation. The current study is designed to verify this putative linkage between synchrony and cooperation. To that end, 152 participants played the Prisoner’s Dilemma game in a dyadic interaction setting, sometimes facing each other and sometimes not. Results showed that synchrony in both heart rate and skin conductance level emerged during face-to-face contact. However, only synchrony in skin conductance levels predicted cooperative success of dyads. Crucially, this positive linkage was strengthened when participants could see each other. These findings show the strong relationship between our bodily responses and social behavior, and emphasize the importance of studying social processes between rather than within individuals in real-life interactions. Show less
Hof, M. van 't; Ester, W.A.; Berckelaer-Onnes, I. van, Hillegers, M.; Hoek, W.; Jansen, P. 2020
Parental beliefs, parenting behavior, and precursors of theory of mind have been related uniquely to each other and to early aggression, but have not yet been studied simultaneously. The present... Show moreParental beliefs, parenting behavior, and precursors of theory of mind have been related uniquely to each other and to early aggression, but have not yet been studied simultaneously. The present study combined these risk factors in the prediction of aggression during toddlerhood using a sample of 152 mother-child dyads. At 20 months, mothers' parental beliefs (parental self-efficacy and perceived parental impact) were examined with the Parental Cognitions and Conduct Toward the Infant Scale. Maternal parenting behavior (sensitivity, intrusiveness, and successful positive engagement) was observed during free play and teaching tasks, and children's precursors of theory of mind were assessed using a visual perspectives task and an imitation task. At 30 months, child aggression was examined using the Child Behavior Checklist. A regression analysis indicated that lower parental self-efficacy and lower imitation skills predicted more aggressive behavior. When estimating the indirect effects using bootstrapping, a final model was found indicating that lower perceived parental impact was related to less successful positive engagement, which, in turn, was associated with children's poorer imitation abilities which predicted more aggressive behavior. It can be concluded that aggression during toddlerhood is predicted significantly by interrelated parental beliefs, parenting behavior, and children's early social cognitive abilities. Show less
Dignath, D.; Berger, A.; Spruit, I.M.; Steenbergen, H. van 2019
According to feedback control models, errors are monitored and inform subsequent control adaptations. Despite these cognitive consequences, errors also have affective consequences. It has been... Show moreAccording to feedback control models, errors are monitored and inform subsequent control adaptations. Despite these cognitive consequences, errors also have affective consequences. It has been suggested that errors elicit negative affect which might be functional for control adaptations. The present research is concerned with the temporal dynamics of error-related affect. Therefore, we ask how affective responses to errors change over time. Two experiments assessed performance in a Stroop-like task in combination with online measures of facial electromyography that index affective responses specific for muscles that are associated with the expression of negative (corrugator supercilii) and positive affect (zygomaticus major). After errors, corrugator activity first increased relative to correct trials but then decreased (below correct trials) for later time bins. Zygomaticus activity showed a concomitant inverse pattern following errors, such that an initial decrease was followed by a later increase relative to correct trials. Together, this biphasic response in both facial muscles suggests that early negative responses to errors turn into increasingly more positive ones over time. Error-triggered electromyography did marginally predict behavioral adjustments following errors at the inter-individual, but not at the intra-individual level, providing only limited evidence for a functional role of error-related affect for immediate changes in behavior. However, the dynamics of error-related electromyography points to the role of implicit emotion regulation during task performance. We propose that this process helps to maintain homeostasis of positive and negative affect which in the long term could facilitate adaptive behavior. Show less
