The circumstances present themselves as definitive when trying to run any human action, especially those that relate to the achievement and maintenance of power. Assuming that the higher the power of fortune less freedom to commit actions that can lead to successful political actor in the world of contingency, it becomes essential to know how it exercises power over the actions of men. But is it possible to do it precisely? We start from the historical context in which the works (...) of Machiavelli are written to understand the relationship the author establishes with tradition, sometimes taking it, now opposing it. We recovered Machiavelli’s texts and established dialogue with some commentators the author’s work to investigate the question of fortune itself. (shrink)

Spinoza afirma na proposição 31 da Ética III que por natureza todos os sujeitos desejam que os demais vivam conforme seu ingenium. A partir dessa proposição o presente artigo procura refletir sobre os povos indígenas que vivem em contexto urbano na cidade de Blumenau/Santa Catarina. Para a análise, são utilizas as impressões de uma pesquisa ação--participante realizada com mulheres indígenas que migraram para a cidade há mais de cinco anos. No texto é observado que a legislação do Estatuto do Índio (...) é uma das formas que mantém a sobreposição do ingenium branco sobre o indígena. A partir da análise é afirmado que a sobreposição de um ingenium sobre o outro é uma forma de violência afetiva que reproduz a colonização na atualidade. (shrink)

O presente resumo (resenha) visa a estabelecer a forma com a qual Erich Auerbach evidencia em Mimesis, sua obra magna, a realização da representação séria e problemática do cotidiano, considerando todas as forças motrizes sociais e históricas do contexto inserido, que se iniciam na separação diacrônica entre as obras de Homero e do Velho Testamento Judaico, e confluem na literatura do século XIX na França, mais precisamente nas figuras de Balzac, Stendhal e Flaubert. Para tal fim, além da consulta de (...) algumas das obras citadas, através do resumo do capítulo 18 da obra Mimesis, intitulada “Na Mansão de La Mole”, visa-se explicitar a conclusão da tese geral da obra, escrita em alemão em 1946 enquanto o autor estava em exílio na Turquia devido à Segunda Guerra Mundial e sua descendência judaica, e que percorre em 20 capítulos as obras fundamentais da literatura ocidental. Partindo da Odisséia de Homero e do Velho Testamento da Bíblia, passando por autores da Antiguidade e do período Patrístico e Medieval como Petrônio, Gregório de Tours. Chrétien de Troyes, Dante, Bocaccio e Antoine de La Sale, seguidos no Renascimento, na Modernidade e no Iluminismo por Rabelais, Montaigne, Shakespeare, Cervantes, La Bruyère e Molière, Abade Prévost e o drama burguês de Schiller, Auerbach expõe de forma sistemática de que forma a literatura e a representação mimética da realidade resultaram numa consideração séria e problemática do cotidiano, à qual se chega apenas no capítulo 18, ao qual aqui se resume, evidenciando no Século XIX Francês, como considera a tese geral do autor, as figuras e as obras de Stendhal (O Vermelho e o Negro), Balzac (O Pai Goriot) e Flaubert (Madame Bovary) como síntese de tal evolução. Para fins de exemplo da literatura contemporânea ocidental, ainda há os capítulos sobre a obra dos Irmãos Goncourt e o capítulo de fechamento sobre Virginia Woolf, além de contar com um epílogo, concluindo dessa forma um dos mais importantes ensaios crítico-literários já escritos no Ocidente, e do qual é tratado no presente resumo. (shrink)

In recent years, Reichenbach's 1920 conception of the principles of coordination has attracted increased attention after Michael Friedman's attempt to revive Reichenbach's idea of a "relativized a priori". This paper follows the origin and development of this idea in the framework of Reichenbach's distinction between the axioms of coordination and the axioms of connection. It suggests a further differentiation among the coordinating axioms and accordingly proposes a different account of Reichenbach's "relativized a priori".

The ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 has forced governments to impose a lockdown, and many people have suddenly found themselves having to reduce their social relations drastically. Given the exceptional nature of similar situations, only a few studies have investigated the negative psychological effects of forced social isolation and how they can be mitigated in a real context. In the present study, we investigated whether the amount of digital communication technology use for virtual meetings during the lockdown promoted the perception of (...) social support, which in itself mitigated the psychological effects of the lockdown in Italy. Data were collected in March 2020, during the lockdown imposed to reduce the COVID-19 spread. The results indicated that the amount of digital technology use reduced feelings of loneliness, anger/irritability, and boredom and increased belongingness via the perception of social support. The present study supported the positive role of digital technologies in maintaining meaningful social relationships even during an extreme situation such as a lockdown. Implications such as the need to reduce the digital divide and possible consequences of the ongoing pandemic are discussed. (shrink)

This highly multidisciplinary collection discusses an increasingly important topic among scholars in science and technology studies: objectivity in science. It features eleven essays on scientific objectivity from a variety of perspectives, including philosophy of science, history of science, and feminist philosophy. Topics addressed in the book include the nature and value of scientific objectivity, the history of objectivity, and objectivity in scientific journals and communities. Taken individually, the essays supply new methodological tools for theorizing what is valuable in the pursuit (...) of objective knowledge and for investigating its history. The essays offer many starting points, while suggesting new avenues of research. Taken collectively, the essays exemplify the very virtues of objectivity that they theorize—in reading them together, the reader can sense various anxieties about the dangerously subjective in our age and locate commonalities of concern as well as differences of approach. As a result, the volume offers an expansive vision of a research community seeking a communal understanding of its own methods and its own epistemic anxieties, struggling to enunciate the key problems of knowledge of our time and offer insight into how to overcome them. -/- (Contributors: Alex Csiszar, Scott Edgar, Peter Galison, Ian Hacking, Sandra Harding, Moira Howes, Paolo Savoia, Judy Segal, Joan Steigerwald, and Alison Wylie). (shrink)

Background:The understanding of factors that shape risk perception is crucial to modulate the perceived threat and, in turn, to promote optimal engagement in preventive actions.Methods:An on-line, cross-sectional, survey was conducted in Italy between May and July 2020 to investigate risk perception for COVID-19 and the adoption of preventive measures. A total of 964 volunteers participated in the study. Possible predictors of risk perception were identified through a hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis, including sociodemographic, epidemiological and, most of all, psychological factors. (...) A path analysis was adopted to probe the possible mediating role of risk perception on the relationship between the independent variables considered and the adoption of preventive measures.Results:Focusing on the psychological predictors of risk perception, high levels of anxiety, an anxious attachment, and an external locus of control predicted higher perceived risk. Conversely, high levels of openness personality and of avoidant attachment predicted a lower perception of risk. In turn, the higher was the perceived risk the higher was the adoption of precautionary measures. Furthermore, psychological factors influenced the adoption of preventive behaviors both directly and indirectly through their effect on risk perception.Conclusions:Our findings might be taken into high consideration by stakeholders, who are responsible for promoting a truthful perception of risk and proper compliance with precautionary measures. (shrink)

Merleau-Ponty. Une conception de l’empathie non centrée sur le sujet?Cet article étudie l’émergence du terme « empathie » dans les textes de Merleau-Ponty. Il souligne que le concept n’est pas avant tout présenté comme une catégorie épistémologique, remettant en question si et comment nous pouvons éventuellement connaître les autres. Au contraire, il est conçu comme une catégorie ontologique, pour dire notre appartenance à une nature commune. De ce point de vue, il propose une façon sensible pour comprendre les autres, basée (...) sur une proximité et un partage physiques.Mais, avec des références à l’actuel débat, le texte suggère que, dans les réflexions du phénoménologue français, il est possible de trouver un paradigme qui n’est pas centré sur une conception subjective de l’empathie – c’est a dire qu’il s’agit d’un paradigme qui ne suppose pas toujours une projection subjective de ma sensibilité sur celle des autres. Plutôt, il peut à la fois consister en un sentiment commun, prépersonnel, qui constitue l’arrière-plan de nos sensibilités conscientes, et aussi proceder de l’autre être humain à moi, alors que souvent je sens et comprendre moi-même par differentiation des autres personnes, qui s’imposent sur mes sentiments et sur mes mots.Merleau-Ponty. A Conception of Empathy not centered on the Subject?This paper investigates the emergence of the term “empathy” in Merleau-Ponty’s texts. It points out that the concept is not primarly introduced as an epistemological category, questioning if and how eventually we can know the others. On the contrary it is meant as an ontological category, in order to say our belonging to a common nature. From this point of view he proposes a sensible way to understanding the others, based on a bodily closeness and sharing.But, with references to the current debate, the text suggests that in the reflections of the French phenomenologist it is possible to find a not subjectively centered paradigm for understandig empathy – that is a paradigm which does not always presuppose a subjective projection of my sensibility on that of the other ones. It can rather both consist in a common, prepersonal feeling, costituting the background of our conscious sensitivities, and proceed from the other human being to me, so that I often feel and understand myself by differing from the other individuals, who impose themselves on my senses and on my words. (shrink)

Linguistic repetitions in children are conceptualized as negative in children with autism – echolalia, without communicative purpose – and positive in typically developing (TD) children – linguistic alignment involved in shared engagement, common ground and language acquisition. To investigate this apparent contradiction we analyzed spontaneous speech in 67 parent–child dyads from a longitudinal corpus (30 minutes of play activities at 6 visits over 2 years). We included 32 children with autism and 35 linguistically matched TD children (mean age at recruitment (...) 32.76 and 20.27 months). We found a small number of exact repetitions in both groups (roughly 1% of utterances across visits), which increased over time in children with autism and decreased in the TD group. Partial repetitions were much more frequent: children reused caregivers' words at high rates regardless of diagnostic group (24% of utterances at first visit), and this increased in frequency (but not level) over time, faster for TD children (at final visit: 33% for autism, 40% for TD). The same happened for partial repetition of syntax and semantic alignment. However, chance alignment (as measured by surrogate pairs) also increased and findings for developmental changes were reliable only for syntactic and semantic alignment. Children with richer linguistic abilities also displayed a higher tendency to partially re–use their caregivers' language (alignment rates and semantic alignment). This highlights that all children commonly re–used the words, syntax, and topics of their caregivers, albeit with some quantitative differences, and that most repetition was at least potentially productive, with repeated language being re–contextualized and integrated with non–repeated language. The salience of echolalia in ASD might be partially explained by slight differences in frequency, amplified by lower semantic alignment, persistence over time, and expectations of echolalia. More in–depth qualitative and quantitative analyses of how repetitions are used and received in context are needed. (shrink)

In his Scientific Representation (2008), van Fraassen argues that measuring is a form of representation. In fact, every measurement pinpoints its target in accordance with specific operational rules within an already-constructed theoretical space, in which certain conceptual interconnections can be represented. Reichenbach’s 1920 account of coordination is particularly interesting in this connection. Even though recent reassessments of this account do not do full justice to some important elements lying behind it, they do have the merit of focusing on a different (...) aspect of his early work that traditional interpretations of relativized a priori principles have unfortunately neglected in favour of a more “structural” role for coordination. In Reichenbach’s early work, however, the idea of coordination was employed not only to indicate theory-specific fundamental principles such as the ones suggested in the literature on conventional principles in science, but also to refer to more “basic” assumptions. In Reichenbach, these principles are preconditions both of the individuation of physical magnitudes and of their measurement, and, as such, they are necessary to approach the world in the first instance. This paper aims to reassess Reichenbach’s approach to coordination and to the representation of physical quantities in light of recent literature on measurement and scientific representation. (shrink)

In the early 1920s, Hans Reichenbach and Kurt Lewin presented two topological accounts of time that appear to be interrelated in more than one respect. Despite their different approaches, their underlying idea is that time order is derived from specific structural properties of the world. In both works, moreover, the notion of genidentity--i.e., identity through or over time--plays a crucial role. Although it is well known that Reichenbach borrowed this notion from Kurt Lewin, not much has been written about their (...) relationship, nor about the way Lewin implemented this notion in his own work in order to ground his topology. This paper examines these two early versions of the topology of time, and follows the extent of Lewin’s influence on Reichenbach’s proposal. (shrink)

This article is a first assessment of the Italian Code of deontology for nurses (revised in 1999) on the basis of data collected from focus groups with nurses taking part in the Ethical Codes in Nursing (ECN) project. We illustrate the professional context in which the Code was introduced and explain why the 1999 revision was necessary in the light of changes affecting the Italian nursing profession. The most remarkable findings concern professional autonomy and responsibility, and how the Code is (...) thought of as a set of guidelines for nursing practice. We discuss these issues, underlining that the 1999 Code represents a valuable instrument for ethical reflection and examination, a stimulus for putting the moral sense of the nursing profession into action, and that it represents a new era for professional nursing practice in Italy. The results of the analysis also deserve further qualitative study and future consideration. (shrink)

Forests, cars and orchestras are very different ontological entities, and yet very similar in some aspects. The relationships they have with the elements they are composed of is often assumed to be reducible to standard ontological relations, like parthood and constitution, but how this could be done is still debated. This paper sheds light on the issue starting from a linguistic and philosophical analysis aimed at understanding notions like plurality, collective and composite, and propos- ing a formal approach to characterise (...) them. We conclude the presentation with a discussion and analysis of social groups within this framework. (shrink)

This paper presents an intuitive explanation about why and how Rawlsian Theory of Justice (Rawls in A theory of justice, Harvard University Press, Harvard, 1971) provides the foundations to a solution for algorithmic bias. The contribution of the paper is to discuss and show why Rawlsian ideas in their original form (e.g. the veil of ignorance, original position, and allowing inequalities that serve the worst-off) are relevant to operationalize fairness for algorithmic decision making. The paper also explains how this leads (...) to a specific MinMaxfairness solution, which addresses the basic challenges of algorithmic justice. We combine substantive elements of Rawlsian perspective with an intuitive explanation in order to provide accessible and practical insights. The goal is to propose and motivate why and how the MinMaxfairness solution derived from Rawlsian principles overcomes some of the current challenges for algorithmic bias and highlight the benefits provided when compared to other approaches. The paper presents and discusses the solution by building a bridge between the qualitative theoretical aspects and the quantitative technical approach. (shrink)

J’espère que tout cela sera le point de départ d’une collaboration efficace dans l’avenir, et que je me permets de souhaiter, en outre, amicale.Louis Rougier à Hans Reichenbach, 24 novembre 1931.

Parmenides and Melissus employ different deductive styles for their different kinds of argumentation. The former’s poem flows in an interesting sequence of passages: contents foreword, methodological premises, krisis, conclusions and corollaries. The latter, however, organizes an extensive process of deduction to show the characteristics of what is. In both cases, the strength of their argument rests on their deductive form, on the syntactical level of their texts: the formal structure of their reasonings help to identify the features and logical intersections (...) of their thoughts. On the one hand, Parmenides uses modal reasoning, enforcing the employment of the principle of the excluded middle. On the other hand, Melissus radicalizes the use of modal reasoning and employs counterfactual statements in order to develop his doctrine of what is. Despite their differences, both deserve a place in the Stone Age of logic and theory of argumentation due to their common ambition to demonstrate what is. (shrink)

La nouvelle édition des Éléments de rythmanalyse et autres essais sur les temporalités, parue grâce à Claire Revol en 2019 chez Eterotopia, vient d'être traduite en portugais par Flávia Martins, professeur de géographie à l'UFF, et Michel Moreaux, docteur en géographie de l'UERJ. L'ouvrage est publié par l'éditeur Consequência. Cette préface est une invitation à la lecture des Éléments de rythmanalyse : introduction à la connaissance des rythmes, d'Henri Lefebvre. Nous souhaitons que cette œuvre aux multiples - Sociologie – Nouvel (...) article. (shrink)

Despite that it is commonly accepted that migraine is a disorder of the nervous system with a prominent genetic basis, it is comorbid with a plethora of medical conditions. Several studies have found bidirectional comorbidity between migraine and different disorders including neurological, psychiatric, cardio- and cerebrovascular, gastrointestinal, metaboloendocrine, and immunological conditions. Each of these has its own genetic load and shares some common characteristics with migraine. The bidirectional mechanisms that are likely to underlie this extensive comorbidity between migraine and other (...) diseases are manifold. Comorbid pathologies can induce and promote thalamocortical network dysexcitability, multi-organ transient or persistent pro-inflammatory state, and disproportionate energetic needs in a variable combination, which in turn may be causative mechanisms of the activation of an ample defensive system with includes the trigeminovascular system in conjunction with the neuroendocrine hypothalamic system. This strategy is designed to maintain brain homeostasis by regulating homeostatic needs, such as normal subcortico-cortical excitability, energy balance, osmoregulation, and emotional response. In this light, the treatment of migraine should always involves a multidisciplinary approach, aimed at identifying and, if necessary, eliminating possible risk and comorbidity factors. (shrink)

Italian Sounding—i. e., the Italian appearance of a product or service brand irrespective of its country of origin—represents a global market phenomenon affecting a wide range of economic sectors, particularly the agro-food sector. Although its economic impact has been repeatedly stressed from different points of view, systematic scientific knowledge regarding its social–psychological bases is lacking. Three studies carried out in three different countries address this literature gap. Different consumer groups are targeted regarding major product categories pre-selected categories, which are the (...) major Italian food goods within the specific country according to piloting. In each study, the main independent variable has been manipulated by presenting real product images, whose “Italianness” degree is effectively manipulated by the main study variable across three or four levels. Main hypotheses are tested via a survey with the specific product images administered to samples in Italy, China, and the USA. Across the three studies, results show that Made in Italy products, compared to the other ones, are advantaged in terms of the main dependent variables: reputation profile, general reputation, attitude, and willingness to pay. Moreover, Italian Sounding products are endowed with corresponding significant advantages when compared to the Generic Foreign by non-Italian samples. Results reveal the specific social–psychological profile of Italian Sounding products in terms of either weaknesses or strengths when compared to both Made in Italy products and Generic Foreign ones, differently in the eyes of Italian and non-Italian consumers across different countries. Finally, consistently across the three studies, the extent to which a food product is perceived to be Italian increases consumers' WTP for that product, and this effect is consistently mediated by the product's reputation. (shrink)

Forests, cars and orchestras are very different ontological entities, and yet very similar in some aspects. The relationships they have with the elements they are composed of is often assumed to be reducible to standard ontological relations, like parthood and constitution, but how this could be done is still debated. This paper sheds light on the issue starting from a linguistic and philosophical analysis aimed at understanding notions like plurality, collective and composite, and propos- ing a formal approach to characterise (...) them. We conclude the presentation with a discussion and analysis of social groups within this framework. (shrink)

Este artigo discute o mal-estar de adolescentes de duas escolas públicas da cidade do Rio de Janeiro, no contexto de retorno presencial das aulas pós-pandemia da COVID-19. Durante o contexto de isolamento, a escola teve de se ressignificar como lugar de aprendizagem, de convivência e de mediações com tecnologias até então ausentes, e atualmente tem que se reconstruir, territorialmente, como um lugar possível de afeto e transmissão. A escola é uma das instâncias que se ocupa desta tarefa, em que o (...) jogo de forças entre os grupos e a subjetividade se faz presente. No entanto, a ausência territorial da escola no período de isolamento social foi inevitável. A questão central a que este artigo busca responder é de que maneira o pressuposto freudiano de que o mal-estar faz parte e é inerente à relação entre o sujeito e a cultura, aparece, e sob que aspectos, nesta experiência de retorno às escolas, no período pós-pandemia. Quer nas dificuldades de aprendizagem, diante do lugar do outro, no conflito entre temporalidade e demanda, nas estratégias de enfrentamento e na distância entre os projetos e a realidade, os estudantes revelam suas angústias e novos modos de lidar com a condição de mal-estar. (shrink)

May implicit and explicit collaboration influence text comprehension and spatial recognition interaction? Visuospatial representation implies implicit, visual and spatial processing of actions and concepts at different levels of awareness. Implicit learning is linked to unaware, nonverbal and prototypical processing, especially in the early stages of development when it is prevailing. Spatial processing is studied as knowledge prototypes , conceptual and mind maps . According to the hypothesis that text comprehension and spatial recognition connecting processes may also be implicit, this paper (...) analyzes the possibility to identify and to define implicit non verbal criteria for organizing concepts into spatial representation. The focus of the research question is if prototypical processing (mainly implicit, but also explicit) criteria of conceptual organization may be model based. According to Thinking Prototypes Theory , explicit knowledge could be supported by implicit models of basic processing. On implicit side, conceptual development could be the resultant of the increasing complexity of prototypical implicit models interaction during individual lifespan, as in conceptual change research explicit conceptual development may be dependent on correlation . Unlike Theory Theory in Thinking Prototypes Theory implicit processing may collaborate with explicit knowledge without transforming itself from implicit to explicit. Prototypical implicit processing is considered as an entanglement of basic functions operating synergically in a complex way. Prototypical implicit processing units may be classified as far as they concern different basic thinking operations ( add , chain , each , compare , focus and link ). The experimental design was developed with primary school students in Naples. (shrink)

Spatial representations have been considered for their high didactical efficacy, as concept maps and mind maps. Graphical and spatial representations may be seen as key elements of knowledge management and may contribute to enhancing spatial knowledge. Even if isomorphisms between the physical and the mental dimension can be controversial in the field of spatial knowledge, it is nevertheless interesting to study the role of spatial interpretation in knowledge management processes. In science education, spatial skills are actually highly required due to (...) the development of new technologies and their highly demanding spatial tasks they often work intertwined with other abilities, such as logical reasoning and verbal skills. Despite spatial knowledge being significative in the overall field of learning management, there is instead little research that shows its complex role in the comprehension of concepts in the humanistic fields, e.g. in philosophical conceptual reasoning. The Elementary Logic Theory—which underlies the philosophical maps of this Atlas—identifies at the basis of complex thinking prototypical knowledge units that may be activated in the possible collaboration between explicit and implicit thinking. In EL Theory, spatiality is considered the most suitable transition format for the hypothesized collaboration between implicit and explicit processing because it shares common aspects with both of them. The focus of EL Theory is to research particularly the role of the implicit in knowledge comprehension through spatial representations. In this Atlas, the role of Elementary Logic Theory is highlighted in shaping philosophical knowledge and comprehension of philosophical concepts and their intertwining. (shrink)

Nowadays, binge-watching (i.e., watching multiple episodes of a TV series in one session) has become a widespread practice of media consumption, raising concerns about its negative outcomes. Nevertheless, previous research has overlooked the underlying psychological mechanisms leading to binge-watching. In the present work, we investigated some of the psychological variables that could favor binge-watching tendencies in a sample of TV series viewers (N = 196). To this aim, psychological determinants of problematic digital technologies usage (i.e., feelings of loneliness), as well (...) as some of the mechanisms related to the enjoyment of media contents (i.e., escapism and the identification with media characters), were considered as predictors of the tendency to binge-watch. Results indicated that higher feelings of loneliness were associated with higher levels of problematic digital technologies usage. Additionally, direct and indirect effects showed that only escapism – out of the four dimensions measuring the problematic use of Internet-related technologies – predicted participants’ stronger identification with media characters, which in turn promoted greater binge-watching tendencies. Overall, we suggest that binge-watching could be interpreted as a coping strategy for media escapists, who enjoy TV series as a privileged online space in which the need to escape finds its fulfillment, allowing them to manage loneliness by identifying with a fictitious character. (shrink)

In the Eudemian Ethics Aristotle states that human beings are starting points of things that could be otherwise and that the eph’hemin are this kind of things. Famously, in the Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle endorses the thesis of habits’ unidirectionality, according to which the agent who already possesses moral habits, hexeis, will perform only actions consistent with the habits she possesses. Despite this apparent inconsistency, I aim to show that the two texts can be harmonized and that the Eudemian Ethics can (...) actually provide a theoretical background for habits’ unidirectionality. (shrink)

This book updates and adds to the classic Social Movements of the Sixties and Seventies, showing how social movement theory has grown and changed.

The present study aimed to translate and to adapt the personality clinical patterns scales and clinical syndromes scales of the MCMI-III to Brazil. It was used the translation and backtranslation processes, handled by bilingual translators. Then, the inventory was administered to 15 men and women ag..

Este artigo objetiva analisar discursos produzidos sobre práticas do cultivo do arroz na paisagem de Joinville. Paisagens do arroz podem ser consideradas como expressão do trabalho dos homens sobre a terra; elas modificam a natureza e representam identidades culturais de diferentes grupos ao longo do tempo. Em Joinville, discursos sobre os arrozais têm sido relacionados à memória italiana e repercutido pelos processos migratórios de rizicultores no século XX, no bairro Vila Nova. Contudo, em diálogo com fontes históricas, podem ser reconhecidas (...) práticas e paisagens de cultivo do arroz em Joinville desde o século XIX. (shrink)

Psychotic-like experiences are a phenomenon that occurs in the general population experiencing delusional thoughts and hallucinations without being in a clinical condition. PLEs involve erroneous attributions of inner cognitive events to the external environment and the presence of intrusive thoughts influenced by dysfunctional beliefs; for these reasons, the role played by metacognition has been largely studied. This study investigates PLEs in a non-clinical population and discriminating factors involved in this kind of experience, among which metacognition, as well as psychopathological features, (...) seems to have a crucial role. The aim of this study was to extend the knowledge about the relationship between metacognition, psychopathology, and PLEs, orienting the focus on metacognitive functioning. The sample consisted of 207 Italian participants voluntarily recruited online, who gave consent to participate in the study. The average age of the sample was 32.69 years. Subjects affected by psychosis, neurological disease, and drug addiction were excluded from the analyses. The following scales were used to investigate PLEs: Peters et al. Delusions Inventory, Launay-Slade Hallucinations Scale-Extended Revised, Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief, and Revised Hallucination Scale. To assess general psychopathological features, the Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale was administrated. The Metacognition Self-Assessment Scale was chosen to evaluate metacognitive functioning. From hierarchical regression analyses, it emerged that the presence of anxiety, depression, and impulsive/addictive symptoms constitute a remarkable vulnerability factor for PLEs, in line with previous evidence regarding the relationship between general psychopathology and PLEs. Metacognition negatively predicts PLEs, and its presence does not affect the significance of psychopathological variables, suggesting that metacognitive abilities seem to play a protective role for the occurrence of PLEs among non-clinical individuals, and such ability operates as an independent predictor along with other variables. These results are explained by the role of metacognitive functions, which allow individuals to operate many mental processes such as interpreting sensorial events as real or illusory, understanding behaviors, thoughts, and drives of others, and questioning the subjective interpretation of facts. (shrink)

The purpose of this scoping review is to investigate the value of creative arts therapies in healthy older adults. This article aims to shed light on current knowledge concerning the effectiveness of art therapies for the prevention of common age-related conditions using the definition of art therapy provided by the American Art Therapy Association, as well as Cohen’s conceptual framework for the psychological conceptualization of the relationship between the arts and health in later life. The objective is to carefully capture (...) subthreshold situations of distress, which are often not taken into account and primarily involve psychological aspects that are crucial in the multidimensional perspective of healthy aging. Twelve articles were selected and examined following an initial electronic search on 3 databases. A thematic analysis of the results identified four major themes: improving cognitive performance and proprioception; enhancing self-identity and meaningful life; reducing feelings of loneliness and depressive symptoms; and the importance of socialization. All these aspects constitute the basis for preventing psychological distress and enhancing mental well-being for healthy aging. (shrink)