Intermediate science knowledge predicts overconfidence.

Lackner et al. found science overconfidence peaks at intermediate levels of knowledge. Those with intermediate knowledge also hold the most negative attitudes toward scientists. In doing so, they provide a novel measure of overconfidence that measures the tendency to give incorrect answers as opposed to answering, 'I don't know'.

Constructing the "home-side" of a scientific legacy: Mary Everest Boole, pedagogy, and domesticity.

The Victorian writer Mary Everest Boole (1832-1916) developed an idiosyncratic pedagogical treatment of arithmetic, algebra, and logic. Her pedagogy favored active, child-directed learning, and is now generally admired as ahead of its time, though it must be deciphered through fairly eccentric delivery. A recurring theme in Mrs. Boole's prolific writing is the misunderstood legacy of her late husband, the renowned mathematician and logician George Boole (1815-1864). As existing literature has shown, she worked to promote a morally and religiously charged understanding of his work. More fundamentally, she presented an all-encompassing pedagogical perspective on Mr. Boole's life and work. Across her voluminous publications, Mrs. Boole filtered everything-mathematics, logic, religion, morality, and homelife-through the lens of pedagogy. She used this expansive conception of teaching to span the gulf between professional and domestic work, thereby claiming a privileged domestic perspective on her husband's intellectual output and enlisting his legacy as a resource for her own writing. The Booles' entangled careers show how particular ways of practicing domesticity could shape and be shaped by mathematical identities and ideas.

Bringing the history of mathematics home: Entangled practices of domesticity, gender, and mathematical work.

Although much scholarship on nineteenth and twentieth century mathematics has focused on processes of professionalization, historical mathematicians themselves rarely experienced their lives as neatly divisible into the professional and the private. Taking marriage as a focal point, this introduction brings the fruitful historiography of gender, collaborative couples, and domesticity in science into a broader conversation with the history of mathematics. By historicizing marriage and its relationship to mathematical careers, we lay the groundwork for the special issue which uncovers the myriad ways in which spousal collaboration and support have been central to mathematical work.

The Logician in the Archive: John Venn's Diagrams and Victorian Historical Thinking.

Like the overlapping circles of his famous diagrams, English probability theorist, logician, and historian John Venn (1834-1923) operated at a site of productive intersection. Across a career comprising seemingly disparate pursuits, Venn exhibited an epistemic apparatus shaped by a mathematical probability, formal logic, and British historicism. Scholarly interest in Venn has tended to isolate these elements; I argue that a deep continuity joined his projects. The unappreciated coherence of his work reveals larger convergent currents in Victorian historical thinking, a kind of statistical attitude according to which large series of elite individuals constituted the most illuminating historical subject.

The anti-scientists bias: The role of feelings about scientists in COVID-19 attitudes and behaviors.

Across three studies, we investigated who expresses concern for COVID-19, or coronavirus, and engages in behaviors that are consistent with slowing the spread of COVID-19. In Studies 1 and 2 (n = 415, n = 199), those with warmer feelings toward scientists were more concerned and engaged in greater COVID-preventative behaviors, regardless of partisanship. That is, an anti-scientists bias was related to lessened concern and toward less preventive behaviors. Furthermore, those who were the most optimistic about hydroxychloroquine, a purported but unproven treatment against the virus, were less likely to engage in behaviors designed to decrease the spread of COVID-19. In Study 3 (n = 259), asking participants to watch a scientist discuss hydroxychloroquine on Fox News led people to greater endorsement of COVID behaviors. In short, positive feelings toward scientists, rather than political attitudes or knowledge, related to who was concerned and those willing to engage in pandemic reducing behaviors. These behaviors were not immutable and can be changed by scientific out-reach.

Cognitive and emotional correlates of belief in political misinformation: Who endorses partisan misbeliefs?

Across two studies, we investigated how much cognitive variables and emotional dynamics anticipated endorsement of politically partisan misbeliefs. In Study 1 (n = 298), those with lower levels of cognitive ability endorsed more political misbeliefs regardless of whether those beliefs aligned with their political preferences. However, emotional investment in political parties and outcomes predicted who endorsed misbeliefs in a partisan manner. In Study 2 (n = 251), asking participants to briefly consider political misinformation as true via social consensus led them to feel dissonance, particularly for incompatible beliefs. Allowing them then to endorse or reject those misbeliefs reduced that dissonance yet maintained feelings of self-validation, particularly as participants rejected beliefs hostile to their political vies. This effect was stronger for emotionally invested participants. These findings suggest that endorsement of divisive partisan misbeliefs is associated with affective partisanship, a feature of the political landscape that is on the rise. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Jumping to conclusions: Implications for reasoning errors, false belief, knowledge corruption, and impeded learning.

In schizophrenia research, patients who "jump to conclusions" in probabilistic reasoning tasks tend to display impaired decision-making and delusional belief. In five studies, we examined whether jumping to conclusions (JTC) was similarly associated with decision impairments in a nonclinical sample, such as reasoning errors, false belief, overconfidence, and diminished learning. In Studies 1a and 1b, JTC was associated with errors stimulated by automatic reasoning, oddball beliefs such as conspiracy theories, and overconfidence. We traced these deficits to an absence of controlled processing rather than to an undue impact of automatic thinking, while ruling out roles for plausible alternative individual differences. In Studies 2 and 3, JTC was associated with higher confidence despite diminished performance in a novel probabilistic learning task (i.e., diagnosing illnesses), in part because those who exhibited JTC behavior were prone to overly exuberant theorizing, with no or little data, about how to approach the task early on. In Study 4, we adapted intervention materials used in schizophrenia treatment to train participants to avoid JCT. The intervention quelled overconfidence in the probabilistic learning task. In summary, this research suggests that a fruitful crosstalk may exist between research on psychopathology and work on social cognition within the general public. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Obligation at zero acquaintance.

Social obligation begins far before people establish explicit cooperative relationships. Research on trust suggests that people feel obligated to trust other people even at zero acquaintance, thus trusting complete strangers even though they privately expect to be exploited. Such obligations promote mutually beneficial behavior among strangers and likely help people build goodwill needed for more long-lasting relationships.

Consistency just feels right: Procedural fluency increases confidence in performance.

Incidental features of a stimulus can increase how easily it is processed, which can then increase confidence in task performance. Here, we examine the impact of fluency stemming from procedural features embedded in a task rather than in the features of a stimulus. We propose that manipulating the consistency of procedural features over a series of stimuli can produce procedural fluency, a metacognitive sense of ease in processing that can inflate confidence without boosting accuracy. That is, even superficial consistency within a task can lead people to inaccurately believe they are performing better. As with fluency derived from features of individual stimuli, drawing attention to procedural consistency leads people to discount it, attenuating its impact on confidence. Further, the influence of procedural fluency on confidence relies on individuals' naïve theories about what fluency signals about their performance. Accordingly, manipulating these naïve theories mitigates the effects of procedural fluency on confidence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Investigating the Robustness of the Illusory Truth Effect Across Individual Differences in Cognitive Ability, Need for Cognitive Closure, and Cognitive Style.

People are more inclined to believe that information is true if they have encountered it before. Little is known about whether this illusory truth effect is influenced by individual differences in cognition. In seven studies (combined N = 2,196), using both trivia statements (Studies 1-6) and partisan news headlines (Study 7), we investigate moderation by three factors that have been shown to play a critical role in epistemic processes: cognitive ability (Studies 1, 2, 5), need for cognitive closure (Study 1), and cognitive style, that is, reliance on intuitive versus analytic thinking (Studies 1, 3-7). All studies showed a significant illusory truth effect, but there was no evidence for moderation by any of the cognitive measures across studies. These results indicate that the illusory truth effect is robust to individual differences in cognitive ability, need for cognitive closure, and cognitive style.

Attosecond single-cycle undulator light: a review.

Research at modern light sources continues to improve our knowledge of the natural world, from the subtle workings of life to matter under extreme conditions. Free-electron lasers, for instance, have enabled the characterization of biomolecular structures with sub-ångström spatial resolution, and paved the way to controlling the molecular functions. On the other hand, attosecond temporal resolution is necessary to broaden our scope of the ultrafast world. Here we discuss attosecond pulse generation beyond present capabilities. Furthermore, we review three recently proposed methods of generating attosecond x-ray pulses. These novel methods exploit the coherent radiation of microbunched electrons in undulators and the tailoring of the emitted wavefronts. The computed pulse energy outperforms pre-existing technologies by three orders of magnitude. Specifically, our simulations of the proposed Soft X-ray Laser at MAX IV (Lund, Sweden) show that a pulse duration of 50-100 as and a pulse energy up to 5 [Formula: see text]J is feasible with the novel methods. In addition, the methods feature pulse shape control, enable the incorporation of orbital angular momentum, and can be used in combination with modern compact free-electron laser setups.

Navigating Career Decisions in Dental Service Organizations: Practical Advice for Students, Residents, and Educators.

The dental practice market continues to experience unprecedented changes, including the increasing presence and influence of dental service organizations (DSOs)-corporate entities that provide support and practice management for group practices in such areas as financial operations, human resources, marketing, and legal services. At the same time, increasing percentages of new dental graduates are choosing to pursue an initial career path in corporate dental practices. As a result, new graduates and others making a transition into private practice are likely to encounter complicated, multifaceted variables related to associateship opportunities. Experts in dental education are articulating a need for more instruction in practice management, particularly related to DSOs. Accordingly, this Perspectives article discusses issues in five broad categories focused on vetting career decisions in DSOs: business systems; the dental team and patients; clinical dentistry; compensation and professional development; and ownership positions. In addition to explaining the importance of these areas, the authors provide specific questions prospective associates should ask in considering these career options. These considerations should be useful for students and specialists who are preparing for their dental careers and for the educators who help to guide them.

Reflections on Self-Reflection: Contemplating Flawed Self-Judgments in the Clinic, Classroom, and Office Cubicle.

We reflect back on our 2004 monograph reviewing the implications of faulty self-judgment for health, education, and the workplace. The review proved popular, no doubt because the importance of accurate self-assessment is best reflected in just how broad the literature is that touches on this topic. We discuss opportunities and challenges to be found in the future study of self-judgment accuracy and error, and suggest that designing interventions aimed at improving self-judgments may prove to be a worthwhile but complex and nuanced task.

Moral agency among the ruins.

Doris suggests thought-provoking directions for rehabilitating moral agency within a self that is unaware and incoherent. These directions suggest more radical proposals. First, moral reasoning may serve many different functions beyond merely expressing a person's values. Second, social collaboration may not focus on moral reasoning as much as it does on the "defeaters" of that agency. Ultimately, moral agency may not reside in the individual but in social communities or within external situations.

Overconfidence among beginners: Is a little learning a dangerous thing?

Across 6 studies we investigated the development of overconfidence among beginners. In 4 of the studies, participants completed multicue probabilistic learning tasks (e.g., learning to diagnose "zombie diseases" from physical symptoms). Although beginners did not start out overconfident in their judgments, they rapidly surged to a "beginner's bubble" of overconfidence. This bubble was traced to exuberant and error-filled theorizing about how to approach the task formed after just a few learning experiences. Later trials challenged and refined those theories, leading to a temporary leveling off of confidence while performance incrementally improved, although confidence began to rise again after this pause. In 2 additional studies we found a real-world echo of this pattern of overconfidence across the life course. Self-ratings of financial literacy surged among young adults, then leveled off among older respondents until late adulthood, where it begins to rise again, with actual financial knowledge all the while rising more slowly, consistently, and incrementally throughout adulthood. Hence, when it comes to overconfident judgment, a little learning does appear to be a dangerous thing. Although beginners start with humble self-perceptions, with just a little experience their confidence races ahead of their actual performance. (PsycINFO Database Record

Satisfaction among early and mid-career dentists in a metropolitan dental hospital in China.

A growing body of research has examined career satisfaction among dentists using a standardized instrument, dentist satisfaction survey (DSS). This project examined career satisfaction of early to mid-career dentists in China, a population whose career satisfaction, heretofore, has not been studied. This is an especially critical time to examine career satisfaction because of health care reform measures being implemented in China. A culturally sensitive Chinese-language version of the DSS (CDSS) was developed and electronically administered to 367 early and mid-career dentists in a tertiary dental hospital in Beijing, China. One hundred and seventy respondents completed the survey. The average total career score was 123, with a range of 82-157. Data analysis showed some significant differences in total career score and several subscales based on gender, working hours per week, and years in practice. A stepwise regression model revealed that two variables predicted total career score: working hours per week and gender. Stepwise regression also demonstrated that four subscales significantly predicted the overall professional satisfaction subscale score: respect, delivery of care, income and patient relations. Implications of these results are discussed in light of the health care delivery system and dentist career paths in China.

When Knowledge Knows No Bounds: Self-Perceived Expertise Predicts Claims of Impossible Knowledge.

People overestimate their knowledge, at times claiming knowledge of concepts, events, and people that do not exist and cannot be known, a phenomenon called overclaiming. What underlies assertions of such impossible knowledge? We found that people overclaim to the extent that they perceive their personal expertise favorably. Studies 1a and 1b showed that self-perceived financial knowledge positively predicts claiming knowledge of nonexistent financial concepts, independent of actual knowledge. Study 2 demonstrated that self-perceived knowledge within specific domains (e.g., biology) is associated specifically with overclaiming within those domains. In Study 3, warning participants that some of the concepts they saw were fictitious did not reduce the relationship between self-perceived knowledge and overclaiming, which suggests that this relationship is not driven by impression management. In Study 4, boosting self-perceived expertise in geography prompted assertions of familiarity with nonexistent places, which supports a causal role for self-perceived expertise in claiming impossible knowledge.

Causal trait theories: a new form of person knowledge that explains egocentric pattern projection.

Representations of the self and others include not only piecemeal traits but also causal trait theories-explanations for why a person's standing on 1 trait causes or is caused by standings on other traits (Studies 1a-1c). These causal theories help resolve the puzzle of egocentric pattern projection-the tendency for people to assume that traits correlate in the population in the same way they align in the self. Causal trait theories-created to explain trait co-occurrence in a single person-are exported to guide one's implicit personality theories about people in general (Study 2). Pattern projection was found to be largely egocentric (i.e., more strong guided by self- than by social perceptions) for 2 reasons. First, causal trait theories are more numerous for the self. When participants were prompted to generate causal trait theories about someone else, they pattern projected more from that person (Study 3). Second, causal trait theories about the self are more likely to draw on behavioral information from multiple contexts instead of merely seeking to explain why 2 traits co-occur in a single context. Causal trait theories based on trait-relevant behaviors from different contexts, instead of trait co-occurrence within a single context, produce more pattern projection (Study 4). Implications for self and social cognition are discussed.

Self-affirmations provide a broader perspective on self-threat.

We present an "affirmation as perspective" model of how self-affirmations alleviate threat and defensiveness. Self-threats dominate the working self-concept, leading to a constricted self disproportionately influenced by the threat. Self-affirmations expand the size of the working self-concept, offering a broader perspective in which the threat appears more narrow and self-worth realigns with broader dispositional self-views (Experiment 1). Self-affirmed participants, relative to those not affirmed, indicated that threatened self-aspects were less all-defining of the self (although just as important), and this broader perspective on the threat mediated self-affirmation's reduction of defensiveness (Experiment 2). Finally, having participants complete a simple perspective exercise, which offered a broader perspective on the self without prompting affirmational thinking (Experiment 3a), reduced defensiveness in a manner equivalent to and redundant with a standard self-affirmation manipulation (Experiment 3b). The present model offers a unifying account for a wide variety of seemingly unrelated findings and mysteries in the self-affirmation literature.