"I Avenge; Others Aggress": A Victim-Perpetrator Asymmetry in Judging Whether a Transgression Was Motivated by Revenge.

In two studies, victims differed from perpetrators as to whether they viewed a transgression as motivated by a desire for revenge. When participants wrote about autobiographical episodes in which they hurt others, they were somewhat likely to report that they were motivated by revenge; when the same participants wrote about episodes in which others hurt them, they were less likely to report that the perpetrators were motivated by revenge. This asymmetry could act as a barrier to reconciliation. This asymmetry may also facilitate a cycle of revenge in that those who view themselves as the targets of unprovoked aggression (as opposed to vengeance) may be especially likely to feel that they have a score to settle.

The most common end-of-life reflections: A survey of hospice and palliative nurses.

To identify the most common end-of-life reflections among terminally ill patients, 124 nurses from the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) completed an online, open-ended survey. Common themes of these reflections included concern for loved ones, regret, morbidity and mortality, gratitude, spirituality, legacy, and thoughts about acceptance or non-acceptance of impending death. Nurses reported that their patients were more concerned about their loved ones than their own morbidity and mortality. Common end-of-life reflections may serve as cues that hospice and palliative patients are self-initiating therapeutic life review.

Cognitive dissonance and attitudes toward unpleasant medical screenings.

Two studies suggest that cognitive dissonance can lead people to adopt negative attitudes toward beneficial-yet unpleasant-medical screenings. People who thought that they were candidates for an unpleasant medical screening reported less favorable attitudes toward the screening than people who thought that they were ineligible (Study 1). The unpleasantness of a medical screening affected candidates' attitudes toward the screening to a greater extent than non-candidate's attitudes (Study 2). Limitations, including ambiguity regarding the extent to which participants' attitudes were affected specifically by dissonance, are discussed. This preliminary research suggests people attempt to reduce dissonance associated with their anticipated behavior.

Embodied free will beliefs: some effects of physical states on metaphysical opinions.

The present research suggests that people's bodily states affect their beliefs about free will. People with epilepsy and people with panic disorder, which are disorders characterized by a lack of control over one's body, reported less belief in free will compared to people without such disorders (Study 1). The more intensely people felt sexual desire, physical tiredness, and the urge to urinate, the less they believed in free will (Study 2). Among non-dieters, the more intensely they felt hunger, the less they believed in free will. However, dieters showed a trend in the opposite direction (Study 3).