The author wishes to make the following corrections this paper [...]

* This paper was written while the first author was visiting the Econometric Institute, Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, in autumn 2008. The first author wishes to acknowledge the financial support of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, while the second author wishes to thank the Australian Research Council for financial support, and the Erasmus School of Economics for the...

The author wishes to make the following correction this paper [...]

To honor the wishes of an incapacitated patient, surrogate decision makers must predict the treatment decisions patients would make for themselves if able. Social psychological research, however, suggests that surrogates' own treatment preferences may influence their predictions of others' preferences. In 2 studies (1 involving 60 college student surrogates and a parent, the other involving 361...

The authors discuss law and ethics when medical decisions are to be taken by patients who are unable in any valid sense to express their own wishes. The main problem in legal terms is to protect an individual's free will as far as possible and ensure that his or her wishes, if known, are respected. If a patient's independent wishes cannot be known, then we must at least ensure that nothing is i...

OBJECTIVE At times, caregivers make life-and-death decisions for loved ones. Yet very little is known about the factors that make caregivers more or less accurate as surrogate decision makers for their loved ones. Previous research suggests that in low stress situations, individuals with high attachment-related anxiety are attentive to their relationship partners' wishes and concerns, but get o...

The purpose of the paper is to discuss means of assisting terminally ill patients in seeking for sources of meaning and hope, alongside the acknowledgment that their lifespan is short.Psycho-spiritual aspects make a substantial component patients suffering from incurable illness have to deal with. Evaluating and mapping the causes and expressions of psychological--spiritual suffering may assist...