The rattling sound of rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis) as a communicative resource for ground squirrels (Spermophilus beecheyi) and burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia)

Animal communication involves very dynamic processes that can generate new uses and functions for established communicative activities. In this article, the authors describe how an aposematic signal, the rattling sound of rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis), has been exploited by 2 ecological associates of rattlesnakes: (a) California ground squirrels (Spermophilus beecheyi) use incidental acoustic cues in rattling sounds to assess the danger posed by the rattling snake, and (b) burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia) defend themselves against mammalian predators by mimicking the sound of rattling. The remarkable similarity between the burrowing owl's defensive hiss and the rattlesnake's rattling reflects both exaptation and adaptation. Such exploitation of the rattling sound has favored alternations in both the structure and the deployment of rattling by rattlesnakes.     

Sensitivity to the displacement of facial features in negative and inverted images

Subjects have previously been reported to show difficulties in recognising faces which are either inverted or in photographic negative. Experiments are reported in which a two-alternative forced-choice technique was used to measure sensitivity for distinguishing faces which have been modified by having the eyes moved vertically or horizontally. Subjects were less sensitive to such changes for inverted faces or negative faces, and were even less sensitive for faces that were both inverted and negative. No such effects were found for a control stimulus consisting simply of three solid circles in the same positions as the eyes and mouth of a face. When the stimuli consisted of eyes, nose, and mouth, but without a surround, no evidence of inversion or negation effects was found, which suggests that a facial surround is necessary. When the stimulus consisted of a facial surround with the eyes, nose, and mouth replaced by solid circles, effects of negation were found, but no effects of inversion. This dissociation of the effects of negation and inversion may suggest that they are the result of different underlying mechanisms.     

Reward and Punishment Sensitivity in Children with ADHD: Validating the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire for Children (SPSRQ-C)

This study validates the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire for children (SPSRQ-C), using a Dutch sample of 1234 children between 6–13 years old. Factor analysis determined that a 4-factor and a 5-factor solution were best fitting, explaining 41% and 50% of the variance respectively. The 4-factor model was highly similar to the original SPSRQ factors found in adults (Punishment Sensitivity, Reward Responsivity, Impulsivity/Fun-Seeking, and Drive). The 5-factor model was similar to the 4-factor model, with the exception of a subdivision of the Punishment Sensitivity factor into a factor with ‘social-fear’ items and a factor with ‘anxiety’ items. To determine external validity, scores of three groups of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were compared on the EFA models: ADHD-only (n = 34), ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (ADHD+ASD; n = 22), ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ADHD+ODD; n = 22). All ADHD groups scored higher than typical controls on Reward Responsivity and on the ‘anxiety’ factor (n = 75). The ADHD-only and ADHD+ODD group scored higher than other groups on Impulsivity/Fun-Seeking and Drive, while the ADHD+ASD group scored higher on Punishment Sensitivity. The findings emphasize the value of the SPSRQ-C to quickly and reliably assess a child’s sensitivity to reinforcement, with the aim to provide individually-tailored behavioral interventions that utilize reward and reprimands.     

A French adaptation of a short version of the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ)

According to Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST; Gray, 1982), personality results from the interaction of three major systems: a Behavioural Activation System (BAS), a Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) and a Fight/Flight System (FFS). Based on this model, Torrubia, Avila, Molto, and Caseras (2001) developed an instrument, the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ), which assesses the two major systems that explain individual differences in sensitivity and reactions to punishing and rewarding stimuli. In the present study, we have proposed a short version of the SPSRQ, based on O’Connor, Colder, and Hawk’s (2004) findings. To this end, 360 participants were screened using the French translation of a short version of the SPSRQ. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that a two-factor model has acceptable fit. Moreover, the results indicated that there was very good internal reliability for both the sensitivity to reward and sensitivity to punishment scales.     

Cues to personality and health in the facial appearance of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Humans (Homo sapiens) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) can extract socially-relevant information from the static, non-expressive faces of conspecifics. In humans, the face is a valid signal of both personality and health. Recent evidence shows that, like humans, chimpanzee faces also contain personality information, and that humans can accurately judge aspects of chimpanzee personality relating to extraversion from the face alone (Kramer, King, and Ward, 2011). These findings suggest the hypothesis that humans and chimpanzees share a system of personality and facial morphology for signaling socially-relevant traits from the face. We sought to test this hypothesis using a new group of chimpanzees. In two studies, we found that chimpanzee faces contained health information, as well as information of characteristics relating to extraversion, emotional stability, and agreeableness, using average judgments from pairs of individual photographs. In a third study, information relating to extraversion and health was also present in composite images of individual chimpanzees. We therefore replicate and extend previous findings using a new group of chimpanzees and demonstrate two methods for minimizing the variability associated with individual photographs. Our findings support the hypothesis that chimpanzees and humans share a personality signaling system.     

Effects of experience and motivation on symmetrical-maze performance in the prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster)

Sex differences in spatial skills are sometimes attributed to sex differences in spatial experience. This hypothesis rests on two assumptions: Spatial experience typically differs with sex and spatial experience has lasting effects on spatial cognition. We tested the latter assumption in a controlled experiment with wild-caught prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) and their spatially deprived, laboratory-reared, first-generation offspring; we found the assumption to be unjustified. Although major differences in spatial experience had no effect on maze performance, relatively small differences in motivation produced a significant difference in error rates.     

A possible function of the preference for hind nipples in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

Prairie vole pups (Microtus ochrogaster) in laboratory cages prefer hind nipples. In this research, the author observed 8 litters of prairie voles in a seminatural environment to confirm the preference for hind nipples and to determine if young on hind nipples were groomed more frequently or dislodged less frequently than were young on other nipples. Prairie vole pups in seminatural environments preferred hind nipples; this preference was illustrated by the progressive use of more anterior nipples only as litter size increased and by the reluctance of pups to voluntarily release their hold on hind nipples. Maternal grooming of young did not vary with suckling location. Prairie vole young on hind nipples, however, were dislodged less frequently than were young on other nipples. Less frequent dislodgment from hind nipples during maternal movements may play a role in the preference for hind nipples in prairie voles.     

Responses to mirror-image stimulation in jungle crows (Corvus macrorhynchos)

Four jungle crows (Corvus macrorhynchos) were exposed to a mirror placed either vertically or horizontally. The most frequently observed behaviors were pecking at the mirror and wing flapping when looking toward the mirror. These behavior patterns, which were only rarely observed when the mirror was reversed, can be interpreted as aggressive behaviors against a conspecific. The vertical mirror evoked the behaviors more often than the horizontal mirror. The present results suggest that crows perceive their mirror image as an image of a conspecific, not as their own. Received: 16 December 1999 / Accepted after revision 29 January 2000     

Human (Homo sapiens) facial attractiveness in relation to skin texture and color

The notion that surface texture may provide important information about the geometry of visible surfaces has attracted considerable attention for a long time. The present study shows that skin texture plays a significant role in the judgment of female facial beauty. Following research in clinical dermatology, the authors developed a computer program that implemented an algorithm based on co-occurrence matrices for the analysis of facial skin texture. Homogeneity and contrast features as well as color parameters were extracted out of stimulus faces. Attractiveness ratings of the images made by male participants relate positively to parameters of skin homogeneity. The authors propose that skin texture is a cue to fertility and health. In contrast to some previous studies, the authors found that dark skin, not light skin, was rated as most attractive.     

Recovery of Sensitivity to Prick and Touch after Pressure Block,with a Note on the Sensitivity of Hair Spots

In cloze tasks subjects are asked to supply words for deletions that occur in prose passages. In the present paper this task is related to more general word production tasks. Specifically, one aspect of decisions among several possible response alternatives was studied: the level of awareness of subjects producing competing responses. Two studies were done, differing only in the difficulty of the prose passages used as cloze tasks. In both studies, subjects (college students, n = 25) were asked to press a key hooked up to an event-graph for every option considered by them as a potential response. The main finding of the studies is that even in cases where the probability of a correct response is very low the distribution of responses considered deliberately is very small; on the average less than 1.5 words. The consequences of the finding for a theory of cloze in terms of a search and retrieval paradigm are discussed.     

Assessment of the behavioral inhibition system and the behavioral approach system: adaptation and validation of the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ) in a Chilean sample

The goal of the present study is to estimate the psychometric properties of the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ; Torrubia, Avila, Moltó, & Caseras, 2001) in a sample of Chilean college students. The main hypothesis is that the instrument would show appropriate levels of reliability and validity, in light of previous validation studies. A pilot study was conducted in order to generate the adapted version of the questionnaire, which was then applied to a student sample from different undergraduate careers (n = 434). The results show the expected levels of reliability (test-retest and internal consistency). The factorial validity does not comply with the expected model, suggesting a further consideration of the structure of the questionnaire. External validity is appropriate, as the questionnaire shows the expected correlations with other personality measures. It is concluded that the SPSRQ is adequate for the context of validation, and this study contributes to the generalization of the questionnaire, since the results are consistent with the expected psychometric properties that have been reported in the literature.     

Comment on Holloway and McNally's (1987) "Effects of Anxiety Sensitivity on the Response to Hyperventilation"

Holloway and McNally (1987) found that normals with high scores on the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), an instrument developed to assess beliefs regarding the adverse consequences of anxiety, reported more anxiety and more frequent and intense somatic sensations following hyperventilation than did normals with low scores on the ASI. They concluded that this result provides support for the construct validity of the ASI and thus for the construct of anxiety sensitivity. Nevertheless, we argue that (a) the developers of the ASI have conflated beliefs regarding the adverse consequences of anxiety with fear of these consequences, (b) the accumulated evidence for the construct validity of the ASI is weak, and (c) Holloway and McNally's design and analyses do not permit them to exclude the more parsimonious explanation that trait anxiety accounts for their findings. Implications for research on anxiety sensitivity are discussed.     

经颅直流电刺激技术在物质依赖治疗中的应用

物质依赖是一种慢性、复发性脑部疾病, 给个体及社会带来极大损害。研究发现, 经颅直流电刺激(transcranial direct current stimulation, tDCS)可以通过调节背外侧前额叶(dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, DLPFC)脑区的兴奋性降低物质依赖者的渴求, 并改善受损的认知功能。tDCS具有副作用小、操作简便、费用低廉等优点, 因此在物质依赖治疗领域应用前景广泛。未来应考虑确定最佳的刺激参数及刺激位置, 同时考虑物质依赖者的种类及个体差异, 与其他疗法结合使用, 并进一步深入探索tDCS治疗物质依赖的神经机制。     

Sensitivity to Levels of Importance in the Logical Memory Subtest

The performance of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and neuropsychiatric patients was examined using the Logical Memory (LM) subtest of the WMS-R, utilizing a levels of importance methodology described by Haut et al. (1990). Although patient groups were matched for dementia severity, we found the expected differences between groups in terms of absolute level of performance. There was considerable variability, however, in the AD patients' performance. AD patients' recall and sensitivity to levels of importance depended on the story (Anna or Robert), and when the passages were recalled (immediate or delayed recalls). Results suggested that AD patients were able to utilize semantic information in their immediate recall, though this was dependent on individual story characteristics. AD patient's delayed recall was essentially absent. Thus, no conclusions could be drawn with respect to the level of importance factor. NP patient's recall performance was similar to patterns observed in other clinical samples for both immediate and delayed memory.     

Effects of 7.5% CO(2) inhalation on allocation of spatial attention to facial cues of emotional expression

Increased vigilance to threat-related stimuli is thought to be a core cognitive feature of anxiety. We sought to investigate the cognitive impact of experimentally induced anxiety, by means of a 7.5% CO(2) challenge, which acts as an unconditioned anxiogenic stimulus, on attentional bias for positive and negative facial cues of emotional expression in the dot-probe task. In two experiments we found robust physiological and subjective effects of the CO(2) inhalation consistent with the claim that the procedure reliably induces anxiety. Data from the dot-probe task demonstrated an attentional bias to emotional facial expressions compared with neutral faces regardless of valence (happy, angry, and fearful). These attentional effects, however, were entirely inconsistent in terms of their relationship with induced anxiety. We conclude that the previously reported poor reliability of this task is the most parsimonious explanation for our conflicting findings and that future research should develop a more reliable paradigm for measuring attentional bias in this field.     

The Simulation of Smiles (SIMS) model: Embodied simulation and the meaning of facial expression

Recent application of theories of embodied or grounded cognition to the recognition and interpretation of facial expression of emotion has led to an explosion of research in psychology and the neurosciences. However, despite the accelerating number of reported findings, it remains unclear how the many component processes of emotion and their neural mechanisms actually support embodied simulation. Equally unclear is what triggers the use of embodied simulation versus perceptual or conceptual strategies in determining meaning. The present article integrates behavioral research from social psychology with recent research in neurosciences in order to provide coherence to the extant and future research on this topic. The roles of several of the brain's reward systems, and the amygdala, somatosensory cortices, and motor centers are examined. These are then linked to behavioral and brain research on facial mimicry and eye gaze. Articulation of the mediators and moderators of facial mimicry and gaze are particularly useful in guiding interpretation of relevant findings from neurosciences. Finally, a model of the processing of the smile, the most complex of the facial expressions, is presented as a means to illustrate how to advance the application of theories of embodied cognition in the study of facial expression of emotion.     

Jackson-5 scales of revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (r-RST) and their application to dysfunctional real world outcomes

Revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (r-RST) is a neurobiological theory of personality which has many differences compared to the original version. This highlights the need for measurement scales to reflect the revised theory. Study 1 uses exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to develop and test new scales (the ‘Jackson-5’) which are shown to be internally reliable, have scale inter-relationships matching theory, and to have desirable construct validity properties. Study 2 compares r-RST with original RST in the prediction of delinquency and psychopathy in students. Results suggest the new scales capture the main properties of r-RST and indicate that r-RST provides a substantially different explanation of the personality basis of dysfunctional behavior compared to original RST.     

Increasing Ethical Sensitivity to Racial and Gender Intolerance in Schools: Development of the Racial Ethical Sensitivity Test

We analyzed a sample of 356 forms containing information that Colorado law legally requires both licensed and unlicensed therapists to disclose to clients. The majority of forms contained the legally mandated information; fewer forms contained ethically desirable information. The average readability grade level was 15.74, corresponding to upper-level college, and 63.9% of the forms reached the highest (most difficult) readability grade of 17 +. Therapists are obeying the law, but do not appear to be taking advantage of the opportunity to provide their clients useful information in an accessible way.