Acquisition of the hierarchy of tonal functions in music

The acquisition of the hierarchy of tonal stabilities in music is investigated in children of elementary school age. Listeners judge how good short tone sequences sound as melodies. The ratings show a pattern of increasing differentiation of the pitches in an octave range. The youngest listeners distinguish between scale and nonscale tones; older listeners distinguish between the tonic triad tones and other scale components. A group of adult listeners show octave equivalence and temporal asymmetries, with a preference for sequences ending on the more stable tones within the hierarchy. Pitch height effects do not interact with the age of the listener. These results are discussed in terms of the primacy of physical variables, novice-expert differences, and general cognitive principles governing the acquisition and development of internal representations of pitch relationships.     

The psychological representation of musical pitch in a tonal context

In this series of experiments, evidence was found for a complex psychological representation of musical pitch. The results of a scaling study, in which subjects judged the similarities between pairs of tones presented in an explicitly tonal context, suggest that musical listeners extract a pattern of relationships among tones that is determined not only by pitch height and chroma, but also by membership in the major triad chord and the diatonic scale associated with the tonal system of the context. Multidimensional scaling of the similarity ratings gave a three-dimensional conical structure around which the tones were ordered according to pitch height. The major triad components formed a closely related cluster near the vertex of the cone; the remaining diatonic scale tones formed a less closely related subset farther from the vertex; and, the nondiatonic tones, still farther from the vertex, were widely dispersed. The results also suggest that, in the psychological representation, tones less closely related to the tonality are less stable than tones closely related to the tonality, and that the representation incorporates the tendency for unstable tones to move toward the more stable tones in time, reflecting the dynamic character of musical tones. In the similarity ratings of the scaling study, tones less related to the tonality were judged more similar to tones more related to the tonality than the reverse temporal order. Furthermore, in a delayed recognition task memory performance for nondiatonic tones was less accurate than for diatonic tones, and nondiatonic tones were more often confused with diatonic tones than diatonic tones were confused with nondiatonic tones. These results indicate the tonality-specific nature of the psychological representation and argue that the perception of music depends not only on psychoacoustic properties of the tones, but also on processes that relate the tones to one another through contact with a well-defined and complex psychological representation of musical pitch.     

Influence of tonal context and timbral variation on perception of pitch

In this study, spectral timbre's effect on pitch perception is examined in varying contexts. In two experiments, subjects detected pitch deviations of tones differing in brightness in an isolated context in which they compared two tones, in a tone-series context in which they judged whether the last tone of a simple sequence was in or out of tune, and in a melodic context in which they determined whether the last note of familiar melodies was in or out of tune. Timbre influenced pitch judgments in all the conditions, but increasing tonal context allowed the subjects to extract pitch information more accurately. This appears to be due to two factors: (1) The presence of extra tones creates a stronger reference point from which to judge pitch, and (2) the melodies' tonal structure gives more cues that facilitate pitch extraction, even in the face of conflicting spectral information.     

Detection of temporal gaps within and between perceptual tonal groups

Two experiments were conducted to explore the hypothesis that tones widely separated in frequency are processed in separate communication channels. Listeners attempted to detect brief temporal gaps between items in a simple tonal sequence of two high tones followed by two low tones. Temporal resolution within both the high and low groups was near perfect; between-group detection scores were significantly lower. Results are interpreted as evidence for a processing time delay when shifts of focal attention occur between perceptual structures organized within the frequency domain.     

Stress within a bicultural context for adolescents of Mexican descent

Folkman and Lazarus's theory of stress and coping was used to develop a measure assessing the perceived stress within a bicultural context. Middle school students of Mexican descent (N = 881) reported their perceived stress from intergenerational acculturation gaps, within-group discrimination, out-group discrimination, and monolingual stress. Although immigrant youths reported more total number of stressors, U.S.-born youths reported more stress from needing better Spanish and impact of parents' culture. Immigrant youths reported more stress from needing better English in school. Higher stress was associated with more depressive symptoms for both U.S.-born and immigrant youths. Although this study has identified some elements of stress, it has not identified positive coping mechanisms of the bicultural context for Latino youths.     

Team situation awareness within the context of human-autonomy teaming

Effective team communication, a fundamental part of team coordination, is crucial for both effective Team Situation Awareness (TSA) and team performance. In this study, we looked at the role that team interaction (i.e., more specifically team verbal behaviors) played in TSA and team performance in order to better understand Human-Autonomy Teaming (HAT). We first analyzed team verbal behaviors (i.e., pushing and pulling information) across conditions of human-autonomy teams and human-human teams, and then analyzed their relationship with TSA and team performance via Growth Curve Modelling (GCM). Good teamwork involves anticipating the needs of teammates and that means pushing information before it is requested. Therefore, if things are going well, there should be little need for pulling information. In this study’s task, participants were instructed to push information to others, and over time master the specific timing of information sharing to the intended recipient. Findings indicate that pushing information was positively associated with TSA and team performance, and human-autonomy teams had lower levels of both pushing and pulling information than all-human teams. Through this study, we have learned that anticipation of other team member behaviors and information requirements in human-autonomy teams are important for effective TSA and team performance. In order to make HAT more effective in terms of teamwork, we need to develop mechanisms to enhance pushing information within HAT.     

Depressive symptoms and use of perspective taking within a communicative context

Objective: The ability to take the perspective of one's conversational partner is essential for successful communication. We assessed whether individuals who report high levels of depressive symptoms have more difficulty with navigating this interpersonal task. Method: Undergraduate students participated in a computerised communication task that, on some trials, required perspective taking (N=125). Results: When participants were grouped according to their self-reported depressive symptoms, the “dysphoric group” (BDI ≥ 16, n=37) showed more errors than a “non-dysphoric group” (BDI ≤ 10, n=56) on trials requiring participants to use the perspective of the speaker, but not on control trials where perspective taking was not required. The dysphoric group demonstrated slower response times overall. Conclusions: Individuals with moderate to high levels of depressive symptoms are more challenged by using a speaker's perspective to interpret statements.     

Patterns of runaway behavior within a larger systems context: the road to empowerment

Runaway behavior is a common problem in residential treatment settings for youth. This paper looked at Orten and Soll's runaway typology and Homer's conceptualization of runaways as "running from" or "running to" something and expanded the context to include interactions with family and professionals. A case study and a survey of nine adolescent runaways from a residential setting were used to explore several hypotheses. A discussion of the results and practical applications illustrated ways to empower therapists and other professionals to deal with runaways more effectively.     

Learning considered within a cultural context. Confucian and Socratic approaches

A Confucian-Socratic framework is used to analyze culture's influence on academic learning. Socrates, a Western exemplar, valued private and public questioning of widely accepted knowledge and expected students to evaluate others' beliefs and to generate and express their own hypotheses. Confucius, an Eastern exemplar, valued effortful, respectful, and pragmatic acquisition of essential knowledge as well as behavioral reform. Expressions of these approaches in modern postsecondary contexts are discussed, as are the effects these approaches may have for students who either fit or do not fit the cultural ideal.     

Reconceptualising hope within the context of vulnerability in South Africa

This study was aimed at clarifying conceptualisations of hope amongst vulnerable young people in a high HIV/AIDS prevalence South African setting. Participants were four young people ranging from 15 to 19, and interview data were collected on their household conditions, lived experiences in the communities and schools, and family support systems. Analysis applied grounded theory process to characterise main themes. Four mechanisms characterised the nurturing of hope processes in the context of vulnerability, namely: predatory, protective, promotion and possibility processes. Six protective intrapersonal themes were also identified: finding purpose, building a sense of the future; building faith in a higher power; embracing educational opportunities; thinking positively; building on strengths; and adopting supportive networks. Findings suggest that conceptualisations of hope need to be grounded in social context and the imperatives of social justice to support vulnerable young people in realising their future aspirations.     

Development of the perception of musical relations: semitone and diatonic structure

In the present research we examined the development of sensitivity to two musical relations significant in Western tonal music, the semitone and diatonic structure. Infants and preschool children were tested for their detection of a semitone change in any position of a five-note melody. Two standard melodies were used, one composed of diatonic tones only and the other containing a non-diatonic tone. In Experiment 1, children from 4 to 6 years of age were superior in detecting the semitone change in the diatonic context compared with the nondiatonic context. In Experiment 2, infants 9 to 11 months of age detected the semitone change in all positions, but their performance was not influenced by diatonic context. These findings indicate that infants and children can discriminate a semitone in a musical context and that the priority of diatonic structure emerges by 4 to 6 years of age.     

Kindergartners' understanding of additive commutativity within the context of word problems

Baroody and Gannon (1984) proposed that children's understanding of additive commutativity progresses through several levels of understanding based on a unary view of addition (change meaning) before developing a "true" level of understanding based on a binary conception (part-whole meaning). Resnick (1992) implied that children have both a unary and a binary conception of additive commutativity from the earliest stages of development. Fifty-three 5- and 6-year-old (M = 6-0) kindergartners' unary and binary understanding of additive commutativity was investigated using performance on tasks involving change-add-to and part-part-whole word problems, respectively. The data were inconsistent with the predictions of both models and suggest three alternate theoretical explanations. Moreover, the data indicate that success on a task involving change-add-to problems may be a more rigorous test of understanding of additive commutativity than that involving part-part-whole problems.     

Illicit drug-related psychopharmacological violence: The current understanding within a causal context

This study reviews past research on psychopharmacological violence associated with illicit drug use within the criteria for causality. There appears to be prior evidence suggesting that illicit drug use and violent offending are related in certain circumstances; and other studies conclude that illicit drug use may be correlated with violent victimization. However, those studies that also adequately assessed temporal order do not strongly support an offender-based psychopharmacological link; and those that explored violent victimization are limited and inconclusive. More importantly, there are very few criminological efforts that assess the impact of illicit drug use on violence while also controlling for alternative individual-level causal explanations such as hormonal influences, genetic factors, variations in substance metabolism rates and intoxication decay, psychological functioning, concurrent alcohol and/or other drug use, gender differences, and illicit drug dosage. We offer suggestions for improving future assessments of illicit drug-related violent offending and victimization including capturing dosage and purity data, gauging temporal proximity of offender and victim intoxication relative to violent outcomes, and separating psychopharmacological factors (e.g., offender motivation and victim vulnerability) from economic and systemic circumstances.     

Intellectual freedom and editorial responsibilities within the context of controversial research

The primary purpose of this article is to explore the limits that an agent, such as the government or the American Psychological Association, may place on one's right to pursue a program of research or to share the findings of a research project. The primary argument that evolves here is that researchers' rights to pursue an interesting hypothesis, and their freedom of expression, are conditional. The author examines the potential pragmatic and epistemological barriers to a program of research and the responsibilities that researchers bear to address epistemological and nonepistemological matters while reviewing the implications of their work.     

Maslow's hierarchy,moral development,and prosocial behavioral skills within a child psychiatric population

Maslow's assertions concerning conative needs and prosocial/antisocial behavior among disturbed children were examined in a psychiatric population of children 9 to 14 years old. Controlling for age and Piagetian cognitive development, it was found that among the participants in the midrange of moral reasoning (for this age group, as measured by Kohlberg's interview) there was a positive and highly significant relationship between prosocial behavior ratings and conative development. Clarity of the needs for belongingness was predictive of higher prosocial peer ratings, over and above the predictive utility of moral reasoning level. These results also supported Eron's observations about the potential for healthy dependency needs to deter aggressive behavior.We wish to acknowledge the invaluable aid of Scott R. Vezina in the processing of the data reported herein, and we also wish to express our gratitude to Anne Cartelli for her untiring and superb secretarial assistance.Ordering of authors' names was determined by random procedure and is not indicative of disproportionate contributions to the overall research.