Mind,rules, and the cognitive bin: Some implications for foreign language teaching

The cognitive model of language learning assumes that language is neither basically spoken nor written but that it pairs forms with concepts. The rules governing the ability to generate sentences are psychologically real, even if not articulated. The desire to express or extract meaning activates them. Language use draws from the native and experiential contents of mind, or the cognitive bin. These assumptions generate an instructional strategy which discards the sequencing of the audiolingual method. Instead, the ability to derive information from reading is developed first. Phonics then enables the student to read aloud what he can read silently. Aural comprehension is then derived from reading and phonics. Conversation is developed from a cognitive bin filled through reading and conversation. Writing develops from all three skills.     

On a conceptual hierarchy of time,space, and other dimensions

Several observations about the way humans conceive of attributes, changes and covariation of stimuli are presented as indications for the existence of a conceptual hierarchy of dimensions in which time dominates space, and space dominates every other dimension.     

No pain, no gain: Perceptions of calorie expenditures of exercise and daily activities

Reduction in physical activity is considered a major contributor to weight problems. Increasingly, people are expending less energy in household chores but joining fitness clubs. Do people perceive ordinary daily activities to expend less energy than exercise activities using similar amounts of calories? In the present study college students were asked to evaluate the calorie expenditure of 30 physical activities (i.e., exercises and household tasks). The household tasks were matched (in terms of caloric expenditure) to at least one exercise activity. When participants rated both exercise and daily activities, it appears that they focused on rate of caloric expenditure rather than type of activity (i.e., household task or exercise). In Study 2, college students evaluated the energy expenditure of light/leisure, moderate, and intense exercise. This emphasis concerning the benefit of intense physical activity was observed once again. College students appear to have assimilated the belief that intense physical activity expends more energy than longer sessions of lower intensity physical activity using similar amounts of calories. Perhaps one reason why people are not physically active is that they believe physical activities must be intense to be of benefit. At the same time they are automatizing household chores and, thus, become less active overall.     

No pain, no gain: Perceptions of calorie expenditures of exercise and daily activities

Reduction in physical activity is considered a major contributor to weight problems. Increasingly, people are expending less energy in household chores but joining fitness clubs. Do people perceive ordinary daily activities to expend less energy than exercise activities using similar amounts of calories? In the present study college students were asked to evaluate the calorie expenditure of 30 physical activities (i.e., exercises and household tasks). The household tasks were matched (in terms of caloric expenditure) to at least one exercise activity. When participants rated both exercise and daily activities, it appears that they focused on rate of caloric expenditure rather than type of activity (i.e., household task or exercise). In Study 2, college students evaluated the energy expenditure of light/leisure, moderate, and intense exercise. This emphasis concerning the benefit of intense physical activity was observed once again. College students appear to have assimilated the belief that intense physical activity expends more energy than longer sessions of lower intensity physical activity using similar amounts of calories. Perhaps one reason why people are not physically active is that they believe physical activities must be intense to be of benefit. At the same time they are automatizing household chores and, thus, become less active overall.     

Dealing with zero word frequencies: A review of the existing rules of thumb and a suggestion for an evidence-based choice

In a critical review of the heuristics used to deal with zero word frequencies, we show that four are suboptimal, one is good, and one may be acceptable. The four suboptimal strategies are discarding words with zero frequencies, giving words with zero frequencies a very low frequency, adding 1 to the frequency per million, and making use of the Good–Turing algorithm. The good algorithm is the Laplace transformation, which consists of adding 1 to each frequency count and increasing the total corpus size by the number of word types observed. A strategy that may be acceptable is to guess the frequency of absent words on the basis of other corpora and then increasing the total corpus size by the estimated summed frequency of the missing words. A comparison with the lexical decision times of the English Lexicon Project and the British Lexicon Project suggests that the Laplace transformation gives the most useful estimates (in addition to being easy to calculate). Therefore, we recommend it to researchers.     

Traversing boundaries: clinical ethics,moral experience,and the withdrawal of life supports

While many have suggested that to withdraw medical interventions is ethically equivalent to withholding them, the moral complexity of actually withdrawing life supportive interventions from a patient cannot be ignored. Utilizing interplay between expository and narrative styles, and drawing upon our experiences with patients, families, nurses, and physicians when life supports have been withdrawn, we explore the changeable character of boundaries in end-of-life situations. We consider ways in which boundaries imply differences – for example, between cognition and performance – and how the encounter with boundaries can generate altered meanings important for understanding decisions and actions in these contexts. We conclude that the reliance on mere roles to support the moral weight of withdrawing medical interventions is inadequate. Roles that lead us to such moments are exceeded by the responsibility encountered in such moments. And here, we suggest, is the momentous character of withdrawal: it presents the grave astonishment, the trembling awe, in the not-being-there of the other in death.     

The current state of sexual ethics training in clinical psychology: issues of quantity, quality, and effectiveness

Given the harm caused to clients and the psychology profession by therapist sexual misconduct, sexual ethics training should be given high priority in graduate training programs. The present study surveyed sexual ethics training and student understanding of sexual ethics in clinical psychology doctoral programs from the perspectives of training directors (n=84) and students (n=451). Ninety-four percent of the students had received sexual ethics training; programs provided an average of 6 hr of training. Still, students showed significant deficits in knowledge of sexual ethics principles. Students who had discussed a client attraction with a supervisor showed the best understanding of sexual ethics. Suggestions for ensuring adequate sexual ethics training are discussed.     

No pain,no gain: cross-lagged analyses of posttraumatic growth and anxiety,depression, posttraumatic stress and prolonged grief symptoms after loss

Background and objectives: Major negative life-events including bereavement can precipitate perceived positive life-changes, termed posttraumatic growth (PTG). While traditionally considered an adaptive phenomenon, it has been suggested that PTG represents a maladaptive coping response similar to cognitive avoidance. To clarify the function of PTG, it is crucial to establish concurrent and longitudinal associations of PTG with post-event mental health problems. Yet, longitudinal studies on this topic are scarce. The present study fills this gap in knowledge.

Design: A two-wave longitudinal survey was conducted.

Methods: Four-hundred and twelve bereaved adults (87.6% women) filled out scales assessing PTG and symptoms of depression, anxiety, prolonged grief, and posttraumatic stress at baseline and 6 months later.

Results: The baseline concurrent relationships between all symptom levels and PTG were curvilinear (inverted U-shape). Cross-lagged analyses demonstrated that symptom levels did not predict levels of PTG 6 months later, or vice versa.

Conclusions: Findings suggest PTG after loss has no substantive negative or positive effects on mental health. Development of specific treatments to increase PTG after bereavement therefore appears premature.     

A comparative study of laws, rules, codes and other influences on nursing homes' disaster preparedness in the Gulf Coast states

In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated several Gulf Coast states and caused many deaths. The hurricane- related deaths of 70 nursing home residents--34 believed drowned in St. Rita's Nursing Home in Louisiana and 36 from 12 other nursing homes--highlighted problems associated with poorly developed and executed disaster plans, uninformed evacuation decision-making, and generally inadequate response by providers and first responders (DHHS, 2006; Hyer, Brown, Berman, & Polivka-West, 2006). Such loss of human life perhaps could have been prevented and certainly lessened if, prior to the hurricanes, policies, regulations, and laws had been enacted, executable disaster guidelines been available, vendor contracts been honored, and sufficient planning taken place. This article discusses applicable federal and state laws and regulations that govern disaster preparedness with a particular focus on nursing homes. It highlights gaps in these laws and makes suggestions regarding future disaster planning.     

A comparison of procedural variations in teaching behavior chains: manual guidance, trainer completion, and no completion of untrained steps

We compared variations for teaching a sequence of responses through forward chaining. Seven children who had been diagnosed with autism participated in a comparison of teacher completion (TC) of steps beyond the training step and manually guiding the student (SC) to complete steps beyond the training step. A no-completion (NC) condition, in which the steps beyond the training step were not completed, was added to the comparison with 4 of the participants. Results showed that learning occurred with all procedures, although 5 participants acquired the chains most efficiently in the SC condition and the other 2 learned most efficiently in the TC condition. Of the participants for whom an NC condition was included, the tasks were acquired with the shortest average session length and total training time. Despite the potential benefits of TC and SC procedures, NC is a viable option and may be preferable for some students.     

SNRIs: their pharmacology, clinical efficacy, and tolerability in comparison with other classes of antidepressants

The class of serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) now comprises three medications: venlafaxine, milnacipran, and duloxetine. These drugs block the reuptake of both serotonin (5-HT) and norepinephrine with differing selectivity. Whereas milnacipran blocks 5-HT and norepinephrine reuptake with equal affinity, duloxetine has a 10-fold selectivity for 5-HT and venlafaxine a 30-fold selectivity for 5-HT. All three SNRIs are efficacious in treating a variety of anxiety disorders. There is no evidence for major differences between SNRIs and SSRIs in their efficacy in treating anxiety disorders. In contrast to SSRIs, which are generally ineffective in treating chronic pain, all three SNRIs seem to be helpful in relieving chronic pain associated with and independent of depression. Tolerability of an SNRI at therapeutic doses varies within the class. Although no direct comparative data are available, venlafaxine seems to be the least well-tolerated, combining serotonergic adverse effects (nausea, sexual dysfunction, withdrawal problems) with a dose-dependent cardiovascular phenomenon, principally hypertension. Duloxetine and milnacipran appear better tolerated and essentially devoid of cardiovascular toxicity.     

"No pain, no gain: The conditions under which upward comparisons lead to better performance": Retraction of Johnson and Stapel (2007)

Reports the retraction of "No pain, no gain: The conditions under which upward comparisons lead to better performance" by Camille S. Johnson and Diederik A. Stapel (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2007[Jun], Vol 92[6], 1051-1067). This retraction follows the results of an investigation into the work of Diederik A. Stapel (further information on the investigation can be found here: https://www.commissielevelt.nl/). The Levelt Committee has determined data supplied by Diederik A. Stapel to be fraudulent. His co-author was unaware of his actions and was not involved in the collection of the fraudulent data. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2007-07951-007.) In 3 studies, the authors explored the relation between threatening upward social comparisons and performance. In an initial study, participants were exposed to comparison targets who either threatened or boosted self-evaluations and then completed a performance task. Participants exposed to the threatening target performed better than those in a control group, whereas those exposed to the nonthreatening target performed worse. In Study 2, self-affirmation prior to comparison with threatening targets eliminated performance improvements. In Study 3, performance improvements were found only when the performance domain was different from the domain of success of the comparison target. These boundary conditions suggest that increases in performance following social comparison arise from individuals' motivations to maintain and repair self-evaluations. Implications for the study of the behavioral consequences of social comparison are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).