Is the asymmetry in young infants’ categorization of humans versus nonhuman animals based on head,body, or global gestalt information?

Quinn and Eimas (1998) reported an asymmetry in the exclusivity of the category representations that young infants form for humans and nonhuman animals: category representations for nonhuman animal species were found to exclude humans, whereas a category representation for humans was found to include nonhuman animal species (i.e., cats, horses). The present experiment utilized the familiarization/novelty-preference procedure with 3- and 4-month-olds to determine the perceptual cues (i.e., whole stimulus, head alone, body alone) that provided the basis for this asymmetry. The data revealed the asymmetry to be observable only with the whole animal stimuli and not when infants were provided with information from just the head or the body of the exemplars. The results indicate that the incorporation of nonhuman animal species into a category representation for humans is based on holistic information.     

The underdetermination of theory by data and the “strong programme” in the sociology of knowledge

Advocates of the “strong programme” in the sociology of knowledge have argued that, because scientific theories are “underdetermined” by data, sociological factors must be invoked to explain why scientists believe the theories they do. I examine this argument, and the responses to it by J.R. Brown (1989) and L. Laudan (1996). I distinguish between a number of different versions of the underdetermination thesis, some trivial, some substantive. I show that Brown's and Laudan's attempts to refute the sociologists' argument fail. Nonetheless, the sociologists' argument falls to a different criticism, for the version of the underdetermination thesis that the argument requires, has not been shown to be true.     

“The effects of family-centered physiotherapy on the cognitive and motor performance in premature infants”

ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to investigate the effects of family centered physiotherapy according to the neurodevelopmental treatment (NDT) principles on mental and motor performance in premature infants.MethodsA total of 156 infant, ≥24/36 week + 6 days gestational age included in the study. All the infants were diagnosed by a child neurologist and referred to psychology and physiotherapy department for their neurodevelopmental assessment and treatment. Bayley Scale of Infant II (BSI-II) was used for neurodevelopmental assessment and Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) was used for assessing their motor performance. Seventy-eight of the infants were in the study group and 76 were recruited as age matched controls according to the classification of their gestational age. Family centered physiotherapy according to the neurodevelopmental treatment principles was used as an intervention and all the mothers are trained accordingly.ResultsCognitive Development Scores and Motor Development Scores of Bayley II were recorded for the 3., 6., 9., and 12 months respectively. Between the 3. and 12. month of gestational age, within-groups measurements in both Cognitive Development Scores (p < 0.001) and Motor Development Scores (p<0.001) were significantly increased. However, the improvements in both Cognitive Development Scores (p = 0.059) and Motor Development Scores (p = 0.334) between the groups was not different.ConclusionFamily centered physiotherapy with NDT principles may not be enough to improve motor and cognitive performance in preterm infants at the first year of age. For supporting the motor and cognitive development of the preterm infants other intervention modalities also should be considered. Keywords: infants; premature; early intervention     

Bare fingers,but no obvious influence of “prickly” Velcro! In the absence of parents’ encouragement,it is not clear that “sticky mittens” provide an advantage to the process of learning to reach

In their critique of our mittens study, Needham et al. (2015. Infant Behavior and Development) describe our findings as “surprising.” Further; they suggest that babies in our “sticky mittens” condition may have been discouraged from reaching because, in our study, infants may have touched “prickly” Velcro with their bare fingers. In this response, we present data analyses that do not support the interpretation that finger contact with our Velcroed toy surfaces was associated with poor reaching performance in our “sticky” mittens group. We also clarify that our toys were mainly covered with “non-prickly” Velcro. To explain discrepancies between studies, we restate the original intent of our study and reasons for our methodological modifications. We point to confounds and lack of critical control conditions in the Needham et al. studies, which prevent the making of firm inferences about the effectiveness of the “sticky mittens experience” on the learning to reach process. We also present additional analyses on our “sticky” mittens group showing that the increasing rate of finger touch on the toy leads to greater reaching performance while the rate of toy sticking to the mittens does not. We discuss the importance of sensory-motor experience on the development of learning to reach in infancy and conclude that our results are not surprising.     

“If it's in your mind,it's in your knowledge”: Children's developing anatomy of identity

Recent work has investigated children's developing understanding of the anatomical locus of identity. In two studies, we extend this work by exploring the role of the mind as opposed to the brain in children's conceptualization of identity. In Experiment 1, an analysis of natural language indicated that adults use the term mind more frequently than the term brain with reference to identity-related mental processes. Children's output displayed a similar bias. In Experiment 2, we compared the judgments of 5- and 7-year-old children to those displayed by adults. Participants heard stories in which a magical transformation resulted in either a creature with a mismatch between brain and body or a creature with a mismatch between mind and body. Children were more accurate in recognizing the enduring identity of this transformed creature when the transformation resulted in a mismatch between mind and body as compared to brain and body.     

Relevance differently affects the truth,acceptability, and probability evaluations of “and”, “but”, “therefore”, and “if–then”

In this study, we investigate the influence of reason-relation readings of indicative conditionals and “and”/“but”/“therefore” sentences on various cognitive assessments. According to the Frege–Grice tradition, a dissociation is expected. Specifically, differences in the reason-relation reading of these sentences should affect participants’ evaluations of their acceptability but not of their truth value. In two experiments we tested this assumption by introducing a relevance manipulation into the truth-table task as well as in other tasks assessing the participants’ acceptability and probability evaluations. Across the two experiments, a strong dissociation was found. The reason-relation reading of all four sentences strongly affected their probability and acceptability evaluations, but hardly affected their respective truth evaluations. Implications of this result for recent work on indicative conditionals are discussed.     

“Ridiculous” dream versus social contract: Dostoevskij, Rousseau, and the problem of ideal society

Drawing on the Second Discourse and the Social Contract and Notes from Underground and “The Dream of a Ridiculous Man,” this essay examines the striking similarities and fundamental differences between Dostoevskij’s and Rousseau’s treatment of the problem of individual vs. society and their notions of ideal social relations. The essay investigates Rousseau’s attempt to absorb morality into politics and “to concretize” Diderot’s universal moral man into citizen. It also suggests that Dostoevskij takes Rousseau’s attempt at concretization a step further by exposing humanist conceptions of man and society in general as fiction and creating a model of ideal society that absorbs morality, not into politics (as does Rousseau’s model), but into the sanctity of the Word.     

“Now there are diversities of gifts,but the same spirit.” (1Cor 12:4): images of the self and concepts of office of LGBTQ* pastors in Germany

ABSTRACT

After providing background information on the legal status and admission of LGBTIAQ* pastors in Germany, the paper focusses on experiences of LGBTQ* Protestant pastors in the major German Protestant church (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland) to explore how they include their sexual orientation and/or gender in their pastoral work. LGBTIAQ* pastors face the challenge of managing visibility and discretion, in relation to a heteronormative setting, as well as the specific expectations of LGBTIAQ* Christians. The presumption of shared experiences and knowledge by similarly marginalized people plays a part in their ministry. The paper argues that embracing those experiences and community knowledge as part of pastoral theology can strengthen their reflection on pastoral work.     

The “nootropic” approach to the pharmacology of the integrative activity of the brain 1, 2

The integrative activity of the brain is particularly related to the telencephalic level of CNS. Drugs affecting learning and memory usually interfere with the reticular or limbic system, and are either stimulants or sedatives. In contrast, Piracetam (U C B 6215) is an atoxic compound which, up to dosages such as g/kg, does not interfere with autonomic functions, general behavior, level of wakefulness, the limbic system, etc. Yet, in dosages such as mg/kg it improves several learning and memory abilities, protects against experimental amnesic agents, facilitates EEG recovery after severe hypoxia and also facilitates interhemispheric transfer (transcallosal evoked potential and learned behavior). Discussion is made on the basis of the particular neuropharmacology as well as on the available biochemical and human clinical correlations to emphasize the selectivity of this compound on telencephalic integrative mechanisms. Piracetam is presented as the first-comer of a new psychotropic class for which the termnootropic is proposed.     

The Hands of the Living God 1 : “Finding the Familiar in the Unfamiliar” 2

This paper represents the fruits of a long friendship and collaboration between Marion Milner and Nina Farhi. At the heart of the paper sits a famous treatment conducted by Milner over a 17-year period. The presentation of clinical material; many drawings, and the questions raised by Milner in one generation and Farhi in another gives shape to a unique and historically and theoretically meaningful document.

Farhi uses the work and her collaboration with Milner to push theory into new ground, to examine the complexity and intersubjectivity of regression and primitive states, to assess the long shadow of maternal destructiveness, and to propose her own ideas of the power of prenatal intersubjective process, the potential (ill or good) for communication before the child is born. Issues of intergenerational communication of trauma and prenatal sensitivity allow Farhi to bring a new dimension to this long-ago case.     

Maternal responsivity to infants in the “High Chair” assessment: Longitudinal relations with toddler outcomes in a diverse,low-income sample

Infant–parent interactions occur across many situations, yet most home-based assessments of parenting behaviors are conducted under conditions of low stress, such as free play. In this study, low-income mothers from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project were observed at home interacting with their 14-month-olds in the mildly stressful “High Chair” assessment (n = 1718 dyads). This methodological study tested whether High Chair maternal responsiveness and detachment predicted later toddler cognitive and emotion outcomes, over and above equivalent maternal predictors during free play. High Chair responsiveness and detachment were significant, although modest, predictors of child cognitive and emotion outcomes, over and above maternal responsiveness and detachment during free play; except High Chair responsiveness did not predict the emotion outcome. There were no significant differences between ethnic groups in prediction of outcomes. Results are discussed in terms of the methodological value of assessing parenting behaviors across diverse situations and populations.     

Processing of locatives “in,” “on,” and “under” by aphasic patients: An analysis of the regression hypothesis

The present study investigated the comprehension of aphasic subjects as to locative prepositions “in,” “on,” and “under.” Patients had to locate a movable object with reference to a stationary referential object in order to achieve the spatial relations requested under oral instructions. The influence of two types of contextual relations between the objects in each stimulus pair on the subjects' performances was examined. Spatial relations were biased by the conventional knowledge of the most normal relationship between the two elements in everyday life in Experiment 1; in Experiment 2, perceptivomotor constraints constituted the contextual bias. Analyzing the patients' responses in the light of developmental strategies did not lend support to the regression hypothesis. Broca's aphasics were sensitive to the two contextual factors investigated; Wernickes' performances were affected only by the perceptivomotor contextual bias. The results are discussed with reference to earlier studies on the differential syntactical comprehension skills of Broca's and Wernicke's aphasics in sentence-picture matching tasks and production tasks.     

“Not a Source but a Re-source”: The Ethics of Reading, Teaching, and Interpreting Beyond the Boundaries

Critical interest in Aboriginal and other non-mainstream works challenges established notions of literariness and canonicity, spilling over into the classroom and curriculum development, where instructors of various disciplines must make decisions about what they will teach, and how and why they will teach it. The ramifications of such decisions are multifaceted and often compounded by fear, raising concerns regarding the scope and the ways in which teachers or post-secondary instructors are accountable for the ethical treatment of texts by so-called minority writers and to the broadening demographic of students. Teachers/instructors must themselves construct an ethical framework for inclusion of texts for study, and often do so with only tenuous support. For example, what are the rights of educators to engage with texts that fall outside of their cultural experience? If instructors are not exempt from the ethical considerations facing researchers, how do they become accountable without excluding or appropriating contentious materials in the scope of their work? Liberatory pedagogical practices in the classroom provide the backdrop against which an ethics of inclusion can develop and consequently inform the development of curricula and the creation of syllabi, as well as the facilitation of classroom dynamics in an atmosphere of cultural richness and diversity.     

Creativity, “Twinning,” and Self-Destruction in the Life and Work of Tennessee Williams

Applying an eclectic psychoanalytic framework, this paper provides a thematic link between the core experiences of Williams' early life and his creative work. Both preoedipal and Oedipal themes are elucidated. The central issue that dominated Williams' mental life was his struggle between a sense of suffocation and confinement, on the one hand, and having artistic and sexual freedom, on the other. The experience of suffocation extended to his dread of becoming mad. This dread derived from his intense twinning or twinship merger with his schizophrenic sister who was confined in an asylum. The study focuses attention on a number of Williams' one-act and full-length plays, written during each of the decades of his public career, as representative of his overall dramatic opus. These works are indicative of his special relationship with his sister as well as of his obsession about self-indulgence and fear of confinement. The later plays suggest that he was subject to identity confusion.     

The woman in the painting and the image in the penny: an investigation of phenomenological doubleness, seeing-in, and “reversed seeing-in”

The experience of looking at a tilted penny involves a “phenomenological doubleness” in that it simultaneously seems to be of something circular and of something elliptical. In this paper, I investigate the phenomenological doubleness of this experience by comparing it to another case of phenomenological doubleness––the phenomenological doubleness of seeing an object in a painting. I begin by pointing out some striking similarities between the phenomenological characters of these two experiences. I then argue that these phenomenological characters have a common explanation. More specifically, I argue that the psychological mechanism that explains the phenomenological doubleness of the experience of seeing an object in a painting can be extended to also explain the phenomenological doubleness of the experience of seeing a tilted penny.

Supernatural power,sexuality, and the paradigm of “women's space” in religion and culture

Many traditional social scientists still hold to the analytical view that dichotomizes magic and religion. By placing magic and religion in discrete categories we underdetermine the extent of women's space in religion and culture. In religion women were dipicted as subordinate ritually and spiritually. In magic, things feminine were usually identified with evil and witchcraft. The paradigm of women's space transcends the traditional dichotomy of magic and religion in a way that enhances feminine attributes in magicoreligious systems. Women are unique sources of supernatural power which emanates from their sexuality and reproductive capacities. This study examines several categories of supernatural power that are uniquely feminine and help delimit the paradigm of espace feminine or women's space in religion and culture. It takes the view that, as sources of supernatural power, women constitute a unique spiritual resource vital to religion and culture.     

“No,You're Playing the Race Card”: Testing the Effects of Anti-Black,Anti-Latino,and Anti-Immigrant Appeals in the Post-Obama Era

Despite a sizable literature on racial priming, scholars have failed to account for the shifting nature of racial appeals. First, theories of racial priming have not yet been widely applied to increasingly common anti-immigrant and anti-Latino political appeals. Second, theories of racial priming have not adequately accounted for both an increasingly racialized political climate and increased tolerance for explicit anti-minority appeals. In two survey experiments fielded both before Trump's rise and after his presidential victory, we find the Implicit-Explicit (IE) model always fails for anti-black appeals, sometimes fails for anti-immigrant appeals, but consistently holds for anti-Latino appeals. While we find the null effects of implicit versus explicit anti-black and anti-immigrant appeals are partly driven by tolerance for the explicit appeals, we also find evidence that white Americans are adept at recognizing the racial content of appeals featuring widely used, congruent issue-group pairs. Our findings shed light on conditions under which the IE model does and does not hold in the current political era.     

Human adults and human infants show a “perceptual magnet effect” for the prototypes of speech categories,monkeys do not

Many perceptual categories exhibit internal structure in which category prototypes play an important role. In the four experiments reported here, the internal structure of phonetic categories was explored in studies involving adults, infants, and monkeys. In Experiment 1, adults rated the category goodness of 64 variants of the vowel /i/ on a scale from 1 to 7. The results showed that there was a certain location in vowel space where listeners rated the /i/ vowels as best instances, or prototypes. The perceived goodness of Iii vowels declined systematically as stimuli were further removed from the prototypic Iii vowel. Experiment 2 went beyond this initial demonstration and examined the effect of speech prototypes on perception. Either the prototypic or a nonprototypic IM vowel was used as the referent stimulus and adults’ generalization to other members of the category was examined. Results showed that the typicality of the speech stimulus strongly affected perception. When the prototype of the category served as the referent vowel, there was significantly greater generalization to other /i/ vowels, relative to the situation in which the nonprototype served as the referent. The notion of aperceptual magnet was introduced. The prototype of the category functioned like a perceptual magnet for other category members; it assimilated neighboring stimuli, effectively pulling them toward the prototype. In Experiment 3, the ontogenetic origins of the perceptual magnet effect were explored by testing 6-month-old infants. The results showed that infants’ perception of vowels was also strongly affected by speech prototypes. Infants showed significantly greater generalization when the prototype of the vowel category served as the referent; moreover, their responses were highly correlated with those of adults. In Experiment 4, Rhesus monkeys were tested to examine whether or not the prototype’s magnet effect was unique to humans. The animals did not provide any evidence of speech prototypes; they did not exhibit the magnet effect. It is suggested that the internal organization of phonetic categories around prototypic members is an ontogenetically early, species-specific, aspect of the speech code