Asperger syndrome: a simple matter of white matter?

Asperger syndrome, one of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders, is formally diagnosed on the basis of a cluster of cognitive, social and motor signs. It is also associated with poor visuo-spatial skills, good verbal performance, gauche social behaviour and clumsiness. Many of the difficulties evident in those with Asperger syndrome are closely associated with right-hemisphere dysfunction. In this respect they also resemble signs used to diagnose what has been labelled Nonverbal Learning Disorder. Here, these are treated as being the same or closely-related disorders with a possible common underlying aetiology; that is, a neurodevelopmental abnormality affecting white matter. This review examines the ability of this approach to account for a wide range of characteristics of the Asperger syndrome, and contrasts this with a theory-of-mind approach, which, although able to account for the primary features of Asperger syndrome, is less successful at explaining some of its secondary features.     

Distinguishing common and task-specific processes in word identification: a matter of some moment?

The same 500 words were presented in 6 different word identification tasks (Experiment 1: lexical decision, semantic categorization, and 3 speeded naming tasks; Experiment 2: delayed naming). Reaction time (RT) distributions were estimated for each task and analyses tested for the effects of word frequency and animacy on various parameters of the RT distribution. Low frequency words yielded more skewed distributions than high frequency words in all tasks except delayed naming. The differential skew was most marked for tasks that required lexical discrimination. The semantic categorization task yielded highly skewed distributions for all words, but the word frequency effect was due to shifts in the location of the RT distributions rather than changes in skew. The results are used to evaluate the relative contributions of a common lexical access process and task-specific processes to performance in lexical discrimination and naming tasks.     

Relationship between organizational justice and cyberloafing in the workplace: has "anomia" a say in the matter?

Anomia describes the individual's lack of integration in social life. This study examines the moderating role of work anomia (WA) in the relationship between employees' perceptions of organizational justice (OJ) and workplace Internet misuse (or cyberloafing). The model suggests that WA interacts with that link by tightening their theoretic negative association. Data were collected from 270 (17.46%) of the 1,547 teachers of a Spanish university by Internet e-mail. Multiple hierarchical regression results support that WA acts as a moderator of the OJ-cyberloafing link because the perceptions of three types of OJ (distributive, procedural, and interactional) among employees with low, as compared to high anomia, have a stronger negative relationship with cyberloafing. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the OJ-cyberloafing link, and favor the control of cyberloafing through WA.     

Position effects in encoding briefly exposed item matrices: evidence for a reading bias or merely a matter of the selection criterion?

Position effects are frequently reported in experiments that investigate the recognition of items from briefly exposed stimulus matrices. A reliable finding is the ability to report items from the first row of the matrix more accurately than from the second row. The present experiments explore whether this position effect depends upon the selection criterion used to indicate the subgroup of items that has to be reported in a given trial. In Experiment 1, German and Chinese participants were presented with language-specific items which had to be selected by column. In Experiment 2, Germans were presented with Latin letters and the selection criterion was letter color. A strong row effect was evident in both experiments although the selection criteria did not prompt a line-by-line grouping of the items. The row effect is seen as a manifestation of top-down processing that is derived from reading habits.     

Physical fitness differences between athletes and nonathletes: Do changes occur as a function of age and sex?

The main objectives were to determine (a) if physical fitness superiority of athletes over nonathletes increases as a function of age, and (b) if the magnitude of athlete-nonathlete fitness differences are the same in males as in females, and if these differences are consistent across ages. Approximately 3,000 students in grades 3, 7, and 11 (ages 9, 13, and 17 years) were tested on measures of static and explosive muscular strength, static and dynamic muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, and flexibility. MANOVA and follow-up univariate ANOVAs indicated that the higher the grade, the better the performance; males outperformed females on all measures except flexibility; and athletes were superior to nonathletes on all six test items. Furthermore, (a) there was no difference between athletes and nonathletes at grade 3, athletes were considerably better than nonathletes by grade 7, and the magnitude of the difference was virtually the same at grade 11, (b) the fitness superiority of athletes over nonathletes was essentially of the same magnitude for males as for females at each grade level.     

Is there a fact of the matter between direct reference theory and (neo-)Fregeanism?

It is argued here that there is no fact of the matter between direct reference theory and neo-Fregeanism. To get a more precise idea of the central thesis of this paper, consider the following two claims: (i) While direct reference theory and neo-Fregeanism can be developed in numerous ways, they can be developed in essentially parallel ways; that is, for any (plausible) way of developing direct reference theory, there is an essentially parallel way of developing neo-Fregeanism, and vice versa. And (ii) for each such pair of theories, there is no fact of the matter as to which of them is superior; or more precisely, they are tied in terms of factual accuracy. These are sweeping claims that cannot be fully justified in a single paper. But arguments are given here that motivate these theses, i.e., that suggest that they are very likely true.     

Links between television exposure and toddler dysregulation: Does culture matter?

Television exposure in early childhood has increased, with concerns raised regarding adverse effects on social-emotional development, and emerging self-regulation in particular. The present study addressed television exposure (i.e., amount of time watching TV) and its associations with toddler behavioral/emotional dysregulation, examining potential differences across 14 cultures. The sample consisted of an average of 60 toddlers from each of the 14 countries from the Joint Effort Toddler Temperament Consortium (JETTC; Gartstein & Putnam, 2018). Analyses were conducted relying on the multi-level modeling framework (MLM), accounting for between- and within-culture variability, and examining the extent to which TV exposure contributions were universal vs. variable across sites. Effects of time watching TV were evaluated in relation to temperament reactivity and regulation, as well as measures of emotional reactivity, attention difficulties, and aggression. Results indicated that more time spent watching TV was associated with higher ratings on Negative Emotionality, emotional reactivity, aggression, and attention problems, as well as lower levels of soothability. However, links between TV exposure and both attention problems and soothability varied significantly between cultures. Taken together, results demonstrate that increased time spent watching television was generally associated with dysregulation, although effects were not consistently uniform, but rather varied as a function of culturally-dependent contextual factors.     

The absence of a gender congruency effect in romance languages: a matter of stimulus onset asynchrony?

Using the picture-word interference paradigm, H. Schriefers and E. Teruel (2000) found that in German the grammatical gender of the distractor word affects the production of phrases composed of article+picture name: Latencies were longer for picture-word pairs of different genders. However, the effect was found only at positive stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs; i.e., when pictures were presented 75 or 150 ms earlier than word distractors). This gender congruency effect is not obtained in Romance languages. The present article examines whether in these languages, as in German, the effect appears at positive SOAs. No effect was observed in Italian and Spanish at positive SOAs. An account is proposed to explain why the gender congruency effect is obtained in Germanic (Dutch and German) but not in Romance languages.     

Does accuracy matter? A review of the consequences of accurate personality impressions as a function of context and content

What are the implications of seeing others as they see themselves? That is, does viewing others accurately have consequences, positive or negative, to relationship evaluations (e.g., liking)? To address this, the current article provides a comprehensive review of the personality accuracy literature and discusses related work from the self-verification and empathic accuracy domains. We specifically explore whether the consequences of accurate perceptions could be influenced by two key categories of moderators: the context of the impression (e.g., high vs. low stakes) and content of the impression (e.g., desirability of traits). Lastly, we discuss future directions to aid our understanding of this question.     

Students' ratings of teaching effectiveness: a laughing matter?

Gump in 2004 identified a positive significant relationship between awareness of daily class objectives and ratings of the instructor's overall teaching effectiveness. The idea that rating of teaching effectiveness can be related to other non-teaching related attributes of the lecturer was further examined. Correlations based on ratings of teaching effectiveness from 453 undergraduate students (M=21 yr., SD= 5.5; 73% women) showed that another nonteaching related variable, namely, how funny the instructor was perceived, was significantly related to indicators of teaching effectiveness.     

Belief in afterlife as a moderator of fear of death?

Investigating the notion that belief in afrerlife (BA) serves the function of helping the individual to deal with fear of death, a study was designed to explore the effect of public commitment to religion, repression-sensitization, and anticipatory concern with death and dying on BA, and examine the relationship between BA and state anxiety. Fifty students of theology and fifty students of various other subjects responded to a German version of Byrne's R-S scale, and then were randomly assigned to two conditions: they either worked through Thanatos-Questionnaire, and thereby were confronted with death and dying for about 15 to 20 minutes, or filled out a questionnaire unrelated to the topic. Thereupon, a BA scale was administered, and at last, subjects responded to a scale measuring state anxiety. The findings of Osarchuk and Tatz (1973) that religiously committed persons are strengthening BA after being confronted with death and dying could not be replicated. However, among subjects with no public commitment, those concerned with death and dying scored significantly lower on BA than those not concerned. This effect was especially observed among students classified as sensitizers. Because changes of BA did not correspond with changes of within cell correlations between BA and state anxiety, an alternative explanation of the findings in terms of dissonance theory is put forward.     

Does type of team matter? An investigation of the relationships between job characteristics and outcomes within a team-based environment

The authors examined the relationship between team type (consultative or substantive); job characteristics; and the outcome variables of job satisfaction, satisfaction with team processes and activities, and team commitment. The present results supported the hypothesis that job characteristics mediate the relationship between team type and team commitment and partially mediate the relationship between team type and job satisfaction and satisfaction with team processes and activities. However, contrary to the hypothesis, consultative team members perceived the content of their jobs to be more enriched and reported higher levels of satisfaction and commitment than did substantive team members.     

Is psychoanalysis a matter of subjectivation?

We are not born subject but become one, in a two‐and‐fro process between what is played out on the intrapsychic stage and the field of intersubjectivation. The author proposes to examine two of the main movements of psychic life brought into play in this process. In the domain of the ‘subjectivating link’, becoming a subject depends on the relationship with another, authentically taken into account as a desiring subject and not simply as an object for oneself. In the course of history, this intersubjectivation is only internalized as a lasting preconscious predisposition if sufficient trust is established in the possibility of mutual recognition. When this perspective recedes, the subject tends to fall back on narcissistic positions, in search of an end to lack. Such a narcissistic tendency drives the subject to constitute himself by subjugating his objects, striving to rob them of their otherness. A plurality of subject positions will be recognized in every analytic encounter. Psychoanalytic work can allow for a lasting change insofar as it modifies the equilibrium between diverse psychic trends. The multiplicity of the issues at stake in subjectivation allows us to integrate theoretical pluralism while encouraging us to reflect on the diversification of our practices.     

Teaching and Learning in a South African University: Are Peer Facilitators’ Strategies Succeeding?

Journal of Academic Ethics - The aim of this paper is to examine the strategies used by peer facilitators in improving students’ academic performance in a previously disadvantaged university...     

To whom does voice in groups matter? Effects of voice on affect and procedural fairness judgments as a function of social dominance orientation

The authors investigated the effects of voice--the opportunity to provide input in decision-making processes--on perceptions of procedural fairness. In particular, the authors studied the moderating role of social dominance orientation (SDO) in shaping this relation. SDO is an important individual differences variable that causes people to favor unequal relationships within and between social groups. Results revealed that voice was more strongly related to fairness judgments when participants had a high rather than low SDO. Moreover, positive affect mediated this moderation effect. The authors interpreted these results to indicate that high-SDO participants were especially sensitive to voice manipulations because such manipulations enhance perceptions of control over group resources and outcomes. The authors conclude by discussing alternative explanations based on other fairness theories.     

Cognitive dissonance and self-monitoring: A matter of context?

In Study 1, high and low self-monitors wrote counterattitudinal essays. For some, we made it salient that they would be endorsing an opinion contrary to that of their peers. For others, no context was provided. Post-essay attitudes of high, relative to low, self-monitors were more consistent with essay topic after opposing peers. Post-essay attitudes of low and high self-monitors did not differ significantly in the no-context condition. In Study 2, high and low self-monitors wrote counterattitudinal essays in the context of opposing either their peers' beliefs or their own values. Post-essay attitudes of low, relative to high, self-monitors tended to conform more to their essays when they believed that they had written in opposition to their values. When writing in opposition to their peers, however, post-essay attitudes of high and low self-monitors did not differ significantly. We discuss the results in terms of the role that self-concept plays in the initiation of dissonance processesStudy 2 is based on the senior honors thesis of the second author conducted under the supervision of the first author, and both studies were supported by a Faculty Research Grant from Union College to the first author. We would like to thank Alice M. Isen, Mark Snyder, Hugh Foley, and an anonymous reviewer for their valuable comments on an earlier version of this article, and Nicole Audette, Amy Goldstein, Suzanne Shaker, and Courtney Shapiro for their assistance in collecting and analyzing data.     

Experiences of justice in school and attitudes towards democracy: A matter of social exchange?

In a democratic society, school has the goal to foster democratic attitudes in students. Besides explicit attempts to do so, justice experiences in school may be crucial to develop positive attitudes towards democracy. Therefore, we studied the relationship between different dimensions of justice experiences in school and democratic attitudes. We further examined a potential mechanism underlying this relationship, namely general trust, and hypothesized that the relationship between justice experiences in school and democratic attitudes can be understood on the basis of social exchange theory. A total of 210 participants who had visited a public school gave information about their justice experiences in school, general trust, and democratic attitudes. First, it was shown that overall experiences of distributive and interactional justice predict democratic attitudes, more specifically the approval of civic and human rights and the approval of the democratic institutions. Second, we found that the relationships between overall distributive and interactional justice and the approval of civic and human rights, the approval of the democratic institutions, and the approval of democracy-supporting behaviors are each mediated by general trust which can be interpreted as a social exchange process. This study therefore highlights the role of general justice-related school experiences for the development of democratic attitudes.     

Comparison and Contrast as a Mechanism of Perceptual Learning?

In a series of flavour aversion experiments, rats received different schedules of pre-exposure to two compound flavours (AX and BX). Discrimination between them was assessed by establishing an aversion to AX and measuring generalization of this aversion to BX. Experiment 1 demonstrated that alternating pre-exposure to AX and BX resulted in less generalization than did blocked exposure, where animals received all exposure to AX before exposure to BX (or vice versa). This difference was not accompanied by any difference in the strength of the aversion conditioned to the common X element. Varying the interval between exposure to AX and BX in the alternating condition from a minute or two to several hours had no effect on generalization. However, Experiments 2 and 3 showed that when the interval between exposure to AX and that to BX was reduced to zero sec, the alternating schedule increased generalization between AX and BX. In this case, the increase in generalization was accompanied by an increase in the strength of the aversion conditioned to X.