Pharmacotherapy of aphasia: myth or reality?

Pharmacotherapy of aphasia had been discussed for the last twenty years with first bromocriptine and amphetamine and then serotoninergic, GABAergic and cholinergic agents. Here, we reviewed the MEDLINE available reports of drug therapy for aphasia. So far, proofs of efficiency were found indubitable for none of the studied molecules. However, some of them showed limited efficiency (piracetam and amphetamine). Moreover, drug therapies for aphasia were less efficient alone than when they were associated with speech therapy.     

Testing the myth of the encoding–retrieval match

The view that successful memory performance depends importantly on the extent to which there is a match between the encoding and retrieval conditions is commonplace in memory research. However, Nairne (Memory, 10, 389–395, 2002) proposed that this idea about trace–cue compatibility being the driving force behind memory retention is a myth, because one cannot make unequivocal predictions about performance by appealing to the encoding–retrieval match. What matters instead is the relative diagnostic value of the match, and not the absolute match. Three experiments were carried out in which participants memorised word pairs and tried to recall target words when given retrieval cues. The diagnostic value of the cue was varied by manipulating the extent to which the cues subsumed other memorised words and the level of the encoding–retrieval match. The results supported Nairne’s (Memory, 10, 389–395, 2002) assertion that the diagnostic value of retrieval cues is a better predictor of memory performance than the absolute encoding–retrieval match.     

The ‘theory theory’ of mind and the aims of Sellars’ original myth of Jones

Recent proponents of the ??theory theory?? of mind often trace its roots back to Wilfrid Sellars?? famous ??myth of Jones?? in his 1956 article, ??Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind??. Sellars developed an account of the intersubjective basis of our knowledge of the inner mental states of both self and others, an account which included the claim that such knowledge is in some sense theoretical knowledge. This paper examines the nature of this claim in Sellars?? original account and its relationship to more recent debates concerning ??theory of mind??, in particular the theory theory. A close look reveals that Sellars?? original view embodied several distinctions that would enable more recent theory theorists to accommodate certain phenomenological objections that have been raised against that outlook. At the heart of the philosophical issue is an overlooked complexity involved in Sellars?? account of the ??theory/observation?? distinction, involving a conception of the distinction that is both independently plausible and a key to the issue in dispute.     

Tropes variations: the topic of particulars beyond Sellars’s myth of the given

Synthese - The aim of this paper is twofold. First, I would like to bring into the light the almost unexplored Sellars’s theory of particulars. Second, I would like to show its surprising...     

Inflexibility of experts--reality or myth? Quantifying the Einstellung effect in chess masters

How does the knowledge of experts affect their behaviour in situations that require unusual methods of dealing? One possibility, loosely originating in research on creativity and skill acquisition, is that an increase in expertise can lead to inflexibility of thought due to automation of procedures. Yet another possibility, based on expertise research, is that experts' knowledge leads to flexibility of thought. We tested these two possibilities in a series of experiments using the Einstellung (set) effect paradigm. Chess players tried to solve problems that had both a familiar but non-optimal solution and a better but less familiar one. The more familiar solution induced the Einstellung (set) effect even in experts, preventing them from finding the optimal solution. The presence of the non-optimal solution reduced experts' problem solving ability was reduced to about that of players three standard deviations lower in skill level by the presence of the non-optimal solution. Inflexibility of thought induced by prior knowledge (i.e., the blocking effect of the familiar solution) was shown by experts but the more expert they were, the less prone they were to the effect. Inflexibility of experts is both reality and myth. But the greater the level of expertise, the more of a myth it becomes.     

Effectiveness of antidepressants: an evidence myth constructed from a thousand randomized trials?

Antidepressants, in particular newer agents, are among the most widely prescribed medications worldwide with annual sales of billions of dollars. The introduction of these agents in the market has passed through seemingly strict regulatory control. Over a thousand randomized trials have been conducted with antidepressants. Statistically significant benefits have been repeatedly demonstrated and the medical literature is flooded with several hundreds of "positive" trials (both pre-approval and post-approval). However, two recent meta-analyses question this picture. The first meta-analysis used data that were submitted to FDA for the approval of 12 antidepressant drugs. While only half of these trials had formally significant effectiveness, published reports almost ubiquitously claimed significant results. "Negative" trials were either left unpublished or were distorted to present "positive" results. The average benefit of these drugs based on the FDA data was of small magnitude, while the published literature suggested larger benefits. A second meta-analysis using also FDA-submitted data examined the relationship between treatment effect and baseline severity of depression. Drug-placebo differences increased with increasing baseline severity and the difference became large enough to be clinically important only in the very small minority of patient populations with severe major depression. In severe major depression, antidepressants did not become more effective, simply placebo lost effectiveness. These data suggest that antidepressants may be less effective than their wide marketing suggests. Short-term benefits are small and long-term balance of benefits and harms is understudied. I discuss how the use of many small randomized trials with clinically non-relevant outcomes, improper interpretation of statistical significance, manipulated study design, biased selection of study populations, short follow-up, and selective and distorted reporting of results has built and nourished a seemingly evidence-based myth on antidepressant effectiveness and how higher evidence standards, with very large long-term trials and careful prospective meta-analyses of individual-level data may reach closer to the truth and clinically useful evidence.     

Innate talents: reality or myth?

Talents that selectively facilitate the acquisition of high levels of skill are said to be present in some children but not others. The evidence for this includes biological correlates of specific abilities, certain rare abilities in autistic savants, and the seemingly spontaneous emergence of exceptional abilities in young children, but there is also contrary evidence indicating an absence of early precursors of high skill levels. An analysis of positive and negative evidence and arguments suggests that differences in early experiences, preferences, opportunities, habits, training, and practice are the real determinants of excellence.     

The laterality effect: myth or truth?

Tzelgov and colleagues [Tzelgov, J., Meyer, J., and Henik, A. (1992). Automatic and intentional processing of numerical information. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 18, 166-179.], offered the existence of the laterality effect as a post-hoc explanation for their results. According to this effect, numbers are classified automatically as small/large versus a standard point under autonomous processing of numerical information. However, the genuinity of the laterality effect was never examined, or was confounded with the numerical distance effect. In the current study, I controlled the numerical distance effect and observed that the laterality effect does exist, and affects the processing of automatic numerical information. The current results suggest that the laterality effect should be taken into account when using paradigms that require automatic numerical processing such as Stroop-like or priming tasks.     

How Widespread is Graphology in Personnel Selection Practice? A case study of a job market myth

Graphology is allegedly widely used in personnel selection in Europe. This is a myth: a widespread but false belief. We explored this myth in five studies. Study 1 established that job ads rarely require handwritten letters. Study 2 showed that handwritten letters serve multiple purposes but are seldom used for handwriting analysis. In Study 3, job market actors overestimated the frequency with which handwritten letters are subjected to graphological analysis. In Study 4, we showed experimentally that people expect graphology to be used when job ads require submission of a handwritten letter. Study 5 showed that advice books may transmit the myth. The myth may foster tolerant attitudes toward graphology, thereby facilitating its persistence in selection practice.     

Great man or great myth? A quantitative review of the relationship between individual differences and leader effectiveness

This study presents a meta‐analysis of 25 individual differences proposed to be related to effective leadership, with an emphasis on comparing trait‐like (e.g. personality and intelligence) to state‐like individual differences (e.g. knowledge and skills). The results indicate that although both trait‐like (achievement motivation, energy, dominance, honesty/integrity, self‐confidence, creativity, and charisma) and state‐like (interpersonal skills, oral communication, written communication, administrative/management skills, problem‐solving skills, and decision making) individual differences were consistent predictors of effective leadership, the impact of trait‐like and state‐like individual differences was modest overall and did not differ substantially (ρ= .27 and .26, respectively). Finally, organizational level of the leader, method of predictor and criterion measurement, and organization type moderated the relationship between individual differences and effective leadership.     

Racism in the consulting room: myth or reality?

This paper explores ways in which issues of race might impact on, and/or be ignored within, the practice of psychotherapy. Racial difference, that is being white as well as being black, taps into ingrained patterns of binary thinking that create hierarchies of "otherness." This generates anxiety which leads some therapists to avoid seeing race or naming its resonance in the therapeutic alliance. The origins of this splitting may lie in the unconscious, from whence it can be subtly nudged into more conscious awareness, as a seminal paper by Andrew Curry, published in this journal, suggested some forty-five years ago. Other modalities bring these dynamics more directly into the therapeutic space by exploring the patient's familial history or their daily lived experiences of racial (dis)advantage from an explicitly empowering standpoint. But whatever route is taken, racism is not an animal that can, or should, be left sleeping in the corner of the consulting room.     

The fear of confession? High Catholic collective narcissism and low secure identification with Catholics predict increased pedophilia myth acceptance

Over the past 30 years, the Catholic Church has been rocked by a series of child sexual abuse scandals worldwide. Some of the religious officials suggested that the children are partly to blame for being sexually abused by priests. We assumed that such convictions (i.e., pedophilia myth acceptance) should be associated with a defensive commitment to one's religious group, captured by religious collective narcissism. In two studies conducted among Polish participants (Study 1, longitudinal, n = 719; Study 2, cross-sectional, n = 357), we found that pedophilia myth acceptance was positively predicted by Catholic narcissism but negatively by secure identification with Catholics. We additionally demonstrated that the effect of Catholic narcissism on pedophilia myth acceptance was mediated by a siege mentality with respect to the religious in-group. We discuss the role of different types of group commitment in predicting in-group criticism and prejudice against underaged victims of sexual abuse.     

What is a Jungian analyst dreaming when myth comes to mind? Thirdness as an aspect of the anima media natura

Listening analytically is not listening just to what is said but listening to what is just below the surface waiting to be said. This paper looks at Jung's insight into a ‘third thing’ being created intra‐psychically and within the analytic encounter. Ogden's concept of an ‘analytic third’ is used to describe the clinical aspects of this thirdness. This paper explores: how the state of thirdness is created and accessed through use of reverie and associative dreaming; how the material emerging from it is used in a from or about manner; and the eventual fate of the third in a successful analysis by a reexamination of plates four and ten of the Rosarium. The focus is particularly on the awareness and possible meanings of mythological motifs appearing in the mind of the analyst while in session. Thirdness can be viewed as the interpersonal aspect of the anima media natura and functions in a way that informs us of permeability in and between individuals, while the operation of the anima mundi means that there is always an inseparability of the individual with the world.     

Semantic palaeontology and the passage from myth to science and poetry: the work of Izrail′ Frank-Kamenetskij (1880–1937)

The life and career of the Soviet scholar of myth and religion Izrail′ Grigor′evič Frank-Kamenetskij is discussed, tracing his development from a scholar working exclusively on semitology to a theorist of myth and literature. The scholar’s relationship to German philosophy and Biblical scholarship is outlined, along with his relationship to Soviet scholarship of the 1920s and 1930s. The development of the scholar’s work is related to his encounter with N. Ja. Marr in the early 1920s, and the way in which Marr’s doctrine underwent considerable revisions when subjected to German philosophy and applied to narrative material is detailed. Finally the way in which attention increasingly turned to the genesis of literary plots and poetic metaphor is discussed, along with both the influence such work exerted and the enduring value of such work today.     

The impact of college‐level sex education on sexual knowledge,attitudes, and practices: The knowledge/sexual experimentation myth revisited

In recent years, many persons have opposed sex education believing that such courses will lead to increased participation in sexual intercourse by young people, but their fears are not supported by most previous research. The influence of sex education material integrated into functional marriage and family courses, however, has not been the subject of in‐depth, scientific investigations.

An anonymous questionnaire was administered to never‐married undergraduate students enrolled in a college‐level marriage and family course at a state university. A pretest and post‐test design was utilized with experimental groups of 50 women and 26 men and comparison groups of 60 women and 28 men.

The findings indicate that the sex education content had a significant impact on the experimental groups, especially for women. Substantial increases in knowledge regarding abortion and contraception, more favorable attitudes toward masturbation, and frequency of masturbation were reported by experimental group women as contrasted with comparison group women. Experimental group men indicated increased knowledge about female hygiene and contraception in contrast to comparison group men. From these findings, sex educators should be able to better meet the criticisms of sex education opponents given this greater understanding of the impact of sex education material on the sex lives of their students.