The Developmental Functions of Emotions: An Analysis in Terms of Differential Emotions Theory

A substantial body of theoretical literature testifies to the evolutionary functions of emotions. Relatively little has been written about their developmental functions. This article discusses the developmental functions of emotions from the perspective of differential emotions theory (DET; Izard, 1977, 1991). According to DET, although all the emotions retain their adaptive and motivational functions across the lifespan, different sets of emotions may become relatively more prominent in the different stages of life as they serve stage-related developmental processes. In the first section, we present a brief overview of relevant aspects of the theory. In the second section, we discuss how emotions play a central role in helping the individual achieve developmental milestones and tasks during four major periods of life: Infancy, toddler through preschool years, middle to late childhood, and adolescence. The underlying thesis of this article is that emotions play a central role in stimulating social cognitive attainments at each stage of development.     

Mental representation of a line when patients with left unilateral spatial neglect bisect it: A study with an endpoint reproduction task

Patients with left unilateral spatial neglect (USN) typically place the subjective midpoint to the right of the objective centre. Based on the previous findings (e.g., Ishiai et al. 1989, Brain, 112, 1485), we hypothesized that the patients with left USN may see the representational image of a line that extends equally towards either side of the subjective midpoint depending not upon the information about the leftward extent. The present study tested whether patients with left USN would place the subjective midpoint at the centre of their mental representation of the line. The participants were 10 patients with left USN and 10 neurologically healthy controls. We devised a new ‘endpoint reproduction task’ using a computer display with a touch panel to seek the representational image when patients with left USN bisect lines and asked the participants to reproduce the location of the right or left endpoint after bisecting lines. The results showed that the representational image of the bisected line depends primarily on the location of the objective right endpoint, not on the location of the objective left endpoint in space. The analyses of the estimated right and left representational extents confirmed our hypotheses that patients with left USN would bisect a line seeing the representational line image that centred across their subjective midpoint. We believe that the findings of the present study with the use of the endpoint reproduction task will contribute to a better understanding of the visuospatial process underlying line bisection of patients with left USN.     

The role of familiarity in binary choice inferences

In research on the recognition heuristic (Goldstein & Gigerenzer, Psychological Review, 109, 75–90, 2002), knowledge of recognized objects has been categorized as “recognized” or “unrecognized” without regard to the degree of familiarity of the recognized object. In the present article, we propose a new inference model—familiarity-based inference. We hypothesize that when subjective knowledge levels (familiarity) of recognized objects differ, the degree of familiarity of recognized objects will influence inferences. Specifically, people are predicted to infer that the more familiar object in a pair of two objects has a higher criterion value on the to-be-judged dimension. In two experiments, using a binary choice task, we examined inferences about populations in a pair of two cities. Results support predictions of familiarity-based inference. Participants inferred that the more familiar city in a pair was more populous. Statistical modeling showed that individual differences in familiarity-based inference lie in the sensitivity to differences in familiarity. In addition, we found that familiarity-based inference can be generally regarded as an ecologically rational inference. Furthermore, when cue knowledge about the inference criterion was available, participants made inferences based on the cue knowledge about population instead of familiarity. Implications of the role of familiarity in psychological processes are discussed.     

A Review of “Gender Identity Disorder and Psychosexual Problems in Children and Adolescents”

Abstract

The New Hypnosis in Family Therapy, by Daniel L. Araoz&;Esther Negley-Parker. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1988, 304 pages, $30.00

The Family Interpreted, by Deborah Anne Leupnitz. New York: Basic Books, 352 pages, $22.95.

Family Evaluation, by Michael Kerr&;Murray Bowen. New York: W. W. Norton, 416 pages, $29.95

Family Therapy Techniques for Problem Behaviors of Children and Teenagers, by Charles E. Schaefer, James M. Briesmeister&;Maureen E. Fitton. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 482 pages, $28.95

Family of Origin Therapy, edited by Alan J. Hovestadt&;Marshal Fine. Rockville, MD: Aspen Publications, 1987, 106 pages, $29.67

Siblings in Therapy: Life Span and Clinical Issues, edited by Michael D. Kahn&;Karen Gail Lewis. New York: W. W Norton, 1988, 469 pages, $34.95

A Secure Base: Parent-Child Attachment and Healthy Human Development, by John Bowlby. New York: Basic Books, 1988, 205 pages, $16.95

Developing Ericksonian Therapy: State of the Art, edited by Jeffrey K. Zeig&;Stephen R. Lankton. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1988, 523 pages, $50.00

Journey with Grandpa: Our Family's Struggle with Alzheimer's Disease, by Rosalie Walsh Honel. Maryland: The John Hopkins University Press, 243 pages, $16.95

The Divorce Decision: What It Can Mean for Your Children, Your Finances, Your Emotions, Your Relationships, Your Future, by Gary Richmond. Waco, TX: Word Book Publishers, 1988, 215 pages, $8.99     

Phase transformation of Cu precipitate in Fe–Cu alloy studied using self-guided molecular dynamics

The self-guided molecular dynamics (SGMD) method, which can enhance the conformational sampling efficiency in MD simulations, was applied in investigating the phase transformation of Cu precipitate in α-iron that took place during thermal aging. It was shown that the SGMD method can accelerate calculating the bcc to 9R structure transformation of a small precipitate (even 4.0 nm in size), enabling the transformation without introducing any excess vacancies. The size dependence of the transformation also agreed with that seen in previous experimental studies.     

Production of single quasicrystals and their electrical resistivity in the Al-Pd-Re system

Single Al-Pd-Re icosahedral quasicrystals with a maximum diameter of 5mm have been grown by a slow cooling method on the basis of a partial phase diagram determined in the present study. Laue X-ray and electron diffraction verified the highly ordered structure of the single icosahedral quasicrystals. The electrical resistivity rho of the single quasicrystals was measured to be 2000- 4000muOmegacm at 300K and 3000-6000muOmegacm at 2K, revealing a negative temperature dependence with a rho_4.2K/rho_300K value smaller than 2.     

Late acquired words in childhood are lost earlier in primary progressive aphasia.

The psycholinguistic nature of the dissolution of the mental lexicon in a primary progressive aphasic patient was investigated in light of the general regression hypothesis that language dissolution is the inverse of language acquisition. Four years after onset of the symptoms, the patient scored 60% correct on a picture naming test, exhibiting some effects of lexical and sublexical age-of-acquisition, but 7 years after onset, he scored only 15% correct. While even a weak form of the regression hypothesis is not fully supported, age-of-acquisition effects seem to be preserved throughout the course of the lexical dissolution. Some implications are briefly discussed for future research.     

Reflections on using group therapy as a treatment modality—Why,how, for whom,and when: A guide to clinicians,supervisors, and instructors

This paper emphasizes the potential of group forces for benefit or harm in group therapy as well as human development. Clinical, experimental-historical, and experiential evidence is cited in order to assess methods for harnessing group forces effectively. Ways in which group therapy is particularly valuable for enabling individuals to develop interpersonal skills, resist group pressure, improve communicative skills, deal with problems of inferiority and pessimism, be responsive to feedback, deal with resistance and transference, and manage problems in the working through phase of therapy are focused on. Another emphasis is on how group therapy technique differs from, supplements, and improves on the effectiveness of individual therapy alone. Crucial problems of patient selection and placement are explored, as is the idea that doing group therapy helps the therapist deal with countertransference problems and increases overall effectiveness and personal growth.Dr. Fenster is Professor of Psychology and was founding Chairman of the Psychology Department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. This paper was written while he was on sabbatical leave and serving as Coordinator of Group Therapy in the Psychiatry Department at Brookdale Hospital Medical Center.