Speech, "inner speech," and the development of short-term memory: effects of picture labeling on recall

Three experiments explored the effect of overt speech on children's use of "inner speech' in short-term memory (STM). Experiments 1 and 2 compared recall of a series of pictured objects when 5- and 11-year-olds either labeled stimuli at presentation or remained silent. Use of inner speech was assessed by manipulating word length of the picture names (Experiment 1) or phonemic similarity (Experiment 2). Word length and phonemic similarity had greater effects in the older children and when pictures were labeled at presentation. These tendencies were such that 5-year-olds were sensitive to word length and phonemic similarity only with labeling. Experiment 3 compared labeling by the child with labeling by the experimenter in 5-year-olds. There were no significant differences with respect to overall performance or effects of word length and phonemic similarity. It is suggested that speaking or listening to speech activates and internal "articulatory loop,' and that such activation is especially important when the child's ability to use inner speech in STM has not fully developed.     

Achieving ego integrity: Personality development in late midlife

Using data from two longitudinal studies of educated white women, we explored precursors and correlates of ego integrity versus despair, which is the last developmental stage in Erikson’s theory of adult development. The women comprising Study 1 graduated from Smith College in 1964 (N = 42); the women comprising Study 2 graduated from Radcliffe College also in 1964 (N = 50). In both studies, hierarchical regressions indicated that women who had resolved their regrets at age 53 achieved higher levels of ego integrity at age 62, and those who had resolved their regrets at age 62 also had higher concurrent levels of ego integrity. Further, in study 2, generativity at age 53 was found to predict ego integrity at age 62.     

Regret resolution, aging, and adapting to loss

Both theory and empirical evidence suggest that people who have unresolved regrets experience lower levels of well-being than do those who resolve their regrets. In this study, the authors examined the role of regret resolution during bereavement by assessing whether (a) regret resolution would aid in adapting to the death of a loved one and (b) older adults would be more successful at resolving their bereavement-related regrets than would younger adults. Mixed models were run with longitudinal data from an age-heterogeneous sample of 147 men and women who were eventually bereaved after providing care for a loved one through a hospice. As expected, regret resolution contributed to adjustment as indicated by postloss patterns of depressive symptoms, well-being, and rumination; further, older adults were more likely to resolve their regrets than were younger adults. Implications for encouraging regret resolution early in bereavement are discussed.     

The Measuring and Observation Tool in Sports

The Measuring and Observation Tool in Sports (MOTS) has been designed to facilitate the systematic observation of sports. It is a user-friendly tool developed to help researchers observe, codify, register, and analyze any situation that occurs in a natural or habitual context in which behaviors are spontaneous. Users can define up to 12 mutually exclusive code sets and up to 120 different behaviors to facilitate data collection and can work with any observational data type: event sequences, event sequences over time, state sequences, interval sequences, or multievent sequences. MOTS plays digital video files, which allows for video and taxonomic tools to be displayed on the screen at the same time. The observations are registered automatically, including the time and duration of the event, in frames and seconds simultaneously. Furthermore, the data analysis feature allows the user to calculate the percentage of intervals, the frequency distributions, and the conditional probabilities.     

Secondary school pupils’ views of their school peer counselling for bullying service

Pupils (n=99) from two secondary schools in the UK were interviewed to investigate their views and experiences of the peer counselling for bullying service set up in their school. They were asked about various things concerning (1) the characteristics of the service and service providers that they valued and (2) their reasons for not using the service. Overall, a majority of participants reported a willingness to use this type of service and they identified numerous characteristics that they valued, including peer counsellors with good listening skills who were trustworthy and maintained confidentiality. A noteworthy proportion of participants also wanted the service to provide advice on solving bullying‐related problems. Some barriers to using the service were also identified, including fear of being stigmatised. Responses offered by girls and boys, and by users and non‐users of the service, were compared and several significant differences emerged. The results are discussed in terms of the implications for adults who run this type of service and the peer counsellors who deliver it.     

Intersectional Identities,Identity Dimensions,and Academic Contingencies of Self-Worth

Many people rely on academic performance as an important part of their self-concept, or have academic contingencies of self-worth. We compared academic contingencies of self-worth in three groups of participants, who varied in their feelings about two minority identities: sexual minority Asian/Pacific Islanders, straight Asian/Pacific Islanders, and sexual minority Whites. Comparing pairs of groups that shared one marginalized social identity, we confirmed our hypothesis that participants’ feelings about their racial identity related to contingent self-worth differently based on their sexuality; in contrast, participants’ feelings about their sexual identity related to contingent self-worth in the same way regardless of race. The group defined by the intersection of two minority social identities (Asian/Pacific Islander and sexual minority) is of particular interest.     

What Predicts the Use of Genetic Counseling Services After the Birth of a Child with Down Syndrome?

In the state of Victoria, Australia, a government funded genetic counseling service exists to meet the needs of families. An audit showed that many families do not use this service after the birth of a child with a genetic problem. To investigate this we surveyed families of children born with Down syndrome over 2 years in Victoria. Questionnaires were completed by 74 mothers, of whom only 18 had received genetic counseling between the birth and the time of the study (mean 3.5 years). Of those not receiving genetic counseling, 71% said they were not offered or had not heard of it. Mothers who had genetic counseling were younger than those who had not, and were more likely to have attended University. Those who had genetic counseling indicated less satisfaction with care at the diagnosis and were more likely to perceive their child as unwell at birth than those who were aware of genetic counseling but did not have it. Of those who did not have genetic counseling, over half were unclear about what it is, although 74% agreed with the statement genetic counseling is most useful when planning to have another child. Of those who had heard of genetic counseling, 73% said they were not sure how it could help. Many families with children with Down syndrome are not aware of the existence or functions of genetic counseling. With greater awareness, some may still choose not to have genetic counseling, but others enunciated needs that could be met by this service if it were offered to them.     

Facilitating Family Communication About Predictive Genetic Testing: Probands’ Perceptions

The responsibility of informing relatives that predictive genetic testing is available often falls to the proband. Support is required during this process, however the perceived utility of genetic counseling and other strategies to facilitate communication have not been explored. We investigated the experiences of 12 individuals with hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) in a semistructured telephone interview. Respondents informed their immediate family about the availability of genetic testing, however many more-distant relatives were not directly informed. Respondents were mostly satisfied with the way they told family members about testing and had mixed views about the usefulness of genetic counseling. Gender differences were observed, with most men expressing a need for guidance or support in communicating to relatives. Letters and booklets were thought to enhance the quality of information but the provision of further aids is unlikely to increase the number of relatives made aware of predictive testing by the proband.     

An 8q21 deletion in a patient with comorbid psychosis and mental retardation

Systematic investigations indicate that some of the recognized psychiatric disorders can be identified among those with mental retardation due to chromosomal abnormalities. We report a psychotic patient with mild mental retardation (intelligence quotient: 68) and minor anomalies that had a chromosomal aberration not previously described in a psychotic patient. Our patient highlights the importance of the cytogenetic study in psychiatric patients with comorbid mental retardation or minor anomalies. In addition, her psychosis symptoms may be helpful to propose a new candidate gene for psychosis.     

The effects of fear and anger facial expressions on approach- and avoidance-related behaviors

The facial expressions of fear and anger are universal social signals in humans. Both expressions have been frequently presumed to signify threat to perceivers and therefore are often used in studies investigating responses to threatening stimuli. Here the authors show that the anger expression facilitates avoidance-related behavior in participants, which supports the notion of this expression being a threatening stimulus. The fear expression, on the other hand, facilitates approach behaviors in perceivers. This contradicts the notion of the fear expression as predominantly threatening or aversive and suggests it may represent an affiliative stimulus. Although the fear expression may signal that a threat is present in the environment, the effect of the expression on conspecifics may be in part to elicit approach.