Aligning affordances of graphics with learning task requirements

Dynamic subject matter can be portrayed to learners in the form of either static or dynamic depictions. Two plausible bases for choosing a depiction format are alignment with the subject matter's dynamics, or the specific affordances a depiction provides for performing a particular learning output task. Experimental participants viewed an ordered set of eight images depicting key stages of a kangaroo hop presented in a dynamic, successive or simultaneous format. Control participants viewed no presentation. The output task required participants to rearrange a random sequence of the eight kangaroo images into the correct order of a kangaroo hop. Those who viewed the successive presentation were most successful in placing the images in their correct order while those in the dynamic condition were least successful. The results contradict the prevailing instructional design orthodoxy that the dynamic properties of a depiction should be aligned with the dynamic nature of the referent content. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Problematic dyadic interaction among toddlers and their polydrug‐cocaine‐using mothers

Dyadic interactions between 84 at‐risk toddlers and their nondrug‐, polydrug‐non‐cocaine‐, or polydrug‐cocaine‐using mothers were examined during unstructured play. Coded videotaped behaviors revealed two maternal constructs (interactive competence, maladaptive engagement) and three toddler constructs (responsiveness, active positive initiation, play). Cocaine‐using mothers displayed more maladaptive engagement than did prenatal nondrug users; however, poorer interactive competence further distinguished them from polydrug‐but‐noncocaine users. Toddlers of cocaine‐using mothers displayed less responsiveness and positive initiation than non‐drug‐group peers; however, these behaviors did not reliably differ from polydrug‐non‐cocaine counterparts. Play interest remained relatively similar across groups. Results suggest that difficulties in social interaction appear to continue among cocaine‐using mothers during dyadic exchanges with their offspring in the second year; however, toddler deficits do not appear to be greater than those experienced by polydrug‐non‐cocaine counterparts.     

Lipopolysaccharide-induced experimental immune activation does not impair memory functions in humans

Reconsolidation studies have led to the hypothesis that memory, when labile, would be modified in order to incorporate new information. This view has reinstated original propositions suggesting that short-term memory provides the organism with an opportunity to evaluate and rearrange information before storing it, since it is concurrent with the labile state of consolidation. The Chasmagnathus associative memory model is used here to test whether during consolidation it is possible to change some attribute of recently acquired memories. In addition, it is tested whether these changes in behavioral memory features can be explained as modifications on the consolidating memory trace or as a consequence of a new memory trace. We show that short-term memory is, unlike long-term memory, not context specific. During this short period after learning, behavioral memory can be updated in order to incorporate new contextual information. We found that, during this period, the cycloheximide retrograde amnesic effect can be reverted by a single trial in a new context. Finally, by means of memory sensitivity to cycloheximide during consolidation and reconsolidation, we show that the learning of a new context (CS) during this short-term memory period builds up a new memory trace that sustains the behavioral memory update.     

Prolonged institutional rearing is associated with atypically large amygdala volume and difficulties in emotion regulation

Early adversity, for example poor caregiving, can have profound effects on emotional development. Orphanage rearing, even in the best circumstances, lies outside of the bounds of a species-typical caregiving environment. The long-term effects of this early adversity on the neurobiological development associated with socio-emotional behaviors are not well understood. Seventy-eight children, who include those who have experienced orphanage care and a comparison group, were assessed. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure volumes of whole brain and limbic structures (e.g. amygdala, hippocampus). Emotion regulation was assessed with an emotional go-nogo paradigm, and anxiety and internalizing behaviors were assessed using the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders, the Child Behavior Checklist, and a structured clinical interview. Late adoption was associated with larger corrected amygdala volumes, poorer emotion regulation, and increased anxiety. Although more than 50% of the children who experienced orphanage rearing met criteria for a psychiatric disorder, with a third having an anxiety disorder, the group differences observed in amygdala volume were not driven by the presence of an anxiety disorder. The findings are consistent with previous reports describing negative effects of prolonged orphanage care on emotional behavior and with animal models that show long-term changes in the amygdala and emotional behavior following early postnatal stress. These changes in limbic circuitry may underlie residual emotional and social problems experienced by children who have been internationally adopted.     

Media violence exposure in aggressive and control adolescents: differences in self‐ and parent‐reported exposure to violence on television and in video games

The purpose of present study was to investigate differences in media violence exposure between groups of adolescents with and without Disruptive Behavior Disorders with Aggressive Features, using a case‐controlled design and multimethod assessment. Samples of 27 adolescents aged 13‐17 with Disruptive Behavior Disorder with Aggressive Features and 27 age‐gender‐IQ matched controls completed a semistructured interview about exposure to violence on television and video games; parents completed a corresponding questionnaire measure. Moderate intercorrelations were found between most self‐ and parent‐report television and video game violence exposure measures. Compared to control adolescents, adolescents with Disruptive Behavior Disorder with Aggressive Features had higher aggregate media violence exposure, higher exposure to video game violence, and higher parent‐reported exposure to television violence. Results show that adolescents and parents agree about the adolescent's level of media violence exposure, that exposure to violence on television tends to be accompanied by exposure to violence in video games, and that the association between media violence exposure and Disruptive Behavior Disorder with Aggressive Features is not due to a spurious effect of gender or IQ. Aggr. Behav. 31:000–000, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Towards Multi-positioned Live Supervision in Family Therapy: Combining Treatment and Observation Teams with First- and Second-order Perspectives

This article describes a process of live supervision that has been designed to encourage trainees to experience competing theoretical perspectives. It involves the use of separate T (treatment) and O (observation) teams who conceptualise the same case from two broadly defined theoretical perspectives, variously called first and second order, modern and postmodern, or family systems and social constructionist. The process requires trainees to adopt multiple positions rather than identify with one perspective, and provides a basis for comparing and potentially integrating them. We provide examples of the approach, discuss important contextual issues for supervisors to consider when implementing it, and examine ways of adapting it to a wide range of training contexts.     

Substantial Change and Spatiotemporal Coincidence

Substantial change occurs when a persisting object of some kind either begins or ceases to exist. Typically, this happens when one or more persisting objects of another kind or kinds are subjected to appropriate varieties of qualitative or relational change, as when the particles composing a lump of bronze are rearranged so as to create a statue. However, such transformations also seem to result, very often, in cases of spatiotemporal coincidence, in which two numerically distinct objects of different kinds exist in exactly the same place at the same time, such as a statue and a lump of bronze. Various attempts to resist this way of describing the results of such transformations are examined and found wanting and objections to the possibility of cases of spatiotemporal coincidence are rebutted.