Comprehension of signs by dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

The authors assessed the ability of 6 captive dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) to comprehend without explicit training 3 human communicative signs (pointing, directed gaze, and replica). Pointing consisted of indicating the target item with the index finger and a fully extended arm. Directed gaze consisted of orienting the head and eyes toward the target item while the rest of the body remained stationary. The replica signal consisted of holding up an exact duplicate of the target item. On the initial series of 12 trials for each condition, 3 dolphins performed above chance on pointing, 2 on gaze, and none for replica. With additional trials, above chance performance increased to 4 dolphins for pointing, 6 for gazing, and 2 for replica. The replica sign seemed to be the most taxing for them (only 2 dolphins achieved results significantly above chance). Taken together, these results indicate that dolphins are able to interpret untrained communicative signs successfully.     

Interactions between conditioned and unconditioned flavor preferences

Five experiments investigated how rats' conditioned preferences or aversions for aqueous odors paired with sucrose or salt are affected by their unconditioned response to those tastes. Rats preferred an odor paired with 30% sucrose over an odor paired with 5% sucrose when both were presented in 5% sucrose, but they showed no preference or, if thirsty, showed the reverse preference, when the odors were presented in 30% sucrose. These changes in conditioned preference corresponded to changes in the rats' unconditioned preference for the accompanying sucrose solution. Rats' conditioned aversions for odors paired with salt showed a similar dependence on their reaction to the accompanying salt solution. The results were interpreted as showing that conditioned and unconditioned flavor preferences combine additively, as if mediated by the same sensory representation.     

Adult age differences in unconscious transference: Source confusion or identity blending?

Eyewitnesses are known often to falsely identify a familiar but innocent bystander when asked to pick out a perpetrator from a lineup. Such unconscious transference errors have been attributed to either identity confusions at encoding or source retrieval errors. Three experiments contrasted younger and older adults in their susceptibility to such misidentifications. Participants saw photographs of perpetrators, then a series of mug shots of innocent bystanders. A week later, they saw lineups containing bystanders (and others containing perpetrators in Experiment 3) and were asked whether any of the perpetrators were present. When younger faces were used as stimuli (Experiments 1 and 3), older adults showed higher rates of transference errors. When older faces were used as stimuli (Experiments 2 and 3), no such age effects in rates of unconscious transference were apparent. In addition, older adults in Experiment 3 showed an own-age bias effect for correct identification of targets. Unconscious transference errors were found to be due to both source retrieval errors and identity confusions, but age-related increases were found only in the latter.     

An investigation of relationships between teachers' ratings of behavior and children's personality traits

This study examined the relationships between teachers' ratings of children's behavior on the Behavior Problem Checklist and children's selfreported personality source traits on ageappropriate Personality Questionnaires. The sample consisted of 254 children from first through eighth grades and 13 teachers in a rural Maine elementary school. Analysis of the data revealed that teachers' ratings and children's self-reports in grades four through six agreed more frequently about problematic behavior than did children's self-reports and teachers self-ratings in grades one through three and seven and eight. In general, the study (1) supported the validity of teacher judgments made with the Behavior Problem Checklist, (2) demonstrated the ckitical need for more than one perspective when identifying and defining maladaptive behaviors potentially indicative of emotional disturbance, and (3) suggested the need to increase the accuracy of teachers' perceptions and evaluations of children's behavior.     

Gender of Subject and Target as Mediators of Aggression1

The effects of gender of the subject and the target of aggression were studied by examining responses of 414 undergraduates to four anger-inducing scenarios. As predicted, in the three scenarios not involving dating, males tended to be more aggressive and to expect more approval of aggression from their friends than did females; more aggression was directed against a male, and friends approved more of aggression against a male than a female target. Also as predicted, in the scenario involving a romantic partner, females were more aggressive than males and expected more approval for aggression from friends; males were more likely than females to feel guilty, apologize, and speak politely to their dates. The results suggest that the relationship between gender and aggression is influenced by situational context, friends' anticipated reactions, feelings of guilt, and expectancies of successful outcomes.     

The weight of expectation: Implicit,rather than explicit,prior expectations drive the size–weight illusion

In the size–weight illusion, small objects feel heavier than identically weighted larger objects. This illusion is thought to be a consequence of how one's prior expectations can influence conscious perception—lifters expect the large object to outweigh the small object and subsequently experience it as feeling lighter than they expected it to be. Here, we directly examined how a familiar object's identity can affect how heavy someone expects it to be, and how these expectations will influence subsequent perceptions of heaviness. We describe two novel weight illusions induced with familiar objects. In one condition, participants judged the weight of a set of similar-size objects with very different natural weights (a polystyrene sphere, a tennis ball, and a cricket ball), which had all been adjusted to weigh the same amount as one another. In this condition, participants experienced a small, but reliable, weight illusion, with the lightest looking ball feeling heavier than the heaviest looking ball. In the other condition, participants judged the weights of a different set of balls, which were different sizes, but similar natural weights, to one another (a golf ball, a foam soccer ball, and an inflated beach ball). Again, participants experienced a perceptual illusion, but in the opposite direction. Surprisingly, participant's perceptions matched, rather than contrasted with, their explicit expectations such that, even though they expected the golf ball to outweigh the beach ball they perceived the golf ball as feeling heavier than the beach ball. The effect of object mass appeared to dominate the effect of conscious expectations, suggesting that contrasting expectations of heaviness are not necessary to experience weight illusions and that current models of this robust perceptual effect must be revised.     

How do work stress and coping work? Toward a fundamental theoretical reappraisal

The main aim of this paper is to make the case for why a fundamental reappraisal rather than incremental development of work stress and coping theory is required. In order to do this we present, in simplified form, some of the basic tenets of theory in this field. These tenets are questioned and their limitations identified in two ways. The first way is through contrasting the sort of stories that emerge in counselling and psychotherapy about the causes of people's distress with the simplified accounts found in stress and coping theory. The second way is through a critical examination of the specific ideas that stressors are 'out there' in the work environment and that individuals go through a simple process of primary and secondary appraisal when dealing with potentially harmful aspects of the work environment. Drawing on the notion of the employee as an active crafter and shaper of their job and data showing the complex ways in which people make sense of potentially negative work circumstances, we show how these ideas are of very limited value. In conclusion, we suggest that these limitations are so serious that fundamental reappraisal rather than development is required.     

Promoting Self‐Advocacy Among Minority Students in School Counseling

This article presents self‐advocacy competencies developed to promote the academic, career, and personal/social success of minority students. The authors discuss challenges faced by minority students in today's educational environment and review principles of self‐advocacy. Competencies for developing self‐advocacy awareness, knowledge, and skills are discussed along with school counseling strategies for promoting self‐advocacy among minority students.