Further examination of the reliability of the Modified Rathus Assertiveness Schedule

The reliability of the 30-item Modified Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (MRAS) was examined using the test-retest method over a three-week period. The MRAS, which was administered to 103 white middle-class seventh graders, yielded correlations of .74 using the Pearson product and Spearman Brown correlation coefficient. The correlations for males yielded .77 and .72 using the Pearson Product and Spearman Brown techniques, respectively. For females the correlations for both tests were .72. Paired t tests by sex indicated no significant change in MRAS scores between test administrations. These findings add to the existing information on the reliability of the MRAS.     

Does perceptual belongingness affect lightness constancy?

The relation between perceptual belongingness and lightness perception has historically been studied in the contrast domain (Benary, 1924 Psychologische Forschung 5 131 - 142). However, scientists have shown that two equal grey patches may differ in lightness when belonging to different reflecting surfaces. We extend this investigation to the constancy domain. In a CRT simulation of a bipartite field of illumination, we manipulated the arrangement of twelve patches: six squares and six diamonds. Patches of the same shape could be placed: (i) all within the same illumination field; or (ii) forming a row across the illumination fields. Furthermore, we manipulated proximity between the innermost patches and the illumination edge. The patches could be (i) touching (forming an X-junction); or (ii) not touching (not forming an X-junction). Observers were asked to perform a lightness match between two additional patches, one illuminated and the other in shadow. We found better lightness constancy when the patches of the same shape formed a row across the fields, with no effect of X-junctions. Since lightness constancy is improved by strengthening the belongingness across the illumination fields, we conclude that belongingness might help the visual system to aggregate the differently illuminated surfaces, and facilitate the scission process.     

Poor hand-pointing to sounds in right brain-damaged patients: not just a problem of spatial-hearing

We asked 22 right brain-damaged (RBD) patients and 11 elderly healthy controls to perform hand-pointing movements to free-field unseen sounds, while modulating two non-auditory variables: the initial position of the responding hand (left, centre or right) and the presence or absence of task-irrelevant ambient vision. RBD patients suffering from visual neglect, unlike RBD patients without neglect and healthy controls, showed a systematic rightward error in sound localisation, which was modulated by the non-auditory variables. Localisation errors were exacerbated by initial hand-position to the right of the body-midline, and reduced by the leftwards initial hand-position. Moreover, for the visual neglect patients, mere presence of ambient vision worsened localisation errors. These results demonstrate that although hand-pointing to sounds has often been considered a straightforward approach to investigate sound-localisation abilities in brain-damaged patients, in some patients it may actually reveal localisation deficits that reflect a combination of impaired spatial-hearing and spatial biases from other sensory modalities (i.e., vision and proprioception).     

Are the inhibitory and faciliatory effects during retrieval of semantically related items present in amnestic mild cognitive impairment?

Prefrontal functions subserve inhibition control for retrieval of semantically related items inducing forgetting 19 a-MCI patients and 29 controls underwent neuropsychological evaluation and retrieval-practice paradigm (RPP) to estimate baseline remember (BR), retrieval-induced facilitation (FAC) and retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF). A-MCI patients underwent also 3 T-MRI to assess relationship between regional grey matter (rGM) volumes and RPP indexes Behaviourally, RIF and FAC were both observed controls, while RIF only was observed in a-MCI patients. In patients but not in controls, RIF was associated with cognitive efficiency and FAC with memory performance. Patients showed also associations between BR and rGM volumes in the precuneus, no association was found between rGM volumes and RIF and FAC. A-MCI patients did not benefit from repeated practice during retrieval of studied items, which is likely due to their memory disorder. In contrast, patient cognitive efficiency would drive retrieval suppression of interfering stimuli.     

Nonverbal learning disabilities: The syndrome and a case study

Presents the syndrome of nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD) and the model developed to encompass its complex manifestations. Included are the history of the development of the syndrome, the types of children in whom its principal features are manifest, the hypothesized neurological bases of the syndrome, and a test of its developmental dimensions. A case study with assessment results and treatment implications illustrates the clinical dimensions of the syndrome. General developmental and treatment implications of the NLD syndrome and the NLD model are also included.     

Three-and-a-half folk concepts of intentional action

Fiery Cushman and Alfred Mele recently proposed a ‘two-and-a-half rules’ theory of folk intentionality. They suggested that laypersons attribute intentionality employing: one rule based on desire, one based on belief, and another principle based on moral judgment, which may either reflect a folk concept (and so count as a third rule) or a bias (and so not count as a rule proper) and which they provisionally count as ‘half a rule’. In this article, I discuss some cases in which an agent is judged as having neither belief nor desire to bring about an action, and yet laypersons find the agent’s action to be intentional. Many lay responses apparently follow a rule, but many other seem biased. The contribution of this study is two-fold: by addressing actions performed without desire or belief, it expands Mele and Cushman’s account; it also helps discriminate between a two-rules and a three-rules theory. As a conclusion, I argue in favor of a three-and-a-half concepts theory.     

What is a Minor Philosophy? A Conversation on Thinking from the Periphery in a Global World

This is the text of a conversation that follows up on Roberto Farneti??s article ??A Minor Philosophy: The State of the Art of Philosophical Scholarship in Italy?? published in Philosophia 38 (1) 2009: 1?C28. After a brief introductory note that details the reception of the article in Italy, Ferrara and Farneti engage in a conversation on the notion of ??minor philosophy?? and on the meaning and future of philosophizing ??from the periphery?? in a globalized world. The text is followed by a short Appendix, a reply to Annalisa Coliva??s commentary on Farneti??s article.     

About the dark and bright sides of self-efficacy: workaholism and work engagement

Taking the Resources-Experiences-Demands Model (RED Model) by Salanova and colleagues as our starting point, we tested how work self-efficacy relates positively to negative (i.e., work overload and work-family conflict) and positive outcomes (i.e., job satisfaction and organizational commitment), through the mediating role of workaholism (health impairment process) and work engagement (motivational process). In a sample of 386 administrative staff from a Spanish University (65% women), Structural Equation Modeling provided full evidence for the research model. In addition, Multivariate Analyses of Variance showed that self-efficacy was only related positively to one of the two dimensions of workaholism, namely, working excessively. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical contributions in terms of the RED Model.     

Imagination and society: the role of visual sociology

The paper presents the field of Visual Sociology as an approach that makes use of photographs, films, documentaries, videos, to capture and assess aspects of social life and social signals. It overviews some relevant works in the field, it deals with methodological and epistemological issues, by raising the question of the relation between the observer and the observed, and makes reference to some methods of analysis, such as those proposed by the Grounded Theory, and to some connected tools for automatic qualitative analysis, like NVivo. The relevance of visual sociology to the study of social signals lies in the fact that it can validly integrate the information, introducing a multi-modal approach in the analysis of social signals.