Dysfunctional personality traits in adolescence: effects on alerting,orienting and executive control of attention

The present study examined attentional networks performance in 39 adolescents with dysfunctional personality traits, split into two group, Group < 10 and Group ≥ 10, according to the number of criteria they met at the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders. The attentional performance has been tested by means of a modified version of the Attentional Network Test (ANTI-V) which allows testing both phasic and tonic components of the alerting system, the exogenous aspect of the orienting system, the executive network and their interactions. Results showed that the orienting costs of having an invalid spatial cue were reduced in the Group ≥ 10 criteria compared to the Group < 10. Moreover, adolescents included in the Group ≥ 10 showed lower conflict when attention was cued to the target location (valid trials) but showed normal interference when there was no overpowering focus of attention (invalid trials). The results found with ANOVA after splitting the sample into two categorical groups were also observed in a complementary correlation analysis keeping intact the continuous nature of such variables. These findings are consistent with the notion that dysfunctional features of personality disorders may represent the psychological manifestations of a neuropsychological abnormality in attention and executive functioning. Finally, we discuss the implications of this attentional anomaly for dysfunctional personality traits and behaviour.     

Inhibitory sensory preconditioning detected with a sodium depletion procedure

In each of two experiments, two groups of rats were exposed to three flavoured solutions: A (citric acid), B (salt), and AX (a compound of citric acid and saccharin). Both experiments used a between-subjects design in which a paired group received presentations of A followed by B, alternating with presentations of AX (i.e., A → B/AX), and an unpaired group received alternating presentations of A, B, and AX (i.e., A/B/AX). This arrangement was expected to establish X as an inhibitor of B in group paired but not in group unpaired. In Experiment 1, after preexposure all subjects received a single presentation of an XB compound, then experienced sodium depletion, and were tested for their consumption of X, which was greater in group unpaired than in group paired. In Experiment 2, after preexposure, all subjects received four presentations of a new flavour, C, in compound with B and subsequently, under sodium depletion, were tested for consumption of XC. Intake of the XC compound was less in group paired than in group unpaired. These results suggest that, in group paired, X acquired an inhibitory relationship with B both retarding the acquisition of an excitatory association with B (retardation test, Experiment 1) and reducing the response to a new stimulus, C, strongly associated to B (summation test, Experiment 2). These results provide direct evidence of inhibition between two neutral stimuli and, therefore, of inhibitory sensory preconditioning.     

Self-esteem,motivation and school attendance among sub-Saharan African girls: A self-determination theory perspective

Sub-Saharan samples are severely under-represented in the psychological literature. Taking an ecological approach, the current study examines key propositions derived from self-determination theory in a sample of adolescent girls in Mozambique. As a framework theory, self-determination theory consists of six sub-theories. We test the main premises of two of these theories: organismic integration theory and basic psychological need theory. In line with organismic integration theory, we assess the role of intrinsic, extrinsic, introjected and identified motivation for school attendance. We also test the possible moderating role of the ecological variable resource scarcity. The second part of the study focuses on the main premise of the basic psychological need sub-theory, which states that satisfaction of the needs for relatedness, competence and autonomy underlies intrinsic motivation, goal-directed behaviour (school attendance) and well-being (self-esteem). The study also assesses the moderation of resource scarcity in these relationships. Results provide support for both sub-theories of self-determination theory. Resource scarcity is not found to moderate the relationships between motivation and attendance or between need satisfaction and well-being, motivation and attendance. Implications for the universality claim of self-determination theory, as well as for the field of international development aid, are discussed.     

El estudio del significado mediante pruebas de sustitución de palabras

Resumen

Se presenta un método nuevo de estudio semántico del lenguaje: la técnica de sustitución de palabras (TSP), así como algunas pruebas concretas para aplicación de dicha técnica general. Las pruebas consisten en repertorios de frases donde figura la palabra por investigar en cada caso, palabra que los sujetos que realizan la prueba han de sustituir por alguna o algunas otras, tratando de conservar el sentido de la frase. Aunque constituye una técnica general de investigaión semántica, destacan sus ventajas en el estudio de ciertos lenguajes: político, ético, religioso y filosófico.     

Repercusión de la autoimagen en el diagnóstico de la capacidad de formar imágenes mentales

Resumen

Desde 1909 hasta la actualidad se han construido y utilizado mucho los cuestionarios para medir la capacidad de los sujetos para formar imágenes mentales; sin embargo, han sido muy discutidos, fundamentalmente porque las autopuntuaciones de imagen están contaminadas por las expectativas sociales.

Nosotros estudiamos la relación de la autoestima y la autoimagen con la viveza subjetiva de imagen visual. Presentamos a 93 estudiantes de Formación Profesional un test objetivo de imagen, un test subjetivo de imagen, una medida de autoestima y una de autoimagen. Obtuvimos correlaciones significativas entre la autoestima y la medida subjetiva de imagen, y entre la autoimagen y la medida subjetiva de imagen; sin embargo, la autoestima y la autoimagen no correlacionaron significativamente con un test objetivo de imagen.     

BOOKS RECEIVED

Abstract

Since the concept of imaginative elaboration of body functioning, which is essential to Winnicott's idea of psyche-soma, has rarely been investigated up to now, this article sets out to do this and tries to pursue the meaning and articulation of that concept in the corpus of Winnicott's theory. In this way, it contributes to bringing the body to the core of psychoanalytical theory.     

Gender Differences and Cognitive Correlates of Mathematical Skills in School-Aged Children

Published information concerning the influence of gender on mathematical ability tests has been controversial. The present study examines the performance of school-aged boys and girls from two age groups on several mathematical tasks and analyzes the predictive value of a verbal fluency test and a spatial test on those mathematical tasks. More specifically, our research attempts to answer the following two questions: (1) Are gender differences in mathematical test performance among children interrelated with age and (2) do verbal and spatial nonmathematical tests mediate gender effects on mathematical test performance? Two hundred and seventy-eight 7- to 10-year-old children and 248 13- to 16-year-olds were selected from schools in Colombia and Mexico (231 boys and 295 girls). The age effect was found to be significant for all measures, with scores improving with age. Results showed that boys and girls in both age groups scored similarly in most subtests, but that differences emerged in the performance of mental mathematical operations and in resolving arithmetical problems. In the latter – but not in mental math – older boys outperformed older girls, whereas no gender differences were observed in the younger groups. After controlling for age, it was found that the spatial test was, indeed, a significant mediator of gender effects, while the verbal task was not.     

Dissociative Experiences and Creativity in Fine Arts Students

Studies on creative personality have revealed that the relationship between personality and creativity remains unclear, and various types of creative thinking have been have been associated with various personality traits. To assess the influence of dissociative experiences on creativity in the context of fine arts education, in which the creative process plays a key role, a sample of fine arts students received a test of creative potential and the dissociative experiences test. The results revealed significant differences in creativity (creative imagination and creative experiences) between students scoring high or low in the number of dissociative experiences. High dissociative experiences scores were associated to high scores in creative imagination and creative experiences, and low scores in dissociative experiences were inversely related to creative imagination and creative experiences. Further studies are required to corroborate these findings.     

The study of organizational behaviour in family business

Family businesses (FBs)—enterprises that are significantly influenced by family members and kinship ties—are ubiquitous and play a crucial role across all world economies. Because of the embeddedness of family and business systems in FB, these organizational forms are theoretically distinct from their non-family counterparts. Curiously, FBs have been largely overlooked in the organizational behaviour (OB) literature. The limited available research at the interface of OB and FB highlights the importance of FB as a unique context to advance OB theories, and of OB as a promising discipline to increase our understanding of FB. In a selective review of literature focused on the four topics of values and goals, leadership and power, trust and justice, and conflict, we discuss how insights from the general theory of communal and exchange relationships open exciting avenues for research at the FB-OB interface. Rich fruits of intellectual harvest await scholars who focus on behavioural research in FB.     

Gender differences in cognitive development

The potential effect of gender on intellectual abilities remains controversial. The purpose of this research was to analyze gender differences in cognitive test performance among children from continuous age groups. For this purpose, the normative data from 7 domains of the newly developed neuropsychological test battery, the Evaluación Neuropsicológica Infantil [Child Neuropsychological Assessment] (Matute, Rosselli, Ardila, & Ostrosky-Solis, 2007), were analyzed. The sample included 788 monolingual children (350 boys, 438 girls) ages 5 to 16 years from Mexico and Colombia. Gender differences were observed in oral language (language expression and language comprehension), spatial abilities (recognition of pictures seen from different angles), and visual (Object Integration Test) and tactile perceptual tasks, with boys outperforming girls in most cases, except for the tactile tasks. Gender accounted for only a very small percentage of the variance (1%-3%). Gender x Age interactions were observed for the tactile tasks only. It was concluded that gender differences during cognitive development are minimal, appear in only a small number of tests, and account for only a low percentage of the score variance.