Exploratory behavior as a function of environmental novelty and complexity in male and female rats

Laboratory rats show a positive response to low- and nonstressful novel events. The novel event may involve a number of aspects of the stimulus field. It is usually associated with a change in amount of environmental complexity. Most studies concerning novelty-related behavior involve the introduction of novel objects or the rearrangement of familiar objects. The present purpose was to measure exploratory behavior in response to environments of increased and decreased complexity. Both directions of environmental change are conditions of novelty. A two-way manipulation of increasing and decreasing the complexity of the environment was used. Rats of both sexes showed increased exploration to exposure to novelty, no matter which manipulation was applied; however, female and male rats behaved differently to the two types of novelty. Males responded more to novelty from the introduction of an unfamiliar object. The results indicate novel stimulation, whether of increasing or decreasing complexity, has reward properties. Perhaps the male-specific behavior directed toward unfamiliar objects may serve an adaptive function.     

Ethical Principles and the Communication of Forensic Mental Health Assessments

Our premise is that ethics is the essence of good forensic practice and that mental health professionals must adhere to the ethical principles, standards, and guidelines of their professional bodies when they communicate their findings and opinions. We demonstrate that adhering to ethical principles can improve the quality of forensic reports and communications. We demonstrate this by focusing on the most basic principles that underlie professional ethical standards and guidelines, namely, Fidelity and Responsibility, Integrity, Respecting Rights and Dignity of Persons, and Justice and Fairness. For each principle we offer a brief definition and explain its demands. Then we identify ways in which the principle can guide the organization, content, or style of forensic mental health report writing, offering illustrative examples that demonstrate or abuse the principle.     

A Dual Coding Theoretical Model of Decoding in Reading: Subsuming the Laberge and Samuels Model

In this article we present a detailed Dual Coding Theory (DCT) model of decoding. The DCT model reinterprets and subsumes The LaBerge and Samuels (1974) model of the reading process which has served well to account for decoding behaviors and the processes that underlie them. However, the LaBerge and Samuels model has had little to say about comprehension processes. Its subsumption into DCT provides an account of decoding in DCT terms and connects it to the established DCT explanation of comprehension. Relevant research evidence is reviewed. We propose that this constitutes an incremental advancement toward unifying theories in reading.