Task dependent modulation of exogenous attention: Effects of target duration and intervening events

Inhibition of return (IOR) consists of slower reaction times in response to stimuli appearing at previously attended or inspected locations. The exact mechanisms underlying the effect have not yet been determined. In the present work, we manipulated two variables, target duration and intervening event (fixation cue between cue and target), through which we modulated the IOR effect as a function of task. When the target was presented until response, the presence of an intervening event made the cueing effect more negative in all tasks, although facilitation in the absence of an intervening event was only observed in discrimination and go–no-go tasks. When the target duration was 50 ms, the effect of the intervening event on cueing was also only observed for the discrimination and go–no-go tasks. Target duration had no effect at all in the discrimination task. Possible mechanisms for these modulations (detection cost and spatial selection benefit, both of which are based on cue–target integration processes) are discussed.     

Visual agnosia and prosopagnosia in childhood: a prospective case study.

Selective impairments in visual processing are well documented in adults but rarely reported in children. The few childhood cases reported are mostly retrospective accounts with little attention paid to developmental, assessment or management issues. We report a prospective case study of a boy with prosopagnosia and visual processing deficits of presumed developmental origin. At the age of 4 years, AL presented with a range of cognitive and visual recognition deficits. Subsequent assessments revealed an evolving pattern in visual recognition and dissociations between developing skills. At the age of 7 AL has impairments in early perceptual analysis, visual organisation and in complex visual processing. Although he can identify facial features and match faces he is unable to recognise familiar faces. His reading and spelling are developing normally. The nature of his deficits and his progress are discussed within a cognitive neuropsychological framework.     

Parenting after trauma: Supporting parents and caregivers in the treatment of children impacted by violence

The deleterious impact of trauma on parents and their capacity to parent their children seems well recognized in the clinical community, although not sufficiently studied empirically. The purposes of this article are to present an overview of current knowledge about trauma and parenting, to provide an illustrative clinical case study, and to offer recommendations for systemic treatment modalities, multidisciplinary program design, and empirical evaluation. The preponderance of evidence from both the available literature and clinical observations indicates the crucial need for caregiver support in families who have experienced violence. The case study provides an exemplar of the overlapping and interrelated clinical needs of families experiencing trauma. The authors conclude that future empirical study should focus on delineating the processes through which parent functioning following trauma affects children, as well as establishing the effectiveness of treatment and the links between improvement in parent mental health and subsequent enhanced functioning in children. ©2003 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

RECONSIDERING RESEARCH ON DIVORCE, FAMILY LIFE CYCLE, AND THE MEANING OF FAMILY

This article analyzes functionalist and normative assumptions about marriage, divorce, family, and gender in developmental models of family life cycle. An interdisciplinary review of the literature in family development, family sociology, and family therapy reveals how a deficit comparison model implicitly informs the discourse in the study of single-parent families, women who are alone, and the adjustment of women and children to divorce. A feminist critique of family life cycle as the prevailing conceptual model in family development and therapy is presented, and postmodern definitions that deconstruct the concept of family are discussed. Future perspectives for research on family life and form are considered in terms of new action theory that considers divorce as a mode of resistance and change for women and families.     

“Who said it?” How contextual information influences perceived profundity of meaningful quotes and pseudo-profound bullshit

Psychological research on pseudo-profound bullshit—randomly assembled buzz words plugged into a syntactic structure—has only recently begun. Most such research has focused on dispositional traits, such as thinking styles or political orientation. However, none has investigated contextual factors. In two studies, we introduce a new paradigm by investigating the contextual effect on pseudo-profound bullshit and meaningful quotes. In Study 1, all participants rated the profundity of statements in three contexts: (a) isolated, (b) as allegedly said by a famous author, or (c) within a vignette (short story). Study 2 serves as a conceptual replication in which participants rated statements in only one of three contexts. Overall, our results demonstrate that although contextual information such as author's name increases the perceived profundity of bullshit, it has an inconsistent effect on meaningful quotes. The present study helps to better understand the bullshit receptivity while offering a new line of research.     

The emerging relationship of psychology and the Internet: proposed guidelines for conducting Internet intervention research

The Internet is rapidly developing into an important medium of communication in modern society, and both psychological research and therapeutic interventions are being increasingly conducted using this new communication medium. As therapeutic interventions using the Internet are becoming more prevalent, it is becoming increasingly important to conduct research on psychotherapeutic Internet interventions to assist in the development of an appropriate standard of practice regarding interventions using this new medium. In this article, we examine the Internet and the current psychological uses which are being initiated using this medium. Ethical concerns related to the psychological use of the Internet are discussed, and guidelines are proposed for the conduct of Internet intervention research.     

The prediction of phobic behaviour

A 10-point rating scale, a pair comparison forced choice technique and a repertory grid were used to predict phobic behaviour in a standardized avoidance situation. The rating scale and pair comparison technique were significantly more accurate than the grid, but did not differ from each other. The results were seen to be consistent with others demonstrating that simple and economic self-report measures can often be more useful than apparently more sophisticated instruments. The results can also be taken to underline the need for including a variety of measures in validity studies of the repertory grid, and the caution necessary in the clinical application of this same instrument. The generality of the present conclusions to other situations needs, however, to be demonstrated rather than assumed. Social desirability, for example, is not thought to be an important variable in the present situation.     

Self-Criticism and Depressive Symptoms Mediate the Relationship Between Emotional Experiences With Family and Peers and Self-Injury in Adolescence

Although the relationship between negative childhood experiences, peer victimization, depressive symptoms, and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) is widely recognized, the mechanisms involved are not fully understood, especially among adolescents. This study aims to test the mediating role of both self-criticism and depressive symptoms in the relationship between memories of negative or positive experiences, current peer victimization, and NSSI. The sample consists 854 Portuguese adolescents, 451 female and 403 male, with ages between 12 and 18 years (M = 14.89; SD = 1.79), from middle and secondary schools. Participants answered self-report measures. Results from path analysis showed that memories of negative experiences, the absence of positive memories with family in childhood and peer victimization indirectly impact on NSSI through self-criticism and depressive symptoms. In addition, these stressful experiences led to depressive symptoms through self-criticism. Lastly, the most severe form of self-criticism indirectly impacts on NSSI through depressive symptoms, even though it also has a strong direct effect. It suggests that negative experiences with parents and peer victimization, as well as the absence of positive memories with family, have a negative impact on NSSI when these experiences are linked with a sense of self-hatred and depressive symptoms.