The cognitive basis of the Uznadze illusion

The present study examines the role of Luria's dimensions of simultaneous and successive synthesis in fixation and extinction of the Uznadze haptic illusion. The subjects were 53 grade 10 high school students. Extinction of the illusion correlated significantly with three measures which, according to Luria's criteria, are indicative of simultaneous synthesis. Correlations between extinction and measures of successive synthesis failed to reach significance. Fixation of the illusion was unrelated to measures of either simultaneous or successive synthesis. An exploratory factor analysis of the data suggested the hypothesis that extinction of the illusion is greatly facilitated when the successive presentations of the spheres are integrated into a simultaneous or contemporaneous pattern.     

Biological preparedness and evolutionary explanation

It is commonly supposed that evolutionary explanations of cognitive phenomena involve the assumption that the capacities to be explained are both innate and modular. This is understandable: independent selection of a trait requires that it be both heritable and largely decoupled from other 'nearby' traits. Cognitive capacities realized as innate modules would certainly satisfy these contraints. A viable evolutionary cognitive psychology, however, requires neither extreme nativism nor modularity, though it is consistent with both. In this paper, we seek to show that rather weak assumptions about innateness and modularity are consistent with evolutionary explanations of cognitive capacities. Evolutionary pressures can affect the degree to which the development of a capacity is canalized by biasing acquisition/learning in ways that favor development of concepts and capacities that proved adaptive to an organism's ancestors.     

Switching or sharing in dual-task line-length discrimination?

In two experiments, we tested whether subjects switched or shared attention between two simultaneously relevant line-length discrimination tasks. Switching models that allowed within- as well as between-trial switching were considered. In the first experiment, stimulus duration was varied randomly from trial to trial. With varied durations, many switching models predict negative contingencies: for a given duration and attentional allocation, accurate responses on one task should be associated with inaccurate responses on the other task. The results, however, showed no negative contingencies, which is consistent with sharing models. In the second experiment, stimulus duration was reduced to 20 msec, yet responses were more than 75% correct overall. This implies that information was obtained about both of the tasks within single trials, contradicting those switching models which predict that information can be obtained from, at most, one task within a period of 20 msec or less. In short, the results of both experiments support sharing models.     

Métacognition et théories de l'esprit

Dans cette présentation des travaux concernant plusieurs aspects du fonctionnement psychologique (langage, perception, explication des actions, apparence/réalité, etc.) on décrit l'évolution—au cours de l'enfance—des représentations relatives au fonctionnement mental des êtres humains. Il apparaît tout d'abord que, très précocement, l'enfant dispose de connaissances et de représentations relatives à l'esprit humain: lesquelles lui permettent de différencier entités mentales et physiques, d'attribuer divers états mentaux aux êtres humains, d'expliquer les actions humaines en référence à des états mentaux tels les désirs et les croyances, etc. Toutefois, aux alentours de 5 ans, d'importants changements qualitatifs se manifestent dans la connaissance qu'ont les enfants de la vie' mentale. Ainsi, à une conception de l'esprit humain comme réservoir d'états mentaux (résultant du contact direct avec la réalité) succéderait une conception de l'esprit comme médiateur, générateur d'états mentaux.     

Narratives,Ontological Security,and Unconscious Phantasy: Germany and the European Myth During the so-called Migration Crisis

This article synthesizes scholarship on narratives and Kleinian defense mechanisms against anxiety to develop a framework that enables a nuanced understanding of ontological security-seeking dynamics in times of crisis. Using the case study of the German narrative of the European Union during the so-called migration crisis of 2015, this article engages with the broader question of how unconscious phantasy influences and guides decision-making processes on a collective level as well as the question of how exactly narratives help subjects to manage anxiety to maintain a sense of ontological security. We show that, in the case of Germany, the EU offers a highly affective political myth that has guided both the decision-making of the government during the crisis and the construction of German self-identity narratives by attempting to introject the good part-object of “Europeanness.” Crucially, German self-identity narratives and narratives on the EU were not only inextricably linked but the EU also became an idealized (Kleinian) part-object. During the so-called migration crisis, this fostered processes of projective identification whereby decisions subverting European values and humanitarian narratives as well as general “badness” were externalized and projected onto other member states, most notably the Visegrád states.     

The Validity of Subjective Wellbeing Measurement for Children: Evidence Using the Personal Wellbeing Index—School Children

Research is scarce concerning the validity of subjective wellbeing measures for children aged 12 years and less. There are even fewer subjective wellbeing data for children with complex backgrounds and personal circumstances and those experiencing socio-demographic disadvantage. This study compares the psychometric properties of the child and adult versions of the Personal Wellbeing Index. Participants were 1761 ‘at-risk’ children aged 10–12 years, and 2000 geographically representative Australian adults. While there was sufficient fit with a one-factor structure, the reliability estimates were lower in the child sample and the incidence of response bias was significantly higher. Collectively, these findings suggest caution in the use of subjective wellbeing measures with children.     

Age-related changes of phasic heart rate responses to affective pictures

This study examined age differences in phasic heart rate in response to neutral, negative and positive pictures. Heart rate changes and subjective ratings were analyzed in 22 middle-aged (40-55 years) and 30 older (56-78 years) participants. The effects of valence on the HR pattern across time were similar to that obtained by Bradley and co-workers. Conversely to previous studies, we did not report any age-related reduction in cardiac reactivity. Instead, when viewing positive pictures, the triphasic wave form appeared in the group of older adults, but for younger participants, it was replaced by a sustained deceleration. These results were interpreted in the light of the socioemotional selectivity theory.     

Neonatal odor-shock conditioning alters the neural network involved in odor fear learning at adulthood

Adult learning and memory functions are strongly dependent on neonatal experiences. We recently showed that neonatal odor-shock learning attenuates later life odor fear conditioning and amygdala activity. In the present work we investigated whether changes observed in adults can also be observed in other structures normally involved, namely olfactory cortical areas. For this, pups were trained daily from postnatal (PN) 8 to 12 in an odor-shock paradigm, and retrained at adulthood in the same task. (14)C 2-DG autoradiographic brain mapping was used to measure training-related activation in amygdala cortical nucleus (CoA), anterior (aPCx), and posterior (pPCx) piriform cortex. In addition, field potentials induced in the three sites in response to paired-pulse stimulation of the olfactory bulb were recorded in order to assess short-term inhibition and facilitation in these structures. Attenuated adult fear learning was accompanied by a deficit in 2-DG activation in CoA and pPCx. Moreover, electrophysiological recordings revealed that, in these sites, the level of inhibition was lower than in control animals. These data indicate that early life odor-shock learning produces changes throughout structures of the adult learning circuit that are independent, at least in part, from those involved in infant learning. Moreover, these enduring effects were influenced by the contingency of the infant experience since paired odor-shock produced greater disruption of adult learning and its supporting neural pathway than unpaired presentations. These results suggest that some enduring effects of early life experience are potentiated by contingency and extend beyond brain areas involved in infant learning.