Individual differences in sensitivity to violence

A survey of university students explored correlates of sensitivity to violence, defined as a person's average rating of the severity of violence of several behaviors. The 79 women were somewhat more sensitive than the 39 men. Sensitivity was associated with the tendency to describe oneself as violence sensitive or violence tolerant, with the person's manner of defining the concept of violence, and with the tendency to include verbal abuse and inaction as possible forms of violence. Sensitivity was not clearly associated with some other variables, such as attitudes toward bullying and acceptability of hunting. The potential utility of measuring sensitivity to violence, and further work suggested by these findings, are discussed.     

Multilingualism and cognitive state in the oldest old

In this study, the authors examined whether the number of languages a person speaks predicts performance on 2 cognitive-screening tests. Data were drawn from a representative sample of the oldest Israeli Jewish population (N = 814, M age = 83.0 years; SD = 5.4) that was interviewed first in 1989 and then twice more within the following 12 years. Cognitive state differed significantly among groups of self-reported bilingual, trilingual, and multilingual individuals at each of the 3 interview waves. Regression analyses showed that the number of languages spoken contributed to the prediction of cognitive test scores beyond the effect of other demographic variables, such as age, gender, place of birth, age at immigration, or education. Multilingualism was also found to be a significant predictor of cognitive state in a group of individuals who acquired no formal education at all. Those who reported being most fluent in a language other than their mother tongue scored higher on average than did those whose mother tongue was their best language, but the effect of number of languages on cognitive state was significant in both groups, with no significant interaction. Results are discussed in the context of theories of cognitive reserve.     

Does Yoga Help College-Aged Women with Body-Image Dissatisfaction Feel Better About Their Bodies?

Sex Roles - A majority of U.S. college-aged women experience body-image dissatisfaction, which puts them at heightened risk for the development of an eating disorder. However, evidence-based...     

A case study of a meditation-induced altered state: increased overall gamma synchronization

Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences - This study presents two case reports of altered states spontaneously occurring during meditation in two proficient practitioners. These states, known as...