A colorful walk, but is it on the mental number line? Reply to Cohen Kadosh, Tzelgov, and Henik

Cohen Kadosh, Tzelgov, and Henik [Cohen Kadosh, R., Tzelgov, J., and Henik, A. (2008). A synesthetic walk on the number line: The size effect. Cognition, 106, 548-557] present a new paradigm to probe properties of the mental number line. They describe two experiments which they argue to be inconsistent with the exact small number model proposed by Verguts, Fias, and Stevens [Verguts, T., Fias, W., Stevens, M. (2005). A model of exact small-number representation. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 12, 66-80]. We discuss the data, assumptions, and conclusions of Cohen Kadosh et al.'s paper in relation to existing models of numerical cognition.     

Remembering the past and imagining the future in schizophrenia

It has been suggested that patients with schizophrenia experience a distorted sense of continuity of self across time. However, temporal aspects of self-processing have received little empirical attention in schizophrenia. In this study, the authors investigated schizophrenic patients' ability to generate specific mental images of their personal past and future. Results showed that patients recalled fewer specific past events than did healthy controls and were even more impaired in generating specific future events. These deficits were associated with positive symptoms but were not associated with negative symptoms or with performances on verbal fluency tasks. It is suggested that schizophrenic patients' failures to project themselves into specific past and future episodes might be related to difficulties in retrieving contextual details from memory, as well as disturbance of the sense of subjective time.     

Anxiety and post-traumatic stress symptoms following wisdom tooth removal

The purpose of the present study was to determine the psychological impact of wisdom teeth removal and to identify the psychological risk factors for the development of dental anxiety and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Participants were 34 consecutive elective patients referred for surgical removal of a wisdom tooth under local anesthesia. Frequency of previous distressing dental events and general traumatic life events were assessed at baseline (t1), and emotional distress (pain, state anxiety and disturbance) immediately after treatment (t2). Post-traumatic stress responses were determined three days after treatment (t3), and at four weeks follow-up (t4), while severity of dental trait anxiety was assessed at t1 and at t4. Two patients (8%) met screening criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at t4. Multivariate analysis revealed that previous exposure to distressing dental events and pre-operative anxiety level predicted anxiety level at t4, accounting for 71% of the variance. Severity of pain during treatment was a significant predictor variable of PTSD symptom severity at t4 (25% explained variance). The findings underline the importance of pain-free treatments and awareness of patients' individual predisposition to anxiety or trauma-related symptoms to reduce the risk of iatrogenic psychological harm.     

Ethnic‐Related Curricula and Intergroup Attitudes in College: Movement Toward and Away From the In‐Group1

Using a 5‐year longitudinal study, we investigated the long‐term effects of courses with ethnic studies content and courses with Latino or Black professors on university students' intergroup attitudes. We found that these curricular variables significantly affected the intergroup attitudes of students beyond pre‐existing differences in attitudes and beyond other curriculum variables. As expected, we found differences between ethnic groups: White students showed movement toward other groups as a result of these curricular factors, whereas Latino and African American students showed both increased tolerance toward other groups and movement toward the in‐group. The results are discussed in terms of group status differences between the dominant White majority and the stigmatized Latino and Black minority groups.     

The egocentric nature of procedural justice: Social value orientation as moderator of reactions to decision-making procedures

In four studies, the authors investigated the individual-oriented versus social-oriented nature of procedural justice effects by comparing fairness-based responses to decision-making procedures among proself versus prosocial oriented individuals. In Studies 1 through 3, we measured participants’ social value orientation and manipulated whether or not they were granted or denied voice in a decision-making process. Results consistently revealed that the effects of voice versus no-voice on fairness-based perceptions, emotions, and behavioral intentions were significantly more pronounced for individuals with proself orientations than for individuals with prosocial orientations. These findings were extended in Study 4, a field study in which perceived procedural justice was a stronger predictor of satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviors among proselfs than among prosocials. These findings suggest that procedural justice effects can be accounted for by self-oriented motives or needs, rather than prosocial motives that are often conceptualized as being associated with justice.     

Maladaptive personality traits and psychopathology in childhood and adolescence: the moderating effect of parenting

This study examines child and adolescent psychopathology from a maladaptive trait perspective, incorporating both parental and child ratings of parenting as a moderator of the personality-psychopathology association. Hierarchical moderated regression analyses were conducted on a combined sample of referred and nonreferred children and adolescents (N=862, parental ratings of parenting and N=396, child ratings of parenting). The results indicated positive main effects of maladaptive traits on externalizing and internalizing problems, and positive main effects of parental negative control on externalizing problems. Significant interactions were found for Disagreeableness and Emotional Instability with parental Negative Control and for Disagreeableness x Positive Parenting in explaining externalizing problems. The discussion focuses on the contribution of these findings to a better understanding of the trait-psychopathology relationship at young age.     

Modeling the role of emotions in viewing oneself maturely

Adolescents develop a mature view on themselves: they view positive as well as negative self-attributes, but they hold a positive stance toward themselves. The literatures on identity, the self, parent-offspring relationships, and friendships provide hints on how such a view may develop. This article integrates this literature into an emotion-based dynamic systems mathematical model built to explain the development of maturity of such views. An innovative methodological design was used to collect empirical data: four students daily reported their experiences and emotions for a period of 5 months, while they temporarily studied abroad. At the beginning and end of this period, they were interviewed on their views on themselves. These mostly qualitative data were used to provide support to the suggested mathematical model. The usefulness, weaknesses, and strengths of such a methodological design and mathematical modeling are discussed.     

No protective effects of education during normal cognitive aging: results from the 6-year follow-up of the Maastricht Aging Study

Recent large-scale longitudinal aging studies question earlier claims that higher education protects against cognitive decline in older age. In the present study, the authors addressed this issue by determining whether educational level had an attenuating effect on the rate of cognitive change assessed with a broad range of neuropsychological tests in a community sample of 872 healthy individuals aged 49 to 81 years at baseline. The participants were followed for 6 years and were tested 3 times (at baseline and at 3 and 6 years after baseline). Results of linear mixed-model analyses showed that education had no significant effect on cognitive change over time. These results are discussed in terms of the age range of the sample, definition and range of education, cognitive measures used, length of the study and number of consecutive assessments, and confounding effect of health. The findings question the extent of the presumed protective effects of higher education on cognitive decline during normal aging.     

The role of impulsivity in actual and problematic use of the mobile phone

Several authors have investigated the risks arising from the growth in mobile phone use (e.g. debts incurred by young people). The aims of the present study are (1) to validate a new questionnaire assessing problematic mobile phone use: the Problematic Mobile Phone Use Questionnaire (PMPUQ), and (2) to investigate the relationships between the PMPUQ and the multi‐faceted construct of impulsivity. With these aims, 339 subjects were screened using the PMPUQ and the UPPS Impulsive Behaviour Scale (UPPS) which assesses four distinct components associated with impulsive behaviours (urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance and sensation seeking). The results showed that the PMPUQ has an acceptable fit and assesses four different dimensions of problematic mobile phone use (prohibited use, dangerous use, dependence, financial problems). While each facet of impulsivity played a specific role in mobile phones use, urgency appeared to be the strongest predictor of problematic use. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.