Distance estimation in a dynamic simulated environment: a visual field dependence problem?

Egocentric distance estimation implies that the subject perceives his own location in the environment. In a simulated environment, subjects have to transpose perceptively their own observation point in order to assume their virtual body position. As only visual information specifies this position, their ability to perceive the camera viewpoint should be linked to the field dependence independence factor (FDI). Field-independent subjects underestimated the mid-distance between their own virtual body position and a far-located target; their bisection was located between the projective (2-D) and the simulated (3-D) mid-distance which indicates their difficulty in considering the in-depth simulated spatial references. High correlations between the vertical estimation in the rod-and-frame test and the egocentric-distance-estimation task (with shifted camera) suggest a similar perceptive process in both tasks. This result is confirmed by the better performances of the field-dependent subjects in this condition. In conclusion, we discuss the relationship between FDI and the sense of presence in virtual environments.     

Age differences in cardiovascular and cognitive performance under noise conditions

Ambient white noise (80 dB), compared with quiet (52-dB) testing conditions, improved the performance of elderly and younger subjects on simple addition. Reliable age-related interactions were found on health measures of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as heart rate. Heightened sensory conditions reduced the physiological measures of arousal in the younger group, whereas significant cardiovascular reactivity was found among the older group. The results are suggestive of the potential for increased cardiovascular risk as a function of sensory stimulation in the elderly despite improvements on cognitive tasks. Additional research is needed to evaluate the multidimensional effects of extended sensory stimulation on the elderly.     

Beneficial factors in family discussion groups of a psychiatric day clinic: perceptions by the therapeutic team and the families of the therapeutic process

This paper reports a pilot investigation of the perception of helpful events by the therapeutic team and the families in two family discussion groups (FDGs) of a psychiatric day clinic. All participants of the FDG, including therapists and observers, filled in questionnaires measuring events helpful for the individual, for the family and for the group after each FDG session. The results showed that the therapeutic team and the families diverged in their overall perception of which factors were important in family discussion group therapy. The therapeutic team saw the relational climate and the structural aspects of the group (including group involvement and support from the group), and specific therapeutic interventions as more helpful than the families. The process aspects in the group members (including the experiencing of communality and gaining insight) were, on the other hand, more frequently mentioned by the families than by the therapeutic team. The clinical implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Longitudinal associations between low morning cortisol in infancy and anger dysregulation in early childhood in a CPS‐referred sample

Children who experience early adversity are at increased risk for developing psychopathology, and dysfunction of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis is a possible mechanism conferring this risk. This study sought to characterize the association between morning cortisol during different developmental periods and deficits in children's emotion regulation, a core feature of many psychological disorders. Morning cortisol was collected at two time points (i.e., during infancy, M = 13.0 months old, and during early childhood, M = 36.8 months old) from 120 children with histories of child protective services (CPS) involvement. Children completed a lab visit during early childhood (M = 38.6 months old) that involved an observational measure of anger regulation. Results showed that low morning cortisol during infancy, but not early childhood, predicted increased anger dysregulation during early childhood. These results highlight the importance of developmental timing in assessing the effects of HPA axis functioning and suggest that low cortisol during infancy is a risk factor for later emotion regulation difficulties.     

Gender,Masculinity Threat,and Support for Transgender Rights: An Experimental Study

Sex Roles - We explore how gender, attitudes about traditional gender roles, and threats to masculinity and femininity affect U.S. participants’ support for transgender rights. First, we...     

On Becoming a Cybernetician: Highlights and Milestones

In this article, I describe how I encountered cybernetics and how it became an important part of my life. I begin with an account of my time at Brunel University and also describe how I came to work with Gordon Pask, one of the few intellectuals and researchers in the UK who styled themselves as cyberneticians. To enrich my story, I include an overview of the story of cybernetics as I perceive it. Given the importance I attach to cybernetics as an intellectual tool, I end with a plea for it to be included in all educational curricula.     

Family Resource Allocation after Firstborns Leave Home: Implications for Secondborns' Academic Functioning

This study assessed secondborn adolescents' perceptions of changes in the allocation of family resources following their firstborn siblings' departure from home after high school, and whether perceived changes were related to changes over 1 year in secondborns' academic functioning. Participants were secondborn siblings (mean age = 16.58, SD = 0.91) from 115 families in which the older sibling had left the family home in the previous year. Allocation of resources was measured via coded qualitative interviews. Most (77%) secondborns reported increases in at least one type of family resource (i.e., parental companionship, attention, material goods), and many reported an increase in multiple types of resources in the year following their older sibling's departure. Consistent with resource dilution theory, perceptions of increases in fathers' companionship, fathers' attention, and mothers' companionship were related to improvements over time in secondborns' academic functioning.     

The so‐called death drive,an indispensable force for any subjective life

The psychoanalytic movement has difficulty in overcoming the malaise bequeathed by what Freud wanted to call the ‘death drive’. This term remains doubly problematic: first because the indispensable antagonist of Eros‐binding cannot be reduced to a particular drive; and secondly because this Anteros plays a vital role in subjectivization. The Freudian idea of the ‘death drive’ has in addition the drawback of confusing dissociative thrust (unbinding) with the aggressive component of libidinal cathexis. Now it is precisely the lack of articulation between them that leads to deconstructing it. For it is constantly observed that in the psychic register aggression is much more fixing than unbinding. The essential role of Anteros/unbinding in the process of subjectivization can be illustrated through several key operations in subjective development: sublimatory activity and its renunciation of pleasure‐discharge, the work of mourning opposed to melancholic fixation, the intricating‐unbinding parental function, and finally the psychoanalytic treatment and its work of analysis. This means we should cease to anathematize the dynamic component of unbinding as ‘of death’ and seek to explain the concept of subjectivization better.     

A Relational Frame and Artificial Neural Network Approach to Computer-Interactive Mathematics

The Psychological Record - Fifteen participants unfamiliar with mathematical operations relative to reflections and vertical and horizontal shifts were exposed to an introductory lecture regarding...