Perception of pictorial eye gaze by baboons (Papio papio)

Pictorial faces looking left or right were presented to baboons (Papio papio) before the display of a target letter in the left or right hemifield of a monitor screen. Baboons had to provide go or no-go responses taking into account the identity of the target letter. The 1st 6 experiments showed no reliable effect of eye gaze on discrimination speed, using either schematic gazes or pictures of real gazes. Experiment 7 showed that eye gazes facilitated target processing when eye cues were perfect predictors of target location. Findings suggest that baboons do not spontaneously process eye-gaze direction but can learn to do so if the gaze has a predictive value. Implications of these findings on baboons' perspective-taking abilities are discussed.     

Using the PAI with an eating disordered population: scale characteristics,factor structure,and differences among diagnostic groups

Psychometric properties of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey 1991) within an eating disordered sample seeking treatment (N = 238) and differences among eating disorder diagnostic groups on the PAI were examined. The PAI showed acceptable alpha coefficients, item-total correlations, and interitem correlations. The factor structure was similar to that reported by Morey (1991), with the addition of another factor related to interpersonal coolness and distance. Those with binge eating disorder (BED) reported fewer problems and less distress in general compared to other eating disordered groups. The BED and bulimia nervosa groups were different from the anorexia nervosa groups in frequency of matching on two PAI clusters. Use of the PAI with an eating disordered population and its utility in understanding eating disorder diagnostic groups is supported.     

Cascaded versus noncascaded models of lexical and semantic processing: the turple effect

The density of the orthographic neighborhood surrounding an item has been shown to have an inhibitory effect for nonwords in a lexical decision experiment. Four experiments are reported investigating whether a similar pattern holds for a semantic categorization task (animal vs. non-animal). In the first experiment, no effects of neighborhood density were found for nonexemplars, whether they were words or nonwords. The absence of any inhibitory effect for nonwords implies that close orthographic neighbors are ignored. However, the second experiment showed that if the nonword has a neighbor that is an animal name (eg., turple), an interference effect is observed, implying that neighbors do exert an effect if they have the right semantic properties. The same items showed no additional interference in lexical decision. These results suggest the involvement of semantic properties very early in the processing cycle. A cascaded processing system monitoring activation in semantic features can explain these results, but cannot explain the frequency effect observed for nonexemplar words or the fact that variation in density is irrelevant when one of the neighbors is an exemplar. It is argued that existing models of semantic categorization must be extended to accommodate these results.     

The acquisition of bimanual coordination is mediated by anisotropic coupling between the hands

The present study was designed to test two predictions from the coupled oscillator model of multifrequency coordination. First, it was predicted that multifrequency tasks that match the inherent manual asymmetry (i.e., the preferred hand assigned to the faster tempo) would be easier to learn than tasks that do not match the inherent dynamics (i.e., the non-preferred hand assigned to the faster tempo). Second, in the latter case acquisition of the multifrequency coordination would involve a reorganisation of the coupling dynamics such that the faster hand would exert a greater influence on the slower hand than vice versa. Sixteen right-handed volunteers received extensive training on a 2:1 coordination pattern involving a bimanual forearm pronation-supination task. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: 1L:2R in which the preferred right hand performed the higher frequency, or 2L:1R in which the non-preferred left hand performed the higher frequency. The dynamic stability of the patterns was assessed by the ability of participants to maintain the coordination pattern as movement frequency was increased. Changes in the directional coupling between the hands was assessed by transition pathways and lead-lag relationship evident in a 1:1 anti-phase frequency-scaled coordination task performed prior to and following three practice sessions of the 2:1 task. The predicted differential stability between the multifrequency patterns was evident in the initial acquisition sessions but by the end of training the two patterns evidenced equivalent stability. Unexpectedly, for both groups the fast hand displayed greater variability in amplitude and movement frequency than the slow hand perhaps reflecting anchoring afforded to the slow hand by synchronising movement endpoints with the auditory pacing metronome. Analysis of pre- to post-training changes to the coupling dynamics in the 1:1 anti-phase task support the hypothesis that acquisition of the 2L:1R pattern involved reorganisation of the inherent dynamics.     

Psychiatric inpatients' perceptions of written no-suicide agreements: an exploratory study

One hundred thirty-five psychiatric inpatients admitted for suicidal danger were surveyed regarding their views on the benefits/limitations of written no-suicide agreements. A survey instrument developed for this study revealed that these inpatients, for the most part, rated written no-suicide agreements in a positive manner and in ways consistent with clinical opinion expressed in a number of qualitative/expert-opinion articles. Positive views of no-suicide agreements were not materially influenced by social desirability or age, nor were they moderated by gender, presence/absence of Axis II disorders, or admission suicidal danger. However, patient suicide attempt history (no attempts, one attempt, or more than one attempt) exerted a moderating effect on patients' ratings of the helpfulness of these contracts. Multiple attempters viewed written no-suicide agreements as less helpful than those patients with a single or no prior attempts. The methodological problems and generalizability concerns associated with these results are discussed and future research needs are suggested.     

Sculpting the Body Beautiful: Attachment Style,Neuroticism, and Use of Cosmetic Surgeries

Use of cosmetic surgeries has increased steadily over the last decade, and continues to rise in young and old alike. The purpose of present research was to investigate the relationship of personality to use of cosmetic procedures of various kinds. It was expected that adult attachment style, in particular attachment anxiety, would be positively related to use of cosmetic procedures. Attachment anxiety involves excessive approval seeking and concern over achieving and maintaining the love of significant others (such as romantic relationship partners). Such concerns could, in turn, lead to use of a variety of strategies for maintaining positive regard, including cosmetic surgeries to enhance physical appearance. Results supported this hypothesis, particularly among women. Neuroticism was also related to some procedures, though the relationships were generally weaker than those for attachment anxiety, and largely disappeared in regression analyses that controlled for the separate influence of the two variables.     

Review of quantity and types of spirituality research in three health care databases (1962-1999): implications for the health care ministry

Using computer technology to identify the term "spiritual," these researchers present results of the 2306 citations and compare five criteria discovered with research reported in four pastoral counseling journals. The authors note the limitations of such a search and the possible implications of the findings for health care ministry.     

Regulation of Negative Affect During Mother–Child Problem-Solving Interactions: Adolescent Depressive Status and Family Processes

Despite recent suggestions that depression can be conceptualized as a disorder of affect regulation, relatively little research has focused on affect regulation skills in depressed individuals. This paper investigated whether depressed adolescents (N = 25) differ from nondepressed adolescents (N 25) on two indices of affect regulation (i.e., duration of negative affective states and reciprocity of maternal negative affect) as well as whether these indices are related to microsocial family interactional processes. Analyses revealed that depressed teens differed from their nondepressed peers with regard to duration of negative affective states but not in their likelihood of reciprocating negative affect. Additionally, indices of adolescent affect regulation were related to family interactional processes. Duration of depressive affect was positively associated with maternal display of facilitative behavior contingent on adolescent depressive behavior. Duration of aggressive behavior was inversely related to maternal problem-solving responses to aggressive behavior. Finally, adolescent reciprocity of maternal depressive and aggressive behaviors was strongly associated with mothers' reciprocity of adolescents' negative affective behavior.     

The variability of practice hypothesis in motor learning: does it apply to Alzheimer's disease?

Based on Schmidt's (1975) variability of practice hypothesis, this study examined acquisition and transfer of a gross motor skill, namely tossing, in 58 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 58 healthy older adults under constant, blocked, and random practice conditions. While healthy older adults were able to learn the tossing task equally well under the three practice conditions, only AD patients receiving constant practice showed significant improvements. Tests of intermediate transfer yielded the expected random practice advantage in healthy controls but not AD patients. None of the practice conditions facilitated intermediate transfer in AD patients; however, constant practice did benefit these impaired individuals on tests of near transfer. These results indicate that the variability of practice hypothesis does not extend to AD patients. As motor learning and transfer were clearly a function of constant practice, future attempts to retrain basic activities of daily living in AD patients should emphasize consistency in training.