The structure of Bryant's Empathy Index for children: a cross-validation study

The present study examined the structure of Bryant's Empathy Index (BEI) using different samples for conducting exploratory and confirmatory analyses. The BEI was administered to a sample of 2714 children (mean age 11.12, SD = 1.59). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed a three-factor structure: Feelings of Sadness, Understanding Feelings and Tearful Reaction. The results revealed both the multidimensionality of the instrument and appropriate fit indices for the model proposed. Although these results were very similar to those reported in other studies with a Spanish population, the analyses were conducted in a more robust way: with a larger sample and using polychoric correlations and cross validation estimation.     

Development and validation of the HIV Medication Readiness Scale

Excellent medication adherence (>95%) is required for optimal HIV treatment success. This study aimed to develop and validate a brief scale to assess psychological readiness for successfully starting and adhering to HIV medications. HIV-positive men and women (N = 142) from an HIV outpatient clinic completed the proposed HIV Medication Readiness Scale (HMRS) prior to starting HIV medications. The 10-item HMRS demonstrated high internal consistency (alpha = .90), test-retest reliability (r = .83), and sensitivity to change following a standardized 4-session psychoeducational intervention designed to increase readiness for successful adherence. Predictive validity was supported by higher readiness scores on the day starting HIV medications, predicting higher treatment adherence at 1-month follow-up. The HMRS is a brief, easy-to-use, clinically relevant tool that can assist in identifying people living with HIV at high risk of nonadherence, who might benefit from tailored readiness counseling prior to initiating HIV medications.     

“Signed,Sealed, Delivered ... I’m Yours”: Calibrating Body Ownership through the Consensual Mastery/slavery Dynamic

I argue that our bodies are “owned” bodies—that proprietary rights over our bodies are shared with others whose bodies are, in turn, shared by us. Drawing from literature on the self, I develop a theory of body ownership centered on the notions of multiple selves and “controlling interests.” Proprietary sentiments are evidenced in linguistic constructions, cultural artifacts, traditions, and social and sexual behaviors. Using a single case study, I explore dimensions of body ownership within a social/sexual community based on consensual Mastery and slavery in the US. The case study illustrates a variety of ownership patterns and centralizes ownership as a point of contention among inhabitants of sexual worlds.     

Retrieval-induced forgetting in perceptually driven memory tests

Recent data (T. J. Perfect, C. J. A. Moulin, M. A. Conway, & E. Perry, 2002) have suggested that retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) depends on conceptual memory because the effect is not found in perceptually driven tasks. In 3 experiments, the authors aimed to show that the presence of RIF depends on whether the procedure induces appropriate transfer between representations and competition rather than on the nature of the final test. The authors adapted the standard paradigm to introduce lexical categories (words that shared the first 2 letters) at study and practice. Direct and indirect fragment completion tests were used at retrieval. The results showed significant RIF effects in perceptually driven tasks. Furthermore, they indicated that the presence of RIF effects depended on using adequate cuing to induce competition during the retrieval practice and on the final memory test tapping the inhibited representation.     

Serial dependence in the estimation of a car's arrival time

Serial dependence of a car's arrival time. We have studied the sequential structure of data in the arrival- time estimations. Forty participants estimated the arrival-time of a vehicle under two experimental conditions: real car and video-image. Various time series regression models were fit to our data, and residuals autocorrelations were computed. For each serial-dependence model, data were fit to three functions, namely, power, logarithmic, and linear. In both experimental conditions, the response magnitude (R) on a given trial in t was a function of the stimulus intensity (S) in such a trial (t) and of the S and R on t-1 and t-2. Assimilation effect to the previous responses and contrast effect to the previous stimuli has been found.     

Irritation: analysis of an instrument to assess stress at work

The aim of this investigation is to verify the factorial validity of the "Scale Irritation" in a sample of 181 teachers of Secondary Education from the center of Spain. At the same time, the investigation tries to verify the validity of construct of the scale correlating the results with the burnout evaluated through the Brief Questionnaire of Burnout adapted for teachers. The results obtained by means of the exploratory factor analysis of the Scale Irritation confirm the presence of two factors, as it appears in other international investigations. The confirmatory analysis verifies the proposal of a model of two factors. The significant correlation obtained among the Irritation Scale and the burnout confirms the validity of construct and verifies that a high irritation is associated significantly to the burnout, as it is foreseen by the theory, which considers both aspects related to the process of stress at work.     

Comparing speed estimations from a moving vehicle in different traffic scenarios: absence versus presence of traffic flow

The aim of this research was to study the performance in a speed estimation task of a passenger travelling in a real car in different scenarios: a closed track used in previous experimental studies was compared with interurban traffic environment involving a secondary road and a highway. At the same time, the effect of sex and driving experience on speed estimation was analyzed. Thirty-six participants (18 male and 18 female, half of each group being drivers and half non-drivers) estimated the speed of the car in which they travelled as passengers. The actual speed values varied in the range of 40-100 km/h for the secondary road, 70-120 km/h for the highway condition, and 40-120 km/h for the track. The results obtained for the track in previous studies (Recarte and Nunes, 1996; Recarte, Conchillo, and Nunes, 2004, 2005) were replicated in the same condition and were also verified for the secondary road scenario. However, a different pattern of errors was found for the highway. From the viewpoint of psychophysics, the participants were more accurate on the without-traffic track than in real traffic conditions, considered as a whole. The differences found between road and highway are discussed. No effect was found for between- subject variables, sex, and driving experience.     

Three-dimensional angular kinematics of the lumbar spine and pelvis during running

The objective of this study were to: (i) describe the typical three-dimensional (3D) angular kinematics of the lumbar spine and pelvis during running and; (ii) assess whether the movements of the lumbar spine and pelvis during running are coordinated. A cohort of 20 non-injured male runners who usually ran >20 km/week were voluntarily recruited. All trials were conducted on a treadmill at a running speed of 4.0 m/second. Reflective markers were placed over anatomical landmarks of the thoraco-lumbar spine and pelvis. Data were captured using a VICON motion analysis system. The lumbar spine and pelvis both displayed complex 3D angular kinematic patterns during running. High correlations were found for the comparisons of flexion-extension of the lumbar spine with anterior-posterior tilt of the pelvis (r=-0.84) and lateral bend of the lumbar spine with obliquity of the pelvis (r=-0.75). However, a poor correlation was found for the comparison of axial rotation of the lumbar spine with axial rotation of the pelvis (r=0.37). A phase difference of 21% of the running cycle was evident between axial rotation of the lumbar spine and pelvis. The identified coordinated kinematic patterns of the lumbar spine and pelvis during running serve as a basis for future investigations exploring the relationship between atypical kinematic patterns and injury.     

Contrastación de teorías de representación y razonamiento sobre silogismos lineales

Resumen

El objetivo de esta investigación es la comprobación de la capacidad predictiva de los distintos modelos existentes sobre razonamiento y representación en silogismos lineales: modelo de la imagen, lingüístico-proposicional, mixto y de niveles de representación. Se utilizaron 64 tipos de silogismos lineales con el fin de cumplir los requisitos mínimos necesarios para utilizar la metodología empleada. Aunque los resultados obtenidos no presentan diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los dos modelos con mayor capacidad predictiva, el modelo de niveles de representación supera al modelo mixto.     

Desarrollo cognitivo y comunicación intencional preverbal: un estudio longitudinal multivariado

Resumen

A partir de la revisión de las investigaciones sobre las relaciones entre la aparición de la intención comunicativa y el desarrollo sensoriomotor, se planteó la conveniencia de realizar un estudio empírico que permitiera profundizar en el estudio de estas relaciones desde una perspectiva de análisis multivariado. Para ello se realizó un estudio longitudinal de 16 sujetos, con tres momentos de medida (en torno a los ocho, diez y doce meses de edad). Los sujetos fueron evaluados mediante la aplicación de las escalas Uzgiris y Hunt (1975) y grabados en dos situaciones de interacción diàdica, una libre con su madre y otra semiestructurada de carácter elicitador. La conducta comunicativa de los niños fue registrada mediante un sistema de codificación diseñado con tal fin (Sarriá, 1991). Los datos fueron analizados mediante análisis de correlaciones y análisis de correspondencias múltiples. Los resultados obtenidos no apoyan la hipótesis de la homología local sobre la interdependencia de determinadas capacidades cognitivas y el desarrollo comunicativo planteada por Bates, Benigni, Bretherton, Camaioni y Volterra (1979), sino más bien sugieren una hipótesis de diferenciación entre los dominios de adaptación al mundo físico y el social-comunicativo, en el período de aparición de la intención comunicativa.