Book reviews

G uggenbÜhl -C raig , A dolf . From the Wrong Side: A Paradoxical Approach to Psychotherapy
Z oja , L uigi . Growth and Guilt: Psychology and the Limits of Development
L angs , R obert . Doing Supervision and Being Supervised
S chaverien , J oy . Desire and the Female Therapist: Engendered Gazes in Psychotherapy and Art Therapy
P arker , R ozsika . Torn in Two: The Experience of Maternal Ambivalence
K awai , H ayao . Dreams, Myths and Fairy Tales in Japan
P riestley , M ary . Essays on Analytical Music Therapy     

The Machines Take Over: A Comparison of Various Supervised Learning Approaches for Automated Scoring of Divergent Thinking Tasks

Traditionally, researchers employ human raters for scoring responses to creative thinking tasks. Apart from the associated costs this approach entails two potential risks. First, human raters can be subjective in their scoring behavior (inter-rater-variance). Second, individual raters are prone to inconsistent scoring patterns (intra-rater-variance). In light of these issues, we present an approach for automated scoring of Divergent Thinking (DT) Tasks. We implemented a pipeline aiming to generate accurate rating predictions for DT responses using text mining and machine learning methods. Based on two existing data sets from two different laboratories, we constructed several prediction models incorporating features representing meta information of the response or features engineered from the response’s word embeddings that were obtained using pre-trained GloVe and Word2Vec word vector spaces. Out of these features, word embeddings and features derived from them proved to be particularly effective. Overall, longer responses tended to achieve higher ratings as well as responses that were semantically distant from the stimulus object. In our comparison of three state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms, Random Forest and XGBoost tended to slightly outperform the Support Vector Regression.     

Predictors of picture naming speed.

We report the results of a large-scale picture naming experiment in which we evaluated the potential contribution of nine theoretically relevant factors to naming latencies. The experiment included a large number of items and a large sample of participants. In order to make this experiment as similar as possible to classic picture naming experiments, participants were familiarized with the materials during a training session. Speeded naming latencies were determined by a software key on the basis of the digital recording of the responses. The effects of various variables on these latencies were assessed with multiple regression techniques, using a repeated measures design. The interpretation of the observed effects is discussed in relation to previous studies and current views on lexical access during speech production.     

Lexique 2 : A new French lexical database

In this article, we present a new lexical database for French:Lexique. In addition to classical word information such as gender, number, and grammatical category,Lexique includes a series of interesting new characteristics. First, word frequencies are based on two cues: a contemporary corpus of texts and the number of Web pages containing the word. Second, the database is split into a graphemic table with all the relevant frequencies, a table structured around lemmas (particularly interesting for the study of the inflectional family), and a table about surface frequency cues. Third,Lexique is distributed under a GNU-like license, allowing people to contribute to it. Finally, a metasearch engine,Open Lexique, has been developed so that new databases can be added very easily to the existing ones.Lexique can either be downloaded or interrogated freely fromhttp://www.lexique.org.     

Comparing the CASI-4R and the PGBI-10 M for Differentiating Bipolar Spectrum Disorders from Other Outpatient Diagnoses in Youth

We compared 2 rating scales with different manic symptom items on diagnostic accuracy for detecting pediatric bipolar spectrum disorder (BPSDs) in outpatient mental health clinics. Participants were 681 parents/guardians of eligible children (465 male, mean age = 9.34) who completed the Parent General Behavior Inventory-10-item Mania (PGBI-10 M) and mania subscale of the Child and Adolescent Symptom Inventory-Revised (CASI-4R). Diagnoses were based on KSADS interviews with parent and youth. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses and diagnostic likelihood ratios (DLRs) determined discriminative validity and provided clinical utility, respectively. Logistic regressions tested for incremental validity in the CASI-4R mania subscale and PGBI-10 M in predicting youth BPSD status above and beyond demographic and common diagnostic comorbidities. Both CASI-4R and PGBI-10 M scales significantly distinguished BPSD (N = 160) from other disorders (CASI-4R: Area under curve (AUC) = .80, p < 0.0005; PGBI-10 M: AUC = 0.79, p < 0.0005) even though scale items differed. Both scales performed equally well in differentiating BPSDs (Venkatraman test p > 0.05). Diagnostic likelihood ratios indicated low scores on either scale (CASI: 0–5; PGBI-10 M: 0–6) cut BPSD odds to 1/5 of those with high scores (CASI DLR- = 0.17; PGBI-10 M DLR- = 0.18). High scores on either scale (CASI: 14+; PGBI-10 M: 20+) increased BPSD odds about fourfold (CASI DLR+ = 4.53; PGBI-10 M DLR+ = 3.97). Logistic regressions indicated the CASI-4R mania subscale and PGBI-10 M each provided incremental validity in predicting youth BPSD status. The CASI-4R is at least as valid as the PGBI-10 M to help identify BPSDs, and can be considered as part of an assessment battery to screen for pediatric BPSDs.     

Generational Differences in Work Ethic: Fact or Fiction?

Even though stereotypes suggest that older generational cohorts (e.g., Baby Boomers) endorse higher levels of work ethic than younger generations (e.g., Millennials), both the academic literature and popular press have found mixed evidence as to whether or not generational differences actually exist. To examine whether generational differences exist in work ethic, a dataset was compiled (k = 105) of all published studies that provided an average sample age and average work ethic score, with each sample becoming an observation, and being assigned a generational cohort based upon the average age of the sample. Three hierarchical multiple regressions found no effect of generational cohort on work ethic endorsement. In two of the three phases, results found a main effect of sample type, such that industry samples had higher work ethic endorsement than student samples. Implications for applied practitioners and future research streams for generational and work ethic research are discussed.     

Typing Speed as a Confounding Variable and the Measurement of Quality in Divergent Thinking

The need to control for writing or typing speed when assessing divergent-thinking performance has been recognized since the early ‘90s. An even longer tradition in divergent-thinking research has the issue of scoring the responses for quality. This research addressed both issues within structural equation modeling. Three dimensions of originality—uncommonness, remoteness, and cleverness—were used to derive an overall quality score. Mixed evidence was found in Study 1 for the direct effect of typing speed on fluency. In addition, indirect effects of typing speed via cognitive complexity on overall quality of ideas were uncovered but marginal in both Study 1 and Study 2. This indirect effect was also found for cleverness in Study 2. Another indirect effects of typing speed via fluency was found for cleverness and uncommonness. These findings indicate that controlling for typing speed is important in online divergent-thinking assessment. The inter-relations of various quality scores pertaining to the dimensions of uncommonness, remoteness, and cleverness were promising in terms of convergent validity. Important problems with respect to these scores were identified and discussed to guide future attempts to measure quality in DT.     

Recognition of affective prosody in brain-damaged patients and healthy controls: A neurophysiological study using EEG and whole-head MEG

A passive oddball experiment was used in which stimuli were emotional exclamations differing in their affective tone. In both electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG), deviants elicited an N300 component, sometimes accompanied by a slow wave. Both components had a symmetrical distribution, but the former was more posterior than the latter. The same responses to prosodic stimuli were significant in 6 of 27 patients with severe disorders of consciousness (persistent vegetative state and minimally conscious state) and in all 3 of the examined locked-in patients, indicating that the procedure can be applied for testing neurological patients. The occurrence of significant responses depended on the presence or absence of a lesion to the right temporal lobe. Obviously, the N300 depends on the activity of the right temporal cortex but does not originate there. We suggest that the component is related not to the recognition of affective prosody as such, but to the following detection of affective mismatch due to violations of emotional context of stimulation.     

Associations of Lifetime Depression with Trauma Exposure,Other Environmental Adversities,and Impairment in Adolescents with ADHD

Depression is a common, potentially devastating comorbidity in youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD). Various environmental adversities are well-described as correlates of depression in general pediatric populations, but not in youth with ADHD. In 104 adolescents with ADHD, we examined potential environmental correlates of lifetime depression, including trauma exposure, recent negative life events and current parent-child conflict, along with current and past ADHD severity and current impairment. Controlling for demographic variables, comorbid disorders, and ADHD severity, we noted significant associations between lifetime depression and environmental adversities, including victimization trauma, parent-child conflict, and behaviorally-independent negative life events. Current impairment but not ADHD severity was also highly associated with lifetime depression, controlling for the same covariates. Findings from this preliminary, cross-sectional study suggest that environmental adversities and impairment in youth with ADHD should also be targeted along with the ADHD when contemplating strategies to treat or prevent comorbid depression.     

The Younger Generation of Culture Scholars and Culture-studies in Russia Today

I consider the main problem areas within theacademic project ``The 1990s: The Semantics ofRussian Culture,' undertaken by researchers,recent graduates, and the first post-graduatesof the Moscow Institute for European Cultures.The areas include new figures on the publicscene; new forms of communication; newinstitutions; current processes in culture andsociety. I examine the social and historicalframework of the formation of culture studiesas an academic discipline in contemporaryRussia, the alternative perspectives and tasksof the sociology of culture in Russian today.