Are head cues necessary for goats (Capra hircus) in recognising group members?

In this study, we investigated whether goats can distinguish a member of their own group from one belonging to a different group even when the head of the goat in question cannot be seen. In the experiment, a total of 45 adult female goats (walkers) were trained to walk along a passageway at the end of which they learnt to expect food (trial run). Walking down this corridor, they passed another adult female goat (stimulus goat) whose trunk and hind legs alone were visible. Using 19 individuals, ten pairs of stimulus goats consisting of one goat from the walker's group and one from a different group were matched in terms of body size, constitution, colour and coat length. In addition, the stimulus goat from the same group as the walker had to be higher ranking than the latter to avoid being attacked. The walkers completed two, four or six trial runs depending on the number of pairs suitable for a given walker. The walker's exploratory behaviour (observing and sniffing at the stimulus goat) was recorded. Data from 109 trial runs were analysed using generalised linear mixed-effects models with crossed random effects. On average, the walker spent a total of 8.7?s exploring the stimulus goat visually and olfactorily if the latter was from a different group and only about half as long (4.2?s) if it was from her own group. In particular, the time a walker spent observing a stimulus goat whilst approaching the latter was significantly longer if the stimulus goat belonged to a different group than to her own (2.5?s as opposed to 1.4?s). Moreover, a stimulus goat from a different group was sniffed at significantly longer (4.6?s) than one from the same group (1.9?s). Results suggest that goats can easily discriminate between members of their own group and those of a different group even when the latter's heads are hidden. Olfactory and visual cues are probably important for identifying group members.     

Inter-hemispheric recruitment as a function of task complexity,age and cognitive reserve

In a behavioral divided visual field study, we investigated the efficiency of inter-hemispheric cooperation according to (1) task computational complexity (physical-identity versus name-identity letter matching), (2) age (younger versus older adults) and (3) educational attainment, used as a proxy for cognitive reserve. Overall, the results indicated a shift from within- to across-hemisphere processing advantage with increasing task complexity, suggesting that bilateral engagement leads to enhanced performance under high-demand conditions. This pattern was influenced by age, with older adults showing no within-hemisphere advantage in the simpler task and a greater across-hemisphere advantage in the more complex one, consistent with an age-compensatory view of inter-hemispheric recruitment. Moreover, for older adults, more years of education was associated with a weaker across-hemisphere advantage. Thus, we propose that cognitive reserve may account for bilateral engagement efficiency. Finally, the groups differed in terms of laterality effects, with only younger adults demonstrating a left visual field advantage in the name-identity task, lending some support to the right hemi-aging hypothesis.     

Inattentional deafness in music

While inattentional blindness is a modern classic in attention and perception research, analogous phenomena of inattentional deafness have been widely neglected. We here present the first investigation of inattentional deafness in and with music under controlled experimental conditions. Inattentional deafness in music is defined as the inability to consciously perceive an unexpected musical stimulus when attention is focused on a certain facet of the piece. Participants listened to a modification of the first 1′50″ of Richard Strauss’ Thus Spake Zarathustra; while the control group just listened, the experimental group had to count the number of timpani beats. An e-guitar solo served as the unexpected event. In Study 1, experimental data from n = 115 participants were analyzed. Non-musicians were compared with musicians to investigate the impact of expertise. In Study 2 (n = 47), the scope of the inattentional deafness effect was investigated with a more salient unexpected stimulus. Results demonstrate an inattentional deafness effect under dynamic musical conditions. Quite unexpectedly, the effect was structurally equivalent even for musicians. Our findings clearly show that sustained inattentional deafness exists in the musical realm, in close correspondence to inattentional blindness with dynamic visual stimuli.     

Goal-completion processes affect the attentional blink

People are notably limited in processing information from the outside world. For instance, they frequently fail to identify the second of two targets presented in close succession (attentional blink, AB). Theories of the AB have mostly focused upon early stimuli processing. However, here we show that late, goal-completion processes play an important role. We report findings from a rapid serial visual presentation task with three targets (T1, T2, and T3). Participants set to achieve one single goal for T1 and T2 (reporting the sum of the two), and to detect T3, showed an AB effect upon T3 but not upon T2, while participants set to achieve separate goals for the three targets showed an AB effect upon both T2 and T3. This finding raises questions about the nature of AB, suggesting that theories of the AB must take into account processes involved in goal switching.     

The Effect of an Occupational Therapy Role-Playing Intervention on the Social Skills of Adolescents With Asperger's Syndrome: A Pilot Study

The purpose of the authors in this pilot study was to assess the effects of an occupational therapy role-playing intervention for adolescents with Asperger's syndrome. An ABA multiple baseline single-subject design across participants was used with three adolescents to determine if a six-week intervention could increase targeted social behaviors. Data were collected over baseline, intervention, and probe phases. Three methods of analysis were used: visual inspection of graphed data, paired t tests, and a three standard deviation-band approach. Findings demonstrated that all three participants were able to increase the frequency of targeted social skill use from baseline to intervention and maintain this level at a one month probe. Differences between baseline and intervention phases for each participant reached statistical significance. Through this study the authors offer preliminary evidence that an occupational therapy role-playing intervention that is both client centered and graded can increase targeted social skill use in three adolescents with Asperger's syndrome.     

Extending the Nomological Network of Assessment Center Construct Validity: Prediction of Cross-Situationally Consistent and Specific Aspects of Assessment Center Performance

The purpose of this study was to expand the nomological validity of assessment centers (ACs) by investigating predictors of cross-situationally consistent versus specific aspects of AC performance. Consistent with hypotheses, (a) Big Five personality factors predicted AC performance as it related to a cross-situationally consistent general performance factor but not as it related to exercise (i.e., situationally specific) factors, and (b) job knowledge predicted performance as it related to both the general performance factor and exercise-specific factors. Results are interpreted as they relate to the growing literature on AC construct validity.     

Beziehungs- oder Mentalisierungsfähigkeit

This paper investigates the predictive value of the psychological mindedness assessment procedure (PMAP) with respect to differential group therapy outcome using outpatient group therapies with patients suffering from somatoform disorders. Within the contextual framework of the mentalization theory the possible predictive power of the PMAP prior to indications for therapy is reflected. As the results of 50 patients from 6 therapy groups show high PMAP ratings prior to treatment onset predict group suitability of patients. This in turn is predictive for an emotional attunement of such patients during treatment, which is in itself a qualification for an emotional involvement with the group interactive process and therefore highly predictive. In contrast patients with a lower PMAP rating should be referred to groups where another treatment concept or technical attitude on the part of the group leader is realized. The shorter the therapy groups last the more homogeneous group composition should be regarding psychological functioning of patients prior to treatment onset (level of mentalization).     

'Religion and the Politics of Identity in Kosovo' by Ger Duijzings

Nicholas Charnetsky, CSsR, Bishop‐Confessor by Stephen Joseph Bachtalowsky, CSsR (translated by George J. Pereira, CSsR). Yorkton, Saskatchewan: Redeemers Voice Press, n.d., 272 pp.

Tchèques et slovaques: témoins de la foi by Didier Rance. Mareil‐Marty, Paris: Aide à l'église en détresse, Bibliothèque AED, 1993, 352 pp. Paperback.

Roumanie: Courage et fidélité: l'église gréco‐catholique unie by Didier Ranee. Mareil‐Marky, Paris: Aide à l'église en détresse, Bibliothèque AED, 1994, 332 pp. Paperback.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: a Tradition Betrayed by Robert J. Donia and John V.A. Fine, Jr. London: C. Hurst, 1994, 318 pp. £9.50.     

Changing physical appearance preferences in the United Arab Emirates

Rapid economic growth in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has impacted traditional ways of life rooted in Bedouin traditions and Islamic values. Research undertaken within the UAE suggests that a thin body-image ideal is widespread, as are abnormal eating attitudes and extreme dietary behaviours. However, this regional research has been exclusively cross-sectional, precluding conclusions about the temporal dynamics or nascence of these phenomena. This study explores changes in physical appearance preferences in the UAE over the past two decades. Interviews were undertaken with five khatabaat (marriage brokers), who were asked to report the attributes typically requested by those seeking wives, both now, and in the past. Thematic analysis of these data highlighted differences between the attributes currently deemed desirable, and those deemed desirable in the recent past. These findings are discussed in the context of the nation's rapid socio-economic change, and their implications for body-image and eating-related problems.     

Response to bitter substances in primates: Roles of diet tendency and weaning age

In primates, the perception of bitter taste may be an essential mechanism for avoiding the ingestion of bitter, and often toxic, substances. Bitterness sensitivity varies across the different primate species and, for bitter thioure substances (e.g., phenylthiocarbamide—PTC), within species. Primates respond to bitterness by displaying aversive affective reactions, and whether these serve for conspecifics as information on the taste of food is still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the response to two bitter substances (quinine and PTC) in 11 primate species (N = 29 individuals) hosted at the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes, in relation to their main diet tendency and weaning age. We tested primate reactions to bitterness with a two-bottle method. The study individuals showed a strong aversion to bitter taste, minimizing consumption of both bitter solutions. All of the individuals were PTC-taster phenotypes, but the degrees of sensitivity to PTC varied among the individuals. Across-species comparisons revealed that whereas the degree of frugivory of the species had a negative effect on the consumption of bitter solutions by the individuals, a later weaning age seems to be a better predictor for the occurrence of aversive affective reactions. Although the low sample size does not allow for excluding interindividual variability, our results support the hypothesis that affective reactions to bitterness may be trustworthy information for conspecifics during the learning process. Thus, the evolution of the appropriate perceiver systems to convert affective displays into true affective signals could be a shared trait among human and nonhuman primates.