A room with a view and a polarizing cue: individual differences in the stimulus control of place navigation and passive latent learning in the water maze

We investigated individual differences in the stimulus control of navigational behavior in the water maze by comparing measures of place learning in one environment to measures of latent learning (via passive placement on the goal platform) in a novel environment. In the first experiment, 12 rats were trained to find a slightly submerged hidden platform at a fixed location in room A for 10 days (4 trials/day). Fast and slow place learners were identified by their mean escape latency and cumulative distance to the goal during acquisition. The same animals were then given a 2-min passive placement on the submerged platform in room B. Latent learning was assessed by the animal's escape latency on a single swim trial immediately following the placement in room B. The results showed that the good latent learners in room B were not necessarily the fast place learners in room A. This weak correlation may be related to the fact that some rats swam near the area in room B that corresponded to the former goal location in room A relative to a common polarizing cue (i.e., the door/entrance to both rooms). When the view of the door was blocked in a second experiment a significant positive correlation between place acquisition and the latent learning test was obtained, although escape performance following passive placement was not improved. These findings suggest that while place navigation and latent learning via passive placement may involve some common cognitive-spatial function, other associative (S-S and/or S-R) processes that occur during place navigation/active movement may be required for animals to exhibit truly accurate navigational behavior characteristic of asymptotic escape performance in the water maze. Additional implications for neurobiological studies using a procedural pretraining design are discussed.     

hate crimes against the Amish: a qualitative analysis of bias motivation using routine activities theory

Research on hate crime has largely been limited to official statistics collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and some independent scholarly research of hate crime victims. Few, however, have studied hate crime offenders. Offender narratives of hate crime participation are the focus of this study. Further, few have studied hate crimes against the Amish and their offenders. This study examines hate crime against the Amish with a particular focus on the bias motivation that generates anti-Amish hate crime. To accomplish this task, non-Amish hate crime offenders were enlisted to share their experiences and stories about anti-Amish hate crime. A total of eight subjects were interviewed; the subjects supplied over 16 hours of audiotaped narrative describing acts of "Claping" they had committed against Old Order Amish. The data were transcribed and an analysis of the interview data revealed that themes emerged from offender narratives within each element of routine activities theory. The data support that the subjects were motivated offenders, the Amish were perceived as suitable targets, and there was a perception that guardians were lacking within the community to discourage anti-Amish hate crime. However, it is important to consider the themes that emerged within each dimension of routine activities when applying the theory to anti-Amish bias crime.     

Putting in Work: The Application of Identity Theory to Gang Violence and Commitment

ABSTRACT

Research has seldom examined how identity mechanisms facilitate violence among gang members. Relying on life history interviews with self-identified former gang members, we use identity theory to explore the relationship between commitment to the gang identity and violence. Results indicate that the relationship between commitment and violence is complex. Specifically, for individuals with a high degree of cognitive commitment to the gang identity, violence will be used to achieve positive and confirming reflected appraisals. However, once gang members have achieved congruence between reflected appraisals and identity standards, a threshold is reached where violence is no longer required.     

The Night the Raving Died: The Social Construction of a Local Drug Panic

Scholars have recently reformulated the moral panic framework (Goode and Ben-Yehuda 1994 Goode , Erich and Nachman Ben-Yehuda . 1994 . Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance . Oxford : Blackwell Publishing Ltd . [Google Scholar], 2009 ——— . 2009 . Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance , 2nd ed . Oxford : Blackwell Publishing Ltd . [Google Scholar]). We employ this new framework in an evaluation of Gainesville, Florida's adoption of the anti-rave law. Our findings suggest that both individuals and groups were vital in the construction of an interest group model moral panic that led to the adoption of this law. Although researchers have utilized the moral panic framework in analyzing many social and legal changes over the past 40 years, it has also garnered much criticism. In an effort to further advance the framework, we provide several modifications to Goode and Ben-Yehuda's (2009 ——— . 2009 . Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance , 2nd ed . Oxford : Blackwell Publishing Ltd . [Google Scholar]) most recent reconceptualization and recommendations for future moral panic research.     

The “Other Side of The Fence”: A Learning- And Control-Based Investigation Of The Relationship Between Deviance And Friendship Quality

ABSTRACT

Utilizing frameworks of social control and differential association theories, this study addresses the extent to which deviance (a predictor) is related to friendship quality (the outcome). Using dyadic data, results demonstrate that the highest estimates of friendship quality come from actors who have non-deviant friends and who also refrain from theft and violence themselves. Shared deviance within the friendship, referred to as ‘homophily,’ harms friendship quality, although it does not mediate or moderate the deviance – friendship quality link. Overall, deviance relates to friendship quality in a way that supports a bonding tradition more than a learning tradition.     

Asymmetrical hemisphere activation enhances global–local processing

Decades of research focusing on the neurophysiological underpinnings related to global–local processing of hierarchical stimuli have associated global processing with the right hemisphere and local processing with the left hemisphere. The current experiment sought to expand this research by testing the causal contributions of hemisphere activation to global–local processing. To manipulate hemisphere activation, participants engaged in contralateral hand contractions. Then, EEG activity and attentional scope were measured. Right-hand contractions caused greater relative left-cortical activity than left-hand contractions. Participants were more narrowly focused after left-hemisphere activation than after right-hemisphere activation. Moreover, N1 amplitudes to local targets in the left hemisphere were larger after left-hemisphere activation than after right-hemisphere activation. Consistent with past research investigating hemispheric asymmetry and attentional scope, the current results suggest that manipulating left (right) hemisphere activity enhanced local (global) attentional processing.     

Does Teaching Problem-Solving Skills Matter? An Evaluation of Problem-Solving Skills Training for the Treatment of Social and Behavioral Problems in Children

Problem-solving skills training (PSST) has been proposed as a potentially effective addition to behavioral parent training (PT). However, it is not clear whether PSST specifically increases the benefits provided by PT. In this study, PT + PSST was compared to PT + nondirective therapy in a sample of 26 families. All parents received PT. Following this, children received PSST or nondirective therapy. Outcomes included measures of child behavior problems, social skills, and parent stress at posttherapy and a 6-week follow-up. Children in both groups improved over time with few differences between groups.     

Two plus blue equals green: Grapheme-color synesthesia allows cognitive access to numerical information via color

In grapheme-color synesthesia, graphemes (e.g., numbers or letters) evoke color experiences. It is generally reported that the opposite is not true: colors will not generate experiences of graphemes or their associated information. However, recent research has provided evidence that colors can implicitly elicit symbolic representations of associated graphemes. Here, we examine if these representations can be cognitively accessed. Using a mathematical verification task replacing graphemes with color patches, we find that synesthetes can verify such problems with colors as accurately as with graphemes. Doing so, however, takes time: ～250 ms per color. Moreover, we find minimal reaction time switch-costs for switching between computing with graphemes and colors. This demonstrates that given specific task demands, synesthetes can cognitively access numerical information elicited by physical colors, and they do so as accurately as with graphemes. We discuss these results in the context of possible cognitive strategies used to access the information.     

Factors Associated with Non-Reimbursable Activity on an Inpatient Pediatric Consultation–Liaison Service

The aim of this study was to identify factors contributing to clinician time spent in non-reimbursable activity on an inpatient pediatric consultation–liaison (C–L) service. A retrospective study was conducted using inpatient C–L service data on 1,246 consecutive referrals. For this patient population, the strongest predictor of level of non-reimbursable clinical activity was illness chronicity and the number of contacts with C–L service clinicians during their hospital stay. Patients with acute life-threatening illnesses required the highest mean amount of non-reimbursable service activity. On average, 28 % of total clinician time in completing a hospital consultation was spent in non-reimbursable activity. Effective C–L services require a proportion of time spent in non-reimbursable clinical activity, such as liaison and coordinating care with other providers. Identifying referral and systemic factors contributing to non-reimbursable activity can provide insight into budgeting/negotiating for institutional support for essential clinical and non-clinical functions in providing competent quality patient care.