Influence of articulation rate on two memory tasks in young and older adults

This study investigated the relation between phonological loop functioning and age. Phonological loop is a time-based subsystem of the Working Memory Model of Baddeley and Wilson, which uses rehearsal of information as an active process to avoid phonological decay. Performance differences were examined between young and older adults in two speech-based memory tasks, such as the immediate serial recall of words and the Digit Ordering Task. Analysis showed that performance on both tasks was lower for the older group. Articulation rate was also measured to test the hypothesis that the impairment of some cognitive functions in adults can be associated to their slowness or the greater time needed by older adults for the rehearsal process. A significant negative correlation was found for articulation rate with age. When the effect of articulation rate on Serial Recall and Digit Ordering Tasks was partialled out, the difference between the two groups was eliminated.     

Broadcasting of violence on Spanish television: a quantitative panorama

A quantitative analysis of broadcasted violence by the main television (TV) channels transmitting for Madrid (Spain) was carried out using a novel method that randomly selects fragments of delimited duration from TV broadcasts. The device selects acts of aggression shown in those TV extracts, and classifies them according to their type. There was a high incidence of aggressive acts, especially physical (particularly leading to death), in TV fiction: films, serials and promos. The device also allowed examination of the prominence of aggression in children's programs, as well as showing minimal variation in the number of aggressive acts over screened time intervals. The pattern of the collected data suggests that the broadcasting of violence on TV emphasizes the conflicting elements of social reality, reproducing it in fiction, news reports and children's shows. Aggr. Behav. 32:137–145. 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

A metaphilosophical dialogue

Three philosophical attitudes in dialogue are suggested in answering the question posed by the Journal. An inviting, First Inner Voice undeerstands philosophy as a shareable theoretical task that can be explained and understood even across distant philosophical paradigms. A Second Inner Voice, sometimes termed in the dialogue as sceptic, distrusts any metaphilosophical definition of what philosophy is and what it should do, but would, nevertheless, aspire to retain a certain universalistic understanding of its own work, though it cannot be strongly and conceptualy rendered. A Third Inner Voice, regarded in the text as somewhat Hegelian, insists in the unavoidability of strong philosophical definitions both in historical and in conceptual terms. No proposal or conclusion is forwarded regarding what should be done in contemporary philosophy, though an analysis of harm experiences is taken as an example of philosophical work     

Reflections on the Meaning and Structure of the Horizontal/Vertical Distinction

The commentaries by Aaker (2006), Meyers‐Levy (2006), and Oyserman (2006) extend the implications of the horizontal/vertical distinction described in our article (Shavitt, Lalwani, Zhang, & Torelli, 2006) in a number of interesting directions. We join these authors in calling for further research on horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism constructs. We also highlight conceptual and structural issues that remain to be resolved and evaluate priming and other operational approaches to the study of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism.     

A Generalization of Monadic n-Valued Łukasiewicz Algebras

Studia Logica - $${{\mathcal {M}} L}^{m}_n$$ of monadic m-generalized ?ukasiewicz algebras of order n (or $$M L^{m}_n$$ -algebras), namely a generalization of monadic n-valued ?ukasiewicz...     

Husserl’s Way to Authentic Being

In a journal entry from 1906, Husserl complains of lacking “internal stability” and of his desire to “achieve” it. My claim in this paper is that the “phenomenological method,” which he made public in his 1907 lectures Die Idee der Phänomenologie was, and is, a means to achieve the inner harmony that Husserl longed for. I do not provide an analysis of why Husserl might have felt the way he did; my aim is to show what internal stability might be and how one might achieve it. I conclude that the phenomenological method is the means, the “how,” to internal stability, which I characterize as “clarity” and “harmony” regarding our beliefs and, and ultimately, our authentic comportment.     

Maintained attitudinal changes in nursing personnel after a brief training on suicide prevention

Nursing personnel (N = 317) working at a general hospital attended a 6-hour training program on suicide prevention. They answered anonymously pre- and post-training the Suicide Behavior Attitude Questionnaire (SBAQ), which comprises 21 visual analogue scale items divided in three factorial subscales. The results indicated there were positive changes in the attitudes and these gains were significantly maintained at the 6-month follow-up evaluation. Improvement was in the Feelings and Professional Capacity subscales (ANOVA; p = 0.0001 and 0.01, respectively). There was no change on the Right to Suicide subscale. Because attitudes influence the effectiveness of health care personnel interventions, our findings may have important implications for the development of suicide prevention programs.     

TOMM Performances and Self-Reported Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety

The Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) is the most frequently used symptom validity test (SVT) by neuropsychologists and appears to be robust in the context of a number of neurological and psychiatric conditions. The current study cross-validated and extended prior research by examining the relation between scores on self-report measures of depression and anxiety, independently and combined, and scores on the TOMM in an outpatient neuropsychology clinic. A total of 262 files were reviewed, 67 of which contained complete data on the TOMM, Beck Depression Inventory-II, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Results show that scores on self-report inventories of depression and anxiety are not significantly related to scores on the TOMM, cross-validating previous research. Extending prior research, current analyses demonstrate that TOMM scores are not significantly influenced by the combined relation of self-reported symptoms of depression and anxiety. Findings support the utility of the TOMM with patients reporting affective disturbances.