Observer Influences on Fathers and Mothers: An Experimental Manipulation of the Structure and Function of Parent – Infant Conversation

From studies over the past 20 years four contrasting hypotheses can be made about the nature of parent–infant communication: (1) mothers and fathers display similar skills to their infants and do not exert a differential influence on their development; (2) fathers are less sympathetic to their infants' level of development and therefore inadvertently stretch the child's development more than mothers; (3) both parents differentially socialize their sons' and daughters' early communicative skills; (4) any apparent differences between parents reflect their expectations about being observed. To examine these hypotheses together, this experiment records the communication of 10 mother–infant and 10 father–infant dyads in two conditions: when an observer was present or absent. The analysis revealed two patterns. Firstly, in keeping with most research on parent–child communication, mothers and fathers both simplified their speech to their infants in similar ways. Secondly, both the structure and function of parental communication showed differences between the two conditions and many of these differences were moderated by interactions between condition and sex of parent or child. The data thus provide more support for the first and fourth hypotheses cited above. It is suggested that analyses of parent–infant interaction should move away from simple assumptions about parental ‘influences’ upon children's development to consider the subtleties of different parental styles in different settings.     

Conceptualism and the (Supposed) Non-Transitivity of Colour Indiscriminability

In this paper, I argue that those who accept the conceptualist view in the philosophy of perception should reject the traditional view that colour indiscriminability is non-transitive. I start by outlining the general strategy that conceptualists have adopted in response to the familiar ‘fineness of grain’ objection, and I show why a commitment to what I call the indiscriminability claim seems to form a natural part of this strategy. I then show how together, the indiscriminability claim and the non-transitivity claim –the claim that colour indiscriminability is non-transitive –entail a further, suspicious-looking claim that I call the problematic claim. My argument then splits into two parts. In the first part, I show why the conceptualist does indeed need to reject the problematic claim. Given that this claim is jointly entailed by the indiscriminability claim and the non-transitivity claim, the conceptualist is then left with a straight choice: reject the indiscriminability claim, or reject the non-transitivity claim. In the second part, I then explain why the conceptualist should choose the latter option.     

When knowledge is not enough: the phenomenon of goal neglect in preschool children

We argue that the concept of goal neglect can be fruitfully applied to understand children's potential problems in experimental tasks and real-world settings. We describe an assessment of goal neglect developed for administration to preschool children and report data on two measures derived from this task alongside the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) and an opposite color response inhibition task. The propensity to neglect initial task cues was uniquely linked to response inhibition, whereas neglect of a later cue was uniquely linked to the DCCS. Additional evidence suggests that recovery from neglect can occur and shows that goal neglect varies with the cognitive transparency of the signifying cue. Data demonstrate the importance of, and place constraints on, current theories of information regulation and foreground the notion of graded representations in working memory and executive functioning.     

Using cardinality to compare quantities: the role of social-cognitive conflict in early numeracy

A key question in early number development is how 4- and 5-year-olds learn the roles that counting and cardinal numbers play when comparing quantities. Children who wrongly used length to identify numerosity were assigned to five experimental groups and trained to judge whether a puppet--who sometimes miscounted--created equivalent sets. Over three training sessions, children who were asked to compare sets after they were counted learned to base their judgments on cardinal numbers when the puppet counted accurately by being given feedback. However, only the groups who were also asked to explain either their own or the experimenter's reasoning made progress in identifying the puppet's miscounts. This ability to recognize the importance of counting accuracy for quantitative comparisons predicted whether children would spontaneously count to compare sets on a post-test. The importance of asking children to identify miscounts is discussed alongside the social factors that influence children's recognition of the relationship between procedural counting, cardinality and relative number.     

Effects of reward magnitude and training frequency on the learning rates and memory retention of the Port Jackson shark Heterodontus portusjacksoni

Animal Cognition - The development of adaptive responses to novel situations via learning has been demonstrated in a wide variety of animal taxa. However, knowledge on the learning abilities of one...     

Individual differences in religiosity as a function of cognitive ability and cognitive style

The current study examines the degree to which individual differences in cognitive ability and cognitive style (rational thinking vs. experiential thinking) uniquely and jointly account for differences in religiosity. Using an array of measures of religiosity, results show that cognitive ability has a medium to large negative effect on various aspects of religiosity. Though also negatively related to religiosity, rational thinking style did not add significant unique effects, nor did it convey a significant indirect effect from cognitive ability. Experiential thinking was generally unrelated to ability but was positively related to some aspects of religiosity. Overall the results confirm that those with higher cognitive ability are less likely to accept religious doctrine or engage in religious behaviors and those with lower ability are more likely to accept religious doctrine and exhibit higher levels of fundamentalism. Cognitive style appears to play a lesser role in explaining individual differences in religiosity than cognitive ability.     

How Sexuality Information Impacts Attitudes and Behaviors Toward Gay Service Members

The repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy raises several questions and this article examines two of these: (1) Do gay/lesbian service members elicit personal discomfort in coworkers? and (2) Do gay/lesbian service members receive equitable administrative actions? Active duty Air Force office personnel (N?=?181) reported their attitudes toward open service and responded to hypothetical scenarios depicting gay/lesbian or heterosexual male/female subordinates. Gays/lesbians elicited more personal comfort than heterosexuals, and no differences existed between gays/lesbians and heterosexuals in administrative actions. Attitudes toward open service predicted personal comfort but not administrative action ratings.