Attention capture is modulated in dual-task situations

Because some features affect the efficiency of visual search even when they are irrelevant to the task, they are thought tocapture attention in a stimulus-driven manner. If such attention shifts are stimulus driven, they should be unaffected by reduced resources. We added a concurrent auditory task to a traditional attention capture paradigm and found that capture by an irrelevant, abruptly appearing stimulus (i.e., an onset) was eliminated. In contrast, prioritization of an irrelevant color singleton—a stimulus that at most receives only mild prioritization in this paradigm—was increased under dual-task conditions. These results challenge the hypothesis that attention capture by irrelevant features is stimulus driven. Instead, prioritization depends on and is modulated by the availability of resources.     

The role of working memory in spatial enumeration: Patterns of selective interference in subitizing and counting

Articulatory suppression (repeatedly pronouncing a syllable or word while carrying out another task) is thought to interfere selectively with the phonological store in working memory (Larsen & Baddeley, 2003). Although suppression interferes with temporal enumeration (enumerating successive light flashes), to date there has been little evidence of such interference in spatial enumeration (enumerating units laid out in space at one time)—a finding with serious ramifications for theories of enumeration. Participants carried out a spatial enumeration task, enumerating 1–8 dots while listening to a metronome (baseline condition) or while carrying out a secondary task to the rhythm of the metronome (dual-task condition). There were four secondary tasks: simple articulation (saying a letter), complex articulation (alternating between two letters), simple tapping (tapping a finger), and complex tapping (alternating between two fingers). Interference varied with number of items, but the pattern differed from that observed with temporal enumeration (Logie & Baddeley, 1987).     

The role of similarity in deductive categorical inference

The category inclusion rule specifies that categories inherit the properties of their superordinates. For example, given thatall metals are pentavalent, it can be concluded thatall iron is pentavalent. Sloman (1998) showed that people do not fully endorse conclusions that follow from the category inclusion rule. He claims that people rely on the similarity between the premise and the conclusion categories (metals andiron), rather than applying the category inclusion rule. By allowing reasoners to rate their certainty for category relations (e.g.,iron is metal), as well as for conclusions, the present study shows that similarity has only an indirect effect on the certainty of conclusions: Reasoners are more certain that similar categories have a category inclusion relation, and this in turn affects the certainty of conclusions based on this relation.     

Mindfulness and Marital Satisfaction

This study investigated the relationships among mindfulness, marital satisfaction, and perceived spousal similarity. All 95 subjects responded to a questionnaire measuring each of these variables, and an additional series of demographic variables. A significant positive relationship was found between mindfulness and marital satisfaction, with no statistically significant relationship found between perceived spousal similarity and marital satisfaction. There was a stronger correlation between mindfulness and marital satisfaction than the correlation between marital satisfaction and any of the other variables, including similarity. These results carry meaningful implications for the role of mindfulness techniques within the context of building and maintaining happy marital relationships and general well-being.     

The Role of Temperament in the Etiology of Child Psychopathology

A substantial proportion of children and adolescents come to suffer from psychological disorders. This article focuses on the temperament factors that are involved in the pathogenesis of child psychopathology. It is argued that besides the reactive temperament factor of emotionality/neuroticism, the regulative process of effortful control also plays an important role in the etiology and maintenance of internalizing and externalizing problems in youths. More specifically, vulnerability to child psychopathology is determined by a temperament that is characterized by high levels of emotionality/neuroticism and low levels of effortful control. Models are hypothesized in which reactive and regulative temperament factors either have interactive or additive effects on the development of psychological disorders in children, and conceptualized in terms of a developmental psychopathology perspective. Directions for future research and clinical implications of this temperamental view on psychopathology are discussed.     

Preadolescent Clues to Understanding Depression in Girls

Between the ages of 10 and 15, increases in depression among girls result in a rate that is twice as high as the rate of depression in boys. This sex difference remains throughout early and middle adulthood. Prior to early adolescence, there is essentially no sex difference in the rate of depression. The aim of the present review is to examine whether the preadolescent period is a time during which precursors to depression in girls can be identified. First, existing areas of research on explaining sex differences in depression, including cognitive and affiliative style and the socialization of emotion, are reviewed. Second, the hypothesis that for some girls, preadolescent precursors to depression take the form of excessive empathy, compliance and regulation of negative emotions is articulated. Third, ways of building on existing models by including the proposed preadolescent precursors are proposed. Finally, approaches to testing the hypotheses that individual differences in these domains during preadolescence may explain later individual differences in adolescent onset depression are explored.     

Epidemiological Measurement of Children's and Adolescents' Exposure to Community Violence: Working with the Current State of the Science

A number of measures have been used in epidemiological studies of children's exposure to community violence, yet the quality of these instruments is not uniformly good. This paper undertakes a systematic review of the most commonly used (or most promising) self-report or interview-administered instruments, with regard to their conceptual bases and psychometric properties. Based on the review, recommendations are made for working with the current state of the science in order to move the field forward. A key recommendation is for sounder conceptualization of work in the field and greater transparency in the reporting of research, in order to facilitate the comparability of studies.     

A call to restructure the drug development process: Government over-regulation and non-innovative late stage (Phase III) clinical trials are major obstacles to advances in health care

The history of drug/vaccine development has included major advances guided primarily by risk/benefit analyses concerning the innovative agent, not by evidence-based clinical trials (Phase I–IV). Because the approval for new drugs is hindered under the present process, the system requires restructuring. The Phase I/II study period should be more flexible, using the “environment of knowledge” about the new agent, plus risk/benefit assessments. Phase III, as presently constructed, does not add new adverse events data, it provides a narrower profile of drug efficacy than properly done Phase II studies, and placebo-controlled trials continue to raise unresolved ethical and social issues. Phase III studies should be abandoned for most drugs, and substituted with properly powered Phase II doseranging studies plus careful post-marketing surveillance. Phase III should be a penalty for poor drug development, not a regulatory requirement. To accomplish efficient drug development, greater cooperation between pharmaceutical companies and governments in developing clinical trials is needed rather than over-regulation. These changes will synchronize the drug development and regulatory process with the current rapid drug discovery process, reduce drug development time and cost, and improve patient care. The author is Adjunct Professor of Medicine, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York, USA.     

The immoral gene: Does it really exist?

Over the last years several European patents were opposed for protecting technology violating the morality requirement under Article 53(a) EPC. Attempts have been made by the Appeal Boards of the European Patent Office (EPO), as well as by amendments introduced into the Implementing Regulations of the European Patent Convention (EPC), to address this sensitive patentability requirement more precisely. The most recent hot topic coming up in this context is the patentability of stem cells. It is to be expected that this discussion will still go on in the field of biotechnological inventions for the next several years. An earlier version of this paper was presented at an international conference, “The Ethics of Intellectual Property Rights and Patents,” held in Warsaw, Poland on 23–24 April, 2004.     

The growing complexity of international policy in intellectual property

Intellectual property has historically been a self-contained policy at the international level. With the introduction of the TRIPs Agreement in 1994 and developments since the conclusion of the TRIPs Agreement, the relationship between intellectual property policy and other areas of public policy has become much more complex and interactive. This shift reflects the centrality of intellectual property in the knowledge economy, the rapid development of enabling technologies, notably the Internet and biotechnology, and the advent of the networked society. The consequences of this shift are manifold and herald the increased sophistication and complexity that may be expected of intellectual property regimes in the knowledge economy. An earlier version of this paper was presented at an international conference, “The Ethics of Intellectual Property Rights and Patents,” held in Warsaw, Poland on 23–24 April, 2004.