Optimism, abstinence self-efficacy, and self-mastery: a comparative analysis of cognitive resources

The relationship between optimism, abstinence self-efficacy, and self-mastery was examined by investigating levels of these cognitive resources among two samples of recovering substance abusers: Oxford House residents who attended twelve-step groups and twelve-step members who had never lived in an Oxford House. Participants 'levels of optimism were significantly and positively related to both abstinence self-efficacy and self-mastery scores, as abstinence self-efficacy was significantly and positively related to participants' number of days abstinent. Participants who reported having more than 180 days abstinent reported significantly higher levels of abstinence self-efficacy than participants who reported having less than 180 days abstinent. In addition, among participants who reported having less than 180 days abstinent, Oxford House residents reported significantly higher levels of abstinence self-efficacy than twelve-step members. Overall, findings suggest that cognitive resources facilitate substance abusers' recovery and that the Oxford House model might provide high levels of support in their ongoing abstinence.     

Learning and production of movement sequences: behavioral, neurophysiological, and modeling perspectives

A wave of recent behavioral studies has generated a new wealth of parametric observations about serial order behavior. What was a trickle of neurophysiological studies has grown to a steady stream of probes of neural sites and mechanisms underlying sequential behavior. Moreover, simulation models of serial behavior generation have begun to open a channel to link cellular dynamics with cognitive and behavioral dynamics. Here we review major results from prominent sequence learning and performance tasks, namely immediate serial recall, typing, 2 x N, discrete sequence production, and serial reaction time. These tasks populate a continuum from higher to lower degrees of internal control of sequential organization and probe important contemporary issues such as the nature of working-memory representations for sequential behavior, and the development and role of chunks in hierarchical control. The main movement classes reviewed are speech and keypressing, both involving small amplitude movements amenable to parametric study. A synopsis of serial order models, vis-a-vis major empirical findings leads to a focus on competitive queuing (CQ) models. Recently, the many behavioral predictive successes of CQ models have been complemented by successful prediction of distinctively patterned electrophysiological recordings. In lateral prefrontal cortex, parallel activation dynamics of multiple neural ensembles strikingly matches the parallel dynamics predicted by CQ theory. An extended CQ simulation model--the N-STREAMS neural network model--exemplifies ongoing attempts to accommodate a broad range of both behavioral and neurobiological data within a CQ-consistent theory.     

Developmental outcomes after early prefrontal cortex damage

The neuropsychological bases of cognitive, social, and moral development are minimally understood, with a seemingly wide chasm between developmental theories and brain maturation models. As one approach to bridging ideas in these areas, we review 10 cases of early prefrontal cortex damage from the clinical literature, highlighting overall clinical profiles and real life developmental outcomes. Based on these cases, there is preliminary evidence to support distinctive developmental differences after: (1) dorsolateral, (2) mesial, and (3) orbital-polar prefrontal lesions, for more profound impairments after bilateral damage, and possibly for recovery differences after very early vs. later childhood lesion onset. Further case and group studies are needed to confirm reliable effects of specific lesion locations, the influence of age of lesion onset, and related experiential and treatment variables in determining adult outcomes. Rather than a single underlying deficit associated with early prefrontal cortex damage, we interpret the findings to suggest that it is the altered integration and interplay of cognitive, emotional, self-regulatory, and executive/metacognitive deficits that contribute to diverse developmental frontal lobe syndromes. The findings support the fundamental importance of prefrontal cortex maturation in protracted cognitive, social-emotional, and moral development.     

Psychopathy and physiological response to emotionally evocative sounds

Despite considerable evidence that psychopathic criminals are deviant in their emotional reactions, few studies have examined responses to both pleasurable and aversive stimuli or assessed the role of different facets of psychopathy in affective deviations. This study investigated physiological reactions to emotional sounds in prisoners selected according to scores on the 2 factors of Hare's Psychopathy Checklist--Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991). Offenders high on the PCL-R emotional-interpersonal factor, regardless of scores on the social deviance factor, showed diminished skin conductance responses to both pleasant and unpleasant sounds, suggesting a deficit in the action mobilization component of emotional response. Offenders who scored high only on the social deviance factor showed a delay in heart rate differentiation between affective and neutral sounds. These findings indicate abnormal reactivity to both positive and negative emotional stimuli in psychopathic individuals, and suggest differing roles for the 2 facets of psychopathy in affective processing deviations.     

Variations of tool and task characteristics reveal that tool-use postures are anticipated

The authors examined anticipation in tool use, focusing on tool length and tool-use posture. Adults (9 women and 9 men in each experiment) held a rod (length 0.4-0.8 m), with the tip upward; walked toward a cube; chose a place to stop; and displaced the cube with the rod's tip. In 2 experiments, rod length, mass, and mass distribution, and the size of the cube were manipulated. Chosen distance depended on rod length and cube size. Because effects of cube size on distance resulted only from postural changes related to required control, distance anticipated displacement posture. A postural synergy comprising legs and trunk provided a stable platform for the displacement. An arm synergy was less extended for small cubes, longer rods, and handle-weighted rods. Selected distance anticipated those postures.     

Effects of the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01 on employee attitudes

Much has been stated in the popular press about the effects of the events of 9/11/01 on employee attitudes about work. This study examined a large sample (N = 70,671) of employees of a multinational manufacturer whose annual employee survey data collection was interrupted by the events. After demonstrating measurement equivalence across time and countries, changes in attitudes pre- and post-9/11 were examined. Only negligible differences were found in Job Satisfaction, Supervisor Evaluation, Stress, and Organizational Commitment to Diversity for U.S. employees or for employees worldwide. Demographic differences in response to events were not found. Implications for understanding effects of stressful external events on employee perceptions of work are discussed.     

Rigidity in children's drawings and its relation with representational change

Four studies tested the application of to the drawing domain. In particular, we tested her claim that young children are inhibited in their attempts at changing their graphic representations (representational change) due to being constrained by the order in which the elements of the representation are drawn (procedural rigidity). The first study required 60 children (4- to 6-year-olds and an older comparison group of 8-year-olds) to make three drawings of a familiar and novel topic. From these drawings each child was measured for procedural rigidity. In a further drawing the child was asked to modify their usual representation of each topic. Regression analyses revealed procedural rigidity levels were not predictive of manipulation performance. A second study, testing 75 4- to 6-year-olds and a third study, testing 30 3- to 4-year-olds, revealed that when young children were specifically asked to manipulate rigid sub-procedures on a familiar topic they were indeed able to do so. Finally, a fourth study (testing 40 5-year-olds and 40 8-year-olds) removed the notational trace in drawing (a possible aid for procedural interruption) but this still produced no evidence of a relation between procedural rigidity and representational change. We suggest how the concept of procedural rigidity might be re-interpreted for the drawing domain so that the RR model can remain as a domain-general theory of cognitive development. We also suggest the development of information processing may be crucial for flexibility in drawing.     

The information for catching fly balls: judging and intercepting virtual balls in a CAVE

Visually guided action implies the existence of information as well as a control law relating that information to movement. For ball catching, the Chapman Strategy--keeping constant the rate of change of the tangent of the elevation angle (d(tan(alpha))/dt)--leads a catcher to the right location at the right time to intercept a fly ball. Previous studies showed the ability to detect the information and the consistency of running patterns with the use of the strategy. However, only direct manipulation of information can show its use. Participants were asked to intercept virtual balls in a Cave Automated Virtual Environment (CAVE) or to judge whether balls would pass behind or in front of them. Catchers in the CAVE successfully intercepted virtual balls with their forehead. Furthermore, the timing of judgments was related to the patterns of changing d(tan(alpha))/dt. The advantages and disadvantages of a CAVE as a tool for studying interceptive action are discussed.     

Geometrics and dynamics of a rod determine how it is used for reaching

Displacing an object with a hand-held rod provided a simple paradigm for studying tool use. The authors asked how reaching was affected by manipulations of rod properties. Adults held a rod (length =.10 to 1.5 m), with its tip in the air; walked toward an object on a table; chose a place to stop; and displaced the object with the rod's tip. In 3 experiments (Ns = 9, 22, and 17 participants), the authors manipulated rod length, mass, and mass distribution to determine whether and how geometric and dynamic properties affected the chosen distance and the posture. Both the chosen stopping distance and the postures were well accommodated to rod characteristics. Postural adaptations took place only in the arm, which was organized as a synergy. Predictably, rod length explained most of the variance, but small and reliable differences in both distance and posture depended on mass and mass distribution. The chosen distance anticipated not only rod length but also the upcoming posture needed to control the rod.     

Demographic characteristics,social competence,and behavior problems in children with gender identity disorder: a cross-national,cross-clinic comparative analysis

This study examined demographic characteristics, social competence, and behavior problems in clinic-referred children with gender identity problems in Toronto, Canada (N = 358), and Utrecht, The Netherlands (N = 130). The Toronto sample was, on average, about a year younger than the Utrecht sample at referral, had a higher percentage of boys, had a higher mean IQ, and was less likely to be living with both parents. On the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), both groups showed, on average, clinical range scores in both social competence and behavior problems. A CBCL-derived measure of poor peer relations showed that boys in both clinics had worse ratings than did the girls. A multiple regression analysis showed that poor peer relations were the strongest predictor of behavior problems in both samples. This study—the first cross-national, cross-clinic comparative analysis of children with gender identity disorder—found far more similarities than differences in both social competence and behavior problems. The most salient demographic difference was age at referral. Cross-national differences in factors that might influence referral patterns are discussed.