EEG alpha desynchronization in musicians and nonmusicians in response to changes in melody, tempo, and key in classical music

Two experiments were performed to examine musicians' and nonmusicians' electroencephalographic (EEG) responses to changes in major dimensions (tempo, melody, and key) of classical music. In Exp. 1, 12 nonmusicians' and 12 musicians' EEGs during melody and tempo changes in classical music showed more alpha desynchronization in the left hemisphere (F3) for changes in tempo than in the right. For melody, the nonmusicians were more right-sided (F4) than left in activation, and musicians showed no left-right differences. In Exp. 2, 18 musicians' and 18 nonmusicians' EEG after a key change in classical music showed that distant key changes elicited more right frontal (F4) alpha desynchronization than left. Musicians showed more reaction to key changes than nonmusicians and instructions to attend to key changes had no significant effect. Classical music, given its well-defined structure, offers a unique set of stimuli to study the brain. Results support the concept of hierarchical modularity in music processing that may be automatic.     

A Logical Transmission Principle for Conclusive Reasons

Dretske's conclusive reasons account of knowledge is designed to explain how epistemic closure can fail when the evidence for a belief does not transmit to some of that belief's logical consequences. Critics of Dretske dispute the argument against closure while joining Dretske in writing off transmission. This paper shows that, in the most widely accepted system for counterfactual logic (David Lewis's system VC), conclusive reasons are governed by an informative, non-trivial, logical transmission principle. If r is a conclusive reason for believing p in Dretske's sense, and if p logically implies q, and if p and q satisfy one additional condition, it follows that r is a conclusive reason for believing q. After introducing this additional condition, I explain its intuitive import and use the condition to shed new light on Dretske's response to scepticism, as well as on his distinction between the so-called ‘lightweight’ and ‘heavyweight’ implications of a piece of perceptual knowledge.     

Modifying hypnotic suggestibility with the Carleton Skills Training program

The Carleton Skills Training (CST) program was used to investigate (a) whether increases in hypnotic responsiveness obtained at Carleton University could be replicated at a different laboratory, (b) the influence of demand characteristics on suggestibility gains, and (c) whether initial gains are maintained over time. After two screening sessions, a replication and experimental group received the CST program, while a control group was allowed to practice hypnotic responding. All groups were then tested twice. Whereas the replication group was told that training and testing were part of the same experiment, the experimental group was told that training and testing were unrelated. Trained subjects returned after 4 months for a final session. Results indicated that (a) the CST program does increase hypnotic responsiveness, (b) suggestibility gains found in this study were relatively modest, (c) demand characteristics may influence suggestibility gains, and (d) suggestibility gains were not maintained at follow-up.     

Probability and delay in commitment

In the first stage of a two-stage choice, human subjects chose between probabilistic access to a second choice (between a small high-probability reward and a large low-probability reward) and commitment to the large low-probability reward. When confronted with the second-stage choice, subjects strongly preferred the small high-probability reward. When the first-stage probability (of access to the second stage) was high, subjects strongly preferred the path leading to the choice in the second stage. But when the first-stage probability was low, subjects committed themselves to the large low-probability reward. These results parallel those obtained by Rachlin and Green (1972) with pigeons and constitute some evidence that probabilities may be interpreted as delays.     

Family Involvement in a Whole-School Bullying Intervention: Mothers’ and Fathers’ Communication and Influence with Children

Research indicates that involving families in school efforts to prevent and manage bullying behaviour is essential to success. Parents can influence their children's involvement in bullying situations by modelling positive social behaviour, offering advice about appropriate responses to bullying, and encouraging help-seeking. This paper reports family-related findings from the three-year group randomized control trial of the Friendly Schools Friendly Families (FSFF) intervention, which provided training and whole-school, classroom and family resources to build the capacity of schools to prevent bullying victimization and perpetration. Over 1400 parents and carers of Grades 2, 4 and 6 school students completed a survey at baseline and two post-tests. Parents exposed to the FSFF parent component received resources about ways to reduce bullying, build parenting skills and enhance parent–child communication; they also completed home activities with their children; and were encouraged to engage with their children’s school to reduce bullying. Mothers and fathers reported significant increases in the frequency of discussions with their child about bullying. Mothers were more likely than fathers to give pro-social, passive and help-seeking advice compared to fathers, who were more likely to encourage their child to ‘fight back’. The intervention improved fathers’ perceptions of their influence on children’s responses to being bullied. These results highlight the importance of working with both male and female caregivers when addressing children’s bullying behaviour. The findings also demonstrate that a parent intervention can have a positive impact on parent–child communication about bullying when it is an integral part of a whole-school approach.     

Normal and Natural, or Burdensome and Terrible? Women with Spinal Cord Injuries Discuss Ambivalence about Menstruation

Literature on women’s reproductive health experiences after spinal cord injuries (SCI) documents a temporary period of amenorrhea after women’s injuries. However, research is lacking on how women with SCI feel about amenorrhea or menstruation. That is, we do not know the meanings that women with permanent, physical disability ascribe to their experiences of simultaneously “normal” and “abnormal” reproductive processes. Prioritizing a feminist disability perspective and using interview data from a snowball sample of 20 women with SCI in Detroit, Michigan, in the United States, we outline how interviewees are ambivalent (yet also slightly negative) towards menstruation and amenorrhea within the context of their disability, and may be both different from and similar to able-bodied women in their attitudes and experiences as a result.     

Thinking about oneself and others: the relational-interdependent self-construal and social cognition

These studies focus on the relational-interdependent self-construal's association with implicit or indirect cognitive processes. In the relational-interdependent self-construal, the self is defined largely in terms of close relationships, resulting in variation in self-related processes. In Studies 1 and 2, the relational self-construal was associated with positive implicit evaluations of relational concepts and with tightly organized cognitive networks of relational terms. Studies 3 and 4 demonstrated that this self-construal was associated with memory for and implicit organization of relational information. In Studies 5 and 6, the relational self-construal was positively related to the degree to which participants described themselves and a friend similarly. The implications of the relational self-construal for theories of relationship cognition and for other self-related cognitive processes are discussed.     

Training the Scientists and Engineers of Tomorrow: A Person‐Situation Approach1

The United States may face a shortage of well‐trained scientists and engineers in the near future. This prospective study examined the issue of women's low rates of participation in these fields from a Person × Situation perspective, focusing on the early years of graduate school. Although men and women were similar in many respects (e.g., in Graduate Record Exam scores and grades), women evaluated their abilities related to intelligence lower than did men. There were no gender differences in students’perceptions of the academic climate. Longitudinal analyses revealed that students’ self‐evaluations and gender moderated the effects of perceived supportiveness of their academic departments on changes in well‐being from the end of their first year to the end of their second year.