When do octopuses play? Effects of repeated testing, object type, age, and food deprivation on object play in Octopus vulgaris

Studying play behavior in octopuses is an important step toward understanding the phylogenetic origins and function of play as well as the cognitive abilities of invertebrates. Fourteen Octopus vulgaris (7 subadults and 7 adults) were presented 2 Lego objects and 2 different food items on 7 consecutive days under 2 different levels of food deprivation. Nine subjects showed play-like behavior with the Lego objects. There was no significant difference in play-like behavior corresponding to food deprivation, age, and sex of the octopuses. The sequence of behaviors, from exploration to play-like behavior, had a significant influence on the establishment of play-like behavior, as it occurred mostly on Days 3-6 of the 7-day experiment. The pattern of development of play-like activities after a period of exploration and habituation in this study agrees with the hypothesis that object play follows object exploration. A homologous origin of this behavioral trait in vertebrates and invertebrates is highly unlikely, as the last common ancestor might not have had the cognitive capacity to possess this trait.     

Red and romantic behavior in men viewing women

In many non‐human primate species, a display of red by a female increases attraction behavior in male conspecifics. In two experiments, we investigate an analogous effect in humans, specifically, whether red on a woman's shirt increases attraction behavior in men. In Experiment 1, men who viewed an ostensible conversation partner in a red versus a green shirt chose to ask her more intimate questions. In Experiment 2, men who viewed an ostensible interaction partner in a red versus a blue shirt chose to sit closer to her. These effects were observed across participants' perceptions of their own attractiveness (Experiment 1) and general activation and mood (Experiment 2). Our findings suggest that red acts as a basic, non‐lexical prime, influencing reproduction‐relevant behavior in like manner across species. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A review of the profile of mood states (POMS) in the prediction of athletic success

Abstract

The Profile of Mood States (POMS) is a self-report inventory that has been used by numerous researchers attempting to identify the personality states that reliably differentiate athletes of differing levels of ability. The paper began by reviewing the studies by Nagle, Morgan, Hellichn, serfass, and Alexander (1975). Morgan and Pollock (1977), and Morgan and Johnson (1978). These studies popularized the use of the POMS in the sport setting The review highlighted the fact that the POMS was orighally employed as one of several psychological inventories desighed to assess an athlete's state of mental health. Specifically, these studies hypothesized that successfid athletes would possess more positive emotional and mental health than unsuccessfid athletes. With respect to the POMS this would be reflected by successful athletes scoring lower than unsuccessfid athletes on the scales of depression, tension, anger, fatigue, and confusion and higher than unsuccessful athletes on the scale of vigor. The POMS was found to be of limited value in diffkreutiating the successll from unsuccessful athlete. Despite this fact, studies Continued to be published that examined the POMS' ability to diffrrentiate athletes of diffenhg levels of ability. This misunderstanding is attributed to researchers' Mure to distinguish between two common approaches to the study of entiate a) the athlete from the nonathlete and, b) athletes of differing levels of ability. The Profile of Mood States (POMS) is a self-report inventory that has been used by numerous researchers attempting to identify the personality states that reliably differentiate athletes of differing levels of ability.     

Sequential remembering and lived remembering in the flow of experience: a videographic study / Recuerdo secuencial y recuerdo vivido en el curso de la experiencia: un estudio videográfico

Abstract

During the last 30 years the discussion on memory and remembering has advanced from a strictly cognitive perspective to a broader view, involving the body in these processes. Thus, the present article aims to recover Henri Bergson’s main ideas — published more than a century ago — emphasizing the tight relation between immediate experience, memory and bodily movements. First, contemporary perspectives on memory are reviewed. Afterwards, the results from a videographic study are presented, showing how deeply the body is engaged in the act of remembering. These results evidence the presence of two different ways of remembering: sequential and lively-experienced.     

Achievement emotions in elementary,middle, and high school: How do students feel about specific contexts in terms of settings and subject‐domains?

The present work investigates students' representation of achievement emotions, focusing in context‐specific situations in terms of settings and subject‐domains, as a function of grade level. We involved 527 fourth‐, seventh‐, and eleventh‐graders, who evaluated ten discrete emotions through questionnaires, with reference to verbal language and mathematics, and different settings (class, homework, tests). Confirmatory multitrait‐multimethod analyses indicated higher salience of subject‐domains rather than settings for all the emotions; however, complexity of reality was best explained when also settings were accounted for. Analyses of variance revealed higher intensity of positive emotions for younger students, and the opposite pattern for older students; significant differences for most of the emotions based on the evaluative nature of settings, moderated by class levels; more intense positive emotions for mathematics and more intense negative emotions for Italian. Results are discussed considering their theoretical and applied relevance, corroborating previous literature on domain‐specificity.     

Do Patients With Psychosis Experience Loss and Grief As a Result of Their Illness?

BACKGROUND: Depression and suicidality are frequently reported in patients with psychosis and schizophrenia, but the grief process that may be associated with this illness has not been systematically studied. In this study, we examined whether patients diagnosed with psychosis identify, grieve, and mourn losses engendered by the illness. METHOD: 24 patients diagnosed with psychosis in the past five years were surveyed to indicate whether their illness led to losses, and to describe their responses to the losses. Psychosis-related perceived losses were surveyed using three subscales of a loss and grief questionnaire (loss of self, self-care, and roles). Their relationship with beliefs about the illness, symptomatology, coping style, and self-efficacy and insight was studied. RESULTS: 23 (96%) patients named specific losses, and 16 patients (67%) reported feelings associated with grief and mourning. More than half reported loss of self-esteem at the onset of illness and only half saw themselves as having improved in the past month. Patients reported more loss within the past month than at the onset of illness. In the past month, patients with an intact sense of self experienced greater self-efficacy (r = .568, p < .004) while those with loss of self reported feelings of shame (r = ?.582, p < .003). Only patients with insight associated the onset of illness with loss. In the past month, most patients saw themselves as experiencing loss. DISCUSSION: The study results suggest that at some distance from diagnosis, patients still experience themselves as having much loss due to their illness. These unresolved feelings may indicate complicated mourning. Insight appears to be associated with the ability to look back at the onset of the illness and recognize that it engendered losses. Further study of the process of and barriers to grief and mourning is recommended. In clinical practice, the assessment of grief as a part of post-psychotic recovery could lead to providing more appropriate treatment and lead to a positive outcome.     

Attending to objects: costs or benefits?

The single-object advantage is said to occur when performance is faster and/or more accurate when the two targets to be compared appear on one object than when they appear on two different objects. The single-object advantage has been interpreted to suggest that attention can select objects rather than unparsed regions of visual space. In five experiments we explored whether directing attention to one object rather than two objects produces a benefit or a minor cost. Participants were required to compare two target features that belonged to one object, to two objects, or did not belong to any object. In addition, we varied the relevance to the task of object-related global information, such as symmetry of the object and perceptual cluttering of the background. Results showed that attending to one object in comparison to attending to no object produced a benefit only when object-related global information was relevant to the task. In contrast, when object-related global information was irrelevant to the task, attending to one object produced a cost. Thus, it can be concluded that attending to an object does not produce an absolute benefit, but rather produces a smaller cost than attending to two objects.     

The consequences of job-related pressure for self-determined teaching

In education, there is a common understanding that teachers contribute significantly to the motivation of their pupils. However, the instructors’ own psychological needs in the tradition of the Self-determination Theory (Ryan and Deci Self-determination theory: basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness, Guilford Press, New York, 2017) are often overshadowed and undermined by external as well as internal processes. Present research so far has solely focused on the scientific perception of this problem, neglecting the viewpoint of the subjects—the teachers. In this paper, 732 secondary school teachers in Austria were surveyed; data were assessed through questionnaires regarding basic psychological needs, perceived job-related pressure, team orientation as well as self-efficacy and proactive attitude. The results emphasize the impact of job-related pressure on the motivation of teachers and the importance of psychological needs satisfaction in teaching with special focus on autonomy. Yet, it is this feature that is often neglected in Austrian educational politics. Consequently, students’ motivation can be improved through the enhancement of teachers’ occupational psychological needs, which in turn relies on the reduction of unnecessary controlling elements and strengthens their work-related autonomy.

     

Some sources for a history of English Socinianism a bibliography of 17th century English Socinian writings

Conclusion In 1697, the Presbyterian, William Bates, presented an address, on behalf of some dissenting ministers, to William of Orange. In this, he called for measures against the Socinians and Deists, and, in particular, for the banning of the publication of Socinian works. Bates' address was published in JOHN HOWE, Sermon Preech'd on the Day of Thanksgiving (1698). On 17th February, 1698, the House of Commons presented an address to the King, We do further, in all humility, beseech Your Majesty, that Your Majesty would give such effectual order, as to Your Royal Wisdom shall seem fit, for the suppressing all pernicious books and pamphlets, which contain in them impious doctrines against the Holy Trinity, and other fundamental articles of our Faith, tending to the subversion of the Christian Religion; and that the authors and publishers thereof may be discounted and punished.The statute 9 and 19 William III, c. 32, An Act for the more effectual suppressing of Blasphemy and Profaneness, accepted these requests. It prohibited the writing, publishing and teaching of doctrines that were contrary to the Trinity, Christian truth or the divine authority of the Old and the New Testaments.It should be noted that the Toleration Act of 1689 does not extend tolerance to, amongst others, those who deny the dogma of the Trinity. It was not until 1813 that the Unitarians were free to practise their cult. The Trinity Act (An Act to relieve persons who impugn the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity from certain Penalties. 53 Geo. III, c. 160) of that year exempted the Unitarians from the penalties laid down by the Toleration Act and by the Blasphemy Act quoted above