Grouping frequency components of vowels: When is a harmonic not a harmonic?

When one harmonic of a vowel starts before and stops after the others, its contribution to the vowel's phonetic quality is reduced. Two experiments demonstrate that this reduction cannot be attributed entirely to adaptation. The first experiment shows that a harmonic that starts at the same time as a short vowel but continues after the vowel has ended contributes almost as little to the vowel's phonetic quality as a harmonic that starts before but stops at the same time as the vowel. The second experiment shows that the small contribution to vowel quality of a harmonic that starts before a vowel can be increased by adding an additional tone that will in turn form a perceptual group with that part of the harmonic preceding the vowel. The experiments demonstrate that some perceptual grouping operations are performed before the first formant of a vowel is estimated from the amplitudes of its component harmonics.     

Status differences and in-group bias: a meta-analytic examination of the effects of status stability, status legitimacy, and group permeability.

This work examines the moderating effects of status stability, legitimacy, and group permeability on in-group bias among high- and low-status groups. These effects were examined separately for evaluative measures that were relevant as well as irrelevant to the salient status distinctions. The results support social identity theory and show that high-status groups are more biased. The meta-analysis reveals that perceived status stability, legitimacy, and permeability moderate the effects of group status. Also, these variables interacted in their influences on the effect of group status on in-group bias, but this was only true for irrelevant evaluative dimensions. When status was unstable and perceived as illegitimate, low-status groups and high-status groups were equally biased when group boundaries were impermeable, compared with when they were permeable. Implications for social identity theory as well as for intergroup attitudes are discussed.     

Performance on the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test: Effects of Self-Assessment and Gender

Scholarly knowledge is traditionally believed to exist if a person answers correctly when tested. A test-taker that makes a lucky guess is thereby implicitly assumed to know as much as a person who both answers correctly and is sure of it. By incorporating sureness assessments, an additional dimension of knowledge can be obtained. In this study, 317 females and 233 males participated (predominantly White European; with mean age = 18.7 years). One group answered questions using a conventional multiple-choice answer sheet. Another group answered the same questions, but they were also instructed to assess their sureness. Significant differences were observed on the quantitative subtest; those who made self-assessments outscored those who did not, and especially individuals who rated themselves low on traits traditionally regarded as masculine (measured with Bem Sex Role Inventory) benefited from this process. Incorporating self-assessments provides extra information that makes it possible to differentiate between those who know the subject matter and those who are guessing, as well as a way to reduce the effect of the gender typing of the task on performance.     

Book reviews

Hearing Haggerd, M. P. & Evans, E. F. (Eds.). 1987. British Medical Bulletin, 43 (4), 775-1037. ISBN 0-443-02899-6. £22.50.

Perlmutter, M. (Ed.) (1986). Perspectives on intellectual development : The Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology. Vol. 19. Hillsdale,NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Pp. 261. ISBN 0-89859-784-6. £19.95.

Ellis, H. D., Jeeves, M. A., Newcombe, F., & Young, A. (Eds.) (1986). Aspects of face processing. Bordrecht : Martinus Nijhoff. Pp. 509. ISBN 90-247-3357-X. £80.25.

Gabrielsson, A. (Ed.) (1987). Action and perception in shythm and music. Stockholm: Royal Swedish Academy of Music. Pp. 237. ISBN 91-85428-51-5.

Dowling, John E. (1987). The Retina. Cambridge, MA, and London :Belknap Press. Pp. xiv + 282. ISBN 0-674-76680-6. $29.95.

Foorman, B. R. & Siegel, A. W. (1986). Acquisition of reading skills : Cultural constraints and cognitive universals. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Pp. 168. ISBN 0-89859-642-4. £15.00.

Stillings, N., Feinstein, M., Garfield, J., Rissland, E., Rosenbaum, D., Weisler, S., & Baker-Ward, L. (1987). Cognitive science : An introduction. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Pp. 533. ISBN 0-262-19257-8. £22.50.

Kapur, N. (1988). Memory disorders in clinical practice. London:Butterworths. Pp. 289. ISBN 0-407-00712-1. £39.50.

Bussis, A. M., Chittenden, E. A. Amarel, M. & Klausner, E. (1985). Inquiry into meaning: An invetigation of learning to read. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Pp. 367. ISBN 0-89859-504-5. £32.95.     

Closing the Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Youth Suicide: A Social–Emotional Wellbeing Service Innovation Project

Objective

The suicide rate for Queensland's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people is over four times that of their non‐Indigenous counterparts, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (under 15) dying by suicide at 12 times the non‐Indigenous rate. There is a need for interventions that are culturally validated and community‐endorsed. The aim of this article is to describe the design and implementation of a group‐based intervention, as well to report the results of the various qualitative and quantitative measures.

Method

Sixty‐one Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons aged 11–21 years completed a social–emotional wellbeing (SEWB) program at headspace Inala. Data were available through to 2‐month follow‐up for 49 participants. The program was designed and delivered in collaboration with the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

Results

There was a statistically significant decrease in suicidal ideation experienced by the participants after completing the program. Qualitative measures indicated that participants experienced improved understanding of holistic health and an increased number of coping skills.

Conclusions

Not only was this the first evaluated intervention in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth to ever report a decrease in individual suicidality, the program was carefully designed and implemented in consultation with community in a culturally sensitive manner and thus provides an invaluable framework for future SEWB work.     

Acoustic correlates of emotional dimensions in laughter: Arousal,dominance, and valence

Although laughter plays an essential part in emotional vocal communication, little is known about the acoustical correlates that encode different emotional dimensions. In this study we examined the acoustical structure of laughter sounds differing along four emotional dimensions: arousal, dominance, sender's valence, and receiver-directed valence. Correlation of 43 acoustic parameters with individual emotional dimensions revealed that each emotional dimension was associated with a number of vocal cues. Common patterns of cues were found with emotional expression in speech, supporting the hypothesis of a common underlying mechanism for the vocal expression of emotions.     

Overreport on the MCMI-III: concurrent validation with the MMPI-2 using a psychiatric inpatient sample

The MCMI-III (Millon, Davis, & Millon, 1997) is a widely used measure of personality often used in inpatient psychiatric settings. Although patients in such settings often overreport or exaggerate their symptoms, relatively little is known about how such a response set presents on the validity indexes of the MCMI-II. In this study, we used a sample of 191 psychiatric inpatients and compared MCMI-III modifier indices (Disclosure, Desirability, and Debasement) with the validity measures (L, F, Fb, F(p), K, and F - K) of the MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989). In addition, the MCMI-III Disclosure Index (Scale X, which imposes a set cutoff score for invalidity due to overreport) was compared to several cutoff scores on the validity scales of the MMPI-2. Although the MCMI-III indexes generally performed as expected, the MCMI-III had a very high tolerance for overreport. When contrasted with MMPI-2 F scale, the MCMI-II Disclosure Index (which gauges overreport) remained valid until scores on MMPI-2 F scale approached a T score of 120. In addition, the Disclosure Index was at the upper end or slightly exceeded the highest recommended cutoff scores on all other MMPI-2 validity scales except F - K. Clinicians using the MCMI-III alone are cautioned to consider the high tolerance the MCMI-III has for overreport.