The Functional Measurement Experiment Builder suite: Two Java-based programs to generate and run functional measurement experiments

We propose a free, easy-to-use computer program that does not requires prior knowledge of computer programming to generate and run experiments using textual or pictorial stimuli. Although the FM Experiment Builder suite was initially programmed for building and conducting FM experiments, it can also be applied for non-FM experiments that necessitate randomized, single, or multifactorial designs. The program is highly configurable, allowing multilingual use and a wide range of different response formats. The outputs of the experiments are Microsoft Excel compatible .xls files that allow easy copy-paste of the results into Weiss's FM CalSTAT program (2006) or any other statistical package. Its Java-based structure is compatible with both Windows and Macintosh operating systems, and its compactness (< 1 MB) makes it easily distributable over the Internet.     

When Pains are Mental Objects

In Why pains are not mental objects (1998) Guy Douglasrightly argues that pains are modes rather than objects ofperceptions or sensations. In this paper I try to go a stepfurther and argue that there are circumstances when pains canbecome objects even while they remain modes of experience.By analysing cases of extreme pain as presented by Scarry,Sartre, Wiesel, Grahek and Wall, I attempt to show thatintense physical pain may evolve into a force that, likeimagination, can make our most intense state of experiencebecome a mental object. I shall finally argue that, thoughextreme pains cannot serve as paradigm cases, they do showthe general importance of taking pain states to be objects.     

Disrupted Face Processing in Frontotemporal Dementia: A Review of the Clinical and Neuroanatomical Evidence

Faces play an integral role in day-to-day functioning, particularly for social interactions where dynamic and rapid processing of information is vital. Analysis of faces allows an individual to ascertain a wide range of information including deciphering mood and identity, with these assessments directing an individual’s subsequent response and behaviours. The prominent social and emotional deficits observed in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a younger-onset dementia syndrome, may in part reflect a breakdown of the face processing network. Different subtypes of FTD present with divergent patterns of atrophy, although damage is predominantly confined to the frontal and temporal lobes. Specific predictions regarding the role of frontal and temporal regions in face processing have been proposed in the model outlined by Haxby et al. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4(6), 223–233 (2000). This model presents a parsimonious method by which to understand face processing in FTD while concurrently allowing assessment of the predictive value and applicability of such a model. By applying the Haxby model to the existing FTD literature, this review presents both direct and indirect evidence of a breakdown in key elements of the face processing network. The type and degree of breakdown appears to differ as a function of FTD subtype and associated brain atrophy. The evidence presented in this review and its relationship with predictions of the Haxby model provides impetus and direction for future research investigating face processing in FTD.     

Influence of obstetrical events on satisfaction and anxiety during childbirth: a prospective longitudinal study

The aim of this study was to investigate the feelings of anxiety and satisfaction among 79 primiparas who had uncomplicated pregnancies, at the time of hospital admission and after birth, considering the mode of delivery, analgesia, and pain levels. Questionnaires were completed at admission to the hospital and two months after delivery, using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) state scale and the Labour Agentry Scale. The mean (SD) STAI state score was higher at admission (36.7 (10.7)) than 4 months after childbirth (32.1 (9.7)) (paired Student’s t-test, t = 2.93; df = 78; p = .004). However, the postnatal anxiety was not associated with the mode of delivery, epidural or pain. Regarding the satisfaction with the expectations of control during childbirth, the mean (SD) score was higher before childbirth (166.0 (21.8)) than after (157.5 (33.5)) (paired Student’s t-test, t = ?2.28; df = 77; p = .03). The satisfaction with the childbirth experience was significantly associated with the expectations of childbirth and the mode of delivery, but not with analgesia or pain. The postnatal anxiety was associated with physical health, pain and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale score during the postpartum period. It is important to consider the temporality of perinatal anxiety in order to understand its causes. Our results indicate that the experience of childbirth was predicted in this sample by the antenatal expectations and delivery outcomes.     

Hope in Africa? Social representations of world history and the future in six African countries

Data on social representations of world history have been collected everywhere in the world except sub-Saharan Africa. Two studies using open-ended data involving university students from six African countries fill this gap. In Study 1, nominations from Cape Verde and Mozambique for the most important events in world history in the past 1000 years were dominated by war and politics, recency effects, and Western-centrism tempered by African sociocentrism on colonization and independence. The first three findings replicated previous research conducted in other parts of the world, but the last pattern contrasted sharply with European data. Study 2 employed a novel method asking participants how they would begin the narration of world history, and then to describe a major transition to the present. Participants most frequently wrote about the evolution of humanity out of Africa, followed by war and then colonization as a beginning, and then replicated previous findings with war, colonization, and technology as major transitions to the present. Finally, when asked about how they foresaw the future, many participants expressed hope for peace and cooperation, especially those facing more risk of collective violence (Burundi and Congo). A colonial/liberation narrative was more predominant in the data from former Portuguese colonies (Angola, Cape Verde, and Guinea-Bissau) than from former Belgian colonies (Burundi and Congo).     

Narrowing down to open up for other people's concerns: Empathic concern can be enhanced by inducing detailed processing

In three experiments inducing a detailed versus abstract processing style using perceptual (Experiment 1), motivational (Experiment 2), and social (Experiment 3) manipulations, we found that empathic concerns are enhanced in contexts associated with a more detailed processing style (i.e., local perceptual scope, prevention motivation, and low power, respectively). Hence, simple contextual changes known to impact on processing styles may influence empathy beyond individual differences. The present findings are discussed in terms of their implications for empathy research and their relation with research on mood and level of construal.     

Are memory self-efficacy and memory performance related? A meta-analysis

The association between memory self-efficacy (MSE) and memory performance is highly documented in the literature. However, previous studies have produced inconsistent results, and there is no consensus on the existence of a significant link between these two variables. In order to evaluate whether or not the effect size of the MSE-memory performance relationship in healthy adults is significant and to test several theory-driven moderators, we conducted a meta-analysis of published and unpublished studies. A random-effects model analysis of data from 107 relevant studies (673 effect sizes) indicated a low but significant weighted mean correlation between MSE and memory performance, r = .15, 95% CI [.13, .17]. In addition, the mean effect size was significantly moderated by the way MSE was assessed. Memory performance was more strongly related to concurrent MSE (perceived current ability to perform a given task) than it was to global MSE (perceived usual memory ability in general). Furthermore, we found marginally larger MSE-memory performance correlations when the memory situations used to assess MSE involved familiar stimuli. No effect of the method used to assess global MSE or domain MSE (memory rating vs. performance predictions) was found. The results also show that the resource demands of the memory tasks have a moderator effect, as the MSE-performance correlation is larger with free-recall and cued-recall tasks than it is with recognition tasks. Limitations (generalization issues, moderators not considered) and implications for future research are discussed.     

Frequency,characteristics and functions of future‐oriented thoughts in daily life

Despite the growing interest in future‐oriented cognition in various areas of psychology, there is still little empirical data regarding the occurrence and nature of future‐oriented thoughts in daily life. In this study, participants recorded future‐oriented thoughts occurring in natural settings and rated their characteristics and functions. The results show that future‐oriented thoughts occur frequently in daily life and can take different representational formats (more or less abstract), embrace various thematic contents (e.g. work, relationships) and serve a range of functions (e.g. action planning, decision making). The functions and characteristics of thoughts differed according to their temporal distance, with thoughts referring to the near future being more specific and serving action planning to a greater extent than thoughts concerning the far future. The characteristics of future thoughts were also related to affective content, with positive thoughts being more frequent, more specific, and associated with more visual images than negative thoughts. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Speech and gesture in spatial language and cognition among the Yucatec Mayas

In previous analyses of the influence of language on cognition, speech has been the main channel examined. In studies conducted among Yucatec Mayas, efforts to determine the preferred frame of reference in use in this community have failed to reach an agreement (Bohnemeyer & Stolz, 2006; Levinson, 2003 vs. Le Guen, 2006, 2009). This paper argues for a multimodal analysis of language that encompasses gesture as well as speech, and shows that the preferred frame of reference in Yucatec Maya is only detectable through the analysis of co-speech gesture and not through speech alone. A series of experiments compares knowledge of the semantics of spatial terms, performance on nonlinguistic tasks and gestures produced by men and women. The results show a striking gender difference in the knowledge of the semantics of spatial terms, but an equal preference for a geocentric frame of reference in nonverbal tasks. In a localization task, participants used a variety of strategies in their speech, but they all exhibited a systematic preference for a geocentric frame of reference in their gestures.