Effects of age, task, and frequency on variability of finger tapping

The goal was to assess whether prior studies might have overestimated performance variability in older adults in dual task conditions by relying on primary motor tasks that are not constant with aging. 30 younger and 31 older adults performed a bimanual tapping task at four different frequencies in isolation or concurrently with a secondary task. Results showed that performance of younger and older adults was not significantly different in performing the tapping task at all frequencies and with either secondary task, as indicated by mean tapping performance and low number of errors in the secondary tasks. Both groups showed increased variability as tapping frequency increased and with the presence of a secondary task. Tapping concurrently while reading words increased tapping variability more than tapping concurrently while naming colours. Although older participants' performances were overall more variable, no interaction effects with age were found and at the highest frequencies of tapping, younger and older participants did not differ in performance.     

CHRM2, parental monitoring, and adolescent externalizing behavior: evidence for gene-environment interaction

Psychologists, with their long-standing tradition of studying mechanistic processes, can make important contributions to further characterizing the risk associated with genes identified as influencing risk for psychiatric disorders. We report one such effort with respect to CHRM2, which codes for the cholinergic muscarinic 2 receptor and was of interest originally for its association with alcohol dependence. We tested for association between CHRM2 and prospectively measured externalizing behavior in a longitudinal, community-based sample of adolescents, as well as for moderation of this association by parental monitoring. We found evidence for an interaction in which the association between the genotype and externalizing behavior was stronger in environments with lower parental monitoring. There was also suggestion of a crossover effect, in which the genotype associated with the highest levels of externalizing behavior under low parental monitoring had the lowest levels of externalizing behavior at the extreme high end of parental monitoring. The difficulties involved in distinguishing mechanisms of gene-environment interaction are discussed.     

Effects of listening to music, and of using a handheld and handsfree telephone on cycling behaviour

The effects of listening to music on cycling behaviour were evaluated. Twenty-five participants completed a track on a bicycle while listening to music with two standard earbuds, with one earbud, and with two in-earbuds. Conditions with high tempo music and loud volume were also included in the experiment, as were two mobile phone conditions, one in which participants operated the phone hand held and one handsfree condition.Cycle speed was not affected by listening to music, but was reduced in the telephone conditions. In general the response to auditory signals worsened when participants listened to music, in particular when listening with in-earbuds loud auditory stop signals were missed in 68% of the cases. However, when listening with only one standard earbud performance was not affected. In the conditions when participants listened to high volume and to high tempo music, the auditory stop signal was also heard in significantly fewer cases. Completing a task on the mobile phone, using both handheld and handsfree sets, resulted in increased response time to an auditory stop signal and also reduced overall auditory perception. Furthermore, handsfree operation only had minor advantages opposed to hand held operation, with only response time to an auditory stop signal resulting in faster performance. This is likely to be related to the fact that both hands could be used for braking.It is concluded that listening to music worsens auditory perception, in particular if in-earbuds are used. Furthermore, both handheld and handsfree operation of mobile phones has a negative effect on perception, potentially forming a threat to cyclist traffic safety.     

Existential loneliness and end-of-life care: A systematic review

Patients with a life-threatening illness can be confronted with various types of loneliness, one of which is existential loneliness (EL). Since the experience of EL is extremely disruptive, the issue of EL is relevant for the practice of end-of-life care. Still, the literature on EL has generated little discussion and empirical substantiation and has never been systematically reviewed. In order to systematically review the literature, we (1) identified the existential loneliness literature; (2) established an organising framework for the review; (3) conducted a conceptual analysis of existential loneliness; and (4) discussed its relevance for end-of-life care. We found that the EL concept is profoundly unclear. Distinguishing between three dimensions of EL—as a condition, as an experience, and as a process of inner growth—leads to some conceptual clarification. Analysis of these dimensions on the basis of their respective key notions—everpresent, feeling, defence; death, awareness, difficult communication; and inner growth, giving meaning, authenticity—further clarifies the concept. Although none of the key notions are unambiguous, they may function as a starting point for the development of care strategies on EL at the end of life.     

Types of Institutions as Patterns of Regulated Behaviour

Nowadays, neo-institutionalistic approaches are prominent in economics, political science, the science of public administration and sociology. There is a general complaint about the vagueness of the concept of institutions and the apparent disparity of phenomena falling under it. This article shows how institutional legal theory provides a typology of institutions as sets of rules and corresponding patterns of regulated behaviour that can help to avert much confusion. The typologys usefulness is tested by applying it to an array of private governance structures distinguished by transaction cost economics.The author would like to thank two anonymous referees for their valuable comments on an earlier version of this article.See for an extensive account of these two developments K. van Kersbergen and F. van Waarden, Shifts in Governance: Problems of Legitimacy and Accountability. Paper on the theme Shifts in Governance as part of the Strategic Plan 2002--2005 of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) (The Hague: NWO, 2001).     

Testing between-family associations in within-family comparisons

Using behaviorally discordant siblings to test for gene-behavior associations is a common tool in molecular genetics, because the within-family contrast offers a research design that avoids confounds inevitable in all between-family comparisons of unrelated individuals. We propose a similar strategy to assess the behavior-behavior associations on which much of psychological science is built. Between-family correlations of personality test scores (e.g., sensation seeking) and behavioral outcomes (e.g., substance use) may be mediated by variables that differ between families (e.g., social class or religiosity) and correlate with both personality and outcome. Contrasting twin and nontwin siblings who were highly discordant for behavioral correlates of substance use, we tested whether between-family behavioral correlations replicated within families. Some, but not all, did. Within-family analyses of behaviorally discordant siblings may find wide application in efforts to clarify the meaning of correlational research data.     

Visual orientation estimation

A systematic error is reported in orientation estimation, in that on average, estimates are closer to the vertical axis than are the stimuli by up to 6 degrees. This systematic error results from a specific mechanism that may be related to depth perception, and that is avoided in certain circumstances or when other mechanisms take over. For example, the estimates of one observer who was a well-trained professional draughtsman did not show this systematic error. Furthermore, for all observers tested, estimation of clock time is not subject to the regular orientation estimation error. Rather, observers tend to estimate times as slightly further from the quarter hour than they really are. Orientation judgement channel capacity was also studied under various conditions. The number of discriminable orientations is far above the magic number "7" limit, reaching over 20 in optimal circumstances. The distribution of discriminable orientations is nonlinear, in that these are more closely packed about the horizontal and vertical axis than at the oblique.     

Predictive and concurrent validity of the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire among American Indian adolescents

Suicide is currently the second leading cause of death for ages 15–24 years; reports indicate that 6–8% of American teens have attempted suicide. Rates of suicide and suicide attempts are at least as high, if not higher, for American Indian adolescents and young adults. The Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (Junior High School Version) (SIQ-JR) could be used to identify young people who may be at risk for attempting suicide, since this questionnaire focuses on suicidal ideation, a major risk factor for suicide attempt. However, little is known about the predictive validity of the SIQ-JR, particularly in American Indian adolescent populations. A suicide attempt cluster at an American Indian boarding school provided the unique opportunity to examine the performance of the SIQ-JR in a group of American Indian high school students who had taken the SIQ-JR approximately 2 months prior to the outbreak of attempts. The SIQ-JR proved to be an excellent predictor of future suicide attempts when compared to other measures of distress: anxiety, depression, and alcohol use. The SIQ-JR is an effective screener for suicide risk in this American Indian adolescent population.     

Law,social science and the “brainwashing” exception to the first amendment

Litigation in the “cult wars” has shifted from “deprograming” cases to civil suits by ex-converts based on “brainwashing” claims, and to criminal defenses claiming incapacity due to cultic brainwashing. Early cases were decided on the basis of first amendment derivations barring judicial inquiries into conversion processes and religious authenticity. In 1988 the California Supreme Court carved out a narrow exception to this doctrine to be applied to circumstances where “coercive persuasion” is combined with concealment of a group's identity. The Court's opinion entailed characterizations of the process and consequences of brainwashing which are problematic from the standpoint of social science. Several key questions must be resolved before brainwashing theories can make a constructive contribution to litigation involving religious groups. These questions relate to broader issues involving the nature, causes and indicators of involuntariness, and the closely related problem of drawing the line or identifying the exact point on a continuum beyond which the means or intensity of indoctrination becomes incapacitating. Although the 1988 California decision did not resolve these issues, they were considered from 1988-91 by several courts making procedural rulings on the admissibility of “expert” testimony on brainwashing/psychologicd coercion. A concluding section relates this legal to the duality of ‘soft’ vs. ‘hard’ determinism in social science.