Quantity discrimination by kittens of the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus)

Animal Cognition - Quantitative abilities are well described in many species and in diverse life situations, including in the adult domestic cat. However, such abilities have been much less studied...     

Rhetorical Strategies for Scientific Authority: A Boundary-Work Analysis of ‘Climategate’

The term ‘Climategate’ refers to the episode in November 2009 when emails between climate scientists were stolen and published online. The content of this private correspondence prompted criticism from diverse commentators who cast doubts on the methods, claims, and members of the climate science community. In response, individual scientists and scientific institutions published statements responding to the allegations of scientific fraud. Gieryn's concept of ‘boundary-work’ can be used to analyse the rhetoric of scientists in situations where their legitimacy is disputed. More specifically, boundary-work can be used to analyse the responses of scientists in terms of: how they represent the attributes of science, what types of boundary-work they undertake (e.g. expulsion, expansion, and protection), and the professional interests that come into play. A boundary-work analysis of the commentaries published in the aftermath of Climategate reveals that scientists characterised climate science as consensual, asocial, and open. Scientists depicted climate science as consensual with the purpose of expelling dissenters and protecting areas of climate science from criticism. Scientists also described knowledge about climate as being ideally produced apart from society so that they could preserve their autonomy and exclude individuals who are accused of being ‘politically biased’. Scientists characterised climate science as necessarily open as the means to justify both existing and additional public funding for science and to avoid external corrective interventions against scientific opacity. Scientists and their critics alike interpreted the stolen emails as embarrassing deviations from the alleged social demands of a consensual, objective, and accessible science.     

Interculturality and Early Attachment: A Comparison of Urban/ <Emphasis Type="Italic">Non-Mapuche</Emphasis> and Rural/<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mapuche</Emphasis> Mother-Baby Dyads in Chile

It is well known in the field that culture and context play an important role in child rearing and parenting practices. However, many studies do not address the cultural dimension of attachment, although evidence indicates that aspects of early attachment differ across cultures. With the goal of comparing the quality of mother–baby interactions, this study analyzed attachment behaviors and maternal sensitivity in two settings: urban/non-Mapuche and rural/Mapuche in Chile. The sample was composed of 34 mother-baby dyads (17 urban/non-Mapuche and 17 rural/Mapuche) with 12-month-old children. During a feeding episode, the attachment style of the interaction was assessed with the Attachment during Stress scale, and maternal sensitivity was evaluated with the Child-Adult Relationship Experimental Index-Toddlers (CARE-Index). The groups differed in their interaction attachment style and in affective and proximity modalities: Urban/non-Mapuche mothers tended to have secure and ambivalent attachment styles, and rural/Mapuche mothers tended to have avoidant styles. When educational level is controlled, ethnicity group can explain the differences in mothers’ attachment styles. The findings of the study and their implications are discussed.     

Funcionalismo y ciencia cognitiva,lenguaje y pensamiento,modularidad y conexionismo: Entrevista con Jerry A. Fodor

RESUMEN

La obra de Jerry A. Fodor ha tenido una determinante influencia en el desarrollo de la llamada “Psicología Cognitiva“. Durante todo ese tiempo el profesor Fodor ha publicado una gran cantidad de artículos y libros que actualmente se consideran clásicos de la psicología. Su influencia va más allá de la psicología y se le considera uno de los pioneros de la llamada “ciencia cognitiva”. En esta entrevista, realizada y presentada por el profesor García-Albea, Fodor hace un recuento de su biografía, obra y, también, de las relaciones que ha mantenido con otros autores de la filosofía y la psicología clásicos, como él, dentro de la ciencia cognitiva. Nos habla además, el profesor Fodor, de los principales conceptos de su teoría: lengua del pensamiento, modularidad, teoría funcionalista, etc. Para finalizar esta entrevista, el entrevistado realiza una reflexión sobre las teorías dominantes en ciencia cognitiva, y comenta el futuro de la psicología a la luz de las actuales propuestas en investigación.     

Dysmorphic concern and behavioural impairment related to body image in adolescents

This study examined a moderated mediation model testing whether dysmorphic concern is related to behaviour altered to change appearance. This relationship is potentially mediated by depressive symptomatology (dysphoria and self-esteem) and ideas of reference about “laughing, commenting” and “attention, appearance,” and each mediated relationship moderated by sex. The sample was made up of 3377 adolescents from 12 to 18 years old (M_age = 14.52; SD = 1.65, 56.5% girls). The results showed that dysphoria and ideas of reference about “laughing, commenting” and “attention, appearance” partially mediated the relationship between dysmorphic concern and behavioural impairment related to body image. The relationship with dysphoria was moderated by sex, such that the mediation effect was stronger in girls than in boys. This result implies that girls who are worried about some characteristic of their appearance and show dysphoria are at greater risk of altered behaviour involving avoidance or controlling their appearance than boys. In addition, a possible risk of body dysmorphic disorder (3.45% of the sample) was found, with very prominent hiding behaviour using clothing or control behaviours, such as frequent weighing and looking at oneself in the mirror too much. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Child Victimization and Poly-Victimization in a Community Sample of Adolescents in Northern Chile

The aim of this article is to report the prevalence of youth victimization and poly-victimization in northern Chile. Using the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire, a sample of 706 adolescents ages 12 to 17 were surveyed. The results indicated that 89% of the participants had experienced victimization at least once in their lives and 76.8% had experienced at least 1 experience of victimization in the past year. The most frequent forms were conventional crimes (70% and 54.7%), witnessing and indirect victimization (63.2% and 45.2%), and peer and sibling victimization (50.0% and 34.6%), for the lifetime and the past year, respectively. Sexual victimization was less common for both time periods, but still relevant (15.9% lifetime and 9.9% past year). Older females and younger adolescents presented a higher risk of victimization particularly in conventional crimes and victimization by caregivers. As for poly-victimization, 21% of the adolescents presented between 4 and 6 different forms of victimization (the low poly-victimization group) and 16% reported seven or more (the high poly-victimization group) in the last year. The results showed that child and adolescent victimization is a significant problem in Chile. Percentages of victimization in Chilean adolescents were higher than those found in Europe or North America. Results from the group of poly-victims reinforces the need to evaluate the multiple forms of victimization that affect adolescents in Chile and to prioritize it in the design of the treatment of the consequences of violence, taking into account differences in gender and age.     

Eating behaviors and emotional distress are predicted by treatment and adverse outcome in patients with type 2 diabetes

Depression and anxiety are hightly prevalent among patients with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), however not commonly related to outcomes, treatment and comorbidities. Eating behaviors could also have an implication. To evaluate the relation between mood and eating behaviors with demographic, physical, treatment, biochemical profiles and chronic comorbidities in T2D we conducted this exploratory cross sectional study in a population from Mexico. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire Revised 21 (TFEQ-R21) were correlated with age, gender, blood pressure, treatment and comorbidities (nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy and cardiopathy). Multi-linear regression models and 2^k factorial analyses were conducted. Sixty-one patients (31 male) 55 years old (SD 13) with at least 5 years of T2D were included. Anxiety correlated with depression (r = 0.25, p < 0.05). Gender (women) (std B 0.026, p < 0.001), insulin therapy (std B 0.3, p = 0.11), systolic blood pressure (std B 0.263, p = 0.02) and cardiovascular disease (std B 0.232, p = 0.035) predicted depression. Insulin therapy had a positive effect in cognitive restraint. (std B 0.32, p = 0.001). Age (std B 0.37, p = 0.003) and systolic blood pressure (std B 0.237, p = 0.048) predicted positively emotional eating (not previously published). 2^k factorial analyses proved additive interaction between complications and insulin therapy with depression. This study supports the relation between mood disorders and eating behaviors with demographic, physical, treatment, biochemical profiles and chronic comorbidities in T2D and the additive interaction between factors and mood disorders.