Acoustic emphasis in four year olds

Acoustic emphasis may convey a range of subtle discourse distinctions, yet little is known about how this complex ability develops in children. This paper presents a first investigation of the factors which influence the production of acoustic prominence in young children’s spontaneous speech. In a production experiment, SVO sentences were elicited from 4 year olds who were asked to describe events in a video. Children were found to place more acoustic prominence both on ‘new’ words and on words that were ‘given’ but had shifted to a more accessible position within the discourse. This effect of accessibility concurs with recent studies of adult speech. We conclude that, by age four, children show appropriate, adult-like use of acoustic prominence, suggesting sensitivity to a variety of discourse distinctions.     

Unpacking outcome dependency: Differentiating effects of dependency and outcome desirability on the processing of goal-relevant information

Outcome dependency has been shown to have a substantial impact on impression formation. Perhaps because the outcome dependency variable is a composite variable (including variation in amount of dependency, desirability of outcome, or both), many different effects have been described by researchers. The current research unpacks the outcome dependency variable by separately examining effects of dependency (when outcome desirability is held constant) and effects of outcome desirability (when amount of dependency is held constant). Using research methods adapted from those used in the attitudes domain, variation in the amount of dependency on a target person influenced the level of objective processing of target information (when outcomes were not substantial, Experiment 1), but variation in the desirability of the outcomes influenced biases in the processing of information (when dependency was relatively high, Experiment 2). Furthermore, personal motivation mediated effects of desirable outcomes on positive biases in processing (Experiment 3).     

Interpreting Pitch Accents in Online Comprehension: H* vs. L+H*

Although the presence or absence of a pitch accent clearly can play an important role in signaling the discourse and information structure of an utterance, whether the form of an accent determines the type of information it conveys is more controversial. We used an eye-tracking paradigm to investigate whether H*, which has been argued to signal new information, evokes different eye fixations than L+H*, which has been argued to signal the presence of contrast. Our results demonstrate that although listeners interpret these accents differently, their interpretive domains overlap. L+H* creates a strong bias toward contrast referents whereas H* is compatible with both new and contrast referents.     

Dishabituation produces interactions during multiple schedules

McSweeney and Weatherly (1998) argued that differential habituation to the reinforcer contributes to the behavioral interactions observed during multiple schedules. The present experiment confirmed that introducing dishabituators into one component of a multiple schedule increases response rate in the other, constant, component. During baseline, pigeons and rats responded on multiple variable interval 30-s variable interval 30-s schedules. During experimental conditions, subjects responded on the same schedule except that a dishabituating stimulus (manipulation of a light) was also presented randomly during one of the components. Constant-component responding was faster during the experimental than during the baseline conditions. This difference in responding grew larger across the session. The within-session pattern of responding was similar for the two components of each multiple schedule. Qualitatively similar results were observed for rats and pigeons. These results suggest that behavioral interactions sometimes arise from a change in reinforcer effectiveness between the baseline and experimental phases of the experiment, rather than from an assessment of reinforcer relativity (a comparison of reinforcers delivered during the two components in the experimental phase). Behavioral contrast and induction are sometimes produced by similar factors.     

Female “Thin Ideal” Media Images and Boys' Attitudes Toward Girls

Both boys and girls are exposed repeatedly to “thin-ideal” images in the media, that is, images of unrealistically thin and attractive women. As yet, however, little research has examined the impact of these images on boys. In the present study we investigated the effect of exposure to televised thin-ideal images on boys' attitudes toward girls. The participants were 354 boys aged 13–15 years, who viewed either 20 commercials that epitomized the thin-ideal for women or 20 commercials that contained no such images. They then rated the importance of 10 characteristics, including slimness and physical attractiveness, in their choice of partner or girlfriend. Appearance schematicity, a trait measure of the extent of investment in appearance as the basis for self-evaluation, was also assessed. It was found that schematicity was positively related to boys' importance ratings of attractiveness, slimness, athletic ability, muscularity, and popularity in a girlfriend. Further, boys who scored medium (but not high or low) on appearance schematicity were influenced by the commercials. These findings suggest that the media may have an indirect impact on girls' body image through influence on boys' expectations and evaluations of girls' appearance.     

Authorship and sampling practice in selected biomechanics and sports science journals

In some biomedical sciences, changes in patterns of collaboration and authorship have complicated the assignment of credit and responsibility for research. It is unclear if this problem of "promiscuous coauthorship" or "hyperauthorship" (defined as six or more authors) is also apparent in the applied research disciplines within sport and exercise science. This study documented the authorship and sampling of patterns of original research reports in three applied biomechanics (Clinical Biomechanics, Journal of Applied Biomechanics, and Sports Biomechanics) and five similar subdisciplinary journals within sport and exercise science (International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, Journal of Teaching Physical Education, Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Sciences, and Motor Control). Original research reports from the 2009 volumes of these biomechanics and sport and exercise journals were reviewed. Single authorship of papers was rare (2.6%) in these journals, with the mean number of authors ranging from 2.7 to 4.5. Sample sizes and the ratio of sample to authors varied widely, and these variables tended not to be associated with number of authors. Original research reports published in these journals in 2009 tended to be published by small teams of collaborators, so currently there may be few problems with promiscuous coauthorship in these subdisciplines of sport and exercise science.     

Dimensions of school climate: teachers' or principals' power styles and subjects' propensities to be climate vigilant as related to students' perceptions of satisfaction and of peers' abusive behavior

Two studies investigated teachers' and principals' power styles as related to college students' retrospective ratings of satisfaction and peers' abusive behavior. One study also investigated retrospective self-perception as related to students' sensitivity to the occurrence of physical and psychological abuse in the school environment. Among the findings were positive correlations between subjects' perceptions that their typical elementary school teacher used referent, legitimate, or expert power styles and subjects' reported satisfaction with their elementary school experience. Small but statistically significant correlations were found suggesting that principals' power style was weakly associated with ratings of psychological abuse in elementary school and physical abuse in middle school. Also, students who rated themselves as intelligent, sensitive, attractive, and depressive had higher ratings of perceived psychological and physical abuse at school. It was concluded that parameters of leaders' power styles and subjects' vigilance might be useful for understanding school climates. Experimentally designed studies are required.     

“Let's Get Into Character”: A Narrative/Constructionist Psychology of Conversion in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction

This paper engages the psychology of conversion through the 1994 prizewinning film Pulp Fiction, which features a divine intervention that sparks the conversion of a Los Angeles hit man. Given that film reveals the popular state of mind, this portrayal in Pulp Fiction suggests that a new form of conversion may be evolving in popular culture: a postmodern, narrative/constructionist account of conversion that could be a significant shift from previous psychological interpretations of the phenomenon.     

Factors Influencing Clinical Correlates of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE): a Review

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neuropathologically defined disease reportedly linked to a history of repetitive brain trauma. As such, retired collision sport athletes are likely at heightened risk for developing CTE. Researchers have described distinct pathological features of CTE as well a wide range of clinical symptom presentations, recently termed traumatic encephalopathy syndrome (TES). These clinical symptoms are highly variable, non-specific to individuals described as having CTE pathology in case reports, and are often associated with many other factors. This review describes the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral changes associated with 1) developmental and demographic factors, 2) neurodevelopmental disorders, 3) normal aging, 4) adjusting to retirement, 5) drug and alcohol abuse, 6) surgeries and anesthesia, and 7) sleep difficulties, as well as the relationship between these factors and risk for developing dementia-related neurodegenerative disease. We discuss why some professional athletes may be particularly susceptible to many of these effects and the importance of choosing appropriate controls groups when designing research protocols. We conclude that these factors should be considered as modifiers predominantly of the clinical outcomes associated with repetitive brain trauma within a broader biopsychosocial framework when interpreting and attributing symptom development, though also note potential effects on neuropathological outcomes. Importantly, this could have significant treatment implications for improving quality of life.