Does conceptual implicit memory develop? The role of processing demands

The author investigated the importance of processing considerations within implicit memory in a developmental design. Second-graders (n = 87) and college students (n = 81) completed perceptual (word stem completion) and conceptual (category generation) implicit memory tests after studying target items either nonsemantically (read) or semantically (generated). In support of previous research, the author found no age differences in priming in the nonsemantic study/perceptual test condition. Age differences in priming were found in the semantic study/conceptual test condition, however, where college students had significantly higher priming scores than did children. These developmental dissociations support the theory that the processing requirements of conceptual implicit memory are similar to those in explicit memory. The author also discusses the contribution of the Transfer Appropriate Processing (TAP; H. L. Roediger, D. A. Gallo, & L. Geraci, 2002) framework to understanding these findings.     

The epidemiology of suicide-related outcomes in Mexico

Nationally representative data from the Mexican National Comorbidity Survey are presented on the lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset (AOO) distributions of suicide ideation, plan and attempt and on temporally prior demographic and DSM-IV psychiatric risk factors. Lifetime ideation was reported by 8.1% of respondents, while 3.2% reported a lifetime plan and 2.7% a lifetime suicide attempt. Onset of all outcomes was highest in adolescence and early adulthood. The risk of transition from suicide ideation to plan and attempt was highest within the first year of onset of ideation. The presence of one or more temporally prior DSM-IV/CIDI (Composite International Diagnostic Instrument) disorder was strongly related to each suicide-related outcome. Suicidal outcomes are prevalent, have an early AOO, and are strongly related to temporally prior mental disorders in Mexico. Given the early AOO, intervention efforts need to focus more than currently on children and adolescents with mental disorders to be effective in prevention.     

Bullying in college by students and teachers

This study explored bullying in college by students and teachers. The reports of a sample of 1,025 undergraduates indicated that 24.7% had seen students bully other students occasionally and 2.8% very frequently, 5% had been bullied by students occasionally and 1.1% very frequently, 12.8% had seen teachers bully students occasionally and 1.9% very frequently, 4.2% had been bullied by teachers occasionally and .5% very frequently, while 3.2% had bullied other students occasionally and 1.9% very frequently. Male students bullied significantly more than females. Student bullying was predicted by having seen other students bully, and by having been bullied by both students and teachers.     

Clinical Implications and Methodological Challenges in the Study of the Neuropsychological Correlates of Cannabis,Stimulant, and Opioid Abuse

Chronic consumption of several drugs of abuse (cannabis, stimulants, opioids) has been associated with the presence of neuropsychological impairments in a broad range of functions. Nevertheless, in recent years neuropsychological research on substance abuse has focused on the study of impairments in the executive functions linked to the prefrontal cortex and their influence on the personality, cognitions, and behaviors of the substance abusers. The aim of our review is, first, to summarize the main neuropsychological impairments shown by classic studies, as well as these new discoveries in executive functioning; second, to consider the mediating role of neuropsychological status on treatment outcomes and analyze the impact of these impairments in clinical practice with drug addicts; and third, to review the principal methodological challenges associated with research in the field of the neuropsychology of substance abuse. We also highlight the convenience of intervening in those functions most relevant to the abusers' persistence in consumption and risk of relapse.     

Protected values: No omission bias and no framing effects

Previous studies have suggested that people holding protected values (PVs) show a bias against harmful acts, as opposed to harmful omissions (omission bias). In the present study, we (1) investigated the relationship between PVs and acts versus omissions in risky choices, using a paradigm in which act and omission biases were presented in a symmetrical manner, and (2) examined whether people holding PVs respond differently to framing manipulations. Participants were given environmental scenarios and were asked to make choices between actions and omissions. Both the framing of the outcomes (positive vs. negative) and the outcome certainty (risky vs. certain) were manipulated. In contrast to previous studies, PVs were linked to preferences for acts, rather than for omissions. PVs were more likely to be associated with moral obligations to act than with moral prohibitions against action. Strikingly, people with strong PVs were immune to framing; participants with few PVs showed robust framing effects.     

What Does It Mean to Be Relational? A Framework for Assessment and Practice

The authors begin with a question regarding how to better draw upon relational thinking in making case assessments and treatment plans. They first address issues regarding the cultural construction of self and relationships, integrating women's psychology, family systems, and collectivist culture literatures within a discussion of power. Then they present a heuristic framework for how individuals orient themselves within relationships that includes two dimensions--focus and power--and evolves out of the social context. From these two dimensions, a typology of four basic relational orientations is presented: position directed, rule directed, independence directed, and relationship directed. Case examples from couple's therapy and suggestions for practice are provided.     

Gesture behavior in unmedicated schizotypal adolescents

Schizotypal personality disorder is characterized by interpersonal and verbal communication deficits. Despite the important role of gesture in social communication, no published reports examine the use of gesture by individuals with SPD. In this study, raters code gesture from videotaped interviews of unmedicated adolescents with SPD, other personality disorders, or no Axis II disorder. Results indicate that SPD adolescents show significantly fewer gestures but do not differ from the other groups in overall rate of movement. The findings are discussed in light of brain regions involved in dysfunction, parallels to schizophrenia, and treatment implications.     

Discipline behaviors of Chinese American and European American mothers

In any society, parenting beliefs are a reflection of that society's cultural values and traditions (J. U. Ogbu, 1981). Verbosity, a parenting behavior considered dysfunctional in European American culture, may not be problematic in Chinese culture. The authors recruited 31 Chinese American and 30 European American mothers and used questionnaires to measure parenting behaviors and child behavior problems. The Chinese American mothers also completed a questionnaire assessing their acculturation level. The Chinese American mothers had higher levels of verbosity than did the European American mothers; however, there were no differences between the groups in child behavior problems. The results also revealed higher levels of laxness in the Chinese American mothers compared to the European American mothers. Acculturation level did not predict verbosity or laxness levels. Results suggest that the effectiveness of a parenting style should be defined relative to cultural context.     

Sobre la Educación Estética en el Ámbito Familiar

En 2004, la ONU conmemoró el Año Internacional de la Familia. Es nuestro interés tratar aquí un aspecto de la educación con frecuencia inescuchado (la educación estética) en un ámbito educativo primordial como es la familia, y a menudo también pasado por alto o dado por supuesto, centrándonos especialmente en la experiencia del cine como colaboradora de la educación estética. Resaltamos la relevancia del estilo familiar de vida, los hábitos elementales de higiene, vestimenta y alimentación, el uso de juguetes, la decoración y, especialmente, el trato en las relaciones humanas: gestos, usos del habla en las conversaciones, etc. Todo ello colabora a poner en juego el cultivo de los sentidos externos: tacto, olfato, gusto, oído y vista, así como los internos: imaginación, memoria, experiencia de la vida. Y constituye una excelente preparación para la educación afectiva, moral, intelectual y social de los niños y las niñas. Una concreción pedagógica de la educación estética en la familia la constituye el cine. Éste requiere especialmente el acompañamiento de padres y educadores durante los primeros años para extraer la virtualidad educativa que el cine encierra. La estructura del texto responderá, por tanto, a tres apartados:

1. La educación estética en el desarrollo de la personalidad humana.
2. La familia como ámbito educativo en la esfera de lo estético.
3. Una concreción de la educación estética: el cine.