The oblique effect and three-dimensional shape

The classical oblique effect refers to the finding that observers are faster and more accurate in discriminating the orientation of a line or edge when it is at or near vertical or horizontal than when it is at an oblique orientation (Appelle, 1972; Mach, 1861). Based on the finding that observer sensitivity to orientation of simple symmetric shapes like an ellipse or the letter "X" also exhibits an oblique effect, Li and Westheimer (1997) suggested that the effect does not arise solely from inequality of simple orientation-tuned receptors in early visual processing, but also involves later orientation processing that can encompass more complex inputs such as shape axes. In this work, we examined how the oblique effect impacts three-dimensional shapes defined by texture cues.     

The detection of fear-relevant stimuli: are guns noticed as quickly as snakes?

Potentially dangerous stimuli are important contenders for the capture of visual-spatial attention, and it has been suggested that an evolved fear module is preferentially activated by stimuli that are fear relevant in a phylogenetic sense (e.g., snakes, spiders, angry faces). In this study, a visual search task was used to test this hypothesis by directly contrasting phylogenetically (snakes) and ontogenetically (guns) fear-relevant stimuli. Results showed that the modern threat was detected as efficiently as the more ancient threat. Thus, both guns and snakes attracted attention more effectively than neutral stimuli (flowers, mushrooms, and toasters). These results support a threat superiority effect but not one that is preferentially accessed by threat-related stimuli of phylogenetic origin. The results are consistent with the view that faster detection of threat in visual search tasks may be more accurately characterized as relevance superiority effects rather than as threat superiority effects.     

Serum cortisol,testosterone, and testosterone-binding globulin responses to competitive fighting in human males

Levels of circulating cortisol, testosterone, and testosterone-binding globulin were measured in 15 male wrestlers in relation to wrestling bouts and their outcomes. Concentrations of cortisol and testosterone increased consistently during wrestling bouts, while levels of testosterone-binding globulin dropped. Winners of competive matches showed greater increases in both cortisol and testosterone than losers. These findings indicate that humans, like other social mammals, may undergo specific endocrine changes in response to victory or defeat.     

Adolescents' experience with and response to suicidal peers.

The present study investigated a sample of 325 suburban high school students' knowledge of suicidal peers, whether they had ever talked to a suicidal peer, and, if so, what they actually did in that situation. Sixty-eight percent of the females and 42.5% of the males reported knowing a teen who had committed or attempted suicide. Ninety-seven students reported having talked to a peer who was definitely considering suicide; of these, 63% talked to their peer about his or her concerns, 24.7% told an adult, and 12% did nothing in response to the encounter. Ninth graders were significantly more likely to do nothing as compared to eleventh graders. A mixed pattern of results was found as to the relationship of the response of youth to suicidal peers and their general experience with suicidal peers. The results confirm the importance of adolescents themselves for the prevention of youth suicide, and the need to convince adolescents to report at-risk peers to an adult.     

Conduct disorder in children: Challenges,and prospective cognitive behavioural treatments

Conduct disorder in children presents significant challenges in its effects on families, teachers, and care-givers and in its treatment. Cognitive-behavioural therapies are among the better researched treatments for conduct disorder. Cognitive-behavioural therapies may be limited in their effectiveness because they were designed for adolescents rather than children. Child-versions of cognitive-behavioural therapies that train in prosocial behaviours may hold greater promise in the prevention and management of conduct disorder in children. Children with conduct disorder comorbid with other child disorders, and reactive aggression may derive greater benefit from multimodal interventions involving medication and psychosocial interventions.