The Interactive Origin of Iconicity

We investigate the emergence of iconicity, specifically a bouba‐kiki effect in miniature artificial languages under different functional constraints: when the languages are reproduced and when they are used communicatively. We ran transmission chains of (a) participant dyads who played an interactive communicative game and (b) individual participants who played a matched learning game. An analysis of the languages over six generations in an iterated learning experiment revealed that in the Communication condition, but not in the Reproduction condition, words for spiky shapes tend to be rated by naive judges as more spiky than the words for round shapes. This suggests that iconicity may not only be the outcome of innovations introduced by individuals, but, crucially, the result of interlocutor negotiation of new communicative conventions. We interpret our results as an illustration of cultural evolution by random mutation and selection (as opposed to by guided variation).     

Virtuous Arguers: Responsible and Reliable

Virtuous arguers are expected to manifest virtues such as intellectual humility and open-mindedness, but from such traits the quality of arguments does not immediately follow. However, it also seems implausible that a virtuous arguer can systematically put forward bad arguments. How could virtue argumentation theory combine both insights? The solution, I argue, lies in an analogy with virtue epistemology: considering both responsibilist and reliabilist virtues gives us a fuller picture of the virtuous arguer.     

A longitudinal study of psychosocial distress in breast cancer: prevalence and risk factors

This longitudinal study was conducted among 102 women with non-metastasic breast cancer to identify the time evolution and prevalence of distress at specific times through diagnosis and treatment of disease: preliminary diagnosis, surgery, definitive diagnosis and chemotherapy. Additionally, the study aimed to examine the role of demographic, medical and psychosocial factors on distress. The results indicated that prevalence of distress was higher at initial diagnosis (25%) than the following time points (approximately 17%). The differences inter-individuals in the levels of distress were observed over the four assessments. No relation between distress and demographic and medical factors was found. However, psychosocial aspects were significant risk factors. Patterns of emotional suppression and specific coping responses like helplessness/hopelessness, anxious preoccupation, cognitive avoidance and fatalism were positively related to distress, whereas fighting spirit and perceived social support showed a protective role. Moreover, helplessness/hopelessness and anxious preoccupation jointly predicted 75% of cases and 98% non-cases of distress. Finally, a mediational model between emotional suppression and distress through helplessness/hopelessness was tested. Results support the necessity of routine distress screening all through the illness. Implications of data for psychosocial interventions with breast cancer patients are highlighted.     

Psychometric characteristics of the Emotional Quotient Inventory, Youth Version, Short Form, in Hungarian high school students

Research on the psychometric characteristics, including factor structure, of measures assessing emotional intelligence improve our understanding of the manifest and latent dimensions of the construct. The factor structure of the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (Bar-On, 1997), despite the popularity of the measure, has been the subject of only a few studies, and there are no data available at all on its 30-item version. The aim of our study was the structural analysis of the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory, Youth Version, Short Form (Bar-On & Parker, 2000). During the multiple-step statistical analysis, confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses and a combined method of these were executed on a sample of 2,380 adolescents (mean age: 17 years, 47.9 % male). The results confirmed the original 5-factor structure (Intrapersonal Emotional Quotient, Interpersonal Emotional Quotient, Stress Management, Adaptability, and Positive Impression). However, only 24 of the original 30 items could be considered as belonging to the scales. Elimination of 6 items resulted in a clearer and more coherent factorial structure, which makes the measure an adequate tool for the assessment of the emotional intelligence of adolescents and young adults in surveys of large-scale samples.     

The Hispanic Stress Inventory--Adolescent Version: a culturally informed psychosocial assessment

A 2-phase study was conducted to develop a culturally informed measure of psychosocial stress for adolescents: the Hispanic Stress Inventory--Adolescent Version (HSI-A). Phase 1 involved item development through the collection of open-ended focus group interview data (n = 170) from a heterogeneous sample of Hispanic youths residing in the southwest and northeast United States. In Phase 2, we examined the psychometric properties of the HSI-A (n = 1,651), which involved the use of factor analytic procedures to determine the underlying scale structure of the HSI-A for foreign-born and U.S.-born participants in an aggregated analytic approach. An 8-factor solution was established, with factors that include Family Economic Stress, Acculturation-Gap Stress, Culture and Educational Stress, Immigration-Related Stress, Discrimination Stress, Family Immigration Stress, Community and Gang-Related Stress, and Family and Drug-Related Stress. Concurrent, related validity estimates were calculated to determine relations between HSI-A and other measures of child psychopathology and behavioral and emotional disturbances. HSI-A total stress appraisal scores were significantly correlated with both the Children's Depression Inventory and the Youth Self Report (p < .001). Reliability estimates for the HSI-A were conducted, and they yielded high reliability coefficients for most factor subscales, with the HSI-A total stress appraisal score reliability alpha at .92.     

Relative blindsight arises from a criterion confound in metacontrast masking: implications for theories of consciousness

Relative blindsight is said to occur when different levels of subjective awareness are obtained at equality of objective performance. Using metacontrast masking, Lau and Passingham (2006) reported relative blindsight in normal observers at the shorter of two stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOAs) between target and mask. Experiment 1 replicated the critical asymmetry in subjective awareness at equality of objective performance. We argue that this asymmetry cannot be regarded as evidence for relative blindsight because the observers' responses were based on different attributes of the stimuli (criterion contents) at the two SOAs. With an invariant criterion content (Experiment 2), there was no asymmetry in subjective awareness across the two SOAs even though objective performance was the same. Experiment 3 examined the effect of criterion level on estimates of relative blindsight. Collectively, the present results question whether metacontrast masking is a suitable paradigm for establishing relative blindsight. Implications for theories of consciousness are discussed.     

Presymptomatic Testing for Neurogenetic Diseases in Brazil: Assessing Who Seeks and Who Follows through with Testing

Diagnostic tests are available to detect several mutations related to adult-onset, autosomal dominant, neurodegenerative diseases. We aimed to describe our experience in a presymptomatic testing program run by the Brazilian Public Health System from 1999 to 2009. A total of 184 individuals were eligible for presymptomatic testing due to a risk for spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) - SCA3 (80%), Huntington’s disease (11.9%), familial amyloidotic neuropathy (4.3%), SCA1, SCA2, SCA6, or SCA7. Most were women (70%), married (54%), and had children prior to presymptomatic testing (67%). Their mean age at entrance was 34 (SD = 11 years). Educational level was above the average Brazilian standard. After receipt of genetic counseling, 100 individuals (54%) decided to undergo testing; of these, 51 were carriers. Since no individual returned for post-test psychological evaluation, we conducted a subsequent survey, unrelated to test disclosures. We contacted 57 individuals of whom 31 agreed to participate (24 had been tested, 7 had not). Several ascertainment concerns relating to these numerous losses prevented us from generalizing our results from this second survey. We concluded that: decision-making regarding presymptomatic testing seems to be genuinely autonomous, since after genetic counseling half the individuals who asked for presymptomatic testing decided in favor and half decided against it; general characteristics of Brazilians who sought presymptomatic testing were similar to many European samples studied previously; and individuals at risk for SCA3 may be at greater risk of depression. Although no clear-cut reason emerged for rejection of follow-up psychological sessions after presymptomatic testing, this finding suggests adjustments to our presymptomatic testing program are necessary.     

Validating Regulatory Sensory Processing Disorders Using the Sensory Profile and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL 1?–5)

The objective was to validate Regulatory Sensory Processing Disorders’ criteria (DC:0-3R, 2005) using empirical data on the presence and severity of sensory modulation deficits and specific psychiatric symptoms in clinical samples. Sixty toddlers who attended a child mental health unit were diagnosed by a clinical team. The following two groups were created: toddlers with RSPD (N?=?14) and those with “other diagnoses in Axis I/II of the DC:0-3R″(OD3R) (N?=?46). Independently of the clinical process, parents completed the Infant Toddler Sensory Profile (as a checklist for sensory symptoms) and the Achenbach Behavior Checklist for ages 1?–5 (CBCL 1?–5). The scores from the two groups were compared. The results showed the following for the RSPD group: a higher number of affected sensory areas and patterns than in the OD3R group; a higher percentage of sensory deficits in specific sensory categories; and a higher severity of behavioral symptoms such as withdrawal, inattention, other externalizing problems and pervasive developmental problems in CBCL 1?–5. The results confirmed our hypotheses by indicating a higher severity of sensory symptoms and identifying specific behavioral problems in children with RSPD. The results revealed convergent validity between the instruments and the diagnostic criteria for RSPD and supported the validity of RSPD as a unique diagnosis. The findings also suggested the importance of identifying sensory modulation deficits in order to develop an early intervention to enhance the sensory capacities of children who do not fully satisfy the criteria for some DSM-IV-TR disorders.     

GABA, glutamate, dopamine and serotonin transporters expression on forgetting

Notwithstanding several neurotransmission systems are frequently related to memory formation; forgetting process and neurotransmission systems or their transporters; the role of γ-aminobutyric acid (GAT1), glutamate (EACC1), dopamine (DAT) and serotonin (SERT) is poorly understood. Hence, in this paper western-blot analysis was used to evaluate expression of GAT1, EAAC1, DAT and SERT during forgetting in trained and untrained rats treated with the selective serotonin transporter inhibitor fluoxetine, the amnesic drug d-methamphetamine (METH) and fluoxetine plus METH. Transporters expression was determined in the hippocampus (HIP), prefrontal cortex (PFC) and striatum (STR). Results indicated that forgetting of Pavlovian/instrumental autoshaping was associated to up-regulation of GAT1 (PFC and HIP) and DAT (PFC) while SERT (HIP) was down-regulated; no-changes were observed in striatum. Methamphetamine administration did not affect forgetting at 216 h post-training but up-regulated hippocampal DAT and EACC, prefrontal cortex DAT and striatal GAT1 or EACC1. Fluoxetine alone prevented forgetting, which was associated to striatal GAT1 and hippocampal DAT up-regulation, but prefrontal cortex GAT1 down-regulation. Fluoxetine plus METH administration was also able to prevent forgetting, which was associated to hippocampal DAT, prefrontal cortex SERT and striatal GAT1, DAT or SERT up-regulation, but prefrontal cortex GAT1 down-regulation. Together these data show that forgetting provokes primarily hippocampal and prefrontal cortex transporters changes; forgetting represent a behavioral process hardly modifiable and its prevention could causes different transporters expression patterns.