Specificity of memory representations for spoken words

Many theories of spoken word recognition assume that lexical items are stored in memory as abstract representations. However, recent research (e.g., Goldinger, 1996) has suggested that representations of spoken words in memory are veridical exemplars that encode specific information, such as characteristics of the talker’s voice. If representations are exemplar based, effects of stimulus variation such as that arising from changes in the identity of the talker may have an effect on identification of and memory for spoken words. This prediction was examined for an implicit and explicit task (lexical decision and recognition, respectively). Comparable amounts of repetition priming in lexical decision were found for repeated words, regardless of whether the repetitions were in the same or in different voices. However, reaction times in the recognition task were faster if the repetition was in the same voice. These results suggest a role for both abstract and specific representations in models of spoken word recognition.     

Cuban Mothers' Schemas of ADHD: Development, Characteristics, and Help Seeking Behavior

Parents play a crucial role in the diagnosis and treatment of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), one of the most prevalent developmental disorders of young children We report the findings of a qualitative study of Cuban-American mothers of 7 to 10 year old children with ADHD. Results suggest that mothers lacked a cultural model for ADHD and held a cultural model of normal child development which hampered their development of a schema of ADHD. Development of ADHD schemas were motivated by perplexity at their children's behavior and by the high value mothers ascribed to academic achievement. Although the schemas developed by the mothers were labeled as ADHD, their behavioral characterizations of their children, their attributions for the condition and for its causes, and their management strategies were not always in agreement with those of the biomedical model for the condition. However, once mothers classified their children's behavior as atypical, they actively sought assistance from the professional sector.     

Psychometric properties of the children's atypical development scale

The Children's Atypical Development Scale (CADS) is a 53-item rating scale designed to measure unusual behaviors in children. Principal-factor analysis on a clinic-referred and pediatric sample of 474 children resulted in a four-factor solution: Communication Deficits, Lability, Social Relatedness Deficits, and Preoccupation. The CADS is internally consistent and has adequate temporal stability. CADS factor scores were differentially associated with parent and teacher rating scales, IQ, and Continuous Performance Test errors. The scale shows promise as a clinical and research tool for assessing atypical behaviors associated with pervasive developmental disorder and other neurobehavioral disorders.This research was supported in part by a grant from the Smart Family Foundation. The authors are grateful to James P. O'Donnell, Catherine Lord, and Frank A. Zelko for their comments on an earlier draft.     

Women’s Income-generating Activity and Experiences of Economic Intimate Partner Violence in Rural Bangladesh

Sex Roles - Economic coercion is a form of intimate partner violence (IPV) that is distinct from but often co-occurs with physical, psychological, and sexual IPV. Women’s experiences of...     

A systematic review of physical guidance procedures as an open‐mouth prompt to increase acceptance for children with pediatric feeding disorders

This article reviews behavioral treatments of pediatric feeding disorders using physical guidance procedures as an open‐mouth prompt (i.e., jaw prompt, finger prompt, Nuk prompt, side deposit) to increase food acceptance. We identified 9 articles containing 35 systematic evaluations. We coded participant and study characteristics and assessed the experimental rigor, quality, and outcomes of each evaluation. Of the high‐quality research present, the finger prompt variation and side deposit reliably increased acceptance. We found mixed results on the efficacy of the jaw prompt, although it was the most widely researched procedure. Further, authors reported interobserver agreement for 100% of the participants, procedural integrity for 60%, social validity for 80%, fading for 5%, and follow‐up for 55%. Based on the invasive nature of physical guidance, we provide recommendations for researchers and clinicians to increase the quality of their treatment evaluations. We discuss limitations, implications for practice, and future research.     

Maladaptive Emotional Schemas and Emotional Functioning: Evaluation of an Integrated Model Across Two Independent Samples

Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy - Recent advancements in emotion theory propose that emotional schemas—individualized conceptualizations and beliefs about...     

Gender and leadership emergence: A meta‐analysis and explanatory model

Research has shown that men tend to emerge as leaders more frequently than women. However, societal role expectations for both women and leaders have changed in the decades since the last empirical review of the gender gap in leader emergence (Eagly & Karau, 1991). We leverage meta‐analytic evidence to demonstrate that the gender gap has decreased over time, but a contemporary gap remains. To understand why this gap in leader emergence occurs, we draw on social role theory to develop a Gender‐Agency/Communion‐Participation (GAP) Model—an integrative theoretical model that includes both trait and behavioral mechanisms. Specifically, we examine a sequence of effects: from gender to agentic and communal personality traits, from these traits to behavioral participation in group activities, and ultimately from participation to leader emergence. The model is tested using original meta‐analyses of the personality and behavioral mechanisms (coding 1,632 effect sizes total). Gender differences in leadership emergence are predominately explained by agentic traits (positive) and communal traits (negative), both directly and through the mechanism of participation in group discussions. In addition, several paths in the theoretical model are moderated by situational contingencies. Our study enhances knowledge of the mechanisms and boundary conditions underlying the gender gap in leader emergence.     

Representing Sudden Shifts in Intensive Dyadic Interaction Data Using Differential Equation Models with Regime Switching

A growing number of social scientists have turned to differential equations as a tool for capturing the dynamic interdependence among a system of variables. Current tools for fitting differential equation models do not provide a straightforward mechanism for diagnosing evidence for qualitative shifts in dynamics, nor do they provide ways of identifying the timing and possible determinants of such shifts. In this paper, we discuss regime-switching differential equation models, a novel modeling framework for representing abrupt changes in a system of differential equation models. Estimation was performed by combining the Kim filter (Kim and Nelson State-space models with regime switching: classical and Gibbs-sampling approaches with applications, MIT Press, Cambridge, 1999) and a numerical differential equation solver that can handle both ordinary and stochastic differential equations. The proposed approach was motivated by the need to represent discrete shifts in the movement dynamics of \(n= 29\) mother–infant dyads during the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP), a behavioral assessment where the infant is separated from and reunited with the mother twice. We illustrate the utility of a novel regime-switching differential equation model in representing children’s tendency to exhibit shifts between the goal of staying close to their mothers and intermittent interest in moving away from their mothers to explore the room during the SSP. Results from empirical model fitting were supplemented with a Monte Carlo simulation study to evaluate the use of information criterion measures to diagnose sudden shifts in dynamics.     

The Relationship Between Religious and Psychospiritual Measures and an Inflammation Marker (CRP) in Older Adults Experiencing Life Event Stress

Journal of Religion and Health - Inflammation, often measured by C-reactive protein (CRP), is thought to be related to a number of debilitating illnesses as we age, including cardiovascular...