Different Anaphoric Expressions Are Investigated by Event-Related Brain Potentials

Event-related potentials were recorded to substantiate the claim of a distinct psycholinguistic status of (a) pronouns vs. proper names and (b) ellipses vs. proper names. In two studies 41 students read sentences in which the number of intervening words between the anaphor and its antecedent was either small or large. Comparing the far with the near distance condition revealed anaphor resolution specific effects: Ellipses triggered a potential shift with a short latency (approximately 120-200 ms) and with a fronto-central scalp distribution while pronouns and proper names triggered one with a longer latency (approximately 360-440 ms) and a parietal to right-occipital distribution. The early effect resembled the left-anterior negativity which has been related to syntax processing, while the latter resembled an N400 which is assumed to reflect semantic integration processes. These findings support the idea that ellipses and pronouns/proper names are processed by distinct mechanisms being implemented in distinct cortical cell assemblies.     

Food sharing and perceptions of the status of a relationship

This study examined how individuals may form an impression of the closeness of the relationship between two individuals based on an observation of them sharing food. An opportunity sample of 72 participants watched a video clip of young adults in same-sex or mixed-sex dyads eating a meal together. In the experimental conditions, each member of the dyad also offered or fed a morsel of food to the other person. Analysis showed that food sharing was seen as indicative of familiarity between the members of a dyad. Actually feeding the other person a morsel of food was seen as an indicator of intimacy in male dyads but not in mixed-sex or female dyads. Results are discussed in terms of expectations of intimacy in male and female relationships.     

The Voice in Dissociation: A Group Model for Helping Victims Integrate Trauma Representational Memory

The current article focuses on the subjective elements of voice in trauma and dissociation, and the manifestation of voice in four phases of group treatment for victims of extreme, catastrophic events. The voice discussed here is no ordinary voice: it captures an attribute of dissociated representational experience that, though not easily defined, is nonetheless replete with trauma messages from the depth of somatopsychic processes, expressed in the patient's nonverbal talking in gestures, tone of voice, posture, silences, facial expressions, and in rhythm, timbre, movement, and syntax. Dissociation, trauma representational memory, and the phases of a proposed group model are discussed in detail with their respective phase-specific voice.     

Applying Skill-Based Curriculum to Teach Feedback in Groups: An Evaluation Study

Group counseling theory and empirical research indicate that interpersonal feedback is an important element that can lead to insight and change in group members. Yet, managing interpersonal feedback is a difficult skill for novice group leaders to learn. This article examines (a) the role of feedback in counseling groups; (b) the implementation of a skill-based training program to teach novice group counselors how to give, receive, and facilitate interpersonal feedback; and (c) students' evaluation of such a program in which they participated. Recommendations are made to practitioners for incorporating feedback into counseling, and for counselor educators regarding the teaching of the intervention.     

Effects of information load, sensory modality, and age on paced inspection performance

The effects on paced inspection performance of amount of stimulus information, presentation of information visually, as opposed to visually and auditorily, and age were investigated. In comparison to performance with one sequence of visual information, correct identifications of signals declined and false alarms increased when two sequences of visual information were monitored. Increasing the number of classes of signals in the two sequences did not significantly affect performance. However, when one of the two sequences was presented visually and the other auditorily, performance improved. There was a tendency for performance to be lower among older subjects in most experimental conditions.