The cerebral,extra-cerebral bodily,and socio-cultural dimensions of enculturated arithmetical cognition

Arithmetical cognition is the result of enculturation. On a personal level of analysis, enculturation is a process of structured cultural learning that leads to the acquisition of evolutionarily recent, socio-culturally shaped arithmetical practices. On a sub-personal level, enculturation is realized by learning driven plasticity and learning driven bodily adaptability, which leads to the emergence of new neural circuitry and bodily action patterns. While learning driven plasticity in the case of arithmetical practices is not consistent with modularist theories of mental architecture, it can be enriched by the theory of neural reuse. According to neural reuse, cerebral regions are reused to contribute to multiple neural circuits in functionally constrained ways throughout ontogeny. By hypothesis, learning driven plasticity is complemented by learning driven bodily adaptability, which suggests that there is an interesting functional relationship between finger gnosis, finger counting, and arithmetical practices. The emerging perspective on enculturated arithmetical cognition will be complemented by considerations on associated developmental and acquired disorders, namely developmental dyscalculia and acquired acalculia. The upshot is that we need to take the cerebral, extra-cerebral bodily, and socio-cultural dimensions of enculturation into account in order to arrive at a better understanding of the phylogenetic and ontogenetic conditions of arithmetical cognition.

     

A feeding scale for research and clinical practice to assess mother—infant interactions in the first three years of life

The Feeding Scale provides a reliable rating of mother-infant/toddler interactions during a 20-minute feeding in a laboratory setting. The scale consists of 46 mother and infant behaviors, which are rated at the end of the feeding session. Observations of mother—infant interactions during two feedings separated by 2 weeks showed considerable stability. Five subscale scores are derived (1) Dyadic Reciprocity, (2) Dyadic Conflict, (3) Talk and Distraction, (4) Struggle for Control, and (5) Maternal Non-Contingency, Predictive validity of the Feeding Scale has been demonstrated and it discriminates between infants with and without feeding disorders as well as three diagnostic categories of feeding-disordered infants. The Feeding Scale can be used with infants and toddlers ranging in age from 1 month to 3 years. © 1997 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health     

Altering withdrawn and intrusive interaction behaviors of depressed mothers

Interaction coaching was given to 44 depressed mothers who had either a withdrawn or intrusive interaction style with their infants. The intrusive and withdrawn mothers were given instructions either to imitate their infants' behavior or to keep their infants' attention. The results suggested that the specific type of interaction coaching for the specific type of depressed mother (imitation for the intrusive mothers and attention-getting for the withdrawn mothers) significantly improved their interaction behaviors with their infants.     

To Use or Not to Use: Male Partners' Perspectives on Decision Making About Prenatal Diagnosis

We conducted an exploratory, qualitative pilot study investigating the use of genetic counseling and prenatal genetic technologies between women and their male partners for two referral groups: pregnant women 35 years of age and over (AMA) at the time of delivery and pregnant women with an abnormal maternal serum triple screen (MSAFP3). The convenience sample consisted of 25 semistructured interviews and 50 observations of genetic counseling sessions. Male partners' styles of decision making and the way they viewed prenatal diagnosis decision making were examined. We defined three decision-making styles based on our interpretation of the data: (1) domain, (2) joint-delegated, and (3) saliency. The male partners also seemed to view prenatal diagnosis as either an information decision or an action decision and appeared to take a more active role in decision making when the decision was viewed as an action decision.     

Accentuate the Negative: Social Images in the Prediction and Promotion of Condom Use1

Based on the negativity bias in person perception, we argue that behavioral decisions related to condom use are influenced by the social images that an individual has of people who do not use condoms, but that they are not influenced by the social images that an individual has of people who do use condoms. Three studies with college student samples indicated that the negative evaluations of people who do not use condoms predicts willingness to have sex without condoms. In contrast, positive evaluations of people who do use condoms showed no unique predictions. A fourth study demonstrated that a health message emphasizing the negative social consequences of having sex without condoms decreased willingness to have unsafe sex in comparison to a control, whereas a message that emphasized the positive social consequences of using condoms had no such effects on willingness.     

Perceptual organization and attention

It is widely assumed that the grouping of the visual field first described by the Gestalt psychologists and the related phenomenon of texture segregation occur very early in the processing of visual information and involve preattentive processes. All the recent evidence supporting this assumption comes from visual search experiments in which the subject is actively looking for a target and attending to the stimulus. The question at issue is whether these kinds of patterns are perceived under conditions of inattention, i.e., when observers are not searching for them. We performed six experiments to determine whether texture segregation and grouping by similarity or proximity are perceived under conditions of inattention. On the first two trials subjects were asked to report the longer arm of a briefly presented cross which was surrounded by a pattern of ungrouped small elements. On the third trial and subsequent control trials these elements were configured into grouping patterns and subjects queried about them immediately following their line length reports. The results establish that neither texture segregation nor grouping by similarity of lightness or proximity are perceived under conditions of inattention. They support the conclusion that there is an earlier stage of processing than that referred to as preattentive.     

Coalitions and Family Problem Solving with Preadolescents in Referred,At-Risk,and Comparison Families

This study tested the hypothesis that the mother-father coalition, parent-child coalitions, and parental warmth expressed toward the child are associated with family problem solving in families with a preadolescent child referred for treatment of behavior problems (n = 30 ), families with a child at-risk for conduct disorder (n = 68 ), and a sample of comparison families (n = 90 ). Referred and at-risk families displayed less effective problem solving. A regression analysis, which controlled for gender of the child, family structure, family income, marital satisfaction, and severity of child problems, showed that strong parental coalitions were linked to low levels of family problem solving in at-risk and referred families. Parent-child coalitions had little apparent impact while parental warmth was highly correlated with better family problem solving. The results may be interpreted as evidence for a tendency for parents in at-risk and referred families to “scapegoat” a preadolescent during family problem-solving sessions. This may undermine progress on family problem solutions and may complicate family-based prevention and treatment programs that use family problem-solving sessions.     

A 32-society investigation of the influence of perceived economic inequality on social class stereotyping

There is a growing body of work suggesting that social class stereotypes are amplified when people perceive higher levels of economic inequality—that is, the wealthy are perceived as more competent and assertive and the poor as more incompetent and unassertive. The present study tested this prediction in 32 societies and also examines the role of wealth-based categorization in explaining this relationship. We found that people who perceived higher economic inequality were indeed more likely to consider wealth as a meaningful basis for categorization. Unexpectedly, however, higher levels of perceived inequality were associated with perceiving the wealthy as less competent and assertive and the poor as more competent and assertive. Unpacking this further, exploratory analyses showed that the observed tendency to stereotype the wealthy negatively only emerged in societies with lower social mobility and democracy and higher corruption. This points to the importance of understanding how socio-structural features that co-occur with economic inequality may shape perceptions of the wealthy and the poor.