Correlates of suicidality among patients with psychotic depression

The independent association of age and other factors with suicidality in patients with major depression with psychotic features was examined. Of the 183 study participants, 21% had a suicide attempt during the current episode. Male gender, Hispanic background, past suicide attempt, higher depression scores, and higher cognitive scores were each independently associated with greater intensity of current suicidality. Older age was independently associated with a lower risk of a lifetime suicide attempt. These findings reinforce the evidence that patients with psychotic depression are at high risk for suicide and underscore the importance of examining correlates of suicidality specific to patients with psychotic depression.     

Magnitude judgments of loudness change for discrete, dynamic, and hybrid stimuli

Recent investigations of loudness change within stimuli have identified differences as a function of direction of change and power range (e.g., Canévet, Acustica, 62, 2136–2142, 1986; Neuhoff, Nature, 395, 123–124, 1998), with claims of differences between dynamic and static stimuli. Experiment 1 provides the needed direct empirical evaluation of loudness change across static, dynamic, and hybrid stimuli. Consistent with recent findings for dynamic stimuli, quantitative and qualitative differences in pattern of loudness change were found as a function of power change direction. With identical patterns of loudness change, only quantitative differences were found across stimulus type. In Experiment 2, Points of Subjective loudness Equality (PSE) provided additional information about loudness judgments for the static and dynamic stimuli. Because the quantitative differences across stimulus type exceed the magnitude that could be expected based upon temporal integration by the auditory system, other factors need to be, and are, considered.     

Children's patterns of reasoning about reading and addition concepts

Children's reasoning was examined within two educational contexts (word reading and addition) so as to understand the factors that contribute to relational reasoning in the two domains. Sixty‐seven 5‐ to 7‐year‐olds were given a series of related words to read or single‐digit addition items to solve (interspersed with unrelated items). The frequency, accuracy, and response times of children's self‐reports on the conceptually related items provided a measure of relational reasoning, while performance on the unrelated addition and reading items provided a measure of procedural skill. The results indicated that the children's ability to use conceptual relations to solve both reading and addition problems enhanced speed and accuracy levels, increased with age, and was related to procedural skill. However, regression analyses revealed that domain‐specific competencies can best explain the use of conceptual relations in both reading and addition. Moreover, a cluster analysis revealed that children differ according to the academic domain in which they first apply conceptual relations and these differences are related to individual variation in their procedural skills within these particular domains. These results highlight the developmental significance of relational reasoning in the context of reading and addition and underscore the importance of concept‐procedure links in explaining children's literacy and arithmetical development.     

Slope estimation and viewing distance of the observer

The overestimation of geographical slant is one of the most sizable visual illusions. However, in some cases estimates of close-by slopes within the range of the observer’s personal space have been found to be rather accurate. We propose that the seemingly diverse findings can be reconciled when taking the viewing distance of the observer into account. The latter involves the distance of the observer from the slope (personal space, action space, and vista space) and also the eye-point relative to the slope. We separated these factors and compared outdoor judgments to those collected with a three-dimensional (3D) model of natural terrain, which was within arm’s reach of the observer. Slope was overestimated in the outdoors at viewing distances between 2 m and 138 m. The 3D model reproduced the errors in monocular viewing; however, performance was accurate with stereoscopic viewing. We conclude that accurate slant perception breaks down as soon as the situation exits personal space, be it physically or be it by closing one eye.     

Auditory event perception: the source-perception loop for posture in human gait

There is a small but growing literature on the perception of natural acoustic events, but few attempts have been made to investigate complex sounds not systematically controlled within a laboratory setting. The present study investigates listeners' ability to make judgments about the posture (upright-stooped) of the walker who generated acoustic stimuli contrasted on each trial. We use a comprehensive three-stage approach to event perception, in which we develop a solid understanding of the source event and its sound properties, as well as the relationships between these two event stages. Developing this understanding helps both to identify the limitations of common statistical procedures and to develop effective new procedures for investigating not only the two information stages above, but also the decision strategies employed by listeners in making source judgments from sound. The result is a comprehensive, ultimately logical, but not necessarily expected picture of both the source-sound-perception loop and the utility of alternative research tools.     

Parental affect and childrearing beliefs uniquely predict mothers' and fathers' ratings of children's behavior problems

The focus of this study was to examine the relations between parental characteristics and ratings of children's behavior problems. Although there is a considerable body of research that indicates that parental reports of children's behavior are biased by the characteristics of the parent, a number of limitations of past research have precluded definitive conclusions about the impact of individual characteristics. This study examined the role of parental affect and childrearing beliefs in determining parental ratings of child behavior in a selected sample of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. A series of analyses was specified in which teachers' and co-parents' ratings were controlled to examine the unique associations between parental characteristics and ratings of child behavior. After controlling for the co-parents' and teachers' ratings, both mothers' and fathers' psychological characteristics uniquely contributed to variation in their ratings of children's behavior problems. The specific affective and childrearing belief variables that accounted for variation in parental ratings varied by parent sex and the broadband rating analyzed. These analyses indicate the role that rater-specific characteristics may play in determining parents' assessments of child behavior.