The interactive effects of alcohol and temazepam on P300 and reaction time

The present research investigated the separate and interactive effects of the minor tranquilizer, temazepam, and a low dose of alcohol on the amplitude and latency of P300 and on reaction time. Twenty-four participants completed four drug treatments in a repeated measures design. The four drug treatments, organised as a fully repeated 2 x 2 design, included a placebo condition, an alcohol only condition, a temazepam only condition, and an alcohol and temazepam combined condition. Event-related potentials were recorded from midline sites Fz, Cz, and Pz within an oddball paradigm. The results indicated that temazepam, with or without the presence of alcohol, reduced P300 amplitude. Alcohol, on the other hand, with or without the presence of temazepam, affected processing speed and stimulus evaluation as indexed by reaction time and P300 latency. At the low dose levels used in this experiment alcohol and temazepam appear not to interact, which suggests that they affect different aspects of processing in the central nervous system.     

Methodological Issues in the Direct Observation of Parent–Child Interaction: Do Observational Findings Reflect the Natural Behavior of Participants?

This review examines evidence for the utility and validity of direct observational techniques for answering particular research and clinical questions. Observational techniques often involve recording behavior in settings that are relatively unnatural for families. However, it is argued that construct validity of observational methods depends partly on whether the findings are representative of participants' typical everyday behavior. Evidence is reviewed concerning whether observational findings are affected by the presence of the observer, and by two factors which have been neglected in the literature, namely the type of task imposed by the observer (e.g., directing parent and child to play rather than observing spontaneous interaction) and the location of the observations (e.g., clinic or laboratory rather than home). The review suggests that the presence of an observer does not necessarily distort the nature of interactions. However, the small number of studies in this area suggest that interactions in structured or artificial settings are not necessarily representative of those normally taking place at home.     

Talking about race in a scientific context

There are at least two approaches that assist students in understanding complexity and differing interpretations about human diversity and race. Because differing perspectives emerge from data perceived at different levels, different scales provide a tool for understanding relationships among perspectives and understanding the differential importance of specific factors. Constructivist listening, which assists students in examining their own experiences, feelings and understanding, provides a tool for digesting complex new material and learning emotional literacy. It can be applied to dialogue about race and to classroom situations. These approaches can help students master the conceptual and interpersonal skills needed for successful scientific practice. This article was adapted from a presentation made at the “Communicating Science Conference” held at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY, October 1998.     

Gender differences in orthographic, verbal, and compositional fluency: Implications for assessing writing disabilities in primary grade children

Measures of oral verbal fluency (word finding), written orthographic fluency (alphabet task), and written composition (narrative and oral expository) were administered to 300 children (50 girls and 50 boys each in the first, second, and third grades). Both oral verbal fluency and written orthographic fluency correlated significantly with the number of words (fluency) and the number of clauses (microorganization) in the compositions, but boys performed significantly better than girls on oral verbal fluency and girls performed significantly better than boys on written orthographic fluency. Girls consistently outperformed boys on the number of words and the number of clauses produced in narrative and expository composition. Thus, in beginning writing, orthographic fluency may be relatively more important than verbal fluency and boys may be at greater risk for writing disabilities. However, more boys were identified as having a disability in composition when absolute criteria (lowest 5% of normal distribution) were used, but about the same number of boys and girls were identified as having a disability in composition when relative criteria (significant discrepancy between Verbal IQ and compositional skill, based on the Mahalanobis statistic) were used. School psychologists are encouraged to use standardized measures of othographic, verbal, and compositional fluency to identify primary grade children needing early intervention to prevent more severe writing disabilities.     

Predictors of preschool language environments and their relations to children's vocabulary

Despite support for the importance of early language environments, little is known about the naturally occurring experiences children have in preschool settings. The current study sample included 91 children (M_age = 4.72 years; 56% male; 67% White) from 23 preschool classrooms and nearly 1500 h of language environment data from three waves throughout the preschool year. Of the sociodemographic characteristics, family income is most closely related to children's preschool language environments. A standard deviation increase in family income was related to children hearing approximately one million more adult words in their preschool classroom. However, conversational turns were the more robust predictor of vocabulary skills with effect sizes around 0.20, depending on model specification. Theoretical and policy implications of these findings are discussed.     

‘When my mummy and daddy aren't looking at me when I do my maths she helps me’; Children can be taught to create imaginary companions: An exploratory study

Spontaneous imaginary companion (SIC) creation in childhood is a typical imaginative play behaviour associated with advanced sociocognitive skills; however, the direction of causality has not been established. To investigate this experimentally, researchers must determine whether children can create, on request, qualitatively equivalent imaginary companions (ICs) to those created spontaneously. We examined whether children could create ICs, and how these compared to SICs. Nine elementary school children were encouraged to create ICs in a 3-month intervention. Accounts of elicited ICs were compared with an age-matched sample of interviewees with SICs. Seven children maintained ICs for 6 months post intervention. Template analysis of IC interviews found four themes: Realistic Play, Multifaceted IC Mind, Utility of the IC, and Elicited IC Across Time. Analysis suggests elicited and SICs were similar in nature and utility, although intervention ICs tended to have animal rather than human appearances. Findings support the argument that children can be encouraged to create ICs similar to SICs.     

The impact of visual exploration of judgments of whether a gap is crossable

When observers look down into a gap in the ground plane, their judgments of the widest gap they can step across (gapmax) decrease as gap depth increases (Y. Jiang & L. S. Mark, 1994). This study investigated the possibility that Jiang and Mark's viewing conditions did not afford observers a sufficient opportunity to perform exploratory movements needed to detect information about gap width. Experiment 1 showed that the gap depth by gaze interaction disappeared only when restrictions were not imposed on observers' exploratory activities (eye, head, and body movements). Experiment 2 showed that observers tended to see the vertical surface as slanted away from them, which made the bottom of the surface appear farther away from them than the top. Only when observers were able to view the gap binocularly under conditions that did not restrict exploratory activity did their slant perception improve and their gapmax judgments no longer covary with gap depth. The data indicate that the exploratory movements of prospective actors are essential for the pickup of information about their action capabilities.     

What Is a Philosophical Analysis?

Philosophical Studies -     

DSM-IV Literature reviews: Rationale,process, and limitations

DSM-IV will benefit from the extensive research and interest in diagnosis generated in large part by DSM-III. The development of DSM-IV is proceeding through three stages of empirical documentation, including literature reviews, analysis of unpublished data sets, and field trials. This paper discusses the rationale, process, and limitations of the literature reviews. The purpose of the literature reviews is to provide and to document a comprehensive review of the clinical and empirical literature to facilitate objective and empirically based decisions. The review process is guided by the explicit and systematic methods developed within meta-analysis. Limitations of the reviews are also discussed.The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the American Psychiatric Association and its Task Force on DSM-IV.