The Daily Grind: A Rhizomatic Approach to Narratives of Managing Commuter Stress During Traffic Congestion in Metro Manila

Robust literature on commuter stress has shown the multiple impact of daily commuting in people's lives. Framed within a rhizomatic approach to narratives, we analyzed stories of 11 working and 9 student Filipino commuters by looking at the ways they act on or reconstruct themselves to manage stress. In urban Metro Manila, our findings showed three narrative “stress entryways”: getting caught by the wave, seating privileges, and stuck in transit. Theoretical and practical implications of findings on commuter well-being (e.g., keeping emotions in, releasing tensions), technologies of the “fit” commuter, and enriching conversations in traffic psychology and urban living are discussed.     

Chronic sildenafil (Viagra) administration reduces anxiety in intact and castrated male rats

Epidemiological research indicates that sildenafil (Viagra) abuse is associated with increased risk behaviors. The present study employs the open field, a standard animal model used in the field of anxiety research, to examine whether chronic exposure to sildenafil affects anxiety and risk-taking behaviors in gonadally intact and castrated male Wistar rats. Sildenafil (10 mg/kg) or saline were administered three times a week for three weeks. Animals were tested once a week in the open field during and after drug treatment. Sildenafil treatment increased the number of center entries and time spent in the center in intact and castrated animals during and after treatment, suggesting that repeated drug use decreases anxiety. Sildenafil also restored the deficits in exploration and locomotion produced by castration, indicating that sildenafil effects on open field behaviors are independent of endogenous androgens. We caution against generalizing from this study to human behaviors, but propose that the behavioral effects produced by a chronic high dose of sildenafil warrant further studies into its abuse potential.     

Evidence for expectancy as a mediator of avoidance and anxiety in a laboratory model of human avoidance learning

A laboratory model was developed to study human avoidance learning. Participants could avoid an electric shock signalled by a 5-s conditioned stimulus (CS) by pressing one of a set of response buttons. Self-reported shock expectancy and skin conductance were recorded during a subsequent 10-s interval before shock. Shock expectancy declined when the correct avoidance response was learned and returned when the response was unavailable. Learning transferred to another shock CS. Parallel effects were observed on skin conductance once performance anxiety was controlled by requiring responding on all trials. Learning was faster when the Pavlovian contingencies were trained before introduction of the instrumental response. The results support a cognitive model of anxiety in which performance of an avoidance response reduces expectancy of an aversive outcome and thereby reduces anxiety.     

Does the use of dolls facilitate children's memory of visits to the doctor?

Age differences in children's recall of salient experiences have frequently been documented, but these findings have routinely been based on studies in which verbal interviews have been employed. Because verbal interview protocols may underestimate the memory of young children, the purpose of this research was to compare the effectiveness of such an interview with two alternative protocols that involved the use of a doll. Using these contrasting protocols, 3-and 5-year-old children were asked to remember the details of a routine physical examination. Neither doll protocol facilitated 3-year-olds' recall of the features of the check-up. In contrast, 5-year-olds who were asked to demonstrate with a doll what happened in their examination showed enhanced recall. The inclusion of a doll had no effect on older or younger children's provision of elaborative detail about their visits to the doctor. Various measures of individual differences (e. g. temperament, language skill) predicted some aspects of the children's recall and elaboration. The findings are discussed in terms of the cognitive skills necessary for effective use of dolls in the assessment process, and are related to problems associated with interviewing young children who are involved in legal proceedings.     

Long-term transfer of learning from books and video during toddlerhood

Television viewing and picture book reading are prevalent activities during toddlerhood, and research has shown that toddlers can imitate from both books and videos after short delays. This is the first study to directly compare toddlers' long-term retention rates for target actions learned from a video or book. Toddlers (N=158) at 18- and 24-months of age saw an experimenter demonstrating how to make a novel three-step toy rattle via a prerecorded video or a picture book. The toddlers' imitation of the target actions was tested after a specific delay (e.g., 2, 4 weeks), and their performance was compared with that of age-matched controls who did not see a demonstration. The 18-month-olds retained the target actions for 2 weeks, exhibiting forgetting at 4 weeks, whereas the 24-month-olds retained the information for up to 4 weeks, exhibiting forgetting at 8 weeks. Retention rates for books and videos did not differ at either age. These findings demonstrate very impressive retention from a brief two-dimensional media demonstration, and they contribute to our overall understanding of long-term memory processes during infancy.     

Parallel acquisition of awareness and differential delay eyeblink conditioning

There is considerable debate about whether differential delay eyeblink conditioning can be acquired without awareness of the stimulus contingencies. Previous investigations of the relationship between differential-delay eyeblink conditioning and awareness of the stimulus contingencies have assessed awareness after the conditioning session was finished using a post-experimental questionnaire. In two experiments, the point at which contingency awareness developed during the conditioning session was estimated from a button-press measure of expectancy of the unconditioned stimulus (US). In both experiments, knowledge of the stimulus contingencies and acquisition of differential delay eyeblink conditioning developed approximately in parallel. In Experiment 1 it was shown that predicting the US facilitated eyeblink conditioning compared with predicting the eyeblink response. In Experiment 2, a masking task was used that slowed down the emergence of awareness, and it was shown that differential conditioning only occurred in participants who were able to predict the US. The current findings challenge the hypothesis that differential delay eyeblink conditioning is entirely mediated by a functionally and neurally distinct nondeclarative learning system.     

Effects of Fluency Versus Accuracy Training on Endurance and Retention of Assembly Tasks by Four Adolescents with Developmental Disabilities

Schools are increasingly being encouraged to teach vocational skills to middle and high school students. Although extensive research exists demonstrating the benefits of fluency instruction when teaching academic skills to this population of students, few studies have examined the importance of fluency training when teaching vocational skills. Using an alternating treatments design, the present study examined the effects of fluency versus accuracy training on 4 students’ fluency in completing 2 vocational tasks. Following the training phase, students completed each task during 20- and 40-min work sessions to assess endurance and retention of the trained skills. Overall, results suggest that the fluency condition produced greater work productivity.     

Rates and Types of Student Aggression against Teachers: A Comparative Analysis of U.S. Elementary,Middle, and High Schools

Student perpetrated violence against teachers is widespread, yet few studies differentiate teacher experiences of violence by school level (i.e., elementary, middle, and high school). This study, based upon 2,558 pre-kindergarten through 12^th grade teacher survey responses, revealed differences in types of student aggression against teachers by school level. Middle and high school teachers were more likely to report verbal harassment compared to elementary school teachers. Middle school teachers were most likely to report property offenses. Elementary and middle school teachers were more likely to report physical aggression than high school teachers. Demographic predictors of teacher-directed violence were also examined at each school level. Across all school levels, urban teachers had a greater probability of experiencing a violent incident. For elementary teachers, race/ethnicity and teaching experience were also significant risk factors. Future research, policy, and practice implications and recommendations are discussed.

     

The rhetoric of transformation in the healing of alcoholism: The twelve steps of alcoholics anonymous

Close attention to spirituality and change are necessary for a fuller understanding of how Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) works. This paper draws upon the conceptual tools of the anthropology of religious healing to interpret AA's program for recovery, the Twelve Steps. The Twelve Steps are described as a fundamental component of AA discourse, and as a rhetoric of transformation. The Twelve Steps outline a rhetorical process which moves the alcoholic from drinking to sobriety by means of a rhetoric of predisposition, of empowerment, and of transformation. AA discourse is spiritual, in that members are persuaded to interpret the world, their lives, and their affliction in sacred terms. Healing is not cure, but a new way of attending to the world and engaging with others, including God, or a ‘Power greater than ourselves’.

There is a God, and it's not me.