Lexical stress and phonetic processing in word learning in 20- to 24-month-old English-learning children

To investigate the interaction between segmental and supra-segmental stress-related information in early word learning, two experiments were conducted with 20- to 24-month-old English-learning children. In an adaptation of the object categorization study designed by Nazzi and Gopnik (2001), children were presented with pairs of novel objects whose labels differed by their initial consonant (Experiment 1) or their medial consonant (Experiment 2). Words were produced with a stress initial (trochaic) or a stress final (iambic) pattern. In both experiments successful word learning was established when the to-be-remembered contrast was embedded in a stressed syllable, but not when embedded in unstressed syllables. This was independent of the overall word pattern, trochaic or iambic, or the location of the phonemic contrast, word-initial or -medial. Results are discussed in light of the use of phonetic information in early lexical acquisition, highlighting the role of lexical stress and ambisyllabicity in early word processing.     

Einstellung defused: Interactivity and mental set

Mental set is observed when a familiar problem-solving strategy is applied to new problems that can be solved in simpler, more efficient ways. It is most famously illustrated in the water jar problems (Luchins, 1942 ). In these volume measurement problems, participants learn a rule to obtain an exact volume of liquid involving a complex combination of liquid transfer. Participants persevere in using this rule for new problems that can be solved with a much simpler rule. In two experiments presented here, participants completed the water jar task either in interactive conditions with actual water jars at a sink or in noninteractive conditions, with the problems presented on paper, as in the original Luchins procedure. Interactivity significantly reduced the degree of perseverance. In addition, participants' visuospatial skills significantly predicted the rate of perseverance (and the latencies to solution) in interactive but not in noninteractive conditions. These results underscore the importance of designing problem-solving experiments that engineer distributed cognitive systems in which participants coordinate internal and external resources in thinking.     

Counsellor-delivered HIV risk reduction intervention addresses safer sex barriers of people living with HIV in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

This study developed an HIV risk reduction intervention for people living with HIV (PLWH) obtaining care at primary healthcare clinics in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa by (1) conducting elicitation research to understand the dynamics of risk behaviour among PLWH, (2) modifying an existing HIV risk reduction intervention based on research findings and (3) conducting a pilot study to evaluate feasibility, acceptability and fidelity of the modified intervention implemented by trained lay counsellors at a rural clinic in KwaZulu-Natal. A total of 61 healthcare providers and 77 HIV+ patients from four primary healthcare clinics participated in 14 focus groups and 20 individual interviews to identify informational, motivational and behavioural skills (IMB) factors contributing to PLWH's sexual risk behaviour. Elicitation research findings were incorporated into a revised version of Options for Health, an evidence-based risk reduction intervention for PLWH in clinical care. In a 5-day training, lay counsellors learned strategies to address IMB barriers to safer sex identified in elicitation research. The revised intervention, which was implemented by six counsellors with 39 patients, was feasible to implement, acceptable to patients and counsellors, and implemented with good fidelity. This study makes an important contribution towards development of a theory-based HIV risk reduction intervention for PLWH linking prevention with treatment in South Africa.     

A Twin Study of ADHD Symptoms in Early Adolescence: Hyperactivity-impulsivity and Inattentiveness Show Substantial Genetic Overlap but Also Genetic Specificity

A previous paper in this journal revealed substantial genetic overlap between the ADHD dimensions of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattentiveness in a sample of 8-year old twins drawn from a UK-representative population sample. Four years later, when the twins were 12 years old, more than 5,500 pairs drawn from the same sample were rated again on the DSM-IV based Revised Conners’ Parent Rating Scale to assess symptoms on both ADHD dimensions. Heritabilities were high (around 70%) for both hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattentiveness and evidence for etiological sex differences was absent. The critical finding was a genetic correlation of 0.55, indicating that hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattentiveness are substantially influenced by the same genes but that the two dimensions also show large and significant unique genetic effects. These results in early adolescence confirm our findings in middle childhood, providing evidence for substantial genetic overlap as well as genetic heterogeneity of the ADHD dimensions. Future genetic studies should investigate the ADHD dimensions separately.     

The interest gap: how gender stereotype endorsement about abilities predicts differences in academic interests

This study used a novel approach to examine the link between gender ability stereotype endorsement and academic interests by examining not only stereotypes people hold within the domains of mathematics and language arts, but also between them. Grade 6 and 8 students (285 males, 363 females) reported their degree of stereotype endorsement and interest in these two academic domains. Results of path analyses revealed that stereotype endorsement within and between domains accounted for gender differences in interest. In language arts, endorsing a stereotype that females are more competent than males predicted subsequent interest in the domain and accounted for the greater language arts interest among females. In mathematics, however, the perception that males are more competent in mathematics relative to language arts was linked to students’ interest in this domain and accounted for the interest gap between genders. These results suggest that students’ interests relate to endorsed stereotypes that are either driven by a perceived gender superiority within one domain—when females are viewed as more competent than males in language arts—or a gender superiority between two domains—when males are viewed as more competent in mathematics relative to language arts. Considering not only stereotypes favoring a gender within one domain, but also between domains, provides a more accurate portrait of students’ actual stereotypes and can be useful to better understanding how the interest gap emerges.

     

Can the REBT theory explain loneliness? Theoretical and clinical applications

Loneliness is a common psychological experience affecting a significant minority of the general population. Loneliness may in part be related to the existence of dysfunctional cognitive evaluations. To date, however, loneliness has yet to be explicitly assessed within a cognitive-behavioural theoretical framework. The current study sought to determine the association between negative cognitions, within the context of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), and the experience of loneliness. A multinational sample of university students (n = 397) completed self-report assessments of rational and irrational beliefs, and loneliness. Structural equation modelling results found that the REBT model of psychopathology, and the REBT model of psychological health, provided satisfactory representations of loneliness, explaining 36% and 23% of variance in loneliness, respectively. Several dysfunctional (“Demandingness”, “Catastrophising” and “Self-Downing” beliefs) and functional (“Preferences” and “Self-Acceptance” beliefs) cognitions were directly and indirectly associated with loneliness. These results highlight that cognitions and loneliness are meaningfully related, and indicate that cognitive-behavioural models may be useful in understanding loneliness. More specifically, current results suggest that REBT may offer a viable psychotherapeutic approach to treating loneliness.     

Asymptotic judgment of cause in a relative validity paradigm

We report three experiments in which we tested asymptotic and dynamic predictions of the Rescorla-Wagner (R-W) model and the asymptotic predictions of Cheng's probabilistic contrast model (PCM) concerning judgments of causality when there are two possible causal candidates. We used a paradigm in which the presence of a causal candidate that is highly correlated with an effect influences judgments of a second, moderately correlated or uncorrelated cause. In Experiment 1, which involved a moderate outcome density, judgments of a moderately positive cause were attenuated when it was paired with either a perfect positive or perfect negative cause. This attenuation was robust over a large set of trials but was greater when the strong predictor was positive. In Experiment 2, in which there was a low overall density of outcomes, judgments of a moderately correlated positive cause were elevated when this cause was paired with a perfect negative causal candidate. This elevation was also quite robust over a large set of trials. In Experiment 3, estimates of the strength of a causal candidate that was uncorrelated with the outcome were reduced when it was paired with a perfect cause. The predictions of three theoretical models of causal judgments are considered. Both the R-W model and Cheng's PCM accounted for some but not all aspects of the data. Pearce's model of stimulus generalization accounts for a greater proportion of the data.     

Positive facial affect looks healthy

A healthy appearance is linked to important behavioural outcomes. Here we investigated whether positive facial affect is a cue for perceived health. In study one, two groups of participants rated the perceived health or perceived happiness of a large set of faces with neutral expressions. Perceived happiness predicted perceived health, as did anthropometric measures of expression. In a second experimental study, we collected ratings of perceived health for a wide age range of target faces with either neutral or smiling expressions. Smiling faces were rated as being much healthier looking than neutral faces, confirming that facial expression plays a role in the perception of health. A third study investigating attractiveness as a possible mediator found that expression still had a significant direct effect on perceived health, after accounting for attractiveness. Together, these studies systematically show that facial affect plays a critical role in shaping our perceptions of health in others.