RUMINATIONS ON RUSE AND RELIGION

Abstract. I am in general agreement with Ruse on most religious and scientific issues but find little justification in his partial return to Christianity. His rejection of the literal interpretation of certain "Jewish myths," once started, can logically end only with the rejection of all the important content of both Old and New Testaments. His recognition that religious establishments have been responsible for much personal stress and many of history's great tragedies is understated.     

The effects of maternal employment and non-maternal infant care on development at two and four years

Differences in maternal employment during children's first year of life and children's entry into non-maternal care before the age of 1 year failed to predict differences in cognitive and socioemotional development at 2 and 4 years of age, after family background variables were controlled. Two samples were studied: a population sample of 1100 Bermudian children and a smaller subsample of children most of whom were determined to be at risk for developmental problems. To assess the effects of maternal employment, we compared infants with mothers who worked 20 or more hours a week to infants with mothers who worked less than 20 hours a week. To assess the effects of entry into non-maternal care before the age of one, we compared infants who were placed in regular non-maternal care before the age of one versus infants who did not experience regular non-maternal care before the age of one. The results revealed that family background variables frequently predicted many child outcome measures in both the total sample and the smaller research sample. After controlling for family characteristics, no differences were found between children whose mothers worked 20 or more hours a week when they were infants and children with mothers who worked less than 20 hours a week in either sample. In addition, age of entry into non. maternal care before the age of one did not significantly predict any child outcome measures.     

Sensitivity to combinations of musical parameters: Pitch with duration,and pitch pattern with durational pattern

In four experiments, listeners’ sensitivity to combinations of pitch and duration was investigated. Experiments 1–3 involved “textures” of notes, which were created by repeatedly sounding one of two notes (e.g., C₄ quarter note; D₄ eighth note), so that each note had an equal chance of occurring at any point within a texture. Experiment 1 showed that if a texture change was effected by introducing a pitch or duration that was not in the initial texture, the change was perceived by both attentive and distracted listeners. If a texture change was effected by combining the pitch of one note with the duration of the other note in the initial texture, and vice versa, it was perceived only if the listeners were attentive. Sensitivity to pitch/duration combinations was poorer when the pitch difference between component notes of textures was increased (Experiment 2), but it was better when the difference in duration between component notes was increased (Experiment 3). In Experiment 4, listeners’ sensitivity to combinations of pitch pattern and durational pattern in brief sequences was examined. Listeners were sensitive to the manner in which parameter patterns were combined when they were attentive, but not when they were distracted. The results are discussed in view of featureintegration theory and its application to music cognition.     

Illusions of Safety in a Risky World: A Study of College Students' Condom Use

The role that costs, benefits, and perceptions of invulnerability play in condom use was examined in a sample of students ( N = 211) at 4-year and 2-year colleges. In multiple regression analyses, past condom use was related to relative invulnerability, low present risk, and inexperience. Less intended condom use was associated with high perceptions of relative invulnerability and low perceptions of present risk. It appears that many college students feel protected from HIV because they judge their current sexual environment to be safe due to monogamy, sexual history taking, and the ability to tell a partner's HIV status. Independent of that, feelings of relative invulnerability are associated with more condom use—perhaps an accurate judgment of past risky behavior.     

THE TREATMENT OF COVERT SELF-INJURY THROUGH CONTINGENCIES ON RESPONSE PRODUCTS

Assessment and treatment of covert self-injurious behavior are complicated because it is difficult to quantify and apply differential consequences to covert responses. In this study, both tangible and social reinforcers were identified using reinforcer assessment methods. These reinforcers were then provided contingent upon the absence of tissue damage identified during physical examinations, resulting in near 100% success in physical assessment checks that was maintained over 10 months.     

Is Speech Arrest during Wada Testing a Valid Method for Determining Hemispheric Representation of Language?

Background and objective: The intracarotid amobarbital procedure, or Wada test, is the method of choice to determine hemispheric representation of language, and is routinely used in the presurgical evaluation for intractable epilepsy. Some investigators perform comprehensive language assessments, but others base language lateralization solely on speech arrest. This study sought to determine whether speech arrest alone during Wada testing provides valid data regarding language lateralization. Methods: The subjects (previously reported) were 21 patients evaluated for intractable epilepsy, who underwent language lateralization by Wada testing and functional MRI (FMRI). For each patient, language representation was determined by calculating: (1) a Wada laterality index based exclusively on speech arrest; (2) a Wada laterality index based on comprehensive language assessment; and (3) an FMRI laterality quotient. Correlation coefficients and categorical classifications were analyzed. Results: There was no significant correlation between the Wada laterality quotient derived from duration of speech arrest and either the comprehensive Wada language laterality score (r= .35,p= .12) or FMRI language laterality score (r= .32,p= .16). Categorical classification as left, right or bilateral language also showed marked discordance between speech arrest and the other two methods. Conclusion: Duration of speech arrest during Wada testing is not a valid measure of language dominance.     

ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR MAINTAINED BY STEREOTYPIC OBJECT MANIPULATION

In the current investigation, 2 participants with mental retardation displayed property destruction and stereotypy, and both responses involved the same materials (e.g., breaking and tapping plastic objects). Three experiments were conducted (a) to indirectly assess the functions of these two responses, (b) to determine their relation to one another, and (c) to develop a treatment to reduce the more serious behavior, property destruction. In Experiment 1, previously destroyed materials were either present or absent, and their presence reduced property destruction but not stereotypy. In Experiment 2, matched toys (ones that produced sensory stimulation similar to stereotypy) were either present or absent, or were replaced by unmatched toys (for 1 participant). Matched toys produced large reductions and unmatched toys produced small reductions in property destruction and stereotypy. In Experiment 3, attempts to pick up undestroyed objects were either blocked or not blocked while matched toys were continuously available. Response blocking reduced property destruction (and attempts), prevented stereotypy, and increased manipulation of matched toys. These results suggest that the two aberrant responses formed a chain (e.g., breaking and then tapping the object), which was maintained by the sensory consequences (e.g., auditory stimulation) of the terminal response, and that previously destroyed material or matched toys made the initial response (property destruction) unnecessary.     

Prevalence of ADHD and comorbid disorders among elementary school children screened for disruptive behavior

In the context of a school-based prevention of conduct disorder program, 7,231 first- through fourth-grade children were screened for cross-setting disruptive behavior. Frequencies of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders and patterns of comorbidity were assessed. We also examined the association of psychiatric diagnosis with child and parent characteristics to determine differential risk based on diagnostic subgroups. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD) were the most frequent diagnoses. Mood and anxiety disorders were infrequent as single diagnoses. Patterns of comorbidity demonstrated that both externalizing and internalizing disorders commonly cooccurred with ADHD. More severe degrees of psychopathology and psychosocial risk accrued to the subgroup of youths with ADHD plus a comorbid externalizing disorder.This study was supported by grant MN-46584 from the National Institute of Mental Health.