Hand Grip and Load Force Coordination of the Ipsilesional Hand of Chronic Stroke Individuals

Object manipulation depends on a refined control of grip force (GF) and load force (LF). After a brain injury, the GF control is altered in the paretic hand but what happens with the non-paretic hand is still unclear. In this study, we compared the GF control and GF–LF coordination of the non-paretic hand of 10 stroke individuals who suffered right brain damage (RBD) and 10 who suffered left brain damage (LBD), with 20 healthy individuals during lifting and oscillation task, using an instrumented object. GF was recorded with a force transducer, and LF was estimated from the object weight and acceleration. Overall, the ipsilesional hand of stroke individuals, independent of the lesion side, presented similar GF control and GF–LF coordination. However, LBD individuals took longer to start lifting the object, which may be due to the need of more time to obtain somatosensory information from the contact with the object. The findings indicate that stroke individuals preserve their ability to control and coordinate GF and LF when using their ipsilesional hand for object manipulation and the left hemisphere may play an essential role in the processing of somatosensory information needed for the GF control.     

Perceived freedom-responsibility covariation among Cypriot adolescents

Participants were 67 Cypriot adolescents who responded to propositions regarding positive, negative, and noncontingent relations between freedom and responsibility. The authors framed items so that half dealt with freedom given responsibility, and the other half dealt with responsibility given freedom. Results indicated participants were more likely to endorse positive-contingency items than they were negative and noncontingency items when items were framed around freedom given responsibility. However, when items were framed around responsibility given freedom, no such differences emerged. The authors discuss results relative to cultural and sociopolitical differences and similarities between children in Cypress and participants in the United States and implications concerning the present study and previous studies regarding these constructs.     

Predicting bullying and victimization among early adolescents: Associations with disruptive behavior disorders

Bullying is a common problem faced by children and adolescents in schools. One hypothesis that needs to be examined regarding the causation of this problem is whether being a bully or a victim may stem from disparate underlying patterns of psychopathology. Results are particularly scarce regarding the association between bully‐victim problems and disruptive behavior disorders. The present study sought to investigate the association between DSM‐IV symptoms of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), Conduct Disorder (CD), and bully‐victim problems in a sample of 202 adolescents, aged 12–15, attending two junior high schools in Cyprus, to determine whether these symptoms differentiate between bullies and victims and provide a new approach to the understanding of bully‐victim problems. Students completed measures of bullying, victimization, disruptive behavior disorder symptoms, and self‐esteem, along with demographic questions. On the basis of their responses, teenagers were classified as bullies, victims, or both bullies and victims. Those who were bully/victims reported greater CD symptomatology. CD and low self‐esteem were predictive of bullying, whereas ODD and low self‐esteem were predictive of victimization. Aggr. Behav. 30:520–533, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The reliability and validity of the Greek version of the task-specific occupational self-efficacy scale

The present study examined the reliability and validity of the Greek version of the Task-Specific Occupational Self-Efficacy Scale in a sample of 170 high school students. Drawing on current social cognitive career theory, the validity of the TSOSS is supported by the expected gender differences on the TSOSS factors, and their high correlations with Self-Directed Search summary scores, and vocational choice goals. Additionally, there seems to be some evidence that self-efficacy beliefs, as measured by the TSOSS, may affect choice goals both directly and indirectly. The empirical structure of the instrument examined by a cluster analysis algorithm was perfectly confirmed, and its stability is supported by adequate test-retest correlations and high internal consistency coefficients. On the basis of these findings a preliminary evaluation of the TSOSS is made when used with a Greek sample. Implications for research and career guidance are discussed.     

Self‐Reported Career Interests Among Adjudicated Male Adolescents: A Pilot Study

Using J. L. Holland's (1985) Self‐Directed Search, this study compared the career interests of 28 adjudicated male adolescents with a normative high school male sample. The mean Artistic score of the adjudicated adolescents was significantly higher, and the authors found that this group endorsed fewer Investigative items and more Artistic items than the normative sample. The adjudicated sample showed poor differentiation and significantly higher intercorrelations among the Holland codes.     

Gauthier and the Capacity for Morality

In Morals by Agreement, David Gauthier tries to provide a justification of morality from morally neutral premises within the constraints of an instrumental conception of reason. But his reliance on this narrow conception of reason creates problems, for it suggests that moral motivation is self-interested. However, Gauthier holds that to act morally is to act for the sake of morality and others, not oneself. An individual who so acts has what he calls an affective capacity for morality. He attempts to reconcile the tension between the self-interested account of moral behaviour and the affective capacity for morality by showing that the latter could develop from the former without violating the constraints of instrumental rationality. I argue, first, that his account is incomplete and assumes what it has to demonstrate; and, second, that this cannot be remedied with any plausibility. Finally, I argue that Gauthier covertly relies on a substantive claim about human good that is inconsistent with the instrumental conception of reason. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Children's understanding of the earth in a multicultural community: mental models or fragments of knowledge?

Children's understanding of properties of the earth was investigated by interviewing Asian and white British classmates aged 4?8 years (N = 167). Two issues were explored: whether they held mental models of the earth ( Vosniadou & Brewer, 1992 ) or instead had fragmented knowledge ( di Sessa, 1988 ); and the influence of the children's different cultural backgrounds. Children selected from a set of plastic models and answered forced‐choice questions. Using this methodology, there were no significant differences in the overall performance of Asian and white children after language skills were partialled out. Even young children showed an emerging knowledge of some properties of the earth, but the distributions of their combinations of responses provided no evidence that they had mental models. Instead, these distributions closely resembled those that would be expected if children's knowledge in this domain were fragmented. Possible reasons for the differences between these findings and those of previous research are discussed.     

Stages of Sexual Grooming: Recognizing Potentially Predatory Behaviors of Child Molesters

It has been proposed that sexual grooming behaviors of child molesters are not easily identified prior to the abuse. The present study investigated whether participants could recognize grooming behaviors, and if so, identify which stages of the process were most easily identified. Participants were randomly assigned to read one of six vignettes describing the stages of the grooming process. Results revealed no differences in likelihood ratings that the person in the vignette was a child molester and would commit sexual abuse between any of the conditions, suggesting that people may be unable to identify potentially predatory behaviors of child molesters prospectively.