$$\mathrm {ZF}$$ ZF Between Classicality and Non-classicality

Studia Logica - We present a generalization of the algebra-valued models of $$\mathrm {ZF}$$ where the axioms of set theory are not necessarily mapped to the top element of an algebra, but may get...     

Internalization of the thin and muscular body ideal and disordered eating in adolescence: the mediation effects of body esteem

This study investigates body esteem factors (weight-esteem and appearance-esteem) as mediators of the relationship between ‘internalization of the ideal body figure’ and disordered eating behaviors (restrained, emotional and external eating) in a community sample of adolescent males (n = 810) and females (n = 1137) from the Ontario Research on Eating and Adolescent Lifestyles (REAL) study. Mediation models were examined using a bootstrapping approach to test indirect effects and indirect contrasts. In males, weight-esteem partially mediated the relationship between muscular ideal and restrained eating; appearance-esteem partially mediated effects in the emotional and external eating regressions. In females, both weight-esteem and appearance-esteem partially mediated the relationship between thin ideal and all three forms of disordered eating; weight-esteem was a stronger mediator for restrained eating, and appearance-esteem a stronger mediator for emotional and external eating. Body esteem is important to consider for prevention and treatment of disordered eating in both genders.     

A behavioral approach to substance abuse prevention in the correctional setting: A preliminary report

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a substance abuse program in a correctional institution using social skills training for secondary prevention. Forty-four male inmates with a history of substance use participated in the pilot program. Program topics included drug, alcohol, and substance abuse treatment knowledge and development of anger and stress management skills. A pretest-posttest analysis revealed significant improvement in overall knowledge of program topics and within specific areas. Areas of greatest improvement were drugs and alcohol. Clients and group leaders reported that the program was effective in facilitating attitude and behavior change regarding substance abuse. Results suggest a social competence approach to substance abuse rehabilitation in correctional institutions holds promise for both increasing knowledge and teaching effective skills to resist future substance abuse.     

Impairment of executive functions in boys with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

The main aim of the present study is to compare the efficiency of executive control processes in 24 boys with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 58 normal controls of similar age (between 8 and 11 years). Three reaction time (RT) paradigms were utilized: a dual task that requires coordination of two tasks responses, a shift task that makes it necessary to disengage attention from one task and engage into another one, and a stimulus-response spatial compatibility task that requires participants to inhibit a prepotent response. Another purpose of the study is to examine whether Barkley's (1997) executive dysfunction or Sergeant et al.'s (1999) resource allocation/arousal model best account for the behavioral deficits associated with ADHD. Examination of raw RT data showed significantly poorer performance in ADHD children with respect to age-matched controls on both the higher-level cognitive functions of executive control and on lower-level abilities (e.g., speed of processing) of all tasks of this study. However, using proportional transformations of raw RT data, we could demonstrate that, in addition to differences in processing speed, also executive control processes were significantly impaired in children with ADHD.     

Psychophysiological correlates of organizational change and threat of unemployment among police inspectors

The study examined psychosocial work-conditions and physiological reactions among thirty-six police inspectors (median age 45 years, 81% males) who participated in a reorganization. At this time, subjects were threatened by unemployment and had to reapply for their positions in a new police district. Data were collected during the reorganization and at three years follow-up, by means of questionnaires (Stress Profile) and blood samples. The blood samples were used to determine serum levels of gammaglutamyltransferase (GGT), glucose, lipids, prolactin, testosterone and cortisol. The results show a positive association betweenworry about employment and symptoms ofburnout during the reorganization. Mean scores for the Stress Profile sub-scalesworry about employment (p<.01) andwork-load (p<.05) decreased between measurements but an impairment inrelationships with management was noticed (p<.05). No significant changes were observed in terms of self-rated health complaints. Significant decreases in total cholesterol (p<.0001), LDL-cholesterol (p<.0001), LDL/HDL-ratio (p<.01), prolactin (p<.0001), as well as increases in testosterone (p<.01) and cortisol (p<.001) were observed for the whole sample. Glucose decreased with marginal significance (<.07). Controlling for age and gender, multivariate regression analyses showed that subjects who reported deteriorations insatisfaction with work manifested the most modest decreases in prolactin (p<.05). Also, the decrease in glucose was larger for subjects who experienced impairments in,satisfaction with work (p<.05), information (p<.05), task-oriented leadership, (p<.05), andrespect and dignity (p<.05). Subjects who perceived deteriorations in theethical and moral standards of the organization increased their cortisol level to a lower degree than their counterparts (p<.05). Favorable changes in employment status and psychosocial work environment seem to be related to improved physiological functioning.     

Use of kind information for object individuation in young domestic chicks

In this paper, we studied the ability of newborn chicks to use kind information (sortal objects) provided by social and food attractors to determine the number of distinct objects present in an event (object individuation). Newly hatched chicks were reared with five imprinting objects and were fed mealworms. Chicks’ spontaneous tendency to approach the larger group of items was exploited. At test, on day 2 post-hatching, chicks observed two events in which objects, differing in kind, were each hidden behind one of two identical screens. Approaching either screen was considered a preferential choice. In Experiment 1, chicks presented with two social versus two food attractors did not exhibit any preference. In contrast, in Experiment 2, when chicks saw two different attractors (one social and one food) hidden behind a screen and one attractor hidden twice (i.e. moved back and forth two times) behind the other screen, they spontaneously approached the two different attractors rather than the single one seen twice. An explanation based on the preference for the more varied set was ruled out in Experiment 3: chicks did not preferentially choose between two different versus two identical objects when both groups were simultaneously presented. Results suggest for the first time that a non-human species uses kind information for individuating objects in a cross-basic-level contrast (i.e. food and social items) with minimal experience. As social and food stimuli differ in property as well as in kind information, the alternative explanation accounting for use of property information alone is also discussed.     

Face detection in complex visual displays: an eye-tracking study with 3- and 6-month-old infants and adults

The ability to detect and prefer a face when embedded in complex visual displays was investigated in 3- and 6-month-old infants, as well as in adults, through a modified version of the visual search paradigm and the recording of eye movements. Participants (N=43) were shown 32 visual displays that comprised a target face among 3 or 5 heterogeneous objects as distractors. Results demonstrated that faces captured and maintained adults' and 6-month-olds' attention, but not 3-month-olds' attention. Overall, the current study contributes to knowledge of the capacity of social stimuli to attract and maintain visual attention over other complex objects in young infants as well as in adults.