Do Bilinguals Automatically Activate Their Native Language When They Are Not Using It?

Most models of lexical access assume that bilingual speakers activate their two languages even when they are in a context in which only one language is used. A critical piece of evidence used to support this notion is the observation that a given word automatically activates its translation equivalent in the other language. Here, we argue that these findings are compatible with a different account, in which bilinguals “carry over” the structure of their native language to the non‐native language during learning, and where there is no activation of translation equivalents. To demonstrate this, we describe a model in which language learning involves mapping native language phonological relationships to the non‐native language, and we show how it can explain the results attributed to automatic activation of translation equivalents.     

If Bill Clinton Were a Woman: The Effectiveness of Male and Female Politicians' Account Strategies Following Alleged Transgressions

As persons whose careers depend upon the support of the public, politicians by definition are required to be concerned with the management of their public impressions. This research considers the impact of a politician's sex on citizens' evaluations following alleged transgressions. The study uses an experimental design to test how the sex of the politician affects the acceptability of various accounts following transgressions. The interaction of sex with the nature of the offense and the type of account offered is examined. Analysis suggests that sex, type of account, and type of transgression affect citizens' evaluations although not always in obvious or direct ways. Most significantly, the analysis shows that women are not judged more harshly than men when involved in a transgression.     

The socialization of prosocial behavioral tendencies among Mexican American adolescents: The role of familism values

This study investigates the role of familism values in fostering socialization experiences that promote prosocial behavioral tendencies among Mexican American adolescents. Two hundred and four Mexican American mothers and their adolescent children (104 girls, age M = 10.91 years) completed measures of familism values, prosocial parenting practices, and prosocial behavioral tendencies. Structural equation modeling tests indicated that mothers' familism values are related to parenting behaviors that promote prosocial behavioral tendencies, which in turn are related to adolescents' perception of prosocial parenting practices. Furthermore, adolescents' perception of prosocial parenting practices is related to familism values and prosocial behavior tendencies. Last, the relation between adolescents' perception of prosocial parenting practices and prosocial behavioral tendencies is partially mediated by familism values. These findings are consistent with the theoretical suggestion that the transmission of traditional familism values may serve as a social medium through which prosocial behavioral tendencies are fostered among Mexican American adolescents.     

Prosocial development in early adulthood: a longitudinal study

Consistency of measures of a prosocial personality and prosocial moral judgment over time, and the interrelations among them, were examined. Participants and friends' reports of prosocial characteristics were obtained at ages 21-22, 23-24, and 25-26 years. In addition, participants' prosocial judgment was assessed with interviews and with an objective measure of prosocial moral reasoning at several ages. Reports of prosocial behavior and empathy-related responding in childhood and observations of prosocial behavior in preschool also were obtained. There was interindividual consistency in prosocial dispositions, and prosocial dispositions in adulthood related to empathy/sympathy and prosocial behavior at much younger ages. Interview and objective measures of moral reasoning were substantially interrelated in late adolescence/early adulthood and correlated with participants' and friends' reports of a prosocial disposition.     

Five Observations Concerning the Intended Meaning of the Intuitionistic Logical Constants

This paper contains five observations concerning the intended meaning of the intuitionistic logical constants: (1) if the explanations of this meaning are to be based on a non-decidable concept, that concept should not be that of `proof"; (2) Kreisel"s explanations using extra clauses can be significantly simplified; (3) the impredicativity of the definition of can be easily and safely ameliorated; (4) the definition of in terms of `proofs from premises" results in a loss of the inductive character of the definitions of and and (5) the same occurs with the definition of in terms of `proofs with free variables".     

Exploring Conflict Resolution and Psychological Abuse Across Romantic Relationships

Although strengthening skills is recommended to improve the effectiveness of programs to prevent dating violence, little research has analyzed how conflict resolution strategies relate to victimization/perpetration trajectories. This study explores retrospectively self-reported conflict resolution strategies (positive problem-solving, engagement, and withdrawal) across 2 romantic relationships, paying special attention to possible changes. Participants were 309 college students who had been involved in 1, 2, or no abusive relationships. Based on these experiences, they were first classified into 4 groups according to their psychological victimization (non-victimized, pre-victimized, newly-victimized, and re-victimized) in each of their 2 relationships. Subsequently, they were also classified into 4 different groups according to their perpetration (non-perpetrators, pre-perpetrators, new perpetrators, and re-perpetrators). Changes in conflict resolution strategies were self-reported by both the victims and the perpetrators with a single abusive relationship, whereas persistence was detected in those involved in either 2 abusive relationships (re-victimized and re-perpetrators) or none at all. The results can help prevent dating violence across relationships and its negative consequences for health.     

Attention and spatial resolution: a theoretical and experimental study of visual search in hierarchical patterns

Our aim has been to study visual search in hierarchical patterns through a computational neuroscience perspective. In this way we were able to analyse the relationship between the global precedence effect and attention. The theoretical part of our investigations extended a model built upon the biased-competition hypothesis. An important feature of this extension is that different spatial frequencies are processed with different time constants. Simulations with this model resulted in specific predictions that were confirmed with a novel visual-search experiment utilising hierarchical patterns. Both experiment and simulations suggest that the global-precedence effect prevails under the condition of visual search.     

Spanish developmental dyslexia: Prevalence, cognitive profile, and home literacy experiences

This study was designed to examine the prevalence, cognitive profile, and home literacy experiences in subtypes of Spanish developmental dyslexia. The subtyping procedure used comparison with chronological-age-matched and reading-level controls on reaction times and accuracy responses to high-frequency words and pseudowords. Using regression-based procedures, 8 phonological dyslexics and 16 surface dyslexics were identified from a sample of 35 dyslexic fourth graders by comparing them with chronological-age-matched controls on reaction times to high-frequency word and pseudoword reading. However, when the dyslexic subtypes were defined by reference to reading-level controls, 12 phonological dyslexics were defined but only 5 surface dyslexics were identified. Both dyslexic subtypes showed a deficit in phonological awareness, but children with surface dyslexia also showed a deficit in orthographical processing assessed by a homophone comprehension task. This deficit was associated with poor home literacy experiences, with the group of parents with children matched in reading age, in comparison with the group of parents with children with surface dyslexia, reporting more literacy home experiences.