Stratified Belief Bases Revision with Argumentative Inference

We propose a revision operator on a stratified belief base, i.e., a belief base that stores beliefs in different strata corresponding to the value an agent assigns to these beliefs. Furthermore, the operator will be defined as to perform the revision in such a way that information is never lost upon revision but stored in a stratum or layer containing information perceived as having a lower value. In this manner, if the revision of one layer leads to the rejection of some information to maintain consistency, instead of being withdrawn it will be kept and introduced in a different layer with lower value. Throughout this development we will follow the principle of minimal change, being one of the important principles proposed in belief change theory, particularly emphasized in the AGM model. Regarding the reasoning part from the stratified belief base, the agent will obtain the inferences using an argumentative formalism. Thus, the argumentation framework will decide which information prevails when sentences of different layers are used for entailing conflicting beliefs. We will also illustrate how inferences are changed and how the status of arguments can be modified after a revision process.     

COCAINE ADDICTS AND THEIR FAMILIES: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF THE PROCESSES OF IDENTIFICATION

The processes of identification between adolescent cocaine addicts and their parents were studied in 402 subjects, in total 134 familial triads (father"mother"son), subdivided into two groups of 67 triads, one of these groups having as the child an adolescent of masculine sex dependent on cocaine and the other, equal in number, being a control group, duly matched for age and socio-economic status. The instrument employed was the Rorschach test (1922), limited to the application of the Lerner Defense Scale (LDS; Lerner & Lerner, 1980). The findings in the affected triads showed up as consistent statistically for the presence of intense processes of pathological identification, especially between father and son, a sign of the importance of the presence of disturbances of paternal function in the development of this addiction. The utilisation of very regressive defence mechanisms, above all of projective identification, was the predominant mode of procedure in triads with a dependent child. In comparisons between the fathers the odds ratio (OR) for projective identification was 8.66 to 1, which points to the association between cocaine addiction and the primitive mental functioning of the fathers. With empirical methodology these findings serve to corroborate the psychoanalytical conclusions based on studies of single case studies, testifying that the dysfunctions of identificatory phenomena in familial functioning are predominant in the mental organisation of cocaine addicts.     

Personality variables, psychopathological alterations and personality disorders in alcohol-dependent patients according to Cloninger's typology of alcohol abuse

In this paper, an evaluation of Cloninger's typology of alcohol abuse in personality, psychopathology and personality disorders is carried out. The sample consisted of 158 alcoholics in treatment (56 Type I alcohol-dependent patients and 102 Type II alcohol-dependent patients). All subjects were assessed with diverse assessment tools related to personality (Impulsiveness Scale, Sensation Seeking Scale and STAI), psychopathology (SCL-90-R, BDI and Inadaptation Scale) and personality disorders (IPDE). The main findings were that Type II alcohol-dependent patients were more impulsive and sensation-seeking and they displayed more hostility and emotional distress than Type I alcohol-dependent patients. Personality disorders were not so prevalent in the case of Type I alcohol-dependent patients. The most specific personality disorders for Type II alcohol-dependent patients were narcissistic and paranoid. The implications of this study for further research are commented on.     

Patient attributions for cardiac events: predictors of physical and psychological recovery

This study examined cardiac rehabilitation (CR) patients' causal attributions for their cardiac events, and used those attributions as predictors of cross‐sectional and prospective health status. Data were collected from 163 participants at the beginning and end of their CR programs. Results showed that patients' attributions can be categorized into controllable ones that are behavioral in nature, uncontrollable ones that are biological in nature, and a separate category for stress‐related causes. Findings showed that stress attributions at the beginning of CR were associated with engaging in healthy behaviors in the last month of CR, which, in turn, were positively associated with metabolic equivalence levels at the end of CR. Results imply a motivational component to believing that cardiac events are caused by stress.     

Domain-specific learning of grammatical structure in musical and phonological sequences

Artificial grammar learning depends on acquisition of abstract structural representations rather than domain-specific representational constraints, or so many studies tell us. Using an artificial grammar task, we compared learning performance in two stimulus domains in which respondents have differing tacit prior knowledge. We found that despite grammatically identical sequence structures, learning was better for harmonically related chord sequences than for letter name sequences or harmonically unrelated chord sequences. We also found transfer effects within the musical and letter name tasks, but not across the domains. We conclude that knowledge acquired in implicit learning depends not only on abstract features of structured stimuli, but that the learning of regularities is in some respects domain-specific and strongly linked to particular features of the stimulus domain.     

Alone at the playground

Starting pre-school is a major stepping stone for children’s peer relations. Yet, some children spend their recess time alone, albeit in the presence of playful peers. These solitary behaviours have been noted in the literature as an alarm signal for a maladaptive social development. In this study, we identified four kinds of non-social behaviours engaged at recess (reticent, solitary-pretend, -functional, and -passive); and we examined the extent to which these different behaviours were related to social solitude at the playground six months later. Therefore, 97 children (aged 4–6 years old) were observed at the playground and their social-emotional skills were tested. Solitude was assessed through an innovative measuring method, based on Radio Frequency Identification Devices. The results demonstrated that solitary-pretend play in girls was related to an increase in solitary behaviours later on. Nevertheless, children who engaged in non-social behaviours showed a general lack of emotional skills, which may explain their initial withdrawal.