Test-retest reliability of the test of nonverbal intelligence (TONI)

Test-retest reliability of the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (TONI) was investigated. Fifty students randomly selected from first and second grades were administered Form A and Form B of the TONI on two occasions 3 weeks apart. Test-retest correlation coefficients were calculated for all 50 subjects. The results showed high test-retest reliability: Correlation coefficients were .89 (Form A) and .83 (Form B). Parallel form reliability was also high: Form A correlated with Form B .88 on the first administration and .86 on the second administration.     

A transgenerational theory

How does a family maintain and pass on its unique identity and culture? What mechanisms allow the passage of family tradition from one generation to the next? These are questions that a transgenerational theory must attempt to answer. Biological communication is one way of transmitting characteristics to succeeding generations but other forms of communication exist. Animals with complex nervous systems pass learned behaviour to their offspring and other members of their species. In the family environment Lamarckian transmission occurs in that acquired practices, behaviours and beliefs are passed on to succeeding generations. Transgenerational theory deals with the rules which govern the communication of acquired practices, behaviours and beliefs between generations. There is no rigorous scientific approach to the passage of family culture and tradition. This transgenerational theory is a minor step in the formulation of such an approach.     

Empathy: A Social Cognitive Neuroscience Approach

There has been recent widespread interest in the neural underpinnings of the experience of empathy. In this review, we take a social cognitive neuroscience approach to understanding the existing literature on the neuroscience of empathy. A growing body of work suggests that we come to understand and share in the experiences of others by commonly recruiting the same neural structures both during our own experience and while observing others undergoing the same experience. This literature supports a simulation theory of empathy, which proposes that we understand the thoughts and feelings of others by using our own mind as a model. In contrast, theory of mind research suggests that medial prefrontal regions are critical for understanding the minds of others. In this review, we offer ideas about how to integrate these two perspectives, point out unresolved issues in the literature, and suggest avenues for future research.     

Determining dangerousness in sexually violent predator evaluations: cognitive-experiential self-theory and juror judgments of expert testimony

Past research examining the effects of expert testimony on the future dangerousness of a defendant in death penalty sentencing found that jurors are more influenced by less scientific clinical expert testimony and tend to devalue scientific actuarial testimony. This study was designed to determine whether these findings extend to civil commitment trials for sexual offenders and to test a theoretical rationale for this effect. In addition, we investigated the influence of a recently developed innovation in risk assessment procedures, Guided Professional Judgment (GPJ) instruments. Consistent with a cognitive-experiential self-theory based explanation, mock jurors motivated to process information in an experiential condition were more influenced by clinical testimony, while mock jurors in a rational mode were more influenced by actuarial testimony. Participants responded to clinical and GPJ testimony in a similar manner. However, participants' gender exerted important interactive effects on dangerousness decisions, with male jurors showing the predicted effect while females did not. The policy implications of these findings are discussed.     

Putting feelings into words: affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli

Putting feelings into words (affect labeling) has long been thought to help manage negative emotional experiences; however, the mechanisms by which affect labeling produces this benefit remain largely unknown. Recent neuroimaging studies suggest a possible neurocognitive pathway for this process, but methodological limitations of previous studies have prevented strong inferences from being drawn. A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of affect labeling was conducted to remedy these limitations. The results indicated that affect labeling, relative to other forms of encoding, diminished the response of the amygdala and other limbic regions to negative emotional images. Additionally, affect labeling produced increased activity in a single brain region, right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (RVLPFC). Finally, RVLPFC and amygdala activity during affect labeling were inversely correlated, a relationship that was mediated by activity in medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). These results suggest that affect labeling may diminish emotional reactivity along a pathway from RVLPFC to MPFC to the amygdala.     

The effects of rational and experiential information processing of expert testimony in death penalty cases

Past research examining the effects of actuarial and clinical expert testimony on defendants' dangerousness in Texas death penalty sentencing has found that jurors are more influenced by less scientific pure clinical expert testimony and less influenced by more scientific actuarial expert testimony (Krauss & Lee, 2003; Krauss & Sales, 2001). By applying cognitive-experiential self-theory (CEST) to juror decision-making, the present study was undertaken in an attempt to offer a theoretical rationale for these findings. Based on past CEST research, 163 mock jurors were either directed into a rational mode or experiential mode of processing. Consistent with CEST and inconsistent with previous research using the same stimulus materials, results demonstrate that jurors in a rational mode of processing more heavily weighted actuarial expert testimony in their dangerousness assessments, while those jurors in the experiential condition were more influenced by clinical expert testimony. The policy implications of these findings are discussed.     

The peculiar longevity of things not so bad

Abstract— Intense hedonic states trigger psychological processes that are designed to attenuate them, and thus intense states may abate more quickly than mild states. Because people are unaware of these psychological processes, they may mistakenly expect intense states to last longer than mild ones. In Study 1, participants predicted that the more they initially disliked a transgressor, the longer their dislike would last. In Study 2, participants predicted that their dislike for a transgressor who hurt them a lot would last longer than their dislike for a transgressor who hurt them a little, but precisely the opposite was the case. In Study 3, participants predicted that their dislike for a transgressor who hurt them a lot would last longer than their dislike for a transgressor who hurt someone else a lot, but precisely the opposite was the case. These errors of prediction are discussed as instances of a more general phenomenon known as the region-β paradox.     

Preventing clinical deterioration in the course of schizophrenia: the potential for neuroprotection

Schizophrenia, which has both genetic and environmental causes, is associated with persistent symptoms and severe functional disability. The illness lies dormant during the premorbid phase and begins to express itself during adolescence or early adulthood. Clinical progression and deterioration reaches a plateau in which the patient is said to be in the chronic phase of illness and at which point restoration of prior functioning is unlikely. The severe deficits associated with schizophrenia are often the result of progression of illness due to lack of appropriate treatment. However, recent advances in neuropsychiatry have led to very early identification of individuals at risk for psychosis, even during the prodromal stage when psychosis has not yet manifested clinically. While research has demonstrated that the efficacy of antipsychotics is limited when used during the chronic phase of illness, these medications can effectively control symptoms and prevent progression of illness when used during the early stages of illness. The evidence of neural degeneration in the pathophysiology of schizophrenic illness suggests that there may be treatment opportunities through neural protection. Neuroprotection, which refers to treatment that helps maintain central nervous system functionality in response to neurobiologic stress, may be responsible for prevention of disease progression and deterioration. In this monograph, Jeffrey L. Lieberman, MD, introduces the phases of schizophrenic illness in relation to the concepts of progression and deterioration. Next, Dolores Malaspina, MD, reviews the neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative components of schizophrenia. Finally, L. Fredrik Jarskog, MD, focuses on the neuroprotective aspects of therapeutic interventions in schizophrenia.