Gordon Allport and the Legend of "Rinehart"

Gordon Allport's prize-winning junior-year essay on the Harvard “Rinehart” legend contains several features that are different from all other versions of the legend, most notably in the motives attributed to Rinehart and the responses of the students to him. These changes, it is argued, reflect the influence of Allport's own personality and values, as manifested in his adult life and academic career.     

Biomechanics of normal and pathological gait: implications for understanding human locomotor control

The biomechanical (kinetic) analysis of human gait reveals the integrated and detailed motor patterns that are essential in pinpointing the abnormal patterns in pathological gait. In a similar manner, these motor patterns (moments, powers, and EMGs) can be used to identify synergies and to validate theories of CNS control. Based on kinetic and EMG patterns for a wide range of normal subjects and cadences, evidence is presented that both supports and negates the central pattern generator theory of locomotion. Adaptive motor patterns that are evident in peripheral gait pathologies reinforce a strong peripheral rather than a central control. Finally, a three-component subtask theory of human gait is presented and is supported by reference to the motor patterns seen in a normal gait. The identified subtasks are (a) support (against collapse during stance); (b) dynamic balance of the upper body, also during stance; and (c) feedforward control of the foot trajectory to achieve safe ground clearance and a gentle heel contact.     

Reproducing the end location of a positioning movement: the long and short of it

Two experiments were conducted in an attempt to determine the conditions under which shifts in the starting position of a linear positioning response influenced the reproduction of the end location of movements of various lengths. In Experiment 1, response bias (i.e., shift in constant error) was affected by the direction of the shift in starting position between presentation and recall. For short (20 cm) and medium (50 cm) length movements, this relationship was evident regardless of hand used (left or right), direction of the movement (left to right or right to left), and length of the retention interval (5 or 45 s). However, no relation between response bias and the direction of the starting position shifts was apparent for long (80 cm) movements. The results of Experiment 2 in which more movement lengths were used revealed a response bias that corresponded to shifts in starting position primarily during the first few reproductions of the two shortest movements (20 and 30 cm). However, no systematic bias was evident for any length movement after three reproduction attempts. Possible strategies used by subjects to reproduce the end location of movements of various lengths were discussed.     

Intelligent diagnosing of intellectual disabilities in offenders: food for thought

Research on offenders with intellectual disabilities (IDs) in the criminal justice arena is on the rise, reflected by a growing number of relevant publications each year. However, there is a long recognized methodological problem that hampers the comparability of empirical studies and that raises doubts about the accuracy of prevalence rates, comorbidities, and various correlates and characteristics. In this paper we will argue that the crux of the problem can, on the one hand, be found in the plurality of assessment methods for intelligence and adaptive functioning, which are not all sufficiently reliable and valid. On the other hand, assessment of IQ in criminal justice and mental health-related areas appears to be informed more by practical aspects and needs rather than grounded in a solid theoretical model. Hence, we suggest that the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model of intelligence has potential value in this regard, and deserves a closer look. Finally, we will discuss its incorporation into, and possible implications for, criminal justice practice and future study designs.     

Perception of individuality in bat vocal communication: discrimination between, or recognition of, interaction partners?

Different cognitive processes underlying voice identity perception in humans may have precursors in mammals. A perception of vocal signatures may govern individualised interactions in bats, which comprise species living in complex social structures and are nocturnal, fast-moving mammals. This paper investigates to what extent bats recognise, and discriminate between, individual voices and discusses acoustic features relevant for accomplishing these tasks. In spontaneous presentation and habituation–dishabituation experiments, we investigated how Megaderma lyra perceives and evaluates stimuli consisting of contact call series with individual-specific signatures from either social partners or unknown individuals. Spontaneous presentations of contact call stimuli from social partners or unknown individuals elicited strong, but comparable reactions. In the habituation–dishabituation experiments, bats dishabituated significantly to any new stimulus. However, reactions were less pronounced to a novel stimulus from the bat used for habituation than to stimuli from other bats, irrespective of familiarity, which provides evidence for identity discrimination. A model separately assessing the dissimilarity of stimuli in syllable frequencies, syllable durations and inter-call intervals relative to learned memory templates accounted for the behaviour of the bats. With respect to identity recognition, the spontaneous presentation experiments were not conclusive. However, the habituation–dishabituation experiments suggested that the bats recognised voices of social partners as the reaction to a re-habituation stimulus differed after a dishabituation stimulus from a social partner and an unknown bat.     

A systematic review of the literature on counselling and psychotherapy for the prevention of suicide: 1. Quantitative outcome and process studies

Scope of review: The paper reports a meta‐review of 15 previous systematic reviews and meta‐analyses of the literature concerning the outcome of counselling and psychotherapy with people at risk of suicide; a meta‐analysis of 67 outcome studies in this area; and a narrative review of 17 studies of the therapeutic process. Publication time span: The literature reviewed was published between 1981 and 2008. Publication origin: The majority of the literature reviewed was by authors from the USA or the UK, but there were also authors from other European countries, Australia, Canada, India, and Sri Lanka. Findings: There is evidence of the effectiveness of dialectical behaviour therapy, cognitive‐behavioural therapy, and problem solving therapy, but also for other forms of therapy. Therapist and client variables, as well as the therapeutic relationship, appear to be related to treatment outcome. Conclusions: People at risk of suicide should have access to psychological interventions, including, but not necessarily limited to, those within the cognitive‐behavioural spectrum. Therapies for which there have been promising findings, but which are under‐researched, should be a research priority.     

Construct Measurement Quality Improves Predictive Accuracy in Violence Risk Assessment: an Illustration Using the Personality Assessment Inventory

Much of the risk assessment literature has focused on the predictive validity of risk assessment tools. However, these tools often comprise a list of risk factors that are themselves complex constructs, and focusing on the quality of measurement of individual risk factors may improve the predictive validity of the tools. The present study illustrates this concern using the Antisocial Features and Aggression scales of the Personality Assessment Inventory (Morey, 1991). In a sample of 1,545 prison inmates and offenders undergoing treatment for substance abuse (85% male), we evaluated (a) the factorial validity of the ANT and AGG scales, (b) the utility of original ANT and AGG scales and newly derived ANT and AGG scales for predicting antisocial outcomes (recidivism and institutional infractions), and (c) whether items with a stronger relationship to the underlying constructs (higher factor loadings) were in turn more strongly related to antisocial outcomes. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) indicated that ANT and AGG items were not structured optimally in these data in terms of correspondence to the subscale structure identified in the PAI manual. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted on a random split‐half of the sample to derive optimized alternative factor structures, and cross‐validated in the second split‐half using CFA. Four‐factor models emerged for both the ANT and AGG scales, and, as predicted, the size of item factor loadings was associated with the strength with which items were associated with institutional infractions and community recidivism. This suggests that the quality by which a construct is measured is associated with its predictive strength. Implications for risk assessment are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.