The Problems of Liberal Neutrality in Upbringing

This paper considers the effect of political liberal principles on the children in society. Specifically, the paper argues that political liberalism faces a problem where parents or other adults want to pass on bizarre or dangerous beliefs to their offspring. This problem arises because in the political liberal framework the only limit on what doctrines a child may acquire is that the child becomes a reasonable citizen. Since this criterion is designed to be lax, this implies children may justly be inculcated with views that may undermine their welfare in later life. This presents political liberals with a dilemma. Ensuring that children are taught appropriate views requires narrowing the scope of political liberal principles, whilst keeping the broad focus of political liberalism brings with it unpalatable consequences when we consider the next generation.     

Listeners’ perception of compensatory shortening

English exhibits compensatory shortening, whereby a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable is measured to be shorter than the same stressed syllable alone. This anticipatory shortening is much greater than backward shortening, whereby an unstressed syllable is measured to shorten a following stressed syllable. We speculated that measured shortening reflects not true shortening, but coarticulatory hiding. Hence, we asked whether listeners are sensitive to parts of stressed syllables hidden by following or preceding unstressed syllables. In two experiments (Experiments 1A and 1B), we found the point of subjective equality—that is, the durational difference between a stressed syllable in isolation and one followed by an unstressed syllable—at which listeners cannot tell which is longer. In a third experiment (Experiment 2), we found the point of subjective equality for stressed monosyllables and disyllables with a weak-strong stress pattern. In all of the experiments, the points of subjective equality occurred when stressed syllables in disyllables were measured to be shorter than those in monosyllables, as if the listeners heard the coarticulatory onset or the continuation of a stressed syllable within unstressed syllables.     

Trajectories of Parenting Processes and Adolescent Substance Use: Reciprocal Effects

Drawing on transactional theories of child development, we assessed bidirectional links between trajectories of adolescent substance use and parenting processes from early through mid adolescence. Hierarchical generalized models estimated trajectories for 3,317 adolescents from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, exploring both between- and within-individual effects. Between individuals, adolescents reporting more regular family activities and greater father and mother knowledge of friends and teachers experienced lower levels of substance use through mid adolescence. Similarly, adolescents with more frequent substance use reported lower family activities, father knowledge, and mother knowledge, though these differences dissipated over time. More conservative within-individual differences indicated a prospective protective effect of family activities, with increases in adolescent participation in family activities predicting later declines in substance use. Results support the central importance of engagement in regular family activities, and suggest the need for further exploration of transactional processes between parents and children in the development of risk behaviors.     

Adolescent Conduct Problems and Bulimic Tendencies: Study of an Emotional Distress Hypothesis

Prior research has documented an association between adolescent conduct problems and bulimic tendencies. However, there is limited theoretical modeling to explain this association, and prior studies have generally failed to assess for potential mediating variables of impulsivity, anxiety, and depression. The current study assessed these mediating variables in further exploring for unique associations between adolescent conduct problems and bulimic tendencies. A non-referred adolescent sample was assessed for bulimic tendencies, conduct problems, impulsivity, anxiety, and depression using a multi-informant assessment battery including parent, teacher, and self-report measures. There was a significant bivariate association between conduct problems and bulimic tendencies, r = 0.29, p < 0.01. However, this association was fully mediated by anxiety and depression symptoms. This suggests that emotional distress could be a primary factor linking adolescent conduct problems and bulimic tendencies. Implications include the potential for more regular screening of youth with conduct problems for associated eating disturbances.

Repetition and dual coding in procedural multimedia presentations

Students learned toy assembly sequences presented in picture, text, or one of three multimedia formats, and completed order verification, recall, and object assembly tasks. Experiment 1 compared repetitious (i.e. dual format presentations each conveying similar information) with complementary (i.e. dual format presentations each conveying different information) multimedia presentations. Repetitious presentations appear to provide learning benefits as a function of their inherent redundancy; complementary presentations provide benefits as a result of users actively integrating picture and text elements into a cohesive mental model. Experiment 2 compared repetitious with interleaved (i.e. assembly steps presented in alternating picture‐text formats) multimedia presentations. Again, multimedia presentations led to overall learning advantages relative to single‐format presentations, with an emphasis on both repetition and integrative working memory processes. Object assembly performance consistently demonstrated the utility of picture learning, with or without accompanying text. Results are considered relative to classic and contemporary learning theory, and inform educational design. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Malingering as a categorical or dimensional construct: the latent structure of feigned psychopathology as measured by the SIRS and MMPI-2

The 6 nonoverlapping primary scales of the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS) were subjected to taxometric analysis in a group of 1,211 criminal and civil examinees in order to investigate the latent structure of feigned psychopathology. Both taxometric procedures used in this study, mean above minus below a cut (MAMBAC) and maximum covariance (MAXCOV), produced dimensional results. A subgroup of participants (n = 711) with valid Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) protocols were included in a second round of analyses in which the 6 nonoverlapping primary scales of the SIRS and the Infrequency (F), Infrequency-Psychopathology (Fp), and Dissimulation (Ds) scales of the MMPI-2 served as indicators. Again, the results were more consistent with dimensional latent structure than with taxonic latent structure. On the basis of these findings, it is concluded that feigned psychopathology forms a dimension (levels of fabrication or exaggeration) rather than a taxon (malingering-honest dichotomy) and that malingering is a quantitative distinction rather than a qualitative one. The theoretical and clinical practice implications of these findings are discussed.     

Psychiatric Disorders in Clinical Genetics I: Addressing Family Histories of Psychiatric Illness

This is the first article of a two-part professional development series addressing genetic counseling for personal and family histories of psychiatric disorders. It is based on an Educational Breakout Session presented by the Psychiatric Special Interest Group of the National Society of Genetic Counselors at the 2006 Annual Education Conference. This article examines issues that arise in addressing family histories of psychiatric illness, while the second article in the series considers the generation and provision of individualized recurrence risks for psychiatric disorders. In this article we discuss the importance of managing uncertainty for affected individuals and their close family members who have been referred to genetics for a number of different indications. We then use four simulated cases to make recommendations about the scope and timing of discussions related to the psychiatric family history.     

Observing Behavior Topography in Delayed Matching to Multiple Samples

The Psychological Record - This study examined relations between eye movements and accuracy scores in a delayed matching-to-sample procedure with multiple sample stimuli. Four adult humans...     

Testing a self-determination theory intervention for motivating tobacco cessation: supporting autonomy and competence in a clinical trial.

A longitudinal randomized trial tested the self-determination theory (SDT) intervention and process model of health behavior change for tobacco cessation (N = 1006). Adult smokers were recruited for a study of smokers' health and were assigned to intensive treatment or community care. Participants were relatively poor and undereducated. Intervention patients perceived greater autonomy support and reported greater autonomous and competence motivations than did control patients. They also reported greater medication use and significantly greater abstinence. Structural equation modeling analyses confirmed the SDT process model in which perceived autonomy support led to increases in autonomous and competence motivations, which in turn led to greater cessation. The causal role of autonomy support in the internalization of autonomous motivation, perceived competence, and smoking cessation was supported.     

Effect of accent and dialect on employability

This study was designed to determine how ethnicity, the amount of perceived accent or dialect, and comprehensibility affect a speaker's employability. Sixty human resource specialists judged 3 female potential applicants. The applicants represented speakers of Spanish‐influenced English, Asian‐influenced English, and African American Vernacular English. When the speaker's perceived accent or dialect was minimal, perceived ethnicity did not affect employability. However, all speakers with maximally perceived accents or dialects were given a lower employability rating. Thus, speakers with a maximally perceived accent or dialect should consider accent or dialectal modification if their comprehensibility or prospective employability is compromised.