Sex differences for selective forms of spatial memory

In the present study, a systematic comparison of sex differences for several tests of spatial memory was conducted. Clear evidence for more accurate male performance was obtained for precise metric positional information in a wayfinding task and in an object location memory task. In contrast, no sex difference characterized topological information processing (object-to-position assignment). Together, these findings provide further insight in the specificity of sex differences in spatial memory and in the functional architecture of spatial memory. Implications for the relevant evolutionary basis are discussed.     

Motivating operations and terms to describe them: some further refinements

Over the past decade, behavior analysts have increasingly used the term establishing operation (EO) to refer to environmental events that influence the behavioral effects of operant consequences. Nonetheless, some elements of current terminology regarding EOs may interfere with applied behavior analysts' efforts to predict, control, describe, and understand behavior. The present paper (a) describes how the current conceptualization of the EO is in need of revision, (b) suggests alternative terms, including the generic term motivating operation (MO), and (c) provides examples of MOs and their behavioral effects using articles from the applied behavior analysis literature.     

Children as carers: the impact of parental illness and disability on children's caring roles

The nature and extent of young caring in the UK continue to be a feature of a growing number of research programmes motivated by a children and carers' rights philosophy. However, the context in which young caring occurs as a result of parental ill-health or disability can only be fully understood by examining the findings and implications of medical research into parental impairment, and the social movements that have served to re-define the concept of 'disability' in society. This paper examines the arguments put forward by medical researchers, by those proposing a social model of disability and by those who have specifically investigated the conditions and experiences of young carers. It argues that children's caring roles within families where there is parental illness or disability need to be understood not only as a reflection of the nature of the medical condition itself, but as a consequence of complex family, social and economic processes. A 'whole family' approach is proposed, where the needs of children and parents are respected and responded to.     

Selective impairment of phonation: A case study

A 47-year-old right-handed man underwent craniotomy for clipping of an aneurism at the trifurcation of the left middle cerebral artery. Subsequently, he suffered a left hemisphere CVA after which his speech and language resembled that of Broca's aphasia with accompanying apraxia of speech. Medical, behavioral, and acoustical data amassed over a period of several months indicated numerous contraindications to traditional diagnoses of Broca's aphasia, apraxia of speech, and dysarthria. Ultimately, it was determined that the patient had a selective impairement of phonation or laryngeal apraxia. This was illustrated dramatically when he was taught to use an electrolarynx which allowed him to bypass his disrupted phonatory system. Speaking with the electrolarynx, the patient communicated normally. Any semblance of Broca's aphasia disappeared. Supralaryngeal articulation was normal; apraxia of speech behaviors were absent. This case report indicates that dissociation of oral and laryngeal gestures due to brain injury is possible. Mechanisms underlying such a dissociation for this case are reviewed. The possibility of discrete center lesions in the frontal motor association area causing different types of apraxia of speech is discussed.     

A Brief History of Dissonance Theory

Prior to the construction of the theory of cognitive dissonance, the dominant view in American experimental psychology held that behavior, including verbal attitude statements, was learned and shaped by rewards and/or punishments. Dissonance theory took a surprisingly different view by stating that behaviors and reasons for engaging in them could be strengthened by minimizing the very rewards or threatened punishments that produced the behaviors. Many hundreds of experimental studies later, the main argument of dissonance theory is well supported, although researchers disagree about the necessary and sufficient conditions. The present paper traces the major lines of research, including contributions from around the world, and the major controversies among some of the researchers.     

Resilient, undercontrolled, and overcontrolled personality prototypes among persons with spinal cord injury

A sample of 199 persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) were assessed on Big Five personality dimensions using the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI; Costa & McCrae, 1992) at admission to an inpatient medical rehabilitation program. A cluster analysis of the baseline NEO-FFI yielded 3 cluster prototypes that resemble resilient, undercontrolled, and overcontrolled prototypes identified in many previous studies of children and adult community samples. Compared with normative samples, this sample had significantly fewer resilient prototypes and significantly more overcontrolled and undercontrolled prototypes. Undercontrolled individuals were the modal prototype. The resilient and undercontrolled types were better adjusted than the overcontrolled types, showing lower levels of depression at admission and higher acceptance of disability at discharge. The resilient type at admission predicted the most effective reports of social problem-solving abilities at discharge and the overcontrolled type the least. We discuss the implications of these results for assessment and interventions in rehabilitation settings.