Do Theory of Mind and Executive Function Deficits Underlie the Adverse Outcomes Associated with Profound Early Deprivation?: Findings from the English and Romanian Adoptees Study

Theory of Mind (ToM) and Executive Function (EF) have been associated with autism and with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and hence might play a role in similar syndromes found following profound early institutional deprivation. In order to examine this possibility the current study included a group of 165 Romanian adoptees, of whom 144 were adopted into the UK from deprived institutional settings before 43months of age, and a group of 52 within-UK adoptees, all adopted before 6months of age. Both groups were assessed at 6 and 11years. The Strange Stories task was used to assess ToM and the Stroop task was used to assess EF, both at age 11. The Romanian adoptees displayed deficits in both ToM and EF compared with the within-UK adoptee group. The degree of deficit was greater for children who had experienced more than 6months of institutional deprivation. Deficits in both domains (ToM and EF) were associated with each of the three apparently deprivation-specific problems, namely quasi-autism, disinhibited attachment and inattention/overactivity. Statistical analyses indicated a mediating role for both ToM and EF with respect to quasi-autism; possibly a partial mediating role for EF with respect to inattention/overactivity; and probably no mediating role for either ToM or EF in the case of disinhibited attachment. In conclusion, there is evidence for a possible mediating role for ToM and EF in the development of some apparently deprivation-specific difficulties in institution-reared Romanian adoptees, but neither accounts for the overall pattern of deprivation-related difficulties.     

How the great apes (Pan troglodytes, Pongo pygmaeus, Pan paniscus, Gorilla gorilla) perform on the reversed reward contingency task II: transfer to new quantities, long-term retention, and the impact of quantity ratios

We tested 6 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), 3 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus), 4 bonobos (Pan paniscus), and 2 gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) in the reversed reward contingency task. Individuals were presented with pairs of quantities ranging between 0 and 6 food items. Prior to testing, some experienced apes had solved this task using 2 quantities while others were totally na?ve. Experienced apes transferred their ability to multiple-novel pairs after 6 to 19 months had elapsed since their initial testing. Two out of 6 na?ve apes (1 chimpanzee, 1 bonobo) solved the task--a proportion comparable to that of a previous study using 2 pairs of quantities. Their acquisition speed was also comparable to the successful subjects from that study. The ratio between quantities explained a large portion of the variance but affected na?ve and experienced individuals differently. For smaller ratios, na?ve individuals were well below 50% correct and experienced ones were well above 50%, yet both groups tended to converge toward 50% for larger ratios. Thus, some apes require no procedural modifications to overcome their strong bias for selecting the larger of 2 quantities.     

Predictors of intimacy in couples' discussions of relationship injuries: an observational study.

The interpersonal process model of intimacy (H. T. Reis & P. Shaver, 1988) proposes that self-disclosure and empathic responding form the basis of intimate interactions. This study examined this model in 102 community couples who completed intimacy measures following videotaped discussions about relationship injuries occurring both within and outside the relationship. Observational assessments of self-disclosure and empathic responding, as well as their respective components, were related to self-reported ratings of post-interaction intimacy. Men's own disclosure and empathic responding predicted their feelings of intimacy, whereas women's intimacy was predicted by their partner's disclosure and empathic responding. Self-disclosure and empathic responding appear to be important behavioral determinants of intimate feelings, but the manner in which they influence intimacy differs according to gender.     

Does work engagement increase after a short respite? The role of job involvement as a double‐edged sword

This study extends research on work engagement by examining how a short respite and general job involvement contribute to work engagement. We gathered questionnaire data from 156 nurses before and after a short respite. Results indicated an increase of work engagement after the respite. Structural equation modelling showed that nurses who experienced psychological detachment from work during the respite showed a higher increase of work engagement. Moreover, nurses who indicated higher job involvement also showed a higher increase of work engagement. Contradictory to this direct positive effect job involvement had on change in work engagement, job involvement exerted a negative indirect effect on change in work engagement by impaired psychological detachment during the respite. Hence, job involvement acted as a double‐edged sword for the increase of work engagement. Practical implications for the organization of short respites and suggestions for future research on recovery processes are discussed.     

Early childhood experiences and current emotional distress: what do they tell us about aspiring psychologists?

Motivation underlying the career choice of mental health professionals may include a desire to resolve personal psychological distress from childhood or the need to continue the caretaking role held in the family (A. DiCaccavo, 2002; J. D. Guy, 1987). The authors examined whether psychology students whose future vocational aspirations lie in the clinical domain (N = 40) differed from psychology students with no clinical aspirations (N = 35) and from business students (N = 91) in reported childhood experiences and current psychological functioning. Psychology students who wanted to work in the clinical domain reported higher rates of perceived childhood sexual abuse and neglect as compared with both psychology students with no clinical aspirations and business students. They also reported more parentification experiences between the ages of 14 years and 16 years as compared with business students. There were no significant differences between groups in reported levels of current negative emotions.     

Young children use their hands to tell their mothers what to say

Children produce their first gestures before their first words, and their first gesture+word sentences before their first word+word sentences. These gestural accomplishments have been found not only to predate linguistic milestones, but also to predict them. Findings of this sort suggest that gesture itself might be playing a role in the language‐learning process. But what role does it play? Children's gestures could elicit from their mothers the kinds of words and sentences that the children need to hear in order to take their next linguistic step. We examined maternal responses to the gestures and speech that 10 children produced during the one‐word period. We found that all 10 mothers ‘translated’ their children's gestures into words, providing timely models for how one‐ and two‐word ideas can be expressed in English. Gesture thus offers a mechanism by which children can point out their thoughts to mothers, who then calibrate their speech to those thoughts, and potentially facilitate language‐learning.     

Planning sentences while doing other things at the same time: effects of concurrent verbal and visuospatial working memory load

This study investigated to what extent advance planning during sentence production is affected by a concurrent cognitive load. In two picture–word interference experiments in which participants produced subject–verb–object sentences while ignoring auditory distractor words, we assessed advance planning at a phonological (lexeme) and at an abstract–lexical (lemma) level under visuospatial or verbal working memory (WM) load. At the phonological level, subject and object nouns were found to be activated before speech onset with concurrent visuospatial WM load, but only subject nouns were found to be activated with concurrent verbal WM load, indicating a reduced planning scope as a function of type of WM load (Experiment 1). By contrast, at the abstract–lexical level, subject and object nouns were found to be activated regardless of type of concurrent load (Experiment 2). In both experiments, sentence planning had a more detrimental effect on concurrent verbal WM task performance than on concurrent visuospatial WM task performance. Overall, our results suggest that advance planning at the phonological level is more affected by a concurrently performed verbal WM task than advance planning at the abstract–lexical level. Also, they indicate an overlap of resources allocated to phonological planning in speech production and verbal WM.     

Association between obesity and suicide in woman,but not in man: a population-based study of young adults

The relationship between obesity and suicide risk is still unclear with controversial research results. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between obesity and suicide risk for men and women in a population-based study of young adults. This is a cross-sectional population-based study that identified young adults between 18 and 35 years of age. Suicide risk was investigated through the structured clinical interview Mini. Weight and height were assessed, and participants were classified as normal-weight body mass index (BMI < 30) or obese (BMI > 30). The prevalence of obesity was of 19.9% of the total sample (n = 1953). Obesity was more prevalent among women and participants between 27 and 35 years of age. Suicide risk was present in 13.0% of the sample and more prevalent among women. In our study we found an association between obesity and suicide risk for women, but not for men. Obesity was associated with a higher prevalence of suicide risk in women. Given the strength of the relationship between BMI and suicide, identifying the mechanisms associated with obesity, especially for women, can lead to new insights into the prevention of suicide risk     

On the nature and importance of cultural tightness-looseness

Cross-cultural research is dominated by the use of values despite their mixed empirical support and their limited theoretical scope. This article expands the dominant paradigm in cross-cultural research by developing a theory of cultural tightness-looseness (the strength of social norms and the degree of sanctioning within societies) and by advancing a multilevel research agenda for future research. Through an exploration of the top-down, bottom-up, and moderating impact that cultural tightness-looseness has on individuals and organizations, as well as on variance at multiple levels of analysis, the theory provides a new and complementary perspective to the values approach.     

Response-restriction analysis: II. Alteration of activity preferences

We used response-restriction (RR) assessments to identify the preferences of 7 individuals with mental retardation for a variety of vocational and leisure activities. We subsequently increased their engagement in nonpreferred activities using several procedures: response restriction per se versus a Premack-type contingency (Study 1), supplemental reinforcement for engagement in target activities (Study 2), and noncontingent pairing of reinforcers with nonpreferred activities (Study 3). Results indicated that preferences are not immutable and can be altered through a variety of relatively benign interventions and that the results of RR assessments may be helpful in determining which types of procedures may be most effective on an individual basis.