Predictable and self-initiated visual motion is judged to be slower than computer generated motion

Self-initiated action effects are often perceived as less intense than identical but externally generated stimuli. It is thought that forward models within the sensorimotor system pre-activate cortical representations of predicted action effects, reducing perceptual sensitivity and attenuating neural responses. As self-agency and predictability are seldom manipulated simultaneously in behavioral experiments, it is unclear if self-other differences depend on predictable action effect contingencies, or if both self- and externally generated stimuli are modulated similarly by predictability. We factorially combined variation in (1) predictability of action effects, (2) spatial congruence, and (3) performance by the self or computer to dissociate these influences on a visual discrimination task. Participants performed 2AFC speed judgments. Self-initiated motion was judged to be slower than computer-initiated motion when action effect contingencies were predictable, while spatial congruence influenced speed judgments only when action effect contingencies were unpredictable. Results are discussed in relation to current theories of sensory attenuation.     

On the philosophy of psi

In Naming and Necessity, Kripke argues that intuitions about what is possible play a limited, but important, role in challenging philosophical theses, counting as evidence against them only if they cannot be reconstrued as intuitions about something else, compatible with the thesis in question. But he doesn't provide clear guidelines for determining when such intuitions have been successfully reconstrued, leading some to question their status as evidence for modal claims. In this paper I focus on some worries, articulated by Michael Della Rocca, about whether modal intuitions can be evidence for claims about essential properties, and argue that there is a way of viewing the role of modal intuition in philosophical argument that can preserve their evidential force.     

Construct Validity of the Need to Belong Scale: Mapping the Nomological Network

Nine studies examined the construct validity of the Need to Belong Scale. The desire for acceptance and belonging correlated with, but was distinct from, variables that involve a desire for social contact, such as extraversion and affiliation motivation. Furthermore, need to belong scores were not related to insecure attachment or unfulfilled needs for acceptance. Need to belong was positively correlated with extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism and with having an identity that is defined in terms of social attributes. Need to belong was associated with emotional reactions to rejection, values involving interpersonal relationships, and subclinical manifestations of certain personality disorders.     

Society for Personality Assessment — the Way to Go

For six consecutive days, six series of inkblots, similar to Rorschach cards, were shown to six male and six female university students. The results showed that the M + Sum C scores fluctuate close to a sine curve. According to Rorschach M and color responses are sensitive to mood changes. Therefore these results suggest that different persons have mood changes with different amplitudes and periods. It also points out that the current use of test-retest reliability measurements of these scores are not appropriate and the criticisms of Rorschach based on the poor test-retest reliability measurements of these scores are unwarranted.     

True Love Waits: Do Southern Baptists? Premarital Sexual Behavior Among Newly Married Southern Baptist Sunday School Students

This study measures premarital sex prevalence, sources of sex education, and support for secular sex education among 151 newly married young adults surveyed at 9 Texas Southern Baptist churches. More than 70% of respondents reported having had premarital vaginal or oral sex, but more than 80% regretted premarital sex. The proportion of premarital sex exceeded 80% in 6 of 9 churches, among men and women married after age 25 and women married before age 21. School sex education was the only source of information about sexually transmitted infections for 57% of respondents, and 65% supported secular sex education despite church opposition.     

Making the Best of a Bad Situation: Proactive Coping with Racial Discrimination

Proactive coping with racial discrimination takes three forms: self-focused coping, situation-focused coping, and avoidance. Overall, African Americans used self-focused coping more than situation-focused coping or physical avoidance, though there were interesting differences between retrospective recall of racial discrimination and daily reports. Relative to reports during the diary week, when recalling how they typically dealt with racial discrimination, African Americans overestimated their use of situation-focused strategies and underestimated their use of self-focused strategies. For both retrospective and daily reports, proactive coping was positively related to primary appraisals of harm but unrelated to secondary appraisals of resources. African American identification, but not stigma consciousness or optimism, was uniquely associated with proactive coping. We discuss the potential benefits and limitations of proactive coping with racial discrimination.     

Analysis of play

Abstract

Play has long been considered a useful therapeutic tool when working with children. Even though play is used extensively by psychotherapists of various theoretical persuasions, relatively little is written concerning the nature and therapeutic value of play. In addition, the therapeutic significance of play in psychotherapy with adults is an area that has been neglected and under‐utilized. This paper will address the nature of play and what it is that makes play therapeutic within a conceptual framework derived from psychoanalytic theory, existentialism and phenomenology. In particular, the nature of play and its therapeutic value will be analyzed through three constitutive elements: the paradoxical nature of play, the role of the imagination and the symbolic, and the playful therapist.     

Treating PTSD in active duty service members using cognitive processing therapy or prolonged exposure therapy: Examining everyday practice at a military outpatient clinic

The Institute of Medicine has stressed the need for evaluations of evidence-based treatments (EBTs) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among active duty service members (AD) using a variety of evaluation approaches (Institute of Medicine, 2012). The current study examined the clinical files of 134 service members who completed treatment for PTSD using either prolonged exposure (PE) or cognitive processing therapy at an outpatient clinic. At the completion of each session, therapists made a clinical rating as to whether or not the session was protocol adherent. The total number of treatment sessions and the proportion of sessions rated as being protocol adherent were calculated. Multi-level models estimated the change in patient PTSD and other psychological symptoms over time as a function of clinician-rated protocol adherence and total number of sessions. Approximately 65% of clinic encounters were rated by therapists as being protocol adherent. Significant reductions in PTSD and psychological symptoms were associated with protocol adherence, and this was particularly true for patients who began treatment above clinical thresholds for both PTSD and other psychological symptoms. However, as the number of sessions increased, the impact of protocol adherence was attenuated. Patient characteristics, including gender, ethnicity, and co-morbidity for other psychiatric disorders were not related to symptom change trajectories over time. These findings suggest that protocol adherence and efficiency in delivery of EBTs for the treatment of PTSD with AD is critical.     

Standard Errors of Multivariate Range-Corrected Validities

The multivariate rather than the univariate range correction is used for estimating unrestricted applicant population validities in many military test validity studies but not uniformly. A Monte Carlo approach compared the standard errors of range-corrected validities under various experimental conditions adhering to the assumptions underlying correction accuracy. The multivariate corrected validities had smaller standard errors than both the univariate-corrected validities and the unrestricted validities. We conclude that using the univariate correction could fail to reveal the most valid selection instrument and that the multivariate correction should be used when scores for relevant predictors are available for the unrestricted population.     

Natural Course and Treatment of Neuropsychological Deficits in a Child with Early-treated Galactosemia

Galactosemia is an autosomal recessive disorder that results from a breakdown in the metabolism of galactose, which can be found in milk and milk products. Acute medical complications are controlled by early diagnosis through newborn screening and strict adherence to a galactose-free diet, but there remain physical and neurobehavioral sequelae from treated galactosemia. We present a case study of a 7-year-old boy with treated galactosemia. This study describes his history and course over a 41-month period from age 6 to 10 years old using repeated neuropsychological assessments. This child exhibited a decline in intellectual functioning, weaknesses in visual-spatial processing, fine motor skills, handwriting, math, language, and reading, and a deficit in executive functioning. He also met criteria for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Inattentive Type. Following treatment with stimulant medication, the child reportedly had decreased problems with sustained attention and increased consistency of responding and motor planning. Recommendations are made for repeated neuropsychological assessments to chart the course of children with treated galactosemia and to identify potential areas for remediation (e.g., attention).