Color is necessary for face discrimination in the Northern paper wasp,Polistes fuscatus

Animal Cognition - Visual individual recognition requires animals to distinguish among conspecifics based on appearance. Though visual individual recognition has been reported in a range of taxa...     

Relationship between maternal aggression and maternal care in the rat

Aggression among female rats is almost entirely confined to the period of late pregnancy and lactation. Behaviorally it is similar to the aggression of males including piloerection and lateral attacks, but it differs in its function. Unlike male aggression which serves to establish a social hierarchy and a territory, i. e., is competitive, maternal aggression is protective, i. e., it serves to prevent predation of the mother's offspring. In this respect it is closely related temporally and causally to maternal care; if the offspring are removed maternal aggression wanes almost immediately–its function no longer exists! Studies on aggression by mothers, among rats, from the author's laboratory are reviewed and comparisons made with maternal care. As noted, maternal aggression and maternal care are closely related during the cycle of maternal behavior and they share a similar hormonal basis and possibly the effect of uterine stimulation, but maternal care requires prolactin and the decline of progesterone while maternal aggression appears independent of pituitary hormones and does not require a decline in progesterone. Maternal aggression like maternal care appears to be organized into a hormonal phase, during pregnancy, parturition, and for about a week postpartum and a nonhormonal phase thereafter. Bilateral radiofrequency lesions of the lateral midbrain peripeduncular nucleus (PPN) produce deficits in maternal aggression if made on lactation day 7 (L7), but not earlier, without producing significant deficits in maternal behavior. Experiments showed that the PPN does not mediate hormonally stimulated maternal aggression; it appears to mediate only nonhormonally stimulated maternal aggression. Studies on the role of pregnancy hormones on long-term retention of maternal aggression and the role of olfaction in maternal aggression are also reviewed. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Male Reference Group Identity Dependence: Support for Construct Validity

This research study examined correlates of male identity statuses as postulated in Wade's (1998) theory of male reference group identity dependence. The Reference Group Identity Dependence Scale (RGIDS; Wade & Gelso, 1998) was correlated with measures of identity aspects (personal, social, and collective), belongingness, and a universal-diverse orientation. Based on the responses of 172 predominantly middle-class undergraduate college men (59% White, 15% Asian American or Pacific Islander, 13% African American, 4% Hispanic, and 9% other race/ethnicity, e.g., biracial, Arab American, Egyptian American), as predicted, the No Reference Group status negatively related to collective identity and social connectedness; the Reference Group Dependent status positively related to social identity and social connectedness; and the Reference Group Nondependent status positively related to personal identity, collective identity, social connectedness, and a universal-diverse orientation toward others.     

The Role of Expectations in Effective Genetic Counseling

The goals for this investigation were to assess individuals' expectations for social support from genetic counselors, and to explore how these expectations influence perceptions of genetic counselor effectiveness. Two studies were conducted to address these goals. Results from the first study show that individuals most frequently expect genetic counselors to provide options and support following the disclosure of distressing test results, while data from the second study demonstrate that expectations play a significant role in individuals' assessment of genetic counselor effectiveness. These findings shed light on what individuals expect from genetic counselors following the disclosure of medically positive test results and inform how these expectations influence the success of genetic counseling sessions.     

The Challenges of COVID-19 for Divorcing and Post-divorce Families

COVID-19 and the accompanying procedures of shelter-in-place have had a powerful effect on all families but have additional special meanings in the context of families contemplating divorce, divorcing, or carrying out postdivorce arrangements. This paper explores those special meanings for these families. It also offers suggestions for couple and family therapists involved in helping these families during the time of COVID-19.     

Myths and misconceptions about hypnosis and suggestion: Separating fact and fiction

We present 21 prominent myths and misconceptions about hypnosis in order to promulgate accurate information and to highlight questions for future research. We argue that these myths and misconceptions have (a) fostered a skewed and stereotyped view of hypnosis among the lay public, (b) discouraged participant involvement in potentially helpful hypnotic interventions, and (c) impeded the exploration and application of hypnosis in scientific and practitioner communities. Myths reviewed span the view that hypnosis produces a trance or special state of consciousness and allied myths on topics related to hypnotic interventions; hypnotic responsiveness and the modification of hypnotic suggestibility; inducing hypnosis; and hypnosis and memory, awareness, and the experience of nonvolition. By demarcating myth from mystery and fact from fiction, and by highlighting what is known as well as what remains to be discovered, the science and practice of hypnosis can be advanced and grounded on a firmer empirical footing.     

Who distinguishes between sinners and sins at the implicit level of awareness?

Several researchers have investigated the possibility that people indeed can love individuals who are engaged in behaviors that are considered unacceptable. In the present research, the authors evaluated the possibility that people distinguish between presumably sinful persons and presumably sinful behaviors at a cognitive level that does not involve conscious intent and awareness: the implicit (nonconscious) level of awareness. Participants performed a speeded-response task, the Implicit Association Test. Results indicated that participants were able to make such a (person vs. behavior) distinction and that in doing so, they manifested positive implicit evaluations of sinful people relative to sinful actions.