Features of Interview Questions Associated with Attenuation of Symptom Reports

Previous studies have suggested that discrepant reporting in a test–retest reliability paradigm is not purely random measurement error, but partly a function of a systematic tendency to say no during retest to questions answered positively at initial testing (attenuation). To examine features of interview questions that may be associated with attenuation, three raters independently assessed the structural and content features of questions from the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (version 2.3) and linked these to data from a test–retest reliability study of 223 community respondents (parent and child reports). Results indicated that for both parent and youth reports, item features most strongly associated with attenuation were (a) being a stem question (asked of all respondents, regardless of any skip structure); (b) question placement in the first half of the interview; (c) question length; (d) question complexity; or (e) requiring assessment of the timing, duration, or frequency of a symptom. Findings may be explained by participants' conscious efforts to avoid further questions or by their learning more about the nature and purpose of the interview as they gain more experience; alternatively, findings may represent a methodological artifact of structured interview design.     

Developmental seizures induced by common early-life insults: short- and long-term effects on seizure susceptibility

The immature brain is highly susceptible to seizures induced by a variety of insults, including hypoxia, fever, and trauma. Unlike early life epilepsy associated with congenital dysplasias or genetic abnormalities, insults induce a hyperexcitable state in a previously normal brain. Here we evaluate the epileptogenic effects of seizure-inducing stimuli on the developing brain, and the age and regional specificity of these effects.     

Adaptive Dynamics of the Leg Movement Patterns of Human Infants: II. Treadmill stepping in Infants and Adults

Infant treadmill steps have many temporal and kinematic similarities to adult walking. Kinematic similarities can result from different patterns of underlying torque, however. In this study, we used inverse dynamics to compare the patterns and contributions of active (muscle) and passive (gravity and motion-dependent) torques in the swing phase of treadmill stepping in 7-month-old infants and adults. Results indicated that adults consistently used muscle torque to initiate and terminate swing, but that passive torques accounted for leg motion during most of the swing phase. Infants, in contrast, displayed multiple patterns of torque contributions during swing. In the most frequently occurring infant pattern, muscle torque remained flexor throughout swing and joint reversals were due to the dominant passive gravitational torque. The kinetic data suggest that the temporally and kinematically similar treadmill steps produced by adults and infants do not emanate from a unique set of neural commands to the muscles, but from a flexible interplay between multiple internal as well as external elements. These data suggest that the intrinsic dynamics of the human system provide a medium out of which, given a supportive context, stable patterns can emerge spontaneously. During development, voluntary controlled movement patterns must build on these intrinsic dynamics.     

Are college students adults? Their conceptions of the transition to adulthood

College students (N=346) were surveyed on their conceptions of the transition to adulthood and their own status as adults. Only 23% indicated that they considered themselves to have reached adulthood, while nearly two-thirds indicated that they considered themselves to be adults in some respects but not in others. The most important criteria for marking the transition to adulthood were indicated to be individualistic and intangible criteria, particularly accept responsibility for the consequences of your actions, decide on beliefs and values independently of parents or other influences, and establish a relationship with parents as an equal adult, each of which was endorsed by more than 70% of the sample. In contrast, role transitions such as completing education, marriage, and becoming a parent were endorsed by less than 20%. It is suggested that the transition from adolescence to adulthood in Western societies is a process that may last many years, during which individualistic and intangible markers of adulthood (such as those specified here) are gradually and incrementally pursued.     

A somatosensory latency between the thalamus and cortex also correlates with level of intelligence

As part of a study on speed of information processing and intelligence, 205 young adult postsecondary students were tested for somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) latencies and intelligence. Following stimulation at the wrist, latencies of three SEPs were determined: N13, generated in the cervical spinal cord/medulla region; N19, generated in the thalamus; P22, generated in the arm region of the somatosensory (parietal) cortex. These latencies and two latency differences, N19 - N13 and P22 - N19, were tested for correlation with a nonverbal measure of intelligence; only P22 - N19 significantly correlated (r = −.217; P = .013, two-tailed). Comparing this latency difference in students in the first IQ quartile (mean IQ = 103.4) with that of students in the fourth quartile (M = 131.2) showed mean differences of 4.13 ms versus 3.21 ms, respectively (p = .0034, two-tailed).P22 - N19 measures time for signal transmission from the thalamus to the sensory cortex. These results agree with considerably more extensive data on visually evoked potentials showing a negative correlation between IQ and the latency for a visual stimulus of the retina to produce a signal at the visual cortex (most of this latency is between the thalamus and the cortex; Reed & Jensen, 1992). The findings here agree with the visual results and strongly suggest that the IQ-latency correlation occurs because the latency indexes cortical nerve conduction velocity, an important component of information processing speed.     

Association of country, sex, social class, and life cycle to locus of control in western European countries

Relatively few studies have focused on causal factors in the development of locus of control. Here nine western European countries are studied to assess the hypothesis that the society in which one lives is important in the scores on locus of control. The data indicate greater variation resulting from country of residence on locus of control than that from the variables of life cycle, sex, and social class. Findings regarding these latter variables are congruent with previous research. In addition, being single was related to having an external locus of control.     

Variations on the vertical jump: individual adaptations to changing task demands

Here we explored the coordination of joint behaviors exhibited during the vertical jump and variations of that jump. By manipulating the take-off angle, we required an adjustment to changing task demands. It was hypothesized that kinematic features of the jump would change but that spatiotemporal relationships essential to propulsion would remain invariant across all conditions. To test this hypothesis, six adult male subjects performed jumps at six different take-off angles. An analysis of cinematographic data revealed that individual subjects changed the sequence and timing of lower-extremity joint reversals. In contrast, the covariation of joint behaviors during the propulsive phase and the timing of maximum intersegmental extension velocities were extremely stable within each individual across changes in task. We argue that the flexibility to alter sequence and timing is part of a strategy that permits adaptation to the context and facilitates a continued coordination among variables associated with propulsion.     

Finer Distinctions: Variability in Satisfied Older Couples’ Problem‐Solving Behaviors

This study utilized observational and self‐report data from 64 maritally satisfied and stable older couples to explore if there were meaningful differences in how couples approached marital disagreements. Using a typology approach to classify couples based on their behaviors in a 15‐minute problem‐solving interaction, findings revealed four types of couples: (1) problem solvers (characterized by both spouses’ higher problem‐solving skills and warmth), (2) supporters (characterized by both spouses’ notable warmth), (3) even couples (characterized by both spouses’ moderate problem‐solving skills and warmth), and (4) cool couples (characterized by both spouses’ greater negativity and lower problem‐solving skills and warmth). Despite the differences in these behaviors, all couples had relatively high marital satisfaction and functioning. However, across nearly all indices, spouses in the cool couple cluster reported poorer marital functioning, particularly when compared to the problem solvers and supporters. These findings suggest that even modest doses of negativity (e.g., eye roll) may be problematic for some satisfied couples later in life. The implications of these typologies are discussed as they pertain to practitioners’ efforts to tailor their approaches to a wider swath of the population.     

Motor intentionality and the case of Schneider

I argue that Merleau-Ponty’s use of the case of Schneider in his arguments for the existence of non-conconceptual and non-representational motor intentionality contains a problematic methodological ambiguity. Motor intentionality is both to be revealed by its perspicuous preservation and by its contrastive impairment in one and the same case. To resolve the resulting contradiction I suggest we emphasize the second of Merleau-Ponty’s two lines of argument. I argue that this interpretation is the one in best accordance both with Merleau-Ponty’s general methodology and with the empirical case of Schneider as it was described by Gelb and Goldstein.