Developmental changes in facial expressions of emotions in the strange situation during the second year of life

Infants' expressions of discrete emotions were coded during the more stressful episodes (4 through 8) of the Strange Situation at 13 and 18 months. The data showed a significant decrease in full-face expressions (more complex configurations of movements) and a significant increase in component expressions (simpler and more constrained patterns of movements). The authors interpreted this trend as a developmental change toward more regulated and less intense emotions. Consistent with this view, the aggregate index of infants' full-face negative emotion expressions, interpreted as reflecting relatively unregulated intense emotions, correlated significantly with maternal ratings of difficult temperament. The authors discuss alternative interpretations of the findings in terms of changes in reactivity/arousability and the emerging capacity for self-regulation.     

Trauma films, information processing, and intrusive memory development

Three experiments indexed the effect of various concurrent tasks, while watching a traumatic film, on intrusive memory development. Hypotheses were based on the dual-representation theory of posttraumatic stress disorder (C. R. Brewin, T. Dalgleish, & S. Joseph, 1996). Nonclinical participants viewed a trauma film under various encoding conditions and recorded any spontaneous intrusive memories of the film over the following week in a diary. Changes in state dissociation, heart rate, and mood were also measured. As predicted, performing a visuospatial pattern tapping task at encoding significantly reduced the frequency of later intrusions, whereas a verbal distraction task increased them. Intrusive memories were largely unrelated to recall and recognition measures. Increases in dissociation and decreases in heart rate during the film were also associated with later intrusions.     

Differential effects of emotional arousal in short- and long-term memory in healthy adults

Recent studies demonstrated important differences between short- and long-term memory mechanisms. Besides, the emotional component has a crucial role in memory formation. This study was carried out to answer whether there is a differential influence of emotional arousal in short- and long-term memory in healthy adults. Thirty-one healthy volunteers were divided into two major groups. In the first group long-term memory (LTM) was evaluated, with the testing session one week after training. The second group was tested 1h after training, where short-term memory (STM) was evaluated. Each group was divided in to two subgroups. One half of the volunteers was exposed to an emotionally neutral story, and the other half of each group was exposed to a closely matched but more emotionally arousing story. The testing session consisted of a questionary containing 80 questions of multiple choices. The results were evaluated through percentage of correct answers. Results showed that correct answers were increased, in LTM measures, in the subjects that were given the emotional version of the test. In STM measures, no differences were found between the emotional and neutral version. However, the presentation of emotional story caused an emotional reaction in both groups. The lack of effect of emotional arousal in STM suggests that amygdala is not related to STM mechanisms. Further studies using different approaches are needed to elucidate if STM processes are influenced by emotional arousal.     

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.     

Neurocognitive Performance in Alcoholics: Is Polysubstance Abuse Important?

The neurocognitive effects of alcohol have been frequently examined. Studies reveal a wide array of cognitive deficits. Attempts to develop a parsimonious model for these effects have been difficult because of the intra- and intersubject variability. Complicating the development of a model of cognitive deficits in substance abusers is the common practice of polysubstance abuse. The use of theoretical models that focus on the underlying cognitive processes offers flexibility while maintaining sufficient theoretical precision. This article briefly reviews the literature on neurocognitive changes associated with substance abuse as well as the various theoretical models that have been studied. It also provides an overview of recovery of function. Its primary objective is to evaluate cognitive function among alcoholic subtypes, defined by patterns of other drug use. This analysis suggests there are significant differences in neurocognitive function among these subtypes.     

Career guidance in five English independent schools

English independent schools are not required to follow government statutory guidance in a number of aspects including career education and guidance, and yet many are actively engaged in careers work and this has caught the attention of policymakers. State schools are subject to statutory guidance but, according to Ofsted and other authorities, the majority fail to adequately support young people through their post-school transitions. Using evidence from five English independent schools, the type of provision they offer is analysed against benchmarks of good practice to identify where their support is focussed. The factors that shape the resourcing and design of career education and guidance in the five schools are also explored. The extent to which the practices observed in the case studies can be replicated in all, or a sub-set of state schools, is discussed in the light of policy influence of independent schools.     

The role of self-esteem in the misinformation effect

Previous research using the Gudjonnson suggestibility scale has suggested a role for self-esteem in suggestibility, with participants low in self-esteem being more suggestible than participants high in self-esteem. Four experiments are presented examining the role of self-esteem in the misinformation effect and whether enhanced suggestibility effects in participants low in self-esteem reflect genuine memory impairment. In Experiments 1 and 4 participants completed a standard recognition test. In Experiment 2 participants completed the modified recognition test. In Experiment 3 participants completed a free recall test. In Experiments 1 and 4 participants low in self-esteem demonstrated greater misinformation effects than participants high in self-esteem. In Experiment 3 a 3-day retention interval was employed with the modified test and no differences were found between the two groups on the reporting of the new item. The findings suggest that participants low in self-esteem are particularly sensitive to demand characteristics and post-event suggestion but do not suffer from genuine memory impairment.