Probabilistic models of cognition: conceptual foundations

Remarkable progress in the mathematics and computer science of probability has led to a revolution in the scope of probabilistic models. In particular, 'sophisticated' probabilistic methods apply to structured relational systems such as graphs and grammars, of immediate relevance to the cognitive sciences. This Special Issue outlines progress in this rapidly developing field, which provides a potentially unifying perspective across a wide range of domains and levels of explanation. Here, we introduce the historical and conceptual foundations of the approach, explore how the approach relates to studies of explicit probabilistic reasoning, and give a brief overview of the field as it stands today.     

The importance of gesture in children's spatial reasoning

On average, men outperform women on mental rotation tasks. Even boys as young as 4 1/2 perform better than girls on simplified spatial transformation tasks. The goal of our study was to explore ways of improving 5-year-olds' performance on a spatial transformation task and to examine the strategies children use to solve this task. We found that boys performed better than girls before training and that both boys and girls improved with training, whether they were given explicit instruction or just practice. Regardless of training condition, the more children gestured about moving the pieces when asked to explain how they solved the spatial transformation task, the better they performed on the task, with boys gesturing about movement significantly more (and performing better) than girls. Gesture thus provides useful information about children's spatial strategies, raising the possibility that gesture training may be particularly effective in improving children's mental rotation skills.     

Toward Mapping Daily Challenges of Living with ADHD: Maternal and Child Perspectives Using Electronic Diaries

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has an impact on the family as well as the affected child. This study developed and tested an electronic diary for mapping the challenges of everyday family life in a sample of children with ADHD being treated with pharmacotherapy. Across 7 days, mothers and children (27 ADHD; 25 non-ADHD) independently reported their moods, behaviors, and social contexts every 30 min during nonschool hours. Symptomatic behaviors and negative moods were elevated in the ADHD group, combined with maternal perceptions of lower parenting effectiveness and quality of life. Differences in the contexts of maternal anger were salient, with mothers in the ADHD group more often angry when with their children and comparison mothers more often angry when not. Although mothers' diaries were more informative, children's diaries also distinguished the two groups, especially during mornings and weekends. The need for family-wide interventions, the utility of child self-reports, and the promise of electronic diaries are discussed.     

Perception of speech and nonspeech stimuli by children with and without reading disability and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

The auditory temporal deficit hypothesis predicts that children with reading disability (RD) will exhibit deficits in the perception of speech and nonspeech acoustic stimuli in discrimination and temporal ordering tasks when the interstimulus interval (ISI) is short. Initial studies testing this hypothesis did not account for the potential presence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Temporal order judgment and discrimination tasks were administered to children with (1) RD/no-ADHD (n=38), (2) ADHD (n=29), (3) RD and ADHD (RD/ADHD; n=32), and (4) no impairment (NI; n=43). Contrary to predictions, children with RD showed no specific sensitivity to ISI and performed worse relative to children without RD on speech but not nonspeech tasks. Relationships between perceptual tasks and phonological processing measures were stronger and more consistent for speech than nonspeech stimuli. These results were independent of the presence of ADHD and suggest that children with RD have a deficit in phoneme perception that correlates with reading and phonological processing ability. (c) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).     

An investigation of race and sex similarity effects in interviews: a multilevel approach to relational demography

This research studied the effects of race and sex similarity on ratings in one-on-one highly structured college recruiting interviews (N = 708 interviewers and 12203 applicants for 7 different job families). A series of hierarchical linear models provided no evidence for similarity effects, although the commonly used D-score and analysis-of-variance-based interaction approaches conducted at the individual level of analysis yielded different results. The disparate results demonstrate the importance of attending to nested data structures and levels of analysis issues more broadly. Practically, the results suggest that organizations using carefully administered highly structured interviews may not need to be concerned about bias due to the mismatch between interviewer and applicant race or sex.     

Sleep and the time course of motor skill learning

Growing evidence suggests that sleep plays an important role in the process of procedural learning. Most recently, sleep has been implicated in the continued development of motor-skill learning following initial acquisition. However, the temporal evolution of motor learning before and after sleep, the effects of different training regimens, and the long-term development of motor learning across multiple nights of sleep remain unknown. Here, we report data for subjects trained and retested on a sequential finger-tapping task across multiple days. The findings demonstrate firstly that following initial training, small practice-dependent improvements are possible before, but not following the large practice-independent gains that develop across a night of sleep. Secondly, doubling the quantity of initial training does not alter the amount of subsequent sleep-dependent learning that develops overnight. Thirdly, the amount of sleep-dependent learning does not correlate with the amount of practice-dependent learning achieved during training, suggesting the existence of two discrete motor-learning processes. Finally, whereas the majority of sleep-dependent motor-skill learning develops during the first night of sleep following training, additional nights of sleep still offer continued improvements.     

Being a candidate: its impact on analytic process

Despite its crucial importance to psychoanalytic training, the control analysis has received surprisingly little scrutiny by psychoanalytic writers. How the candidate's training influences analytic process--a critical feature of the control analysis--is examined. In keeping with previous contributions, it is found that the candidate's training experience does indeed influence analytic process. It is argued, however, that focusing on the influence of training itself, as some authors have done, moves discussion away from the meanings of training for each candidate and from how these meanings bear on the interplay of transference and countertransference in the control analysis. Detailed case examples illustrate how one candidate's experience of training was drawn into his control analyses in the form of enactments, supporting the conclusion that attention to the particular ways in which training influences each candidate's analytic work is critical to the candidate's psychoanalytic education.     

Controlling the Past to Control the Future: Christian Nationalism and Mandatory Patriotic Education in Public Schools

Recent debates about whether educators should teach America's racist history have sparked activism and legislation to ensure students are taught American history in such a way that promotes “patriotism,” amplifying cherished national myths, emphasizing American exceptionalism, and erasing negative historical facts. Building on insights from both social dominance theory and Christian nationalism research, we propose Christian nationalism combines legitimizing myths that whitewash America's past with authoritarian impulses and thus seeks to enforce “patriotic” content in public school classrooms. We also theorize this connection varies across racial, partisan, and ideological identities. Data from a nationally-representative survey of Americans affirm Christian nationalism is by far the leading predictor Americans believe “We should require public school teachers to teach history in a way that promotes patriotism.” This association is consistent across race (possibly due to divergent meanings of both “Christian nationalism” and “patriotism” across groups), but varies by partisanship and ideological identity for whites. Specifically, Christian nationalism brings whites who identify with the ideological and political left into complete alignment with their conservative counterparts who are already more likely to support mandatory patriotic education. Our findings provide critical context for ongoing battles over public-school curricula and education's role in perpetuating social privilege.     

“We are better and happier if we are inclusive.” Therapist perspectives on the importance of LGB cultural competence in a mental health setting

Lesbian, gay and bisexual people are more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to report dissatisfaction after accessing a counselling or psychological service. Greater dissatisfaction may result from therapists who focus on psychopathology without considering cultural context. Research has demonstrated therapists' cultural competence (attitudes, knowledge and skills) may influence effective service provision to LGB people. Counsellors and psychologists (N = 10) were interviewed to determine the sources of information influencing the cultural competence and LGB cultural competence practices used by therapists in their clinical practice. Three themes were developed from semistructured interviews: (1) the importance of multiple sources of cultural competence; (2) applying cultural competence improves the therapeutic process; and (3) ensuring visual cues of affirmation are affirming, not pathologising. Theme 1 highlighted that initial professional training, cultural competence training and lived experience could be triangulated to assist therapists in improving their cultural competence. Theme 2 highlighted that cultural competence improves the therapeutic process by ensuring therapists can demonstrate affirming attitudes, knowledge about LGB people and culturally affirming skills to work effectively with LGB clients. The final theme explored the need for therapists to create an inclusive space for LGB clients. Recommendations for improving clinical practices and tools to enhance cultural competence are discussed.