Can ‘Downward Causation’ Save Free Will?

Recently, Trenton Merricks has defended a libertarian view of human freedom. He claims that human persons have downward causal control of their constituent parts, and that downward causal control of this sort is sufficient for free will. In this paper I examine Merricks’s defense of free will, and argue that it is unsuccessful. I show that having downward causal control is not sufficient for for free will. In an Appendix I also argue that Merricks’s defense of free will, together with assumptions implicit in his broader ontology, commit him to the implausible conclusion that determinism is incompatible with the existence of human persons.     

Prehistoric dangers and contemporary prejudices

We review the logical principles that guide the application of evolutionary ideas to psychological problems, and show how these principles can be used to derive novel, testable hypotheses about contemporary prejudice processes. We summarise two recent lines of research employing this approach. One line of research examines prejudices resulting from perceived vulnerability to physical injury. The other examines prejudices resulting from perceived vulnerability to disease. Results from both lines of research support novel psychological hypotheses identifying variables--pertaining to both personality and to local context--that trigger specific prejudices against specific categories of people. We conclude by discussing more broadly some of the useful conceptual and practical implications of this evolutionary approach to prejudice.     

Breaks are Better: A Tier II Social Behavior Intervention

Multi-tiered systems of social behavioral support in schools provide varying levels of intervention matched to student need. Tier I (primary or universal) systems are for all students and are designed to promote pro-social behavior. Tier III (tertiary or intensive) supports are for students who engage in serious challenging behavior that has not responded to other efforts. In between Tier I and Tier III are Tier II (secondary or targeted interventions), for students at risk for developing more serious problematic behavior. The purpose of this study was to evaluate Breaks are Better, a Tier II intervention designed for students who engage in problem behavior maintained by avoidance of instructional activities. Breaks are Better builds on an evidence-based Tier II intervention, Check-in/Check-out, but includes key components to enhance its effectiveness for students who avoid instruction. Working with three typically developing elementary school students, we documented changes in problem behavior during academic instruction following the implementation of Breaks are Better. Further, students and teachers rated the intervention as both feasible and valuable.     

The approximate number system and its relation to early math achievement: Evidence from the preschool years

Humans rely on two main systems of quantification; one is nonsymbolic and involves approximate number representations (known as the approximate number system or ANS), and the other is symbolic and allows for exact calculations of number. Despite the pervasiveness of the ANS across development, recent studies with adolescents and school-aged children point to individual differences in the precision of these representations that, importantly, have been shown to relate to symbolic math competence even after controlling for general aspects of intelligence. Such findings suggest that the ANS, which humans share with nonhuman animals, interfaces specifically with a uniquely human system of formal mathematics. Other findings, however, point to a less straightforward picture, leaving open questions about the nature and ontogenetic origins of the relation between these two systems. Testing children across the preschool period, we found that ANS precision correlated with early math achievement but, critically, that this relation was nonlinear. More specifically, the correlation between ANS precision and math competence was stronger for children with lower math scores than for children with higher math scores. Taken together, our findings suggest that early-developing connections between the ANS and mathematics may be fundamentally discontinuous. Possible mechanisms underlying such nonlinearity are discussed.     

Immediate Movement History Influences Reach-to-Grasp Action Selection in Children and Adults

The authors review studies of mentally simulated movements. In automatic or cyclical movements, actual and motor imagery (MI) durations are similar. When athletes simulate only dynamic phases of movement or perform MI just before competing, however, environmental and time constraints lead to an underestimation of actual duration. Conversely, complex attention-demanding movements take longer to image. Finally, participants can modify the speed of MI voluntarily when they receive specific instructions. To complete the available data, the authors compared imagined and actual durations in tennis and gymnastics. Results showed systematic and disproportionate overestimation of actual duration. The authors found a relationship between complex motor skills and MI duration. They discuss the factors leading to over- and underestimation and the hypotheses that could be tested.     

Differences in Rapid Initiation and Termination of Voluntary Postural Sway Associated with Ageing and Falls-Risk

The authors examined differences between young adults (n = 25) and healthy older adults (n = 48) in reaction time and the relations between center of pressure (COP) and center of mass (COM) motions during rapid initiation and termination of voluntary postural sway. Older adults were divided into low and high falls-risk groups based on Physiological Profile Assessment scores of sensorimotor function. Low falls-risk older adults had slower reaction times during anteroposterior sway initiation and decreased COP–COM separation during anteroposterior and medialateral sway initiation and anteroposterior continuous voluntary sway compared with young adults. High falls-risk older adults had slower initiation and termination reaction times in all response directions and decreased COP–COM separation during sway initiation and continuous voluntary sway in the anteroposterior and medialateral directions compared with young adults. Compared with low falls-risk older adults, high falls-risk older adults had slower initiation and termination reaction times in all response directions and decreased COP–COM separation during medialateral continuous voluntary sway. Reaction time and COP–COM measures significantly predicted group status in discriminant models with sensitivities and specificities of 72–100%. Overall, these findings highlight important associations of age-related declines in sensorimotor function related to an increased risk of falling with slower postural reaction time and reduced postural stability.     

A Review of Finn,Fischer, and Handler (Eds.), Collaborative/Therapeutic Assessment: A Casebook and Guide

Abstract

Oscar N. Myer The Language of Handwriting. Reviewed by Rose Wolfson

Klara Roman Handwriting: a Key to Personality. Reviewed by Rose Wolfson

Frank Victor Handwriting: A Personality Projection. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas, 1952. American Lecture Series Monograph No. 96. Reviewed by Gerald S. Blum, Ph.D.

Robert I. Watson The Clinical Method in Psychology. New York: Harper &; Bros. 1951. $4.50. Reviewed by Walter G. Klopfer, Ph.D.     

applying social learning theory to police misconduct

Although numerous studies have attempted to understand the causes of various forms of police misconduct, there is still no clear theoretical explanation of police misbehavior. Akers’ social learning theory posits that peer associations, attitudes, reinforcement, and modeling are predictors of delinquency and crime in general. With this article, we seek to determine if the theory can account for police deviance. Data from a random sample of Philadelphia police officers are used to examine how officer attitudes and perceptions of peer behavior are related to citizen complaints of police misconduct. Findings suggest that social learning theory provides a useful explanation of police misconduct.     

Transversus abdominis is part of a global not local muscle synergy during arm movement

The trunk muscle transversus abdominis (TrA) is thought to be controlled independently of the global trunk muscles. Methodological issues in the 1990s research such as unilateral electromyography and a limited range of arm movements justify a re-examination of this theory. The hypothesis tested is that TrA bilateral co-contraction is a typical muscle synergy during arm movement. The activity of 6 pairs of trunk and lower limb muscles was recorded using bilateral electromyography during anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) associated with the arm movements. The integrated APA electromyographical signals were analyzed for muscle synergy using Principle Component Analysis. TrA does not typically bilaterally co-contract during arm movements (1 out of 6 participants did). APA muscle activity of all muscles during asymmetrical arm movements typically reflected a direction specific diagonal pattern incorporating a twisting motion to transfer energy from the ground up. This finding is not consistent with the hypothesis that TrA plays a unique role providing bilateral, feedforward, multidirectional stiffening of the spine. This has significant implications to the theories underlying the role of TrA in back pain and in the training of isolated bilateral co-contraction of TrA in the prophylaxis of back pain.