Imitative interaction increases social interest and elicited imitation in non‐verbal children with autism

Recent studies indicate that being intensely imitated for a brief period of time increases social interest among children with autism. The aim of this study was to replicate and extend these findings. Twenty children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were randomly assigned to one of two interaction strategies: imitation (n=10) or contingent (n=10). The children had little or no functional speech, and their developmental age averaged 25 months (mean chronological age =6:5 years). Both conditions were presented with repeated sessions of a modified version of Nadel's ‘still‐face’ paradigm (still‐face/intervention/still‐face/spontaneous play). The analysis revealed a significant increase of both proximal and distal social behaviours (touch and look at person) for the imitation condition, which confirms previous reports. In addition, an increase in elicited imitation, as measured with the PEP‐R developmental assessment procedure, was also observed for children in the imitation condition, but not in the contingent condition. This finding extends earlier reports in that it suggests that the social expectancies unlocked by imitation also spread to tasks outside the experimental setting. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Video interaction guidance inviting transcendence of postpartum depressed mothers' self‐centered state and holding behavior

By sometimes evoking self‐absorbed and avoidance behaviors in new mothers, postnatal depression affects the quality of mother–infant interaction, which in turn may invoke distress and avoidance in the infant and cause even more lasting impairment in the child's development. Three depressed mothers, A, B, and C, are reported upon after having been offered counseling in accordance with the Marte Meo approach through jointly watching with the therapist video replays of themselves interacting with their newborns. Clinical vignettes are offered which indicate how empathic and positive support of a sensitive therapist can be helpful in inviting the mother's recognition of her importance to her infant and facilitating mutually gratifying interaction between mother and child. Protocol analyses of select sessions of video‐related therapy reveal that two of the mothers sometimes complete the therapist's unfinished statements in an other‐centered manner, thereby transcending their initial self‐centered state. This is most dramatic in the case of Mother A, who starts out in the first session almost incapable of speech, merely nodding or shaking her head. In addition to other indications of improved mother–infant interaction, comparison of pre‐ and postguidance windows regarding the three mothers' holding behaviors reveals a shift from an avoidance or anxious stance to closer and more secure holding.     

Are novice drivers overconfident? A comparison of self-assessed and examiner-assessed driver competences in a Finnish and Swedish sample

Studies of subjective driving skill have usually assessed perceived driving skill in relation to the skills of the average driver. In order to examine whether novice drivers are overconfident with respect to their actual skills, a different method was used in the present study, where specific aspects of perceived driver competence were compared with assessments made by a driver examiner. A Finnish (n = 2847) and a Swedish (n = 805) sample of driving test candidates completed self-assessments and took a practical driving test; the instruments differed between the countries. The results indicated that about 50 percent of the Finnish and between 25 and 35 percent of the Swedish candidates made realistic assessments of their competence in the areas Vehicle manoeuvring, Economical driving and Traffic safety. The proportion of those who overestimated their competence was greater among the Swedish candidates than the Finnish candidates. This might be explained by greater possibilities of practicing self-assessment in the Finnish driver education. Furthermore, the results indicate that males are not overconfident to a greater extent than females. In conclusion, when perceived competence is related to actual competence instead of the skills of the average driver, the majority of drivers are no longer found to overestimate their skills.     

Gender-role orientations in older child-free and expectant couples

Psychosocial aspects of variant fertility decisions were investigated to determine factors that differentiate individuals who chose to become parents for the first time after age 30 and their peers who chose to remain child free. Forty women, aged 30 to 38, half of whom were child free and half expecting their first child, and 34 of their husbands were interviewed and completed the Role Questionnaire. The pattern of data suggests that the relatively traditional gender-role orientations of the expectant individuals may be an important factor that discriminates the two groups. The Rapoports' concept of “identity tension line” is used to integrate the results of the study and to explore findings that indicate different degrees of traditionalism in regard to work and family roles.     

How Bad Is Rape?

I argue that to be compelled to do routine work is to be gravely harmed. Indeed, that pink-collar work is a more serious harm to women than rape. My purpose is to urge politically active feminists and feminist organizations to arrange their priorities accordingly and devote most of their resources to working for the elimination of sex segregation in employment.     

Suboptimal exposure to facial expressions when viewing video messages from a small screen: effects on emotion, attention, and memory

The authors examined the effects of suboptimally presented facial expressions on emotional and attentional responses and memory among 39 young adults viewing video (business news) messages from a small screen. Facial electromyography (EMG) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia were used as physiological measures of emotion and attention, respectively. Several congruency priming effects were found. In particular, happy facial primes prompted increased (a) pleasure ratings, (b) orbicularis oculi EMG activity, (c) perceived trustworthiness, and (d) recognition memory for video messages with a positive emotional tone. Emotional and other responses to video messages presented on a small screen can be modified with suboptimal affective primes, but even small differences in the emotional tone of the messages should be allowed for.     

Improving fairness in coverage decisions: performance expectations for quality improvement

Patients and physicians often perceive the current health care system to be unfair, in part because of the ways in which coverage decisions appear to be made. To address this problem the Ethical Force Program, a collaborative effort to create quality improvement tools for ethics in health care, has developed five content areas specifying ethical criteria for fair health care benefits design and administration. Each content area includes concrete recommendations and measurable expectations for performance improvement, which can be used by those organizations involved in the design and administration of health benefits packages, such as purchasers, health plans, benefits consultants, and practitioner groups.     

The Impact of Women's Studies Courses on College Students of the 1990s

This study assessed the personal impact ofwomen's studies courses for college students of the1990s. The sample consisted of 124 women and 41 menenrolled in courses at a medium-sized Midwesternuniversity. Of a sample totaling 165 participants, 138reported that they were white caucasians, whereas 27self-classified as an ethnic minority. Comparisons weremade between the responses of students enrolled in women's studies courses versus those enrolledin content courses that did not emphasize diversityissues. Changes detected were a more progressive genderrole orientation and an increased locus of control. These changes were similarly experienced byboth men and women enrolled in women's studiescourses.