Infants' eyewitness testimony: Effects of postevent information on a prior memory representation

In eyewitness testimony research, postevent information impair retention of the original event and increases the probability that interpolated information will be identified as part:of the original event. The present experiments studied these effects with 3-month-olds. Infants learned to kick to move a particular crib mobile and then were briefly exposed to information about a novel mobile. The novel postevent information impaired recognition of the-original mobile when it immediately followed training but not when it was delayed by 1 day. Like adults, infants treated the postevent information as part of the original training event, continuing to do so for at least 2 weeks. We propose that postevent information displaces conflicting information coactive with it in primary memory and creates a new, updated memory token of the event. Once the new token leaves primary memory, however, it is protected; only a copy can be retrieved and modified in the future.     

An Overview of Primary Prevention

The historical antecedents of primary prevention are found in the methods of public health, counseling, and psychotherapy. Primary prevention is defined as being proactive and is aimed predominantly at high-risk groups not yet affected by the condition to be prevented. Its success is measured in a decline in the incidence of a condition that is compared with controls. Only through prevention can we reduce incidence, and it seems that it is the only feasible way to deal with the unbridgeable gap between the enormous number of individuals at risk for emotional disturbance and the limited availability of treatment resources.     

INFANT MACAQUE MONKEYS RESPOND TO PICTORIAL DEPTH

Abstract— The studies described here are the first to demonstrate that a nonhuman primate species is capable of responding to pictorial depth information during infancy. In two experiments, pigtailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) infants were tested for responsivity to the pictorial depth cites of texture gradient/linear perspective and relative size. The procedures were adapted from human studies and are based on the proclivity of infants to reach more frequently to closer objects than to objects that are farther away. The stimulus displays included two equidistant objects that, when viewed monocularly, appear separated in space because of an illusion created by pictorial depth cues. When presented with these displays, animals reached significantly more often to the apparently closer objects under monocular conditions than under binocular conditions. These findings suggest that infant macaques are sensitive to pictorial depth information, the implication being that this ability has ancient phytogenetic origins and ix not learned from exposure to the conventions of Western art.     

Two investigations of “female modesty” in achievement situations

Two experiments examined motivations underlying the common finding that females present themselves more modestly than males in achievement situations. In Study 1, 388 first-year college students, primarily European-Americans, predicted their first semester grade point averages (GPAs) in one of 3 public and 2 private conditions, which varied the salience of modesty concerns and/or concerns about the others' feelings. In the public conditions combined, but not in the private conditions, women's predictions were lower than men's, although there were no gender differences in actual GPA. The public condition in which the others' feelings and modesty concerns were made salient accounted for this difference between men and women. In Study 2, 230 first-year college students predicted their first-semester GPAs in private, in public to a “nonvulnerable” other, or in public to a “vulnerable” other (someone who supposedly had earned a low GPA). Women's estimates were lower than men's in the latter condition only and lower than their estimates in the other conditions. These results suggest that relational motivations, rather than a simple lack of self-confidence or modesty alone, are a factor in gender differences in self-presentation of achievement.     

Bilingualism Is Associated with a Delayed Onset of Dementia but Not with a Lower Risk of Developing it: a Systematic Review with Meta-Analyses

Neuropsychology Review - Some studies have linked bilingualism with a later onset of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Not all studies have observed...     

The Protective Effect of Neighbourhood Collective Efficacy On Family Violence and Youth Antisocial Behaviour in Two South Korean Prospective Longitudinal Cohorts

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - Neighbourhood collective efficacy has been proposed as a protective factor against family violence and youth antisocial behaviour. However, little...     

Evaluations of Clergy Children Versus Non-Clergy Children: Does a Negative Stereotype Exist?

Studies that have been conducted on PKs (children of the clergy) are limited and outdated. But it has been thought that numerous stresses coincide with being a PK. This study tried to document the existence of a negative stereotype of PKs. The participants were 63 college students consisting of 40 Non-PKs and 23 PKs. They were given a mock college application to evaluate and then asked to rate the applicant on various dimensions. The participants rated one of three applicants: PK with bad behavior, PK with good behavior, or non-PK with bad behavior. The bad behavior was a DWI offense. Results indicated limited support of the hypothesis of a negative stereotype of PKs. A separate questionnaire given to the PKs inquiring about the stresses of their lifestyle revealed that PKs do report experiencing a significant amount of stress.