Naturally together: pitch-height and brightness as coupled factors for eliciting the SMARC effect in non-musicians

Psychological Research - Pitch-height is often labeled spatially (i.e., low or high) as a function of the fundamental frequency of the tone. This correspondence is highlighted by the so-called...     

Risking safety or safely risking? Healthcare professionals' understanding of risk-taking in everyday work

Current patient safety orthodoxy in the United Kingdom and beyond has tended to treat risk as something that should be assessed and estimated quantitatively. While this offers benefits to research and practice, there are added benefits from paying closer scrutiny to the underlying causes that influence such adverse events in healthcare. In this article, risk is seen as something subjective, or rather as part of the "lived experiences" of healthcare professionals. Results from this study indicate that the vast majority of healthcare professionals we interviewed understand risk as something intrinsic to healthcare; another variable one needs to prepare for. Risks were generally described in terms of acceptable versus unacceptable and avoidable versus unavoidable. In terms of identifying and dealing with risk, we found indications that the decision-making processes healthcare professionals use vary according to their training and experience. We suggest that the further examination of the apparent differences that exist in the perceptual awareness of risk can advance our knowledge on the possible impact they could have upon patient safety in the wider spectrum.     

Rhythmic performance during a whole body movement: dynamic analysis of force-time curves

The purpose of this study was to investigate rhythmic performance during two-legged hopping in place. In particular, it was tested whether (a) timing control is independent of force control, (b) a dynamic timer model explains rhythmic performance, and (c) it is a force related parameter that carries the timing information. Eleven participants performed two-legged hopping at their preferred hopping frequency (PHF) and at two hopping frequencies set by an external rhythmic stimulus as lower (LHF) and higher (HHF) than their PHF, respectively. A force plate was used to record the ground reaction force (GRF) time curves during two-legged hopping. The primary temporal and force related parameters determined from the GRF-time curves were the durations of the cycle of movement (t(cycle)), of the contact phase (t(contact)), of the flight phase (t(flight)), the magnitude of peak force (Fz(peak)) and the rate of peak force development (RFD). Control of t(cycle) was independent of force control as shown by the non-significant correlations between t(cycle) and the force parameters of the GRF-time curve. Lag 1 autocorrelations of t(cycle) were not significant in any of the HF, thereby a dynamic timer model is considered to explain the timing of t(cycle) during two-legged hopping. RFD varied more than any other GRF-time curve parameter, exhibited consistent significant strong correlations with the GRF-time curve parameters and significant negative lag 1 autocorrelations in PHF, thus, it was highlighted as the potent timing control parameter. Finally, we provide a practical application for the optimization of rhythmic performance.     

Greek special educators' behavior analytic skills

The present study examined the ability of 52 special teachers in determining the underlying function of challenging behaviors in children with developmental disabilities and in linking the identified function with relevant intervention. Participants were presented with three questionnaire vignettes describing behavior maintained by attention, task avoidance and sensory consequences. They were then asked to identify the likely causes of the behaviors from a table of three possible functions and to link them with relevant intervention from a pool of 11 forms of intervention. The results indicated that teachers can reliably identify the cause of the behavior but they are not yet able to link function with relevant intervention without the provision of adequate support. The implications for teachers' in‐service training in the implementation of behavior analytic interventions are briefly discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Larger,smaller, odd or even? Task-specific effects of optokinetic stimulation on the mental number space

Previous studies have shown that number processing can induce spatial biases in perception and action and can trigger the orienting of visuospatial attention. Few studies, however, have investigated how spatial processing and visuospatial attention influences number processing. In the present study, we used the optokinetic stimulation (OKS) technique to trigger eye movements and thus overt orienting of visuospatial attention. Participants were asked to stare at OKS, while performing parity judgements (Experiment 1) or number comparison (Experiment 2), two numerical tasks that differ in terms of demands on magnitude processing. Numerical stimuli were acoustically presented, and participants responded orally. We examined the effects of OKS direction (leftward or rightward) on number processing. The results showed that rightward OKS abolished the classic number size effect (i.e., faster reaction times for small than large numbers) in the comparison task, whereas the parity task was unaffected by OKS direction. The effect of OKS highlights a link between visuospatial orienting and processing of number magnitude that is complementary to the more established link between numerical and visuospatial processing. We suggest that the bidirectional link between numbers and space is embodied in the mechanisms subserving sensorimotor transformations for the control of eye movements and spatial attention.     

Beyond Idea Generation: The Power of Groups in Developing Ideas

Brainstorming research has claimed that individuals are more creative than groups. However, these conclusions are largely based on measuring creativity by the number of ideas generated, and researchers have tended to neglect other important components of creativity, such as the quality of developed ideas. These studies aim to address this gap in the literature and investigate how well individuals and groups develop ideas. The first study compared collaborative groups, nominal groups (i.e., groups composed of individuals working separately), and individuals on developing an original design for a language-learning game. No differences were revealed between conditions on the game ratings. In the second study, one idea was preselected and given to the participants for further development. Groups received higher ratings in the marketability and overall categories than both nominal groups and individuals, and higher ratings in the fun category than individuals. The qualitative data showed that groups discussed a wider range of topics and topics related to marketability more than individuals did. Thus it appears that there are benefits to developing ideas in a collaborative group rather than individually. Possible explanations for the present findings are explored.     

Familial comorbidity of bipolar disorder and multiple sclerosis: Genetic susceptibility, coexistence or causal relationship?

Our purpose in undertaking the present study was to examine the hypotheses proposed for explaining the frequent comorbidity of bipolar disorder and multiple sclerosis. One hypothesis posits that, when there is comorbidity, MS plays a causal role in psychiatric manifestations. Another suggests that both disorders have a common underlying physiological process that increases the likelihood of their co-occurrence. We examined two adult siblings with comorbidity and their relatives, including three generations of family members with psychiatric morbidity. We found an extensive multigenerational history of bipolar disorder in this family. This history would seem to support the hypothesis of a common underlying brain process (potentially genetically-based) to explain the comorbidity of BD and MS, but cannot clarify whether this comorbidity implies a relationship between the two disorders or merely reflects parallel processes of brain deterioration. We cannot, however, rule out the possibility of a subclinical MS-related process leading to the early manifestation of BD, with MS appearing much later in time, or even a third, undetermined factor, leading to familial comorbidity. Although we have insufficient information to support either hypothesis definitively, we present the familial cases as a springboard for a discussion of dilemmas related to teasing apart MS and BD comorbidity. Further observation of the clinical course of the younger family members, who have not yet shown any neurological signs, over the next few years may elucidate the current picture further.     

Patterns of choices on video game genres and Internet addiction

In this study, we attempt to identify motives pivotal in choices made regarding online and offline game genres and assess whether they are meaningful predictors of Internet addiction. A separate goal was to determine how an assessment of Internet-related cognitions compares to criteria-based research instruments on Internet addiction, and demonstrate its clinical usefulness. We are using data from a cross-sectional study of the entire adolescent student population aged 12-18 of the island of Kos. Results indicate that specific game genres and motives for choosing a game are important predictors of Internet addiction, even after accounting for sociodemographic and Internet-use-related variables. Gender differences are not statistically important when we account for genre choices and motives for choosing them. Boys' thought content tends to revolve more around their Internet use compared to girls. Several patterns of motives to play specific genres were identified with the help of a canonical correlation analysis, demonstrating the fact that the simple observation of overt behavior is not enough to deduce the meaning of these actions for the individual. Using multiple measures of online addiction, examining genre preferences and underlying motives for choosing a game can be helpful in reaching a better understanding of the individual game player.