Modulation of the palmar grasp behavior in neonates according to texture property

The study investigates the newborn's grasping behavior according to the texture property of an object. 22 full term healthy newborns were tested with their right hand. Eleven babies were exposed to a first condition in which the spontaneous manual activity on an object with a smooth texture was recorded. Eleven babies were exposed to an another condition: they hold the very same object than those presented in the baseline condition except that thin pearls were added on its surface, increasing its roughness. The results provide evidence for the existence of a modulation of hand activity according to the texture property of the object. The nature of this modulatory capacity of the hand is discussed.     

Smartphone use and daily cognitive failures: A critical examination using a daily diary approach with objective smartphone measures

While smartphones have brought many benefits and conveniences to users, there is continuing debate regarding their potential negative consequences on everyday cognition such as daily cognitive failures. A few cross-sectional studies have found positive associations between smartphone use and cognitive failures. However, several research gaps remain, such as the use of cross-sectional designs, confounds related to stable individual differences, the lack of validity in self-report measures of smartphone use, memory biases in retrospective self-reports, and the lack of differentiation between smartphone checking and smartphone screen time. To simultaneously address the aforementioned shortcomings, the current study examined the within-person associations between various objective indicators of smartphone use and daily cognitive failures using a 7-day daily diary study. Multilevel modelling revealed that smartphone checking, but not total smartphone screen time, predicted a greater occurrence of daily cognitive failures at the within-person level. Surprisingly, we also found negative within-person associations between smartphone screen time for social- and tools-related applications and daily cognitive failures, suggesting that some types of smartphone use may temporarily benefit one's cognitive functioning. This finding demonstrates the importance of studying the specific functions of smartphone use and their differential cognitive consequences, as well as highlights the complex relations between smartphone use and cognition.     

The Relative Importance of Probabilities, Outcomes, and Vagueness in Hazard Risk Decisions

This study investigated the joint effects of vagueness on both the probability and the outcome dimensions of hazard risk, using both pairwise choice and rating response tasks. Seventy-two subjects evaluated risk stimuli (concerning either environmental or health hazards), which varied in the level of probability of loss, the amount of loss, and the precision with which each dimension was specified. We found strong evidence of a consistent individual attitude toward vagueness on both risk dimensions and an almost equal number of vagueness-seeking and precision-seeking subjects. Choices were consistent with a decision rule based on dimension preference, but attitude toward vagueness significantly predicted choice in cases where a dimension preference rule was not appropriate. An asymmetric preference reversal pattern was also demonstrated, with many subjects choosing an option in a pair that they rated as more risky.     

Reducing the Biological and Psychological Toxicity of Poverty-related Stress: Initial Efficacy of the BaSICS Intervention for Early Adolescents

This proof-of-concept study tests the initial efficacy of the Building a Strong Identity and Coping Skills (BaSICS) intervention, a selective prevention of internalizing problems program for early adolescents exposed to high levels of poverty-related stress. Eighty-four early adolescents (M_age = 11.36 years) residing in very low-income neighborhoods were randomized to receive the 16-session intervention (n = 44) or to an assessment-only control condition (n = 40). BaSICS teaches coping skills, social identity development, and collective social action to empower youth with the ability to connect with members of their communities and cope with poverty-related stress in positive and collaborative ways. Pretest–posttest analyses showed that intervention adolescents acquired problem-solving and cognitive-restructuring skills and reduced their reliance on avoidant coping. In addition, HPA reactivity was significantly reduced in the intervention youth, but not controls. Finally, intervention youth's internalizing and somatic symptoms as reported by both youth and their parents, showed significant reductions over time, whereas control youth had no such changes. Results provide strong support for this approach to strength-building and symptom reduction in a population of early adolescents exposed to poverty-related stress.     

Association between chemosensory stimuli and cesarean delivery in rat fetuses: neonatal presentation of similar stimuli increases motor activity

Recent studies conducted in this laboratory indicated that prenatal chemosensory stimulation followed by cesarean delivery strongly affected postnatal responsiveness to odors derived from the administered substances. The present experiments were performed in order to examine if an associative process was responsible for such effects. In Experiment 1 rat fetuses during Gestational Day 21 were exposed to a tenuous alcohol solution or to a lemon-containing solution either 40 or 10 min prior to cesarean delivery. All subjects were subsequently tested in terms of changes in neonatal motor activity when confronted with the odor of alcohol or lemon. Rats experiencing prenatal cues 10 min prior to delivery exhibited higher and differential responsiveness to the smell of these cues when compared to those experiencing similar solutions 40 min prior to delivery. In Experiment 2 each fetus sequentially experienced both cues. Subsequent tests confirmed that the delay between prenatal sensory experience and birth induction was critical in terms of significantly affecting olfactory-mediated motor responses. The results suggest that consequences related with cesarean delivery act as an unconditioned stimulus capable of being associated with orosensory cues present in the amniotic fluid.     

Learning phonotactic constraints from brief auditory experience

Three experiments asked whether phonotactic regularities not present in English could be acquired by adult English speakers from brief listening experience. Subjects listened to consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) syllables displaying restrictions on consonant position. Responses in a later speeded repetition task revealed rapid learning of (a) first-order regularities in which consonants were restricted to particular positions (e.g. [baep] not *[paeb]), and (b) second-order regularities in which consonant position depended on the adjacent vowel (e.g. [baep] or [pIb], not *[paeb] or *[bIp]). No evidence of learning was found for second-order regularities in which consonant position depended on speaker's voice. These results demonstrated that phonotactic constraints are rapidly learned from listening experience and that some types of contingencies (consonant-vowel) are more easily learned than others (consonant-voice).     

Factor Structure and Criterion Validity of Secondary School Teacher Ratings of ADHD and ODD

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is currently viewed as a heterogeneous disorder with two factors: inattention and impulsivity–hyperactivity. This conceptualization of ADHD is based primarily on research with children or samples that mix children and adolescents. To examine if the 2-factor ADHD model is appropriate for adolescents and if the ADHD factors are distinct from Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) in adolescents, teacher rating data were collected for 2 samples of adolescents. The results of a confirmatory factor analysis supported the convergent and divergent validity of a model with separate but correlated factors for inattention, impulsivity–hyperactivity, and defiant behavior. Further evidence of construct validity was found when factor scores were examined relative to the criterion variables of academic performance and rule-breaking behavior. The results support the utility of teacher ratings of ADHD and ODD in the assessment of adolescents, and the applicability of the DSM-IV conceptualization of these disorders to adolescents.     

I See Your Point: Infants Under 12 Months Understand That Pointing Is Communicative

Do young infants understand that pointing gestures allow the pointer to change the information state of a recipient? We used a third-party experimental scenario to examine whether 9- and 11-month-olds understand that a pointer's pointing gesture can inform a recipient about a target object. When the pointer pointed to a target, infants subsequently looked longer when the recipient selected the nontarget rather than the target object. In contrast, infants looked equally long whether the recipient selected the target or nontarget object when the pointer used a noncommunicative gesture, a fist. Finally, when the recipient had no perceptual access to the pointing gesture, infants looked longer when the recipient selected the target rather than the nontarget object. Young infants understand a fundamental aspect of the communicative function of pointing: Pointing, but not all gestures, can transfer information. Gestures may thus be one of the tools infants use for an early understanding of communication.     

Multiracial and Biracial Individuals: A Content Analysis of Counseling Journals, 1991–2013

This content analysis examines the counseling literature on multiracial individuals using the top journals. The authors conducted an exhaustive search for research articles and identified 10 published articles that addressed biracial and multiracial individuals from the years 1991 to 2013 in top‐tier counseling journals. Of the 10 counseling journals, 4 journals addressed multiracial individuals (Journal of Counseling & Development, Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, Journal of Humanistic Counseling, and Journal of College Counseling). Recommendations for counselors and researchers are provided. Este análisis de contenido examina las investigaciones en el campo de la consejería sobre individuos multirraciales publicadas en las revistas académicas más importantes. Los autores llevaron a cabo una búsqueda exhaustiva de artículos de investigación e identificaron 10 artículos publicados en revistas académicas de consejería de alto nivel que trataban sobre individuos birraciales y multirraciales entre los años 1991 y 2013. Cuatro de las 10 revistas académicas de consejería trataban sobre individuos multirraciales (Journal of Counseling & Development, Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, Journal of Humanistic Counseling y Journal of College Counseling). Se ofrecen recomendaciones para consejeros e investigadores.