The influence of response conflict on voluntary task switching: a novel test of the conflict monitoring model

The conflict monitoring model of cognitive control posits that response conflict triggers a top-down enhancement of a task’s representation in working memory. In the present study, we conducted a novel test of the conflict monitoring model using a voluntary task switching paradigm. We predicted that a task’s representation would be enhanced following events associated with high response conflict (i.e., incongruent trials and incorrect responses), leading participants to voluntarily choose to repeat that task more often after these events than after events associated with low response conflict (i.e., congruent trials and correct responses). In two experiments, performance following incongruent trials was consistent with the conflict monitoring model. However, performance following incorrect trials did not fit with the model’s predictions. These findings provide novel support for the conflict monitoring model while revealing new effects of incorrect trials that the model cannot explain.     

Grouping by achromatic color and surface segregation

The study explored the achromatic-color determinants of grouping of uniform surfaces. The stimuli were a set of separate uniform achromatic disks on either a uniform or a bipartite achromatic background. The participants rated the salience of grouping of these disks for different combinations of stimulus luminances. The results show that achromatic color similarity alone could not sufficiently explain the pattern of obtained factorial curves but this factor coupled with the factor of surface segregation could. Luminance contrast similarity per se was found to be unimportant for grouping.     

Surrogate Motherhood Revisited: Maternal Identity from a Jewish Perspective

A new bill regulating ovum donation in Israel is set to pass its second and third readings in the Israel Parliament in the upcoming months. The new law will expand the number of locally donated ova available, as previously Israeli women were prohibited from donating eggs unless they were undergoing fertility treatment. Parallel to this legislative initiative, there has been a change in rabbinical thinking over who is considered the mother in a case of surrogacy. Previously, the consensus has been that the birth mother is to be considered the mother, but over the last few years there has been a change in thinking and the genetic mother is now considered the mother. The purpose of this paper is to present the ethical and legal issues from a Jewish perspective in determining maternal identity. The dilemma also demonstrates some of the difficulties in applying Talmudic law to modern problems and the various methodologies used to overcome these issues.     

Religious Influences on the Reproductive Health Decisions of HIV-Positive Latinas on the Border

The number of HIV-positive Latinas of child-bearing age living on the US–Mexico border is a growing concern. Little is known about how religious beliefs influence the reproductive health decisions of these women in light of disease demands and cultural and religious norms that support high fertility rates and childbearing. Such decisions may be further complicated by the stigma of HIV/AIDS and structural issues related to immigration status and trans-border lives. This paper analyzes extant literature and supports the need for further research so that policy makers and heath and social service providers can develop meaningful and comprehensive reproductive-health related interventions.     

Defining and Exploring Modesty in Jewish American Women

Whether culture-based modesty may be a barrier to women’s health care has been a longstanding question. Numerous studies have noted that, in certain cultures, modesty is considered a barrier to mammography screening and breast feeding. Though modesty has been noted as an inherent aspect of the lived experience of many cultures, no extant measures or clear definitions were found. Jewish women, some having strict rules regarding modesty, were sampled to understand their definition of modesty. These perspectives were objectively analyzed using Q methodology. We found that although some perspectives on modesty may be accounted for by culture, there are others that are not.     

Correlates of Genetic Counseling and Testing Among Orthodox Jews

One hundred and thirty-six Orthodox Jews responded to questions about their family background, disability attitudes, and their participation in genetic counseling and testing. Findings showed that only birth order and the presence of a disabled family member correlated with increased chances of an individual going for genetic counseling/testing. Results are discussed in the context of the contemporary sociology of Orthodox Judaism, with a particular focus on better understanding the experience of having a disabled family member.     

A Review of Carolyn Chen’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">Getting Saved in America: Taiwanese Immigration and Religious Experience</Emphasis>

Becoming religious among immigrants to the U.S. is undoubtedly a complex transformation. It takes place with both external sociocultural conditions and internal spiritual and psychological volitions. While marveling at Carolyn Chen’s fine scholarship on Taiwanese immigrants’ conversion experience, this review offers a critical reading of Chen’s equation: becoming American = becoming religious or vice versa with the reviewer’s own experience as both an Asian immigrant and a cultural anthropologist. It also discusses Chen’s assessment of the gendered identity of both Asian-American men and women, be it religious, cultural, or political.     

Spiritual Practice,Health Promotion,and the Elusive Soul: Perspectives from Public Health

Spirituality and religion are topics of increasing interest in U.S. society and popular culture as well for many health professions, including medicine, psychology, and public health. This article comments on Mark Graves’ (2008) synthesis of science and spirituality/religion, Mind, Brain, and the Elusive Soul from the perspective of a public health professional. I briefly review the sources, extent, and conceptual approaches of emerging scientific and health interest in spirituality/religion. Spiritual practices are identified as phenomena of central interest. Major concepts of Graves’ synthesis are reviewed, and the soul’s relevance to spiritual growth, popular culture, and scientific application is discussed. Several questions are posed as a stimulus to further extension and refinement of Graves’ synthesis.     

Mark Graves <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mind,Brain and the Elusive Soul: Human Systems of Cognitive Science and Religion</Emphasis>

This article explores the use of Graves’ theory of the soul as an interdisciplinary tool to facilitate a holistic approach to healing. Graves’ discussion is applied to the use of therapeutic interventions to facilitate the emergent processes of healing and spiritual growth in traumatized persons.