Examining and reexamining the structure of Chinese-English bilingual memory

The asymmetry model of bilingual memory proposed by Kroll and Stewart assumes that translation from a first language (L1) into a second language (L2), or forward translation, is mediated by an underlying conceptual memory, whereas L2-to-L1, or backward, translation is lexical and direct. Lexical links from L2 to L1 are hypothesized to be stronger than those from L1 to L2, but conceptual links are stronger for L1 than L2. These assumptions were evaluated in this study, which used stimulus items with similar recognition thresholds. Proficient Chinese-English bilinguals were tested on picture naming, word naming, word translation and category matching. The translation asymmetry effect predicted by the model (i.e., backward being faster than forward translation) was demonstrated; matching an L1 item to a category name was also faster than matching an L2 item. This pattern of results, nevertheless, did not completely hold after an adjustment procedure which sought to control for variations in response production and concept retrieval times due to stimulus types. The present findings are consistent with previous ones which show increased L2 conceptual processing for the proficient bilingual. They also suggest that an extended version of the asymmetry model should take into account possible biasing effects associated with some conventionally used bilingual tasks.     

ASSESSMENT AND TRAINING OF CLINICAL INTERVIEWING SKILLS: ANALOGUE ANALYSIS AND FIELD REPLICATION

Two studies were conducted to assess and train clinical interviewing skills. In Experiment 1, eight university practicum students (“therapists”) and either role played or volunteer “clients” were audiotaped during simulated interviews. Following the collection of baseline data on both therapist and client responses, training was provided by way of written materials, classroom instruction and practice, and quizzes. Results of a multiple baseline design across subjects showed improvements in therapists' interviewing skills and subsequent increases in client responding. Experiment 2 replicated and extended the research to a hospital outpatient clinic, in which therapists interviewed the parents of children with behavior problems. In addition, four months following the completion of Experiment 2, follow-up data collected during a maintenance condition showed continued high levels of therapist and client behavior. Finally, a panel of expert peers indicated that each response category was judged highly relevant to the behavioral assessment process.     

Does Parental Relational Aggression Interact with Parental Psychological Control in the Prediction of Youth Relational Aggression?

In a sample of 117 youth and their parents, the associations between parental relational aggression, psychological control, youth gender, and youth relational aggression were examined. Boys with parents high on relational aggression and psychological control reported more relational aggression than boys with parents high on relational aggression and low on psychological control. Girls with parents low on relational aggression and high on psychological control reported more relational aggression than girls with parents low on relational aggression and psychological control. Results indicate youth may learn to use relational aggression from their parents, and have implications for intervention with relationally aggressive youth.     

Knowing Your Ability

In this article, we present an attempt to reconcile intellectualism and the anti‐intellectualist ability account of knowledge‐how by reducing “S knows how to F” to, roughly speaking, “S knows that she has the ability to F demonstrated by a concrete way w.” More precisely, “S has a certain ability” is further formalized as the proposition that S can guarantee a certain goal by a concrete way w of some method under some precondition. Having the knowledge of our own ability, we can plan our future actions accordingly, which would not be possible by merely having the ability without knowing it, and this pinpoints the crucial difference between knowledge‐how and ability. Our semi‐formal account avoids most of the objections to both intellectualism and the anti‐intellectualist ability account, and provides a multistage learning process of knowledge‐how, which reveals various subtleties.     

The Hong Kong version of the Oxford Cognitive Screen (HK-OCS): validation study for Cantonese-speaking chronic stroke survivors

This study reports the validation of the Hong Kong version of Oxford Cognitive Screen (HK-OCS). Seventy Cantonese-speaking healthy individuals participated to establish normative data and 46 chronic stroke survivors were assessed using the HK-OCS, Albert’s Test of Visual Neglect, short test of gestural production, and Hong Kong version of the following assessments: Western Aphasia Battery, MMSE, MoCA, Modified Barthel Index, and Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale. The validity of the HK-OCS was appraised by the difference between the two participant groups. Neurologically unimpaired individuals performed significantly better than stroke survivors on the HK-OCS. Positive and significant correlations found between cognitive subtests in the HK-OCS and related assessments indicated good concurrent validity. Excellent intra-rater and inter-rater reliabilities, fair test–retest reliability, and acceptable internal consistency suggested that the HK-OCS had good reliability. Specific HK-OCS subtests including semantics, episodic memory, number writing, and orientation were the best predictors of functional outcomes.     

Should scientists think? Comment on Machado and Silva (2007)

The author has previously claimed that neural activity in a medial frontal brain area represents conscious motor intentions. A. Machado and F. J. Silva attempted to challenge this claim by arguing that such intentions are not necessarily causally effective and must be caused by something else, so that they therefore cannot be the unmoved first movers in action. The author's reply is that he made no such claims about the causal status and origin of conscious intentions. In fact, he has elsewhere presented empirical evidence in support of the idea that intentions are not necessarily causal. But this does not stop researchers from studying the neural basis for the conscious impression that one intends and wills one's actions. One can feel and attend to such intentions, be they causal or not. The author's claim is that there is neural activity in the medial frontal wall that reflects such conscious feelings. Other recent empirical evidence that supports this view is described.     

The interactive effects of duality expertise and coping frames on responses to ambivalent messages

We examine the interactive effects of biculturals' duality expertise and externally provided coping resources on attitudinal responses to ambivalence. Three studies reveal that ambivalence is associated with greater discomfort for biculturals more (vs. less) conflicted about their cultural duality and with limited exposure to accessing their two cultural knowledge systems simultaneously. Among biculturals with lower duality expertise, coping frames lower their negative evaluation of messages that elicit ambivalence because coping frames help these biculturals resolve the discomfort associated with ambivalence. Provision of coping frames does not impact attitudes of biculturals with greater levels of duality expertise.     

Self-Interest, Symbolic Attitudes, and Support for Public Policy: A Multilevel Analysis

This paper examines the role of self-interest and symbolic attitudes as predictors of support for two domestic policy issues—guaranteed jobs and incomes and national health insurance—in the American National Election Survey (ANES) between 1972 and 2004. As was the case in 1976 when Sears, Lau, Tyler, and Allen (1980 ) first explored this topic, symbolic attitudes continue to be much more important predictors of policy attitudes than various indicators of self-interest over the 30 years we analyze. We explore this finding further to determine whether any individual/internal and external/contextual variables affect the magnitude of self-interest effects on policy support. Five possible internal moderators of self-interest effects are examined: (1) political knowledge, (2) issue publics, (3) political values, (4) social identifications, and (5) emotions, but none are found to boost the magnitude of the self-interest effect. However, we do find some evidence that contextual variables representing the social/information environment moderate the impact of self-interest on public opinion.