A robust solution for dealing with environmental changes in intercepting moving balls

The authors tested whether a simple model based on the cancellation of the rate of change in bearing angle could account for the behavioral adaptations produced when individuals intercept moving balls while walking. In Experiment 1, the place of arrival of the ball and the angle of approach were varied. In accord with the model, velocity regulations were earlier and more pronounced the larger the angle of approach. In Experiment 2, ball speed unexpectedly changed during a trial, once again highlighting participants' functional velocity adaptations. A direct test of the model on the basis of each individual trial (N = 256) revealed that, on average, 70% of the total variance could be explained. Together, those results confirm the usefulness of such a robust strategy in the control of interceptive tasks.     

Modulation of recognition and temporal order memory retrieval by dopamine D1 receptor in rats

The present study examines the effects of SKF 81297, a selective D1 agonist, on information retrieval in recognition and temporal order memory for objects, using three different tasks. Separate groups of rats were trained in each task and then given an intraperitoneal injection of saline or the D1 agonist (0.03, 0.3 mg/kg), before the memory testing trial in an object recognition, object location, and object temporal order memory tasks. We show that SKF 81297, at high dose (0.3 mg/kg), facilitates information retrieval after a long delay (4 h) in the three memory tasks whereas both high and low doses of D1 agonist impair recognition memory after a short delay (15 min). These results indicate a significant role of dopamine D1 receptors in recognition memory for both familiarity and place of objects in addition to object temporal order memory.     

Deficit of preparatory attention in frontotemporal dementia

We studied preparatory attention in patients suffering from frontotemporal dementia in the beginning stages of the disease, using an experimental test developed by LaBerge, Auclair, and Siéroff (2000). In this experimental test, a distracter can appear while subjects have to prepare to respond to a simple target. The probability that a distracter can appear in a trial is varied across three blocks. Normal controls show an increase of response times to targets (slope) as a function of the distracter probability, preparatory attention to the target is reduced by the increase of the distracter probability. Patients suffering from frontotemporal dementia show a slope of response times which is more than twice as large as the slope obtained by their matched controls. Such an abnormal increase of response times to targets is interpreted as a deficit in preparatory attention. Patients also show more omissions than controls. We suggest that this deficit in preparatory attention is related to the frontal lesion presented by the patients and can result in higher distractibility, a symptom frequently encountered in these patients.     

Development and preliminary validation of the physiological hyperarousal scale for children

Considerable empirical support exists for the positive affect and negative affect components of the tripartite model of anxiety and depression proposed by L. A. Clark and D. Watson (1991); however, less attention has been paid to the physiological hyperarousal component of the model. The development of the Physiological Hyperarousal Scale for Children (PH-C; J. Laurent, S. J. Catanzaro, & T. E. Joiner Jr., 1995) is described. The psychometric properties of items are examined using students in Grades 6-12 (N = 398). Initial scale validation includes a joint factor analysis with the Positive and Negative Affect Scale for Children (PANAS-C; J. Laurent et al., 1999; J. Laurent, K. Potter, & S. J. Catanzaro, 1994). The relationship between the PH-C and existing measures that tap related constructs is examined. Together, the PH-C and PANAS-C provide a means to assess tripartite model constructs useful in differentiating anxiety and depression.     

Can animation compensate for temporal processing difficulties in deaf people?

This article addresses the issue of animation as an aid for temporal processing difficulties in deaf people learning the Highway Code. A decision-making task involving static or animated road situations was performed by 21 deaf and 24 hearing participants. They were confronted with four types of driving situations (overtaking, negotiating roundabouts, highways, and intersections) and had to decide whether or not to proceed. Participants were presented with two different formats (static vs. animated) and two levels of difficulty (simple vs. complex). Results showed that deaf participants had poorer performances in the static condition than hearing participants. Performance was better in the animated condition than in the static condition, especially in deaf participants. The benefits of animation were greater in complex situations for all participants. Decisions made on dynamic road situations were facilitated by the presence of spatiotemporal dimensions. These proved helpful to deaf candidates who have difficulties in this particular area.     

On-line versus memory-based orientations and self-report validity

A partial replication of a study by Nisbett and Bellows (1977) to which a memorization condition was added showed that subjects did not have introspective access to the determinants of their judgments, but did so only in the impression-formation condition. In the memorization condition, the subjects' self-reports matched the observed experimental effects. An analysis of the results showed that this was probably because the subjects' judgments in the latter condition were based on causal theories. ©1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Test of the Links between Family Interference with Work, Job Enrichment and Leader–Member Exchange

Nous avons testé l'hypothèse selon laquelle le degré d'interférence entre la vie familiale et le travail (FIW) chez des sujets "suiveurs" varie en fonction de la qualité de la relation leader-suiveur dans le monde du travail (Qualité LMX) et de leur niveau de valorisation du travail. La relation entre ce niveau et la qualité LMX a aussi étéévaluée. Si le FIW, en accord avec les résultats relatifs à la théorie de l'échange social, est lié négativement, et à la qualité LMX, et au niveau de valorisation du travail des suiveurs, ce dernier est corrélé positivement à la qualité LMX conformément aux prédictions principales de la théorie LMX. Cependant, bien que le FIW se rapporte directement au niveau de valorisation du travail, nous avons pu montrer qu'il est lié indirectement à la qualité LMX par le truchement du niveau de valorisation du travail.
We tested whether followers' frequency of family interference with work (FIW) relates to the quality of the leader–follower work relationship (LMX quality), and to followers' reported level of job enrichment. We also tested the relationship between followers' job enrichment and LMX quality. We found that that FIW relates negatively to LMX quality and to job enrichment, supporting arguments based on social exchange theory, and that followers' job enrichment relates positively to LMX quality, supporting one of the key predictions of LMX theory. We also found that while FIW relates directly to job enrichment, it relates only indirectly to LMX quality through job enrichment.     

Anxiety sensitivity as a specific and unique marker of anxious symptoms in youth psychiatric inpatients

We addressed several questions regarding the relation of anxiety sensitivity to anxious symptoms among 47 youth psychiatric inpatients (18 boys, 29 girls), ages 9–17 (M = 14.23, SD = 1.89). Participants completed measures of anxiety sensitivity, anxious and depressive symptoms, trait anxiety, and positive and negative affect; chart diagnoses were available. Consistent with hypotheses, we found that (a) anxiety sensitivity was associated with anxious symptoms, even controlling for trait anxiety and depressive symptoms; and (b) anxiety sensitivity displayed symptom specificity to anxious versus depressive symptoms (i.e., was associated with anxiety controlling for depression but not with depression controlling for anxiety). Furthermore, regarding factors of anxiety sensitivity, we obtained mixed support for our prediction that phrenophobia would be associated with both depression and anxiety, whereas fear of physical arousal would be associated with anxiety but not depression. Implications for the construct validity of anxiety sensitivity were discussed.     

The level and nature of autistic intelligence

Autistics are presumed to be characterized by cognitive impairment, and their cognitive strengths (e.g., in Block Design performance) are frequently interpreted as low-level by-products of high-level deficits, not as direct manifestations of intelligence. Recent attempts to identify the neuroanatomical and neurofunctional signature of autism have been positioned on this universal, but untested, assumption. We therefore assessed a broad sample of 38 autistic children on the preeminent test of fluid intelligence, Raven's Progressive Matrices. Their scores were, on average, 30 percentile points, and in some cases more than 70 percentile points, higher than their scores on the Wechsler scales of intelligence. Typically developing control children showed no such discrepancy, and a similar contrast was observed when a sample of autistic adults was compared with a sample of nonautistic adults. We conclude that intelligence has been underestimated in autistics.     

Word frequency and predictability effects in reading French: An evaluation of the E-Z Reader model

French readers' eye movements were monitored as they read a passage of text. Initial global analyses of word frequency, accounting for the majority of fixations in the text, revealed a good fit between the observed data and the simulated data from the E-Z Reader 7 model of eye movement control. However, the model did not perform as well on simulations of contextual predictability effects. A subset of 20 controlled words from the passage were used to examine the combined effects of frequency and predictability. Results from the observed data showed main effects of frequency and predictability but no interaction. With certain modifications, the E-Z Reader 7 model was able to adequately simulate the pattern of data. Although the E-Z Reader model successfully accounted for the present data, we believe that further modifications will be necessary in order to better account for data in the literature.