Spatial memory of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) for hidden objects in a detour task

Spatial memory of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) for hidden objects was investigated via a visible displacement problem of object permanence with a detour paradigm. Experiment 1 showed that dogs were able to spontaneously locate a disappearing object in a detour situation. In Experiments 2 and 3, dead reckoning and allocentric spatial information were put in conflict. Results revealed that dogs simultaneously encoded both sources of information when they had to bypass an obstacle to locate a hidden object. Experiment 3 also revealed that, over the course of testing, dogs gradually learned to rely predominantly on allocentric cues when the detour involved several reorientations. The current study reveals that spatial memory of dogs for hidden objects in a detour task was guided by flexibility in processing spatial information. Dogs could simultaneously encode dead reckoning and allocentric information to locate a disappearing object and used them hierarchically according to the complexity of the detour they encountered in the environment.     

Thirteen days: Joseph Delboeuf versus Pierre Janet on the nature of hypnotic suggestion

The problem of post‐hypnotic suggestion was introduced in 1884. Give a hypnotic subject the post‐hypnotic command to return in 13 days. Awake, the subject remembers nothing yet nonetheless fulfills the command to return. How then does the subject count 13 days without knowing it? In 1886, Pierre Janet proposed the concept of dissociation as a solution, arguing that a second consciousness kept track of time outside of the subject's main consciousness. Joseph Delboeuf, in 1885, and Hippolyte Bernheim, in 1886, proposed an alternative solution, arguing that subjects occasionally drifted into a hypnotic state in which they were reminded of the suggestion. This article traces the development of these competing solutions and describes some of Delboeuf's final reflections on the problem of simulation and the nature of hypnosis. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Emotional reactions to infidelity

We sought to identify emotional reactions to a partner's sexual infidelity and emotional infidelity. In a preliminary study, 53 participants nominated emotional reactions to a partner's sexual and emotional infidelity. In a second study, 655 participants rated each emotion for how likely it was to occur following sexual and emotional infidelity. Principal components analysis revealed 15 emotion components, including Hostile/Vengeful, Depressed, and Sexually aroused. We conducted repeated measures analyses of variance on the 15 components, with participant sex as the between-subjects factor and infidelity type as the within-subjects factor. A main effect for sex obtained for 9 components. For example, men scored higher on Homicidal/Suicidal, whereas women scored higher on Undesirable/Insecure. A main effect for infidelity type obtained for 12 components. For example, participants endorsed Nauseated/Repulsed as more likely to follow sexual infidelity and Undesirable/Insecure as more likely to follow emotional infidelity. Discussion addresses limitations of this research, and highlights the need for an integrative theory of emotional reactions to infidelity.