Assessment of the contact eye cover as an effective method of restricting visual input

In the wake of several studies that have cast doubt upon the effectiveness of contact eye covers in restricting vision, we performed a series of five experiments to the end of achieving reversible blinding of the albino rat. The data of Experiment 1 indicated that the contact eye cover can be as effective as a rubber cup in restricting visual input. In Experiment 2, animals that were fitted binocularly with opaque eye covers performed as if blind on a task involving acquisition of pattern discrimination. In Experiment 3, binocular coverage with the opaque eye cover resulted in chance performance across 300 trials of a previously acquired pattern-discrimination habit. In Experiment 4, the base diameter of the eye cover was found to be a critical factor: Performance of a previously acquired brightness discrimination was reduced to chance levels by contact eye covers that approximated 7.0 mm in diameter. In Experiment 5, a smaller eye cover (6-mm diam) had no effect in limiting the visually evoked electrocortical response of the albino rat, while an eye cover of 7.2-mm diam produced a reliable attenuation of the response. The collective results indicate that appropriately fabricated contact eye covers are a viable means of restricting visual input and may justifiably be considered contact occluders.     

A reexamination of the validity of the Children's Personality Questionnaire

Scores on the Children's Personality Questionnaire (CPQ) were correlated with ratings on the Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale (DESB). Three judges matched scales from the two instruments that appeared to measure the same behavior. For about one-third of these matches, significant correlations in the predicted direction were found. Of the 154 possible correlations between CPQ factors and DESB scales, 50 reached significance. The results contradict those of a similar investigation (Willis & Seymour, 1978), whose methodology is questioned. The correlations found in the present study provide limited support for the validity of CPQ factors.     

Expression and interpretation of emotions in multilingual psychotherapy: A literature review

This review aimed at presenting the findings of 19 original studies that were published in the period from 2000 to 2022 in order to outline the current state of the art in the field of emotion communication (i.e., expressing and interpreting emotions) in multilingual psychotherapy. This analysis involves in particular the studies that investigate multilingual phenomena (e.g., code-switching and language-mixing) that occur during psychotherapeutic sessions when client and therapist can speak more than one language, as well as the articles that research emotion communication in this multilingual setting. With this in mind, the articles selected for this review are divided into two main categories: linguistic phenomena in multilingual psychotherapy and emotion communication in multilingual psychotherapy. Results of the studies in the current analysis reveal that code-switching remains one of the main linguistic phenomena that arises in the area of multilingual psychotherapy. Switching languages in therapy tends to be considered as beneficial for both client and therapist. Besides, findings suggest a connection between speaking L1/LX and one's identity (e.g., feeling different depending on the language). Additionally, studies that investigate emotion communication in multilingual psychotherapy show that an individual's first language (L1) is predominantly viewed as more emotionally charged than their language(s) learned later in life (LX). However, some studies also demonstrate that the relationship between L1 and LX is more fluid and context-dependent than it has traditionally been regarded. Propositions are given for future research in the field of emotion communication in multilingual psychotherapy.     

Culture and mental retardation

The Psychological Record -     

I—Derek Matravers

ABSTRACT Jerrold Levinson maintains that he is a realist about aesthetic properties. This paper considers his positive arguments for such a view. An argument from Roger Scruton, that aesthetic realism would entail the absurd claim that many aesthetic predicates were ambiguous, is also considered and it is argued that Levinson is in no worse position with respect to this argument than anyone else. However, Levinson cannot account for the phenomenon of aesthetic autonomy: namely, that we cannot be put in a position to make an aesthetic judgement by testimony alone. Finally, Levinson's views on the ontology of aesthetic properties are considered and found wanting.     

Aus einer Analyse zwischen den Kulturen

An intercultural analysis imposes particular requirements on the analytical couple. The patient of Kurdish-Turkish origin has lived in Germany since she was 6 years old. She had been exposed to complex and paradoxical influences which arose from the individual and familial conflicts generated by the migration of her family and the resulting cross-cultural differences. The neurotic compromise formation will be analyzed in its cultural context. The patient??s formations of identities as attempts at a solution are contradictory within themselves, serve as resistance and are directed against change. This can be traced within the transference relationship. A path of emancipation opens if it succeeds in leaving an either-or world and to bear existing diversity. The author uses an anthropological concept from Lévi-Strauss to describe various processes of change.     

Recognition memory for social and non-social odors: differential effects of neurotoxic lesions to the hippocampus and perirhinal cortex

The contributions of the hippocampus (HC) and perirhinal cortex (PER) to recognition memory are currently topics of debate in neuroscience. Here we used a rapidly-learned (seconds) spontaneous novel odor recognition paradigm to assess the effects of pre-training N-methyl-D-aspartate lesions to the HC or PER on odor recognition memory. We tested memory for both social and non-social odor stimuli. Social odors were acquired from conspecifics, while non-social odors were household spices. Conspecific odor stimuli are ethologically-relevant and have a high degree of overlapping features compared to non-social household spices. Various retention intervals (5 min, 20 min, 1h, 24h, or 48 h) were used between study and test phases, each with a unique odor pair, to assess changes in novelty preference over time. Consistent with findings in other paradigms, modalities, and species, we found that HC lesions yielded no significant recognition memory deficits. In contrast, PER lesions caused significant deficits for social odor recognition memory at long retention intervals, demonstrating a critical role for PER in long-term memory for social odors. PER lesions had no effect on memory for non-social odors. The results are consistent with a general role for PER in long-term recognition memory for stimuli that have a high degree of overlapping features, which must be distinguished by conjunctive representations.     

"When the age is in, the wit is out": Age-related self-categorization and deficit expectations reduce performance on clinical tests used in dementia assessment

This study examined the combined effects of age-based self-categorization and aging expectations on cognitive performance in a clinical context. An experimental study manipulated older adults' salient self-categorization as Younger or Older, as well as expectations that aging involves a specific memory decline versus generalized cognitive decline. Memory and general ability tests that are typically used in dementia screening were then administered. As predicted, self-categorization as Older dramatically reduced performance, but the measure on which this effect was revealed depended on aging expectations. Participants who self-categorized as Older and expected memory to decline performed worse on memory tests. Conversely, participants who self-categorized as Older and expected widespread cognitive decline performed worse on the general ability test. The clinical implications for the latter group were profound, because 70% met the diagnostic criterion for dementia, compared with an average of 14% in other conditions. The importance of self-categorization processes when interpreting performance on tests used to diagnose dementia are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

The persistence of thought: evidence for a role of working memory in the maintenance of task-unrelated thinking

Tasks that tax working memory (WM) have consistently been found to decrease mind wandering. These findings may indicate that maintenance of mind wandering requires WM resources, such that mind wandering cannot persist when WM resources are being consumed by a task. An alternative explanation for these findings, however, is that mind wandering persists without the support of WM but is nonetheless decreased during any demanding task because good task performance requires that attention be restricted from task-unrelated thought (TUT). The present study tested these two competing theories by investigating whether individuals with greater WM resources mind-wander more during an undemanding task, as would be predicted only by the theory that WM supports TUT. We found that individuals with higher WM capacity reported more TUT in undemanding tasks, which suggests that WM enables the maintenance of mind wandering.