The Use of Contextual Information by Right Brain-Damaged Individuals in the Resolution of Ambiguous Pronouns

Two experiments were conducted with the primary purpose of investigating the ability of right brain-damaged (RBD) individuals to use contextual information—at the level of the single sentence, in terms of the integration of information between clauses, and at the level of a minimal discourse (i.e., two sentences)—in the resolution of ambiguous pronouns. The investigation was extended to a group of left brain-damaged (LBD) and non-brain-damaged (NBD) individuals. Contrary to the prevailing view that RBD patients have difficulty in the use of contextual information to process language, both experiments were consistent in demonstrating that the RBD group was influenced by contextual information in a manner similar to that demonstrated by both the LBD and NBD groups.     

Clinical pragmatism: a method of moral problem solving

This paper presents a method of moral problem solving in clinical practice that is inspired by the philosophy of John Dewey. This method, called "clinical pragmatism," integrates clinical and ethical decision making. Clinical pragmatism focuses on the interpersonal processes of assessment and consensus formation as well as the ethical analysis of relevant moral considerations. The steps in this method are delineated and then illustrated through a detailed case study. The implications of clinical pragmatism for the use of principles in moral problem solving are discussed.     

Hippocampal synaptic plasticity during instrumental learning

present research examined the role of hippocampal NMDA-dependent synaptic potentiation on appetitive instrumental conditioning under a continuous reinforcement schedule. In the first experiment, low (.025 mg.kg) or moderate (.05 mg/kg) dosages of the NMDA receptor antagonist, MK801, failed to increase the number of training days required to reach acquisition criterion; number of training days required to reach criterion for extinction were also unaffected. In the second experiment, a higher dosage (.10 mg/kg) of MK801 or induction of long-term potentiation failed to alter the number of responses occurring during acquisition. These data suggest that hippocampal synaptic potentiation does not play a prominent role in instrumental learning with simple contingency conditions. It is suggested that hippocampal LTP reflects a perceptual process that contributes differentially to spatial cognition, classical and instrumental conditioning.     

Hippocampal synaptic plasticity during instrumental learning

present research examined the role of hippocampal NMDA-dependent synaptic potentiation on appetitive instrumental conditioning under a continuous reinforcement schedule. In the first experiment, low (.025 mg.kg) or moderate (.05 mg/kg) dosages of the NMDA receptor antagonist, MK801, failed to increase the number of training days required to reach acquisition criterion; number of training days required to reach criterion for extinction were also unaffected. In the second experiment, a higher dosage (.10 mg/kg) of MK801 or induction of long-term potentiation failed to alter the number of responses occurring during acquisition. These data suggest that hippocampal synaptic potentiation does not play a prominent role in instrumental learning with simple contingency conditions. It is suggested that hippocampal LTP reflects a perceptual process that contributes differentially to spatial cognition, classical and instrumental conditioning.     

THE CREDIBLE SHRINKING ROOM:

Abstract— Becoming a proficient symbol user is a universal developmental last in the first years of life, but delecting and mentally representing symbolic relations can be quite challenging for young children To test the extent to which symbolic reasoning per se is problematic, we compared the performance of 2-year-olds in symbolic and nonsymbolic versions of a search task. The children had to use their knowledge of the location of a toy hidden in a room to draw an inference about where to find a miniature toy in a scale model of the room (and vice versa) Children in the nonsymbolic condition believed a shrinking machine had caused the room to become the model They were much more successful than children in the symbolic condition, for whom the model served as a symbol of the room The symbol understanding and use.     

CLASSWIDE PEER TUTORING: AN INTEGRATION STRATEGY TO IMPROVE READING SKILLS AND PROMOTE PEER INTERACTIONS AMONG STUDENTS WITH AUTISM AND GENERAL EDUCATION PEERS

A multiple baseline design across subjects with a reversal was used to examine the effects of classwide peer tutoring relative to traditional reading instruction on reading skills and social interaction time for 3 high-functioning students with autism and their typical peers in integrated, general education classrooms. Traditional reading instruction consisted largely of teacher-led instruction with individual student participation and seat work. Classwide peer tutoring consisted of 25 to 30 min of well-specified instruction in which tutor—learner pairs worked together on a classwide basis on reading fluency and comprehension skills. All students participated in 15- to 20-min unstructured free-time activities immediately following reading instruction. Results of reading assessments demonstrated that classwide peer tutoring increased reading fluency and correct responses to reading comprehension questions for students with autism and their peers. The procedure further increased the total duration of free-time social interactions for students with autism and typical peers, with individual variation in performance.     

On the Nature of Embarrassabllity: Shyness, Social Evaluation, and Social Skill

In this study, the correlates of embarrassability, or chronic susceptibility to embarrassment, were examined. Competing theoretical models suggest either that embarrassable people should be especially concerned about others' evaluations of them or that they should lack social skills. Further, shyness and embarrassment are typically considered to be closely related states. To test these propositions, 310 participants provided extensive self-reports of social skill, fear of negative evaluation, self-esteem, self-consciousness, and negative affectivity. Regression and factor analyses indicated that, compared to those of low embarrassability, highly embarrassable people are particularly concerned with the normative appropriateness of behavior and are more motivated to avoid rejection from others. In contrast, shyness was best predicted by low social self-confidence and low social skill. The data best support a social-evaluation model of embarrassment and argue that embarrassability is linked to the appropriateness of social behavior, and shyness to its effectiveness.     

Are All Hostility Scales Alike? Factor Structure and Covariation Among Measures of Hostility1

Few studies have examined the correlational and structural relationships between measures of hostility that may predict coronary heart disease. Using data from a population-based study (N= 2,682), we examined the factor structure among the five subscales from Siegel's (1986) Multi-dimensional Anger Inventory, the three subscales from Spielberger et al.'s (1985) anger expression scales, a Cook-Medley (Cook & Madley, 1954) hostility subscale that measures cynicism, and items measuring hostility from four scales that assess Type A behavior. Eight separate factors were identified: hostile anger expression, perceived control over the expression of one's anger, frequency of anger, ease of anger provocation, brooding, hostile outlook, cynicism, and sullenness. These results suggest that the structure of hostility measures is more complex than previous factor analyses have suggested. Our findings point to the dangers in assuming that a factor structure can be generalized beyond the data on which it is based to provide theoretical statements about psychological structure. The new scales appear to be valid because they correlate with demographic variables and indicators of social support in the expected directions.     

Behavioral Intentions: Which Ones Predict Fertility Behavior in Married Couples?1

The published literature on the relationship between behavioral intentions and fertility behavior exhibits four major problems: inconsistent and confusing use of theoretical constructs, limited use of different types of intentions, use of nonbehavioral outcomes, and failure to explore adequately the couple aspects of the intentions/behavior relationship. The study reported here addresses these problems by using a theoretical framework that characterizes the psychological/behavioral sequence leading to a planned conception, three different types of fertility intentions, a behavioral outcome variable, and data from 196 married couples with no children and 185 married couples with one child. Data analysis results in a simultaneous equation, constrained regression model which indicates that child-timing intentions are the most important predictors of proceptive behavior over a 3-1/2 year period and that childbearing intentions are next in importance; that behavioral intentions are the final common pathway through which fertility motivations, attitudes, beliefs, and desires affect behavior; that the use of proceptive behavior as an outcome variable improves the explanatory power of our models; and that the interaction of couple intentions do not demonstrate greater husband or wife influence over couple proceptive behavior but do demonstrate that disagreement has a delaying effect on the onset of that behavior.     

“mother is not holding competely respect”: Making social sense of schizophrenic writing

This paper provides a phenomenological account of the writing of a young woman diagnosed with schizophrenia. The method of interpretation is to put ourselves in the place of the author drawing upon a combination of sympathy, reason, common-sense, experience, and “an intersubjective world, common to us all” (Schutz, 1945: 536). The result is the recognition of the person as also capable of putting herself in the place of others so as to understand their behavior. This “role-taking success” identifies the limits of the current sociological understanding of insanity's significance in social interaction as an instance of “role-taking failure” (Rosenberg, 1992). The very appearance of a piece of writing often permits one to recognize the presence of schizophrenia. The use of space may be quite bizarre. The varying margins betray the writer's changing mood. The letter may start at the bottom or side of the paper or very close to the top .... Capital letters and all letters are employed without any apparent rules, the former even in the middle of a word. (Bleuler, 1950: 159) What we want to understand is not something hidden behind the text, but something disclosed in front of it. (Ricoeur, 1971: 557) Why do we need an art of guessing? Why do we have to “construe” the meaning? Not only — as I tried to say a few years ago — because language is metaphorical and because the double meaning of metaphorical language requires an art of deciphering which tends to unfold the several layers of meaning.... [But also] because [a text] is not a mere sequence of sentences, all on an equal footing and separately understandable. A text is a whole, a totality. (Ricoeur, 1971: 548)