Context effects in two-month-old infants' perception of labiodental/interdental fricative contrasts

We investigated 2-month-old infants' perception of a subset of highly confusable English fricatives. In Experiment 1, infants discriminated modified natural tokens of the voiceless fricative pair [fa]/[oa] but only when the syllables included their frication noises. They also discriminated the voiced pair [va]/[oa] both with and without fricative noises. These results parallel those found with adults by Carden, Levitt, Jusczyk, and Walley (1981). In Experiment 2 [f] and [o] noises were appended to [a], and the same [f] noise was appended to the previously indiscriminable fricationless versions of [fa] and [oa]. Infants discriminated both pairs of stimuli, indicating that (a) the frication is a sufficient cue for [fa]/[oa] discrimination and that (b) it provides a context for discriminating the [f] and [o] formant transitions. We conclude that infants' perception of labiodental/interdental fricative contrasts show evidence of context effects similar to those observed with adults.     

Parallel Processing Response Times and Experimental Determination of the Stopping Rule

It was formerly demonstrated that virtually all reasonable exhaustive serial models, and a more constrained set of exhaustive parallel models, cannot predict critical effects associated with self-terminating models. The present investigation greatly generalizes the parallel class of models covered by similar "impossibility" theorems. Specifically, we prove that if an exhaustive parallel model is not super capacity, and if targets are processed at least as fast as non-targets, then it cannot predict such (self-terminating) effects. Such effects are ubiquitous in the experimental literature, offering strong confirmation for self-terminating processing. Copyright 1997 Academic Press. Copyright 1997 Academic Press     

Eavesdropping on social life: The accuracy of stranger ratings of daily behavior from thin slices of natural conversations

In two studies the authors examined the accuracy of stranger ratings of daily behavior based on thin slices of natural conversations. Methodologically, the studies extend past research by using a behavioral accuracy criterion, benchmarking zero-acquaintance accuracy against target and informant accuracy, and employing a representative design that sampled contexts from targets’ daily situations. Theoretically, the studies investigate how stereotypes influence the accuracy of first impressions depending on their sample-based validity. Across both studies, after listening to five conversational snippets (2.5 min total), the ratings of strangers were as accurate as the targets’ and informants’ ratings. Further, ratings for gender-stereotypic behaviors with a kernel of truth resulted in greater initial accuracy than ratings for gender-stereotypic behaviors with no kernel of truth.     

Are Some Psychotherapies Much More Effective Than Others?

In a previous paper we had reported on the examination of comparisons of 18 metaanalyses of active treatments with each other (Luborsky, Rosenthal, Diguer, et al., 2001). These metaanalyses gave a small and nonsignificant mean level of difference between types of treatments. The smallness of this correlation confirms Rosenzweig's (1936) expectation that because of the large overlap in effective ingredients of different psychotherapies, comparative studies of psychotherapies would show little difference. Such a comparison that includes psychoanalyses seems a long way off, but if outcomes of psychoanalyses are defined similarly to those in the other psychotherapies, the expected differences in outcomes may also be small.     

Autism and 15q11-q13 disorders: behavioral, genetic, and pathophysiological issues

New insights into biological factors that underlie autism may be gained by comparing autism to other neurodevelopmental disorders that have autistic features and relatively well-delineated genetic etiologies or neurobiological findings. This review moves beyond global diagnoses of autism and instead uses an endophenotypic approach to compare specific clusters of autistic symptomatology to features of chromosome 15q11-q13 disorders. Paternally or maternally derived deficiencies of 15q11-q13 result in Prader-Willi or Angelman syndromes, and we first use a global approach to review potential autism susceptibility genes in the 15q11-q13 region. We then use a more trait-based approach to suggest possible ties between specific phenotypic characteristics of autism and Prader-Willi syndrome, namely savant-like skills. We conclude with insights from pathophysiological studies that implicate altered development of specific neuron types and circuits in the cerebral cortex as part of the pathophysiological processes associated with autism and mental retardation.     

The Misunderstood Gender: A Model of Modern Femme Identity

Femme identity remains a highly controversial topic. It has been maligned in both heterosexual and queer contexts, and is rarely represented in empirical literature. In this study we examined how femme women experience their own gender identity. Interviews were conducted with femme-identified lesbians; the focus was upon 4 content areas: identity development, experiences in the lesbian community, heterosexual society, and romantic relationships. The interviews were analyzed using Grounded Theory (B. J. Glaser & A. Strauss, 1967), an empirical method of generating models of subjective phenomena. The core category in this model Maintaining integrity: Upholding beliefs about sexual desire and gender representation reflects the need to uphold their sense of integrity across a variety of contexts by confronting stereotypes about both women and lesbians.