Mastery of the logic of natural numbers is not the result of mastery of counting: evidence from late counters

To master the natural number system, children must understand both the concepts that number words capture and the counting procedure by which they are applied. These two types of knowledge develop in childhood, but their connection is poorly understood. Here we explore the relationship between the mastery of counting and the mastery of exact numerical equality (one central aspect of natural number) in the Tsimane’, a farming‐foraging group whose children master counting at a delayed age and with higher variability than do children in industrialized societies. By taking advantage of this variation, we can better understand how counting and exact equality relate to each other, while controlling for age and education. We find that the Tsimane’ come to understand exact equality at later and variable ages. This understanding correlates with their mastery of number words and counting, controlling for age and education. However, some children who have mastered counting lack an understanding of exact equality, and some children who have not mastered counting have achieved this understanding. These results suggest that understanding of counting and of natural number concepts are at least partially distinct achievements, and that both draw on inputs and resources whose distribution and availability differ across cultures.     

Perception of emotional expression in musical performance

Expression in musical performance is largely communicated by the manner in which a piece is played; interpretive aspects that supplement the written score. In piano performance, timing and amplitude are the principal parameters the performer can vary. We examined the way in which such variation serves to communicate emotion by manipulating timing and amplitude in performances of classical piano pieces. Over three experiments, listeners rated the emotional expressivity of performances and their manipulated versions. In Experiments 1 and 2, timing and amplitude information were covaried; judgments were monotonically decreasing with performance variability, demonstrating that the rank ordering of acoustical manipulations was captured by participants' responses. Further, participants' judgments formed an S-shaped (sigmoidal) function in which greater sensitivity was seen for musical manipulations in the middle of the range than at the extremes. In Experiment 3, timing and amplitude were manipulated independently; timing variation was found to provide more expressive information than did amplitude. Across all three experiments, listeners demonstrated sensitivity to the expressive cues we manipulated, with sensitivity increasing as a function of musical experience.     

Moore on Twin Earth

In a series of articles, Terry Horgan and Mark Timmons have argued that Richard Boyd’s defence of moral realism, utilizing a causal theory of reference, fails. Horgan and Timmons construct a twin Earth-style thought experiment which, they claim, generates intuitions inconsistent with the realist account. In their thought experiment, the use of (allegedly) moral terms at a world is causally regulated by some property distinct from that regulating their use here on Earth; nevertheless, Horgan and Timmons claim, it is intuitive that the inhabitants of this world disagree with us in their moral claims. Since any disagreement would be merely verbal were the alleged moral facts identical to or constituted by different natural facts, the identity or constitution claim must be false. I argue that their argument fails. Horgan and Timmons’ thought experiment is underdescribed; when we fill out the details, I claim, we shall see that the challenge to moral realism fades away. I sketch two possible interpretations of the (apparently) moral claims of the inhabitants of moral Twin Earth. On one interpretation, they fail to disagree with us because they actually agree with us; on the other, they fail to disagree with us because they are not moralizers at all. Which interpretation is true, I argue, will depend on the facts that explain the differences between us and the inhabitants of moral twin Earth.     

UNDERSTANDING WOMEN'S RISK FOR HIV INFECTION USING SOCIAL DOMINANCE THEORY AND THE FOUR BASES OF GENDERED POWER

Theoretical models to date have fallen short of accounting for the alarming worldwide rates of HIV infection in women through heterosexual contact. In this article, social dominance theory and the four bases of gendered power—force, resource control, social obligations, and consensual ideologies—are used to organize and explain international research findings on women's risk of contracting HIV from male sexual partners. Research suggests that the four bases of gendered power contribute to women having less power than men in heterosexual relationships, resulting in challenges to preventing HIV transmission from male partners. Social dominance theory also recognizes the intersections among various group-based hierarchies, such as race and class, thereby helping explain why women of color and low-income women are disproportionately affected by HIV. The intergroup focus of social dominance theory points to gender inequality as increasing men's risk of HIV infection as well, and the construct of social dominance orientation helps to explain individual differences in HIV risk behavior. We discuss the ways the current theoretical framework can prove useful in helping to guide future research addressing the connections between power and HIV risk, including exploring mediators and links to other theoretical models. We also discuss the implications the framework has for intervention efforts aimed at reducing HIV rates worldwide, such as supporting efforts at increasing women's representation in hierarchy-enhancing positions, incorporating empowerment issues into current interventions, promoting use of female condoms, and targeting heterosexual men for interventions.     

The role of the couch in psychoanalysis: proposed research designs and some preliminary data

Ever since Freud, the couch has been viewed as an important--some would argue essential--component of psychoanalysis. Although many theoretical papers and case reports have addressed the use of the couch in psychoanalysis, no empirical study has investigated its effect on psychoanalytic process or outcome. After a review of the literature, a number of research designs are proposed that might be used in such an investigation. Finally, preliminary empirical data are presented from archived audiotapes of two psychoanalyses: one in which the patient switched from lying down to sitting up, and one in which the opposite occurred. The aim is to stimulate research-oriented psychoanalysts to undertake empirical investigations of the theoretical concepts underlying use of the couch and, more generally, to present a specific example of research as a paradigm for a broader research agenda for empirical investigation of the key theoretical ideas underlying psychoanalysis.     

The Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire: Development and Preliminary Validation of a Community Version1

This paper describes 2 studies that evaluated a new instrument, the Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire‐Community Version (PEDQ‐CV). The PEDQ‐CV can be used across ethnic groups to assess perceived racism or ethnic discrimination. The scales measure several subdimensions of racism, permitting the examination of different forms of this race‐related stressor. The first study evaluated the psychometric properties of the PEDQ‐CV in a large sample of community‐dwelling adults. The second evaluated psychometric properties of a brief version of the PEDQ‐CV, developed for research protocols requiring a shorter administration time. Tests were made of reliability and several forms of construct validity. Both versions of the PEDQ‐CV have good reliability and construct validity. The PEDQ‐CV can facilitate the development of an integrative body of knowledge across different ethnic groups regarding the existence, determinants, and consequences of discrimination.     

Messages about the uniqueness and similarities of people: Impact on U.S. Black and Latino youth

This experiment examined the impact of messages about uniqueness and similarity between groups of people on Black and Latino children's social attitudes. Children (ages 11–14) read two brief science books embedded with a similarities message (“all people are basically the same”), unique message (“each person is unique”), combined similar-unique message (“all people are the same in a way, but each person is also unique”), or no additional message (control). Relative to the other conditions, the combined condition increased general social tolerance and decreased desired social distance from White children. No message appeared to negatively impact participants' attitudes toward their own group. Implications of these results for basic and applied anti-bias work on promoting similarities, differences, or both are discussed.     

What is ‘mental action’?

There has been a resurgence of interest lately within the philosophy of mind and action in the category of mental action. Against this background, the present paper aims to question the very possibility, or at least the theoretical significance, of teasing apart mental and bodily acts. After raising some doubts over the viability of various possible ways of drawing the mental-act–bodily-act distinction, the paper draws some lessons from debates over embodied cognition which, arguably, further undermine the credibility of the distinction. The insignificance of the distinction is demonstrated in part by showing how the focus on “inner” acts hampers fruitful discussion of Galen Strawson’s skepticism of mental agency. Finally, the possibility is discussed that a distinction between covert and overt action should supplant the one between mental and bodily action.     

Interactive processes in matching identity and expressions of unfamiliar faces: evidence for mutual facilitation effects

We investigated the interactions between matching identity and expressions of unfamiliar faces. In experiment 1, participants matched expressions in frontal and in oblique views, while we manipulated facial identity. In experiment 2, participants matched identity in frontal and in oblique views, while facial expressions were manipulated. Labeling of expressions was not required. Results showed mutual facilitation between matching facial identity and facial expressions, in accuracy as well as in reaction times. Thus, matching expressions was better and faster for same-identity images in oblique as well as in frontal views (experiment 1), and matching identity was better and faster for same-expression images in oblique as well as in frontal views (experiment 2). The discussion focuses on the implications of these results for the structural encoding of facial identity and facial expressions.