Penguins perceive variations of source- and filter-related vocal parameters of species-specific vocalisations

Animal Cognition - Animal vocalisations encode a wide range of biological information about the age, sex, body size, and social status of the emitter. Moreover, vocalisations play a significant...     

Accessing source information in analogical problem-solving

Several studies showed that people presented with source information fail to apply it to an analogous target problem unless they are instructed to use the source. Seven experiments were carried out to assess whether such a lack of spontaneous transfer occurs because individuals do not activate the source during the target task or because they do not realize the source-target relationship. Experiment 1 compared a condition in which the source was activated with no cue about the source-target connection to conditions in which subjects were informed about this connection. Results suggested that the lack of spontaneous transfer does not depend on failure in activating source information. Experiments 2, 3, and 4 were devised to falsify this finding by activating the source closer and closer to the target and by focusing participants' attention toward the relevant aspects of the source. Experiments 5, 6, and 7 were aimed at stressing source-target correspondences by introducing surface similarities. All experiments showed that the mere activation of the source does not facilitate analogical transfer. Results suggested that two processes should be distinguished in the access phase of analogical problem-solving: Source retrieval and identification of the source-target connection.     

A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF THE PSYCHODYNAMIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF EATING DISORDERS

The objective of this paper is to give an historical overview of the development of psychodynamic theories and to acknowledge their contribution to the understanding of the aetiology of these complex disorders. Relevant psychodynamic and psychoanalytic papers on the historical development of eating disorders were identified through a search of (1) Medline and PsychoInfo, (2) the library of the London Institute of Psychoanalysis, (3) Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing (PEP), and (4) a number of textbooks on eating disorders.

The search revealed a dearth of psychoanalytic historical perspectives about the aetiology of eating disorders in general. Overall most psychoanalytic publications were based on single case studies and concerned primarily with anorexia nervosa. No single model was identified, but a number of psychoanalytic ideas remain consistent throughout. Several psychoanalysts and contemporary psychodynamically‐informed authors refer to, apply and have further developed a number of these original ideas. This overview highlights the unique contributions of psychodynamic concepts towards a better understanding of the aetiology of eating disorders and how much they have influenced and informed modern thinking on the meaning of these complex conditions. A range of psychodynamic views has emerged and gradually evolved from concentrating solely on intra‐psychic factors to a more comprehensive multi‐modal model. This tendency has become a fertile ground for cross‐fertilization which, along with the bio‐social counterparts, remains the fundamental pillars on which modern understanding of eating disorders still rests.