Autobiographical recall training in elderly adults with subjective memory complaint: a pilot study

Subjective memory complaint is a self-reported memory impairment which affects elderly people. This problem does not interfere with daily living activities but could decrease quality of life. This study's purpose was to verify whether a specific, newly developed, autobiographical recall training could modify self-perception of memory of subjects with subjective memory complaint. Seven elderly subjects (4 women and 3 men; mean age 65.5 yr., SD=11) with such complaint, evidenced through a specific questionnaire, attended the training course and were prospectively assessed on standard neuropsychological tests, depressive symptomatology, and self-perception of memory. Self-perception of memory, as assessed by scores on a formalized questionnaire, improved significantly after the training, while depressive symptoms did not change. Neuropsychological performances were normal before and after the training, but a statistically significant improvement was observed only on the phonological fluency test. Thus the present pilot study suggested that the training may be effective in improving self-perception of memory and metamnestic capacity in elderly people with subjective memory complaints but not in changing subjects' depressive symptoms. This requires replication of this work with a much larger sample so statistical power is adequate.     

Olp: An R package for optimal linear partitions of finite sets of points on the plane

Given a set of points on the plane and an assignment of values to them, an optimal linear partition is a division of the set into two subsets which are separated by a straight line and maximally contrast with each other in the values assigned to their points. We present a method for inspecting and rating all linear partitions of a finite set, and a package of three functions in the R language for executing the computations. One function is for finding the optimal linear partitions and corresponding separating lines, another for graphically representing the results, and a third for testing how well the data comply with the linear separability condition. We illustrate the method on possible data from a psychophysical experiment (concerning the size–weight illusion) and compare its performance with that of linear discriminant analysis and multiple logistic regression, adapted to dividing linearly a set of points on the plane.     

The main two arguments for probabilism are flawed

Probabilism, the view that agents have numerical degrees of beliefs that conform to the axioms of probability, has been defended by the vast majority of its proponents by way of either of two arguments, the Dutch Book Argument and the Representation Theorems Argument. In this paper I argue that both arguments are flawed. The Dutch Book Argument is based on an unwarranted, ad hoc premise that cannot be dispensed with. The Representation Theorems Argument hinges on an invalid implication.     

Modules in spatial vision: intrinsic reasons of their functional attributes

Visual modules can be viewed as expressions of a marked analytic attitude in the study of vision. In vision psychology, this attitude is accompanied by hypotheses that characterize how visual modules are thought to operate in perceptual processes. Our thesis here is that there are what we call “intrinsic reasons” for the presence of such hypotheses in a vision theory, that is, reasons of a deductive kind, which are imposed by the partiality of the basic terms (input and output) in the definition of a module, and by peculiar characteristics of those terms. Specifically, we discuss three hypotheses of functional attributes: successive stages in the action of modules, residual indeterminacy of their effects, and the role of prior constraints. For each of the three, we indicate its occurrence in perceptual psychology, explain corresponding intrinsic reasons, and illustrate such reasons with examples.     

St Benedict's Rule as the Antidote to Regulatory Inflation The Way of St Benedict,Rowan Williams,Bloomsbury, 2020 (ISBN 978‐1‐4729‐7307‐8), 160 pp., pb £8.99

There is much to learn from what Rowan Williams calls the ‘undramatic and transformative wisdom’ of the Rule of St Benedict. Expanding on Williams' penetrating reading of the Rule, this article analyzes aspects of Benedictine spirituality that might be useful in contemporary political and social debates, especially around issues of race and affirmative action. From the viewpoint of Benedictine spirituality, true empowerment comes from affirmation and recognition based not just on external regulations but also on inner and personal validation. Unconscious biases can be effectively tackled not only through external censure but especially through the demanding discipline of self‐knowledge. The promotion of both inner validation and self‐knowledge requires an environment of trust. The main challenge for healthy communities is creating the conditions for converting self‐defensiveness and suspicion into trust.     

Social attention across borders: A cross-cultural investigation of gaze cueing elicited by same- and other-ethnicity faces

The gaze-cueing effect is a robust phenomenon which illustrates how attention can be shaped by social factors. In four experiments, the present study explored the interaction between the ethnic membership of the participant and that of the face providing the gaze cue. Firstly, we aimed to further investigate the differential impact of White, Black, and Asian faces on the gaze-cueing effect in White individuals. Secondly, we aimed to explore, for the first time, the impact of faces belonging to different ethnicities on gaze cueing in Chinese participants. The results allowed to rule out alternative accounts and showed that White participants exhibit a gaze-cueing effect for White and Asian faces, but not for Black faces, consistent with previous studies. As regards Chinese participants, the overall findings suggested a stronger gaze-cueing effect for White faces than for Asian faces. The results are discussed with reference to differences in the perceived social status of the various groups, pointing to the need of taking into account different cultural contexts.     

Mirror-mediated string-pulling task in Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius)

Animal Cognition - Mirror tasks can be used to investigate whether animals can instrumentally use a mirror to solve problems and can understand the correspondence between reflections and the real...     

Strong Will in a Messy World. Ethics and the Government of Technoscience

Two features characterize new and emerging technosciences. The first one is the production of peculiar ontologies. The human agent is confronted with a biophysical world the contingent, indeterminate character of which does not hamper but expands the scope of purposeful action. Uncertainty is increasingly regarded as a resource for an expanding will rather than a drawback for a disoriented agent. The second feature is that ethics is increasingly considered as the core regulatory means of this messy, ever-changing world. The ambivalences of the ethical government of contingent assemblages are discussed by focusing on the governmentality perspective. The latter helps to make sense of the regulatory alliance between ethics and technoscience. A reflection on Foucault’s account of ethics shows that the emancipatory role of the latter is today hampered by its embroilment with the instrumental reason it aims to govern, nor can older models of ethical commitment find any straightforward application. Mapping the issue in terms of mutual constitution of power, potentiality and possibility gives salience to a particular question: what we are able not to do.     

Expression and processing of emotions: Relationships with cd4+ levels in 42 hiv-positive asymptomatic individuals

Abstract

Background: The study investigated the relationship between CD4+ levels and two emotion-related measures, one of expressed emotion (Hostility directed Inwards, Hdl) and one of capacity for emotional processing (Referential Activity, RA).

Method42 HIV-1 positive asymptomatic subjects, under AZT treatment, underwent CD4+ assessment immediately after a brief interview. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed using the Gottschalk-Gleser and Referential Activity scales. Of the Gottschalk-Gleser scales, only Hdl was considered.

ResultsAs hypothesized, the regression of emotion-related scores on CD4 + levels showed a curvilinearrelationship with Hdl scores, and a linearrelationship with RA scores. Subjects with the best immune status therefore showed intermediate levels of expressed emotion and a high capacity for emotional processing.

ConclusionThe findings support the usefulness of working through, rather than releasing emotion. Previous negative findings in the field might be explained by the unjustified assumption of linear relationships between expressed emotion and health.